Benedict Bogeaus (May 4, 1904, in Chicago – August 23, 1968, in Hollywood), was an independent film producer and former owner of

General Service Studios Sunset Las Palmas Studios, formerly General Service Studios and Hollywood Center Studios, is an American independent entertainment production lot located at 1040 North Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, providing stage facil ...

Biography and filmography

Bogeaus' business career started when he was seventeen, working as an accountant in a junk yard. He bought into the yard, and used it to get a loan of $2,000 to build an apartment block. "Borrowing money then was as easy as buying a sandwich", he said. He became a property developer in Chicago, accumulating a fortune of $18 million, which he lost during the Great Depression. He went to Europe with what money had had left, looking for new opportunities. He produced a film in France, ''The Virgin Man'' (1932) with

Fernandel Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan to ...

and another in Germany, '' Daughter of the Regiment'' (1933) and later said both were "very bad". He settled down in Chicago again and in 1935 established the radio manufacturing company, the General Extolite Corporation. In 1939 he bought into the Zitpit Company in Belgium, but had to flee on the advent of World War II. Bogeaus moved to Hollywood in 1940 and went into partnership with Herbert Huston making a portable developing machine. The advent of World War II saw this become a huge success. When

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

unit that manufactured sound equipment for film was forced by an

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

action to divest itself of the General Service Studio complex, Bogeaus outbid producer

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

to acquire the studio. He allowed the United States Government to use his complex for film work and leased it out to various independent film producers, keeping his eye on their progress. Eventually he decided to make films himself. Later, in 1946,

William Cagney William Jerome Cagney (March 26, 1905 – January 3, 1988) was an American film producer and actor, remembered for roles in the Monogram Pictures films '' Lost in the Stratosphere'' and '' Flirting with Danger'', both filmed in 1934. Career H ...

's production company brought a substantial interest in the studios.

Early Films

Forming Benedict Bogeaus Productions in 1944, his first film was ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The Bri ...

'' (1944), directed by Rowland V. Lee and released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It was not a financial success but his second film, '' Dark Waters'' (1944), directed by

André de Toth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film ''House ...

, was. He followed it with ''

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

'' (1945), directed by Lee with

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...

and

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

. He also produced '' The Diary of a Chambermaid'' (1946) along with stars

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career a ...

and

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

; it was directed by

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. Though these films were critically acclaimed, they didn't set the box office on fire. Realising the public's attraction to low and middle budget films with star power, Bogeaus signed

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

on for a few films, beginning with ''

Mr. Ace ''Mr. Ace'' is a 1946 American film noir starring George Raft and Sylvia Sidney involving a society woman who taps a gangster for his political support as she runs for Congress. The movie was written by Fred F. Finkelhoffe, directed by Edwin ...

'' (1946), directed by Edwin Marin. The movie was not a financial success. Bogeaus made ''

The Macomber Affair ''The Macomber Affair'' is a 1947 film directed by Zoltan Korda and distributed by United Artists. Set in British East Africa, its plot concerns a fatal love triangle involving a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who co ...

'' (1947) with

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

directed by

Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (June 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London. ...

. He made two anthology films with multiple stars in different storylines so they could be filmed at different times: ''

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

'' (1947), with Raft and Scott, directed by Marin; ''

On Our Merry Way ''On Our Merry Way'' is a 1948 American comedy film produced by Benedict Bogeaus and Burgess Meredith and released by United Artists. At the time of its release, King Vidor and Leslie Fenton were credited with its direction, although the DVD lis ...

'' (1948), with Goddard, James Stewart and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

. and Bogeaus featured

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

and George Montgomery in two films, '' Lulu Belle'' (1948) and ''

The Girl from Manhattan ''The Girl from Manhattan'' is a 1948 American comedy film, comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Dorothy Lamour, George Montgomery (actor), George Montgomery, and Charles Laughton.DOROTHY LAMOUR STARS IN FILM MINUS SARONG G K. L ...

'' (1948). He ventured into film noir with '' The Crooked Way'' (1949) and ''

Johnny One-Eye ''Johnny One-Eye'' is a 1950 film noir crime film from a story by Damon Runyon, directed by Robert Florey starring Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Dolores Moran and Gayle Reed. Plot In Manhattan, former gangster turned legitimate businessman Mar ...

'' (1950), both directed by

Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...

