Polish-born composer and violinist, under contract at RKO from 1938. Sawtell was initially hired as a writer of music for serialised B-pictures, which included the 'Mexican Spitfire' and 'Falcon' series. In the 1940s, he free-lanced for two of the so-called Poverty Row studios (Eagle-Lion and Republic) before joining Universal in 1944. There, Sawtell scored two noteworthy entries in the Basil Rathbone/ Nigel Bruce 'Sherlock Holmes' cycle of films: The Pearl of Death (1944) and The Scarlet Claw (1944). He later returned to RKO and wrote a number of scores in collaboration with Roy Webb,among them several 'Tarzan' outings for producer Sol Lesser. In the 1950s, Sawtell formed a fruitful and (importantly, for the studios) cost-effective partnership with pianist/composer Bert Shefter. The duo worked on many low-budget horror and science fiction films. The best of which were for Irwin Allen and included Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961). On his own, Sawtell scored the sci-fi cult classic The Fly (1958). His solo work was prolific, to say the least: literally hundreds of credits as composer or musical director for film and television. His prodigious output was apparently motivated by a pressing need to provide alimony for several ex-wives!