Bryan Foy
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Bryan Foy (December 8, 1896 – April 20, 1977) was an American
film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
and
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
. He produced more than 200 films between 1924 and 1963. He also directed 41 films between 1923 and 1934. He headed the
B picture A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
unit at
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
where he was known as "the keeper of the B's".


Biography

He was born in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, on December 8, 1896. He was the eldest son of the vaudeville star
Eddie Foy Edwin Fitzgerald (March 9, 1856 – February 16, 1928Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; and McNeilly, Donald. ''Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America''. Routledge Press, September 2006, . pp. 406–410), ...
and appeared with his father in the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
act "Eddie Foy and The Seven Little Foys." The act broke up when Bryan Foy left to join the U.S. Army in World War I in 1918, after which his remaining siblings continued performing with their father under the title, "Eddie Foy and the Younger Foys", through 1923, when their father retired. He was also a songwriter, and by 1916 had several published songs, including "My Honolulu Girl". Foy led Warners B picture unit until 1942 when the studio ended their second features. He was recruited
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
where he produced the acclaimed war movie '' Guadalcanal Diary'' in 1943. Following the war Foy entered motion picture production with a series of
short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s for
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
including a series of ''
The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...
'' with Foy writing and directing several of the two reelers. He remained with Fox until 1947 where he produced for
Eagle-Lion Films Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States. In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company, ...
with one of his assistant producers being famed mobster Johnny Rosselli. He was rehired by Warner Bros in 1950. From 1954 Foy produced films for
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. He returned again to Warners in 1962 for his final two films. He died in Los Angeles from a heart attack on April 20, 1977. He was buried in
Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles runs in the community of East Los Angeles. It is also called "New Calvary Cemetery" because it succeeded the original Calvary Cemetery (on north Broadway), over whi ...
.


