American director and screenwriter John Flynn was born n March 14, 1932 in Chicago, IL and raised in Hermosa Beach, CA. While serving at the Coast Guard, he studied journalism with Roots author Alex Haley. He received a degree in journalism from UCLA. He is known for making efficient, no-nonsense crime-thrillers The Outfit and Rolling Thunder.
John Flynn began his cinematic career as an apprentice to director Robert Wise on Odds Against Tomorrow and worked as the script supervisor on West Side Story. He then worked as a second unit director on Kid Galahad, Two for the Seesaw and The Great Escape. His debut as a director came with The Sergeant that starred Rod Steiger. His next film was The Jerusalem File that is little seen.
Flynn’s substantial commercial success was with The Outfit starring Robert Duvall. He achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity with the gritty revenge thriller Rolling Thunder starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. His subsequent movies are likewise solid and worthwhile which included the exciting urban vigilante opus Defieance, the terrific Best Seller, the sturdy Sylvester Stallone prison drama Lock Up, the above average Steven Seagal action vehicle Out for Justice and the nifty virtual reality horror outing Brainscan starring Edward Furlong and Frank Langella.
In the 1990s, Flynn has also directed two made-for-cable-TV films: Nails, a Dennis Hopper cop film and Scam, a crime drama. His last film was the direct-to-video film Protection before he died on April 4, 2007 at the age of 75. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Directors Branch).