:. Bogeaus produced '' My Outlaw Brother'' (1951), a Western with

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

, and ''

One Big Affair ''One Big Affair'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Peter Godfrey and written by Leo Townsend and Francis Swann. The film stars Evelyn Keyes, Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Anderson, Connie Gilchrist, Thurston Hall and Gus Schilling. The film ...

'' (1952), a comedy with

Evelyn Keyes Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind''. Early life Evelyn Keyes was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Omar D ...

RKO

Most of Bogeaus' films had been released through United Artists. He signed a deal with RKO for ''

Count the Hours ''Count the Hours!'' is a 1953 crime film noir directed by Don Siegel, featuring Macdonald Carey, Teresa Wright, John Craven, and Jack Elam.. Plot The bodies of farmer Fred Morgan and his housekeeper are found. Suspicion falls on hired hand Geor ...

'' (1952) and ''

Appointment in Honduras ''Appointment in Honduras'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Glenn Ford, Ann Sheridan, and Zachary Scott. Plot Taking place in 1910, during a fictional revolution in Honduras, Jim Corbett (Glenn For ...

'' (1953). Bogeous produced some action films with

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

, all for RKO: '' Silver Lode'' (1954), '' Passion'' (1954), ''

Cattle Queen of Montana ''Cattle Queen of Montana'' is a 1954 American Western film shot in Technicolor directed by Allan Dwan and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Gene Evans, Lance Fuller, Jack Elam, Chubby Johnson, and Morris ...

'' (1955), ''

Escape to Burma ''Escape to Burma'' is a 1955 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Allan Dwan starring Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan and David Farrar (actor), David Farrar. The film was based on the short story "Bow Tamely to Me" by Kenneth Perkins, ...

'' (1955), '' Pearl of the South Pacific'' (1955), ''

Tennessee's Partner ''Tennessee's Partner'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan, written by Graham Baker, D. D. Beauchamp, Milton Krims, and Teddi Sherman, with uncredited rewrites by Dwan, and starring John Payne, Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fl ...

'' (1955), and '' Slightly Scarlet'' (1955). RKO collapsed and Bogeaus made ''

The River's Edge ''The River's Edge'' is a 1957 film noir adventure, crime, and drama DeLuxe CinemaScope film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn and Debra Paget. The picture is based on the unpublished short story "The Higher M ...

'' (1957) with Dwan for Fox, and '' Enchanted Island'' (1958) for Warners.

Final Films

Bogeaus' final films included two directed by

Byron Haskin Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing ''The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he t ...

in Mexico: ''

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...

'' (1958) and '' Jet Over the Atlantic'' (1959). The latter was the first production from Inter-Continent Films and Inter-Continent Releasing, two companies formed by Bogeaus and James R. Grainger. They announced a series of films, including ''Jet Over the Atlantic'', ''The Gold Bug'', ''Shoot Out!'', ''Early Autumn'' and ''The Glass Wall''. However, only ''Jet'' was made. His last production was ''

Most Dangerous Man Alive ''Most Dangerous Man Alive'' is a 1961 American science fiction film, produced by Benedict Bogeaus, directed by Allan Dwan (the final film of his long career), that stars Ron Randell, Debra Paget, and Elaine Stewart. The film was distributed ...

'' directed by Dwan that was filmed in 1958 in Mexico but not released until 1961. Dwan and Bogeaus cooperated in three unfilmed projects, a remake of ''The Bridge at San Luis Rey'', ''Will You Marry Me'', written by Dwan, and ''The Glass Wall''.

Personal life

Bogeaus was married from 1928 to 1931 to Broadway star

Ethelind Terry Ethelind Terry (14 August 1899 – 17 March 1984) was an American stage and film actress. Career Terry starred in one of the most famous Broadway shows of the 1920s, the musical '' Rio Rita'' produced by Florenz Ziegfeld. She also starre ...

, from 1939 to 1944 to actress Mimi Forsythe and from 1944 to 1962 to actress

Dolores Moran Dolores Jean Moran (January 27, 1926 – February 5, 1982) was an American film actress and model. Early years Moran was born in Stockton, California, and attended elementary and secondary schools there. She won the Northern California O ...

. He died of a heart attack, aged 64.

Quotes

"All independent producers go broke sooner or later. It's because they try and make artistic pictures. I make good commercial ones. It pays off".

Notes

References

*''Variety'' Obituaries August 28, 1968 * Fandango profil

External links

* *''Benedict Bogeaus and The General Service Studio'' http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/benedict_bogeaus.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogeaus, Benedict 1904 births 1968 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Film producers from Illinois Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American businesspeople