(1970), the dystopian mystery-thriller Soylent Green (1973), the controversial period drama Mandingo (1975), and the Robert E. Howard sword-and-sorcery films Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Red Sonja (1985).

His other directorial credits include the Academy Award-winning documentary Design for Death (1947), the gritty noir The Narrow Margin (1952), the true-crime dramas Compulsion (1959), The Boston Strangler (1968) and 10 Rillington Place (1971), the mob action film The Don Is Dead (1973), the swashbuckler The Prince and the Pauper (1977), the 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer and the horror sequel Amityville 3-D (1983).

Fleischer worked with many of the top Hollywood stars of his time, including: Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, James Mason, Tony Curtis, Victor Mature, Richard Egan, Ray Milland, Farley Granger, Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Anthony Quinn, Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Mia Farrow, George C. Scott, Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough, Charlton Heston, Lee Marvin, Glenda Jackson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He was noted for his versatility, able to work in almost any genre under wildly varying conditions and budgets, making him a popular and prolific choice for producers and studios.

Though Fleischer was never considered an auteur and was not a highly acclaimed artist,[3] many of his films proved very financially and critically successful, winning accolades and being some of the highest-grossing features of their respective release years.

[7][8] His film career began in 1942 at the RKO studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent features, which he called "Flicker Flashbacks".

He won an Academy Award as producer of the 1947 documentary Design for Death, co-written by Theodor Geisel (later known as Dr. Seuss), which examined the cultural forces that led to Japan's imperial expansion through World War II.

[11] RKO's owner Howard Hughes was impressed by The Narrow Margin and hired Fleischer to re-write and re-shoot the majority of His Kind of Woman (1952) after he was dissatisfied with the original cut delivered by director John Farrow.

[12] He accepted an offer from MGM to make Arena, a rodeo-themed story starring Gig Young and Jean Hagen.

Fleischer was chosen by Walt Disney – his father's former rival as a cartoon producer – to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) starring Kirk Douglas.

While in the film's post-production phase, Fleischer received an offer from Dore Schary at MGM to direct Bad Day at Black Rock, but had to turn it down because of the work still required on Leagues.

Back at Fox, Fleischer made Compulsion (1959), a crime drama with Orson Welles for producer Richard D. Zanuck.

After this, he and De Laurentiis announced a series of projects, including Lanny Budd (from a novel by Upton Sinclair), Don Camillo, Salvatore Guliano, Dark Angel and Sacco and Vanzetti (from a script by Edward Anhalt), but none were made.

Fleischer traveled to England, where he directed the well received true-crime dramatization, 10 Rillington Place (1971) starring Richard Attenborough and John Hurt.

Three action films followed: The Don Is Dead (1973), with Anthony Quinn, plus two for Walter Mirisch: The Spikes Gang (1974), with Lee Marvin, and Mr. Majestyk (1974), with Charles Bronson, written by Elmore Leonard.

He received another call to replace a director, in this case Sidney J. Furie, on The Jazz Singer (1980), an unsuccessful attempt to make a film star out of Neil Diamond.