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Bruce Kessler

Bruce Kessler

Director · Died April 4, 2024, aged 88 · Seattle, Washington, USA

Bruce Kessler (born March 23, 1936) is an American racing driver and film and television director.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 23, 1936
Died
April 4, 2024 (aged 88)
From
Seattle, Washington, USA
Works as
Director
Titles
23 on MovieCove · 61 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 22% in 30 days

What are Bruce Kessler's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
44%
Power
25%
Society
12%
Self
9%
Survival
6%
Bonds
4%
Power2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Absurd
4
Warm
2
Melancholic
2
Hopeful
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Fun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bruce Kessler's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bruce Kessler's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

61 credits, 23 with a MovieCove page.

  • Baywatch Nights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Diagnosis Murder(1993)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Renegade(1992)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Grand Slam (US) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Hardball (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Young Riders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • J.J. Starbuck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Spies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Ohara (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Our House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Last Precinct (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • MacGyver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Master Ninja 5 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Director

  • Cover Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Hunter(1984)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Hawaiian Heat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Master (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Rousters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Hardcastle and McCormick (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 7 episodes · Director

  • The A-Team(1983)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • The Quest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Knight Rider(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • T.J. Hooker(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows

  • Chicago Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • McClain's Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Fall Guy(1981)

    Show 5 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows

  • The Greatest American Hero(1981)

    Show 5 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows

  • Freebie and the Bean (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Enos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

  • California Fever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Hart to Hart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • 240-Robert (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • B. J. and the Bear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Deathmoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • The Runaways (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Two-Five (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • Cruise Into Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • Murder in Peyton Place(1977)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • CHiPs(1977)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all shows

  • Quincy, M.E. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Switch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Baretta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Kolchak: The Night Stalker(1974)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Rockford Files(1974)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • Get Christie Love! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Assignment: Vienna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Simon, King of the Witches(1971)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Alias Smith and Jones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • McCloud(1970)

    Show 8 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • The Gay Deceivers(1969)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Marcus Welby, M.D.(1969)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows

  • Killers Three(1968)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Adam-12(1968)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows

  • Angels from Hell(1968)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • The Flying Nun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Ironside (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Mission: Impossible(1966)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • The Monkees(1965)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Red Line 7000(1965)

    Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • I Dream of Jeannie(1965)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 60 titles from 1965 to 1995.

Highest rated

Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969)

Midcredits 47th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing59 of 60: 59 only directing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score53rdOther crew1 of 60: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1960s10 · crew1970s21 · crew1980s25 · crew1990s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Bruce Kessler's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 39th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 36th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

38thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 23 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 23 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · director

Murder in Peyton Place (1977)

72nd percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

Midcredits 95th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 51/100 and the pacing 35/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bruce Kessler work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bruce Kessler's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Renn Reynolds shares the most, 3.

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers