Bryan Foy

Biography

Bryan Foy started in showbiz as a vaudevillian, touring nationally for ten years as one of the 'Seven Little Foys' (the oldest). He left the act in 1918 to embark on a solo career in Hollywood, at first devising gags for Buster Keaton then filming two-reelers at Fox. In 1927, he began his long association with Warner Brothers where he famously produced the first all-talking feature, Lights of New York (1928), at the cost of a mere $18,000. The film, shot in just eight days, grossed well over a million dollars for Warner Brothers and contributed to Foy being promoted head of the B-unit. Under his sobriquet 'Keeper of the B's', Foy turned out as many as 26 pictures a year for the next two decades. Some were prison films, such as Crime School (1938) with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids (another winner: it cost $210,000 and returned a million, not to mention reissues). Much of Foy's other output consisted of thrillers like the 'Torchy Blane' series, or its juvenile counterpart, 'Nancy Drew'. By the mid-30's, Warners were also competing with RKO and Columbia in the B-western stakes, turning out a series of oaters starring Dick Foran. After a spell at 20th Century Fox beginning in 1942 (which took in some of the last films made with Laurel & Hardy), Foy returned to Warner Brothers to produce the most popular film associated with his name, the gimmicky but hugely enjoyable House of Wax (1953), shot in 3-D and 'WarnerPhonic' sound. Curiously, the director André De Toth was blind in one eye and thus unable to fully appreciate the fruits of his labour. A year later, Foy produced another 3-D low budgeter which featured the same combination of Vincent Price (star), Bert Glennon (cinematographer), and Crane Wilbur (writer). The Mad Magician (1954) wasn't quite on par with 'House of Wax' but still provided some decent entertainment for fans of the genre. Foy's last film as producer was the much criticised JFK biopic PT 109 (1963), after which he decided to call it a day. Though he received little praise from the critics during the course of his career - a source of some bitterness on his part - he remained proud of his 'little' pictures and their proven record at the box office.