Bernard Launois (, born 8 April 1930) is a French exploitation film director, screenwriter and actor. As an actor, he sometimes used the pseudonym Bob Gary. He was born in

Mézières Mézières may refer to: People * Alfred Jean François Mézières (1826–1915), French journalist, politician and historian of literature * Jean-Claude Mézières (1938-2022), French comic book artist * Rob De Mezieres, South African writer a ...

, France. After studying pharmacology for two years in the university, he sought a career in the film industry instead. He worked as a trainee editor and then briefly as an assistant director. In 1953, he was employed by

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

's programming department in Paris. During the 1960s, he worked for several film distribution and production companies, such as and . In 1979, he founded his own company, Lancaster Film, to finance the films he wrote and directed. He also edited film trailers and played minor roles as an actor. His debut film as director, ''Lâchez les chiennes'' (; 1972), was an improvised work that he wrote in three days. ''

Devil Story ''Devil Story'', also known as ''Il était une fois... le diable'' (), is a 1986 French Nazi exploitation, Nazisploitation horror film written and directed by Bernard Launois. It is his seventh and last feature film. An uneven mixture of the sl ...

'', his seventh and last feature film, gained a cult following despite its reputation as one of the worst films in history. He founded Delta Films and bought a four-theatre

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measur ...

in 1987. He retired from the filmmaking business at the end of the 1980s.

Filmography

Director

* 1972: ''Lâchez les chiennes'' * 1975: ' or ''Le Gibier'' * 1976: ''Les Machines à sous'' * 1976: ''La Grande Suédoise'' or ''Partouzes franco-suédoises'' * 1980: ' * 1980: ' or ''Gueules de vacances'' * 1985: ''

'' or ''Il était une fois... le diable''

Producer

* 1976: ''Les Machines à sous'' * 1980: '' Touch' pas à mon biniou'' or ''Gueules de vacances''

Actor

* 1970: ''Le Voyageur'' by * 1971: ''Une Femme libre'' de Claude Pierson * 1971: ''Chaleurs'' or ''La femme créa l'amant'' by Daniel Daert * 1971: ''Caroline mannequin nu'' by Daniel Lesueur * 1971: ''Deux mâles pour Alexa'' (''Fieras sin jaula'') by Juan Logar * 1973: ''Pigalle carrefour des illusions'' by

Pierre Chevalier Pierre Chevalier may refer to: *Pierre Chevalier (caver) (1905–2001), French caver, mountaineer and explorer *Pierre Chevalier (director) (1915–2005), French film director *Pierre Chevalier (politician) (born 1952), Belgian politician *Pierre M ...

* 1973: by Christian Lara *1980: '' Touch' pas à mon biniou'' or ''Gueules de vacances'' *1985: ''Devil Story'' or ''Il était une fois... le diable''

References

External links

* Living people 1930 births 20th-century French screenwriters Comedy film directors French male film actors French film directors Horror film directors People from Charleville-Mézières Male actors from Grand Est {{France-film-director-stub