Boris Ingster was a Russian-American screenwriter, film and television director, and producer (October 29, 1903, in Riga, then in the Russian Empire – August 2, 1978, in Los Angeles, California) notable for his role in launching the film noir genre. In the 1930s he was a screenwriter on several films. He made his directorial debut in 1940 with the film noir movie Stranger on the Third Floor. In the 1950s and 1960s he shifted much of his attention to producing television series in genres ranging from drama to Westerns and spy thrillers.