''The Foxes of Harrow'' is a 1947 American
adventure film directed by
John M. Stahl. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn.
The film was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Production Design
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...
(
Lyle R. Wheeler,
Maurice Ransford,
Thomas Little
Thomas Little (August 27, 1886 in Ogden, Utah – March 5, 1985 in Santa Monica, California) was a United States set decorator who worked on more than 450 Hollywood movies between 1932 and 1953. He won a total of 6 Oscars for art direction and r ...
,
Paul S. Fox).
Plot summary
In pre-Civil War New Orleans, roguish Irish gambler Stephen Fox (
Rex Harrison) buys his way into society – something he couldn't do in his homeland because he is illegitimate.
Cast
*
Rex Harrison as Stephen Fox
*
Maureen O'Hara as Odalie 'Lilli' D'Arceneaux
*
Richard Haydn
Richard Haydn (born George Richard Haydon, 10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British-American comedy actor. Some of his better known performances include his roles as Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Lo ...
as Andre LeBlanc
*
Victor McLaglen
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...
as Captain Mike Farrell
*
Vanessa Brown
Vanessa Brown (born Smylla Brind, March 24, 1928 – May 21, 1999) was an Austrian-born American actress who worked in radio, film, theater, and television.
Early life
Born in Vienna, Austria, to Jewish parents (Nah Brind, a language teacher, a ...
as Aurore D'Arceneaux
*
Patricia Medina
Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955).
Early life
Medina was the daughter of Laure ...
as Desiree
*
Gene Lockhart
Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)["Gene Lockhart"](_blank)
''The ...
as Viscount Henri D'Arceneaux
* Charles Irwin as Sean Fox
*
Hugo Haas
Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962.
Life and career
Haas was born in B ...
as Otto Ludenbach
*
Dennis Hoey
Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.
Early life
Hoey was born Samuel David ...
as Master of Harrow
*
Roy Roberts as Tom Warren
*
Randy Stuart as Stephen's birth mother (uncredited; her first acting role)
*
Ralph Faulkner as Fencing Instructor (uncredited)
*
Kenneth Washington as Achille (uncredited)
*
Eugene Borden
Eugene Borden (born Élysée Eugène Prieur-Bardin, March 21, 1897 – July 2, 1971) was an American character actor in silent and sound films. Born in France, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager, and entered the film industry a sh ...
as French Auctioneer (uncredited)
Notes
The storyline is derived from the 1946 eponymous novel ''The Foxes of Harrow'' by
Frank Yerby. Fox paid author Frank Yerby $150,000 for the motion picture rights to ''The Foxes of Harrow'', which was his first novel. A December 1947 ''
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
'' article called the figure "the biggest bonanza ever pocketed by a colored writer" and stated that the book was "the first Negro-authored novel ever bought by a Hollywood studio."
See also
*
List of films featuring slavery
Film has been the most influential medium in the presentation of the history of slavery to the general public. The American film industry has had a complex relationship with slavery, and until recent decades often avoided the topic. Films such a ...
References
External links
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1947 films
20th Century Fox films
Films based on American novels
Films directed by John M. Stahl
Films scored by David Buttolph
Films set in New Orleans
Films set in Ireland
American historical adventure films
1940s historical adventure films
Films set in the 1820s
Films set in the 1830s
1940s English-language films
1940s American films
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