German-born choreographer Arthur Dreifuss emigrated to the US in 1928,
eventually becoming a theatrical producer in New York City. He went to
Hollywood, first as a dance director in the 1930s, then from 1939
directing a steady stream of B-movies, initially for Poverty Row
company PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation), then for prolific
low-budget producer
Sam Katzman at
Monogram. He also had a brief sojourn at Columbia, including an entry
in the "Boston Blackie" series
(
Boston Blackie's Rendezvous (1945)).
Dreifuss became especially adept at musicals (for which he occasionally
wrote songs) and thrillers, filmed on a shoestring budget. During the
1960s his films became increasingly youth-oriented and
exploitational. He is best known for his only A-grade feature,
The Quare Fellow (1962), based
on a play by Irish writer
Brendan Behan.