Dubbed 'The Father of the Techno Thriller', this physician-turned-novelist/screenwriter/director penned medical books and novels under various pseudonyms before hitting the jackpot under his own name with "The Andromeda Strain" (1969). Shortly after Robert Wise's successful film adaptation in 1971, Crichton moved into feature directing himself with "Westworld" (1973), a robot thriller set in a Western theme park. As a writer-director, Crichton has since stitched together several exciting and well-crafted thrillers ("Coma" 1978, "The Great Train Robbery" 1979, "Looker" 1981 and "Runaway" 1984).