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{{short description|American film producer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
[[File:Dolores Moran-Benedict Bogeaus.jpg|thumb|[[Dolores Moran]] with husband Benedict Bogeaus, ca. 1950s]]
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==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 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, ''
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
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>
▲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. Eventually he decided to make films himself.<ref name="obit"/>
===Early Films===
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
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. Realising the public's attraction to low and middle budget films with star power, Bogeaus signed [[George Raft]] on for a few films, beginning with ''[[Mr. Ace]]'' (1946), directed by [[Edwin Marin]].<ref name="rags">RAGS TO RICHES: Or the Hectic Saga of Benedict Bogeaus, Producer and Man of Many Affairs Hooking the Big Fish Zippers to Movies▼
▲Though these films were critically acclaimed, they didn't set the box office on fire.
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>
===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===
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
Bogeaus was married from 1928
He died of a heart attack, aged 64.<ref name="obit"/>▼
▲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==
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[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
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