The Foxes of Harrow

The Foxes of Harrow
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	John M. Stahl
Screenplay by	Wanda Tuchock Dwight Taylor (contributor to dialogue) (uncredited) Edwin Justus Mayer (contributor to dialogue) (uncredited) Thomas Job (contributor to dialogue) (uncredited)
Based on	The Foxes of Harrow 1946 novel by Frank Yerby
Produced by	William A. Bacher Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring	Rex Harrison Maureen O'Hara Richard Haydn Victor McLaglen Vanessa Brown Patricia Medina Gene Lockhart
Cinematography	Joseph LaShelle
Edited by	James B. Clark
Music by	David Buttolph
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	24 September 1947 (1947-09-24)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United Kingdom-United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,750,000[1]
Box office	$3,150,000 (US rentals) [2] [3]

The Foxes of Harrow is a 1947 American-British adventure film directed by John M. Stahl. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn. It is based on the novel of the same name by Frank Yerby, the sixth best-selling novel in the US in 1946.^[4]

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Production Design (Lyle R. Wheeler, Maurice Ransford, Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox).^[5]

Plot

In pre-Civil War New Orleans, roguish Irish gambler Stephen Fox buys his way into society – something he could not do in his homeland because he is illegitimate.^[6]

Cast

• Rex Harrison as Stephen Fox
• Maureen O'Hara as Odalie 'Lilli' D'Arceneaux
• Richard Haydn as Andre LeBlanc
• Victor McLaglen as Captain Mike Farrell
• Vanessa Brown as Aurore D'Arceneaux
• Patricia Medina as Desiree
• Gene Lockhart as Viscount Henri D'Arceneaux
• Charles Irwin as Sean Fox
• Hugo Haas as Otto Ludenbach
• Dennis Hoey as Master of Harrow
• Roy Roberts as Tom Warren
• Randy Stuart as Stephen's birth mother (uncredited; her first acting role)
• Ralph Faulkner as Fencing Instructor (uncredited)
• Kenneth Washington as Achille (uncredited)
• Eugene Borden as French Auctioneer (uncredited)

Notes

The storyline is derived from the 1946 eponymous novel The Foxes of Harrow by Frank Yerby. Fox paid author Frank Yerby $150,000 for the motion picture rights to The Foxes of Harrow, which was his first novel. A December 1947 Ebony article called the figure "the biggest bonanza ever pocketed by a colored writer" and stated that the book was "the first Negro-authored novel ever bought by a Hollywood studio."^[1]

See also

• List of films featuring slavery

References

1. "The Foxes of Harrow (1947) - Notes". TCM.com. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
2. "Variety". Archive.org. January 1948. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
3. Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. p 221
4. Alice Payne Hackett and James Henry Burke (1977). 80 Years of Best Sellers. New York, London: R. R. Bowker. p. 142.
5. "The Foxes of Harrow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
6. Hal Erickson. "The Foxes of Harrow (1947) - John M. Stahl | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved 2016-05-05.

External links

• The Foxes of Harrow at IMDb
• The Foxes of Harrow at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Foxes of Harrow at the TCM Movie Database