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{{short description|American film producer}}
'''Benedict Bogeaus''' born [[Chicago]] 4 May 1904 died of a heart attack [[Hollywood]] 23 August 1968 was an independent [[film producer]] and former owner of [[General Service Studios]].▼
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
[[File:Dolores Moran-Benedict Bogeaus.jpg|thumb|[[Dolores Moran]] with husband Benedict Bogeaus, ca. 1950s]]
▲'''Benedict Bogeaus'''
==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.<ref name="rags"/>
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 film)|Daughter of the Regiment]]'' (1933) and later said both were "very bad".<ref name="rags"/>
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.<ref name="rags"/><ref name="obit">{{Cite news|title=Benedict bogeaus, 64, is dead; an independent film producer |date=Aug 25, 1968|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|118446497}}}}</ref>
When [[AT&T]]'s [[Western Electric]] unit that manufactured sound equipment for film was forced by an [[antitrust]] action to divest itself of the [[Hollywood Center Studios|General Service Studio]] complex, Bogeaus outbid producer [[Edward Small]] to acquire the studio.<ref>http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/linkbackups/hollywood-center_history.htm</ref> 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. ▼
▲When [[AT&T]]'s [[Western Electric]] unit that manufactured sound equipment for film was forced by an [[antitrust]] action to divest itself of the [[Hollywood Center Studios|General Service Studio]] complex, Bogeaus outbid producer [[Edward Small]] to acquire the studio.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/linkbackups/hollywood-center_history.htm | title=History of the Hollywood Center Studios }}</ref>
===Early Films===
Though these films were critically acclaimed, they didn't set the box office on fire. Realising the public's attaction to low and middle budget films with star power, Bogeaus signed [[George Raft]] on for a few films, beginning with ''[[Mr. Ace]]''. ▼
Forming [[Benedict Bogeaus Productions]] in 1944, his first film was ''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]'' (1944), directed by [[Rowland V. Lee]] and released through [[United Artists]]. It was not a financial success but his second film, ''[[Dark Waters (1944 film)|Dark Waters]]'' (1944), directed by [[Andre de Toth]], was.<ref>{{Cite news|title=LOOKING AT HOLLYWOOD WITH HEDDA HOPPER: THE KIDD STEPS OUT|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=4 Mar 1945|page=C3}}</ref>
He followed it with ''[[Captain Kidd (1945 film)|Captain Kidd]]'' (1945), directed by Lee with [[Charles Laughton]] and [[Randolph Scott]]. He also produced ''[[The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946 film)|The Diary of a Chambermaid]]'' (1946) along with stars [[Paulette Goddard]] and [[Burgess Meredith]]; it was directed by [[Jean Renoir]].
▲Though these films were critically acclaimed, they didn't set the box office on fire.
Bogeaus was married from 1939-1944 to actress [[Mimi Forsythe]]<ref>http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/376/Mimi+Forsythe/index.html</ref> and from 1944 to 1962 to actress [[Dolores Moran]].<ref>http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/200/Dolores+Moran/index.html</ref> ▼
Bogeaus made ''[[The Macomber Affair]]'' (1947) with [[Gregory Peck]] directed by [[Zoltan Korda]]. He made two anthology films with multiple stars in different storylines so they could be filmed at different times: ''[[Christmas Eve (1947 film)|Christmas Eve]]'' (1947), with Raft and Scott, directed by Marin; ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948), with Goddard, James Stewart and [[Henry Fonda]].<ref>{{cite news|date=Nov 7, 1946|title=RAFT, SCOTT, BRENT IN BOGEAUS PICTURE|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|107537066}}}}</ref> and Bogeaus featured [[Dorothy Lamour]] and [[George Montgomery (actor)|George Montgomery]] in two films, ''[[Lulu Belle (film)|Lulu Belle]]'' (1948) and ''[[The Girl from Manhattan]]'' (1948). He ventured into film noir with ''[[The Crooked Way]]'' (1949) and ''[[Johnny One-Eye]]'' (1950), both directed by [[Robert Florey]]:.
His last production was ''[[Most Dangerous Man Alive]]'' directed by Dwan that was filmed in 1958 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''.<ref>p.119 Foster, Charles ''Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood'' 2000 Dundurn Press</ref>▼
Bogeaus produced ''[[My Outlaw Brother]]'' (1951), a Western with [[Mickey Rooney]], 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]], all for RKO: ''[[Silver Lode (film)|Silver Lode]]'' (1954), ''[[Passion (1954 film)|Passion]]'' (1954), ''[[Cattle Queen of Montana]]'' (1955), ''[[Escape to Burma]]'' (1955), ''[[Pearl of the South Pacific]]'' (1955), ''[[Tennessee's Partner]]'' (1955), and ''[[Slightly Scarlet (1956 film)|Slightly Scarlet]]'' (1955).
RKO collapsed and Bogeaus made ''[[The River's Edge]]'' (1957) with Dwan for Fox, and ''[[Enchanted Island (film)|Enchanted Island]]'' (1958) for Warners.
===Final Films===
Bogeaus' final films included two directed by [[Byron Haskin]] in Mexico: ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (film)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'' (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''.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Scheuer, P. K.|title=Grainger, bogeaus start new company.|date=Apr 21, 1959|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167491385}}}}</ref> 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''.<ref>p.119 Foster, Charles ''Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood'' 2000 Dundurn Press</ref>
==Personal life==
▲Bogeaus was married from 1928 to 1931 to Broadway star [[Ethelind Terry]], from 1939
He died of a heart attack, aged 64.<ref name="obit"/>
==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".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/benedict_bogeaus.htm | title=Benedict Bogeaus and the General Service Studio }}</ref>
==Notes==
Line 24 ⟶ 49:
==References==
*''Variety'' Obituaries
* Fandango profile [http://www.fandango.com/benedicte.bogeaus/biographies/p82289]
==External links==
* {{
*''Benedict Bogeaus and The General Service Studio'' http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/benedict_bogeaus.htm
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogeaus, Benedict}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
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[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
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