Biography
Upon earning both a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of California-Los Angeles, director Noel Black made his mark on the film-festival scene with such award-winning short subjects as
Skaterdater and The River Boy. Black spent some time in episodic television, then burst upon the theatrical-feature market with the critically acclaimed black comedy
Pretty Poison (1968). Unfortunately, his next two directorial efforts,
Cover Me Babe (1970) and
Jennifer on My Mind (1971), were unsuccessful. He returned to television, helming the 1976
American Playhouse production
I'm a Fool. Thereafter, with a few exceptions like A Man, a Woman and a Bank (1979) and
Eyes of the Panther (1990), Black confined his directing to the TV-movie field, turning out such praiseworthy efforts as 1981's
The Electric Grandmother, an engaging adaptation of Ray Bradbury's I Sing the Body Electric. In 1985, Noel Black produced and wrote the script for the big-screen endeavor
Mischief (1985), handing over the directorial reins to Mel Damski. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide