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

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 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

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

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

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

Andre de Toth Endre Antal Miksa de Toth, known as Andre de Toth (; 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 of Wax (1953 film), ''House of Wax'' (1 ...

, was. He followed it with ''

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'' (1945), directed by Lee with Charles Laughton and

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

. 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 and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

and Burgess Meredith; 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

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on for a few films, beginning with '' Mr. Ace'' (1946), directed by Edwin Marin. The movie was not a financial success. Bogeaus made '' The Macomber Affair'' (1947) with

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directed by

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

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

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'' (1947), with Raft and Scott, directed by Marin; '' On Our Merry Way'' (1948), with Goddard, James Stewart and Henry Fonda. 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 C ...

and George Montgomery in two films, '' Lulu Belle'' (1948) and '' The Girl from Manhattan'' (1948). He ventured into film noir with ''

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'' (1949) and '' Johnny One-Eye'' (1950), both directed by

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

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, and '' One Big Affair'' (1952), a comedy with Evelyn Keyes.

RKO

Most of Bogeaus' films had been released through United Artists. He signed a deal with RKO for '' Count the Hours'' (1952) and '' Appointment in Honduras'' (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'' (1955), '' Escape to Burma'' (1955), '' Pearl of the South Pacific'' (1955), '' Tennessee's Partner'' (1955), and '' Slightly Scarlet'' (1955). RKO collapsed and Bogeaus made '' The River's Edge'' (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 ...

in Mexico: ''

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...

'' (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'' 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, from 1939 to 1944 to actress Mimi Forsythe and from 1946 to 1962 to actress Dolores Moran. 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