Selected filmography

* '' The Swell Head'' (1928) * '' Lights of New York'' (1928) * ''
The Home Towners ''The Home Towners'' is a 1928 American comedy film directed by Bryan Foy and starring Richard Bennett, Doris Kenyon, and Robert McWade. This film was the third all talking picture produced by Warner Brothers to be released. Cast * Richard Ben ...
'' (1928) * ''
Queen of the Night Clubs ''Queen of the Night Clubs'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code musical drama film produced and directed by Bryan Foy, distributed by Warner Bros., and starred legendary nightclub hostess Texas Guinan. The picture, which featured appearances by Eddi ...
'' (1929) * ''
The Royal Box ''The Royal Box'' (German: ''Die Königsloge'') is a 1929 American historical film directed by Bryan Foy and starring Alexander Moissi, Camilla Horn and Lew Hearn.Schaudig p.122 It is an adaptation of the play ''Kean'' by Alexandre Dumas about t ...
'' (1929) * ''
Stout Hearts and Willing Hands ''Stout Hearts and Willing Hands'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code short comedy film directed by Bryan Foy and starring Frank Fay and Lew Cody. At the 5th Academy Awards, held in 1932, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject ...
'' (1931) * ''
The Unwelcome Stranger ''The Unwelcome Stranger'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Jack Holt, Mona Barrie, and Ralph Morgan. It was released on April 20, 1935. Cast list * Jack Holt as Howard Chamberlain * Mona Barrie as Madeleine ...
'' (1935) * ''
Swellhead ''Swellhead'' is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Wallace Ford, Dickie Moore and Barbara Kent.Dick p.239 Synopsis A cocky baseball player is forever bragging about his success on the field, and off it w ...
'' (1935) * ''
Road Gang ''Road Gang'' is a 1936 film directed by Louis King, written by Dalton Trumbo, produced by Bryan Foy, and starring Donald Woods and Kay Linaker. The film shows economic and social injustice due to political corruption. Premise The managing ...
'' (1936) * ''
Love Is on the Air ''Love is on the Air'' is a 1937 American film directed by Nick Grinde, and starring Ronald Reagan (in his film debut), June Travis, Eddie Acuff, Robert Barrat, Raymond Hatton and Willard Parker. It was the first of three remakes of the 1933 P ...
'' (1937) * '' Marry the Girl'' (1937) * ''
Smart Blonde ''Smart Blonde'' is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald. Starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane, a fast-talking wisecracking female reporter, teaming up with her boyfriend detective Steve McBride, to solve the killing of an ...
'' (1937) ( Torchy Blaine film series} * ''
West of Shanghai ''West of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American adventure film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff as a Chinese warlord. It is based on the 1920 Porter Emerson Browne play '' The Bad Man''. Three other films, all titled ''The Bad Man'', ...
'' (1937) * ''
The Invisible Menace ''The Invisible Menace'' is a 1938 American mystery film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff. It was also known as ''Without Warning''. Plot An army private (Craven) and his new bride (Wilson) are trying to honeymoon on an island ...
'' (1938) * ''
Girls on Probation ''Girls on Probation'' is a 1938 American crime film directed by William C. McGann and written by Crane Wilbur. The film stars Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Anthony Averill, Sheila Bromley, Henry O'Neill and Elisabeth Risdon. The film was released ...
'' (1938) * '' Nancy Drew... Detective'' (1938) (
Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...
film series) * ''
Comet Over Broadway ''Comet over Broadway'' ( 1938) is an American film starring Kay Francis and released by Warner Brothers. John Farrow stepped in as director when Busby Berkeley became ill, but Farrow was uncredited on the film. Plot Eve Appleton (Francis), wife ...
'' (1938) * '' Devil's Island'' (1939) * ''
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...
'' (1939) * ''
On Dress Parade ''The 'Dead End' Kids "On Dress Parade"'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. film that marked the first time The Dead End Kids headlined a film without any other well-known actors. Plot A hero of World War I, Colonel William Duncan, is on his deathbed. He s ...
'' (1939) * ''
South of Suez ''South of Suez'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring George Brent, Brenda Marshall and George Tobias. An alleged murder in an African diamond mine haunts a man many years later after he has returned to Britain. The ...
'' (1940) * ''
Law of the Tropics ''Law of the Tropics'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Ray Enright and starring Constance Bennett, Jeffrey Lynn and Regis Toomey. By the time Bennett made the film, her career was in steep decline.Kellow, Brian. ''The Bennetts: An Acti ...
'' (1941) * ''
I Was Framed ''I Was Framed'' is a 1942 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $159,000 domestically and $90,000 foreign. Plot summary Cast * Tod Andrews as Ken Marshall (Scott) (as Michael Ames) ...
'' (1941) * ''
Wild Bill Hickok Rides ''Wild Bill Hickok Rides'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Constance Bennett, Bruce Cabot and Warren William. Bennett was paid $10,000 for her appearance, a significant drop from what she had recently been e ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe ''The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe'' is a 1942 drama film directed by Harry Lachman, starring Linda Darnell and Shepperd Strudwick. The film is a cinematic biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines his romantic relationships with Sarah Elmira Roys ...
'' (1942) * ''
Little Tokyo, U.S.A. ''Little Tokyo, U.S.A.'' is a 1942 American film. Produced in the period just after the United States entered World War II, it was meant to alert Americans to the dangers of foreign agents. It is now controversial for its largely negative portraya ...
'' (1942) * ''
Berlin Correspondent ''Berlin Correspondent'' is a 1942 American film. Plot Dana Andrews portrays an American radio correspondent reporting from within Nazi Germany, whose principal source of information is an elderly philatelist. His reports prove so embarrassing ...
'' (1942) * ''
The Undying Monster ''The Undying Monster'', also known as ''The Hammond Mystery'', is a 1942 American mystery horror film directed by John Brahm and written by Lillie Hayward and Michel Jacoby, based on Jessie Douglas Kerruish's 1922 novel of the same name.Meehan ...
'' (1942) * ''
Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas ''Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas'' is a war film made by Twentieth Century Fox in 1943. The film starred Philip Dorn, Anna Sten, and Martin Kosleck. The film was originally titled ''The Seventh Column''. It was directed by Louis King and i ...
'' (1943) * '' Guadalcanal Diary'' (1943) * ''
Doll Face ''Doll Face'' is a 1945 American film released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Lewis Seiler starring Vivian Blaine as "Doll Face" Carroll. It also stars actor Dennis O'Keefe and singers Carmen Miranda and Perry Como. The film is based on th ...
'' (1945) * ''
Adventures of Casanova ''Adventures of Casanova'' is a 1948 American-Mexican historical adventure film directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Arturo de Córdova Lucille Bremer and Turhan Bey. It portrays a fictional version of the story of Casanova, and was inten ...
'' (1948) * '' Trapped'' (1949) * ''
The Great Jewel Robber ''The Great Jewel Robber'' is a 1950 American drama film directed by Peter Godfrey and written by Borden Chase. The film stars David Brian, Marjorie Reynolds, John Archer, Jacqueline deWit, Perdita Chandler and Stanley Church. The film was r ...
'' (1950) * '' Breakthrough'' (1950) * '' I Was a Communist for the FBI'' (1951) * ''
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima ''The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima'' is a Warner Color feature film made in 1952. It was promoted as a fact-based treatment of the events surrounding the apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima, in Portugal, in 1917. It stars Susan Whitney as Lúc ...
'' (1952) * '' House of Wax'' (1953) * ''
The Mad Magician ''The Mad Magician'' is a 1954 American horror film in 3D, directed by John Brahm starring Vincent Price, Mary Murphy and Eva Gabor. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, with a release in 3-D to build on the craze started by ...
'' (1954) * ''
House of Women ''House of Women'' is a 1962 American crime drama directed by Crane Wilbur, starring Shirley Knight and Andrew Duggan. Walter Doniger, who was hired to direct the film, was fired and replaced by Wilbur 10 days into shooting. Plot Erica Hayden ...
'' (1962) * ''
PT-109 PT1 may refer to: * 486958 Arrokoth (New Horizons PT1), a Kuiper belt object and selected target for a flyby of the New Horizons probe * Pratt & Whitney PT1, a free-piston gas-turbine engine * Consolidated PT-1 Trusty, a 1930s USAAS primary trainer ...
'' (1963)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foy, Bryan 1896 births 1977 deaths American film directors Film producers from Illinois American people of Irish descent Male actors from Chicago 20th-century American male actors Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)