Richard E. Cunha

Richard Earl Cunha (March 4, 1922 - September 18, 2005) was a Hawaiian born cinematographer and film director. Cunha's father was Albert "Sonny" Cunha, a well-known Hawaiian songwriter.

During World War II, Cunha served as an aerial photographer for the military, and then was transferred to Hal Roach Studios in Los Angeles, where he made military training films, newsreels and documentaries.

After the war, Cunha worked as a TV photographer, eventually working his way to up directory of photography for the TV shows Death Valley Days and Branded.

Cunha wrote and directed only a handful of films, with his four best-known ones all being low-budget, sci fi-horror B-movies released in 1958-59: Giant From the Unknown, She Demons, Missile to the Moon and Frankenstein's Daughter. In an interview posted on the Web site for The Astounding B Monster Archive, Cunha said his low-budget films were completed for around $65,000 apiece and took about six days each to shoot.