''The Foxes of Harrow'' is a 1947 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

John M. Stahl John Malcolm Stahl (January 21, 1886 – January 12, 1950) was an American film director and producer. Life and work He was born Jacob Morris Strelitsky in Baku (Azerbaijan) to a Russian Jewish family. When he was a child, his family le ...

. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn. It is based on the novel of the same name by

Frank Yerby Frank Garvin Yerby ( – ) was an American writer, best known for his 1946 historical novel ''The Foxes of Harrow''. Early life Yerby was born in Augusta, Georgia, on September 5, 1916, the second of four children of Rufus Garvin Yerby (1886– ...

, the sixth best-selling novel in the US in 1946. 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 Lyle Reynolds Wheeler (February 2, 1905 – January 10, 1990) was an American motion picture art director. He received five Academy Awards — for ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1946), ''The Robe'' (1953), ''The ...

Maurice Ransford Maurice Ransford (August 3, 1896 – August 25, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana and died in San Diego. Selected filmogr ...

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 Paul Samuel Fox (September 30, 1898 – May 1972) was an American set decorator. He won three Academy Awards and was nominated for ten more in the category Best Art Direction. Selected filmography Fox won three Academy Awards for Best Art ...

Plot

In pre-Civil War New Orleans, roguish Irish gambler Stephen Fox buys his way into society – something he couldn't do in his homeland because he is illegitimate.

Cast

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

as Stephen Fox *

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural ...

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 Lov ...

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 se ...

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"
''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 Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa ...

as Tom Warren *

Randy Stuart Randy Stuart (born Elizabeth Shaubell; October 12, 1924 – July 20, 1996), was an American actress in film and television. Early years Stuart's parents, John and Gladys Shaubell, were itinerant musicians in the American South and the Midd ...

as Stephen's birth mother (uncredited; her first acting role) *

Ralph Faulkner Ralph Faulkner (July 20, 1891 – January 28, 1987) was an American fencer and film actor. He competed in the team sabre event at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Post-college career After graduating from college Faulkner became a forest ranger. ...

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

. 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 pol ...

'' 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."

References

External links

* * * * 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 {{adventure-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Notes

See also

References

External links