Meet the Storyteller in the Saddle 

Meet the Visionary Behind the Camera: 

Jeff Hathcock

Jeff Hathcock is an accomplished filmmaker, novelist, and theatre director whose storytelling career spans over four decades and multiple mediums. A true craftsman of independent cinema, Hathcock made and sold his first feature film Victims! in 1982, launching a career built on bold narratives and fearless filmmaking. He quickly followed with a string of genre-driven films—Night Ripper, Streets of Death (starring former Disney star Tommy Kirk), and Mark of the Beast, which featured Bo Hopkins and Robert Tessier and has since become a cult classic. These early films are currently being reissued across the country by various distributors, a testament to their enduring appeal.

Hathcock’s versatility extended beyond traditional narrative features. He directed second unit wild animal sequences for Beastmaster 2, and later helmed a wide range of projects including Children of the Road, Marked Men (with Jan-Michael Vincent), and the Western Three Bad Men, which starred Academy Award winner George Kennedy. His neo-noir thriller The Two Pamelas earned a remarkable 9.1 IMDb rating, further cementing his reputation for emotionally grounded and stylistically sharp storytelling.

A lifelong admirer of classic Westerns, Hathcock credits the legendary John Ford as one of his greatest influences. That inspiration is unmistakably present in his current project, The Sunset Rider: Arizona Kid—an original screenplay written and directed by Hathcock. It’s a story that blends timeless Western themes of justice, identity, and redemption, told through a fresh and unflinching lens.

Beyond the screen, Hathcock has directed over 180 stage productions, most recently Enter Laughing at the San Clemente Playhouse in 2019. He is also a published novelist, with three titles—Cult of the Cobra, Eye of the Cobra, and The Society of Heaven and Earth—currently in publication with Righter’s Mill Press and Three Corners Entertainment, and all optioned for film adaptation.

Earlier in his career, Hathcock contributed to Walt Disney Productions, writing for screen legends Walter Matthau and Jack Klugman. This foundation in both studio and independent storytelling has made him a rare creative voice—one who understands the balance between cinematic tradition and innovation.

With his unwavering dedication to storytelling and deep reverence for the greats who came before him, Jeff Hathcock continues to carve his own legacy—one story at a time.