Hal B. Wallis(1899-1986)
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Legendary producer Hal B. Wallis was born in Chicago and moved to Los
Angeles when he was in his early 20s. He got a job managing a theater
owned by Warner Bros., and his success at the job caught the eye of
studio head Jack L. Warner, who gave him a job in the studio's publicity
department. Within a few months Wallis had worked his way up to head of
the department. He was named studio manager in 1928 and production
manager shortly thereafter, but was pushed aside by another legendary
producer, future 20th Century-Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck. In 1933 Zanuck
left Warner and Wallis moved back to his old position. He oversaw the
production of many of Warners' most famous films, including Little Caesar (1931),
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Captain Blood (1935), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Casablanca (1942). In 1944 Wallis left Warner and
formed his own production company, and achieved even more success,
being responsible for such films as The Rose Tattoo (1955), Becket (1964), and a string of
Elvis Presley movies, most of which were economically produced and all of
which made a fortune. Wallis' last picture was the John Wayne western
Rooster Cogburn (1975).
