Jules Levey
Encyclopedia
for the television producer please see Jules Levy
Jules Levey (Born 2 May 1896, Rochester, New York, USA; died 2 January 1975, New York (age 78)) was the producer of the Frank Buck
movie Jacaré
.
as Eastern sales manager in 1919 and worked for several major producers. He was in charge of sales for RKO Pictures
and also headed RKO Theaters, the distributing organization.
, Pardon My Sarong
, The Hairy Ape
, New Orleans and Hellzapoppin'
. He also imported several foreign films, among them the Italian movie Fabiola
.
In 1942, Levey produced Jacaré, Killer of the Amazon
. Former Universal newsreel editor Charles E. Ford
directed this filmed record of James Dannaldson
's hunting expedition into the Amazon jungles. The film is filled with wild-animal footage, including a terrifying attack by a 28-foot anaconda. Levey incorporated a narration by Frank Buck
and music by Miklos Rozsa
.
Levey produced The Hairy Ape
in 1944. Afterward, he became curious as to how familiar the general public was with the author, Eugene O'Neill
. "Have you ever heard of Eugene O'Neill? Have you ever heard of The Hairy Ape?" were the questions posed in eight cities east of the Mississippi to 1,008 individuals. 61 per cent had heard of O'Neill and 52.1 per cent had heard of The Hairy Ape. But a breakdown showed that though the majority had heard of the names of both the author and his work, they didn't all know that O'Neill was a playwright and that "The Hairy Ape" was the title of a play. There was, for instance, the group (0.8 per cent) which believed O'Neill was a baseball player, while a smaller group (0.3 per cent) identified O'Neill as the name of a Liberty ship. Although 17.1 per cent recognized the title as a play, 10.7 per cent thought it was the name of a comic strip character, while 8 per cent were sure "The Hairy Ape" was a wrestler.
In 1955, after a period of inactivity, Levey announced plans to film Thomas Costain's novel The Tontine, starring Spencer Tracy
, but the film was never made.
, then at 24 West 55th Street (the Rockefeller Apartments). He died, apparently of a heart attack, on a Manhattan street.
Jules Levy (producer)
for the producer of Frank Buck's film Jacare see Jules LeveyJules Victor Levy was the producer of the popular television series The Rifleman, The Detectives, and The Big Valley. Levy worked in film as well.-Early years:Jules Levy was the son of Joseph L...
Jules Levey (Born 2 May 1896, Rochester, New York, USA; died 2 January 1975, New York (age 78)) was the producer of the Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
movie Jacaré
Jacare (film)
Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
.
Early career
Levey joined Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
as Eastern sales manager in 1919 and worked for several major producers. He was in charge of sales for RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
and also headed RKO Theaters, the distributing organization.
Independent Producer
In 1939, Levey became an independent producer. His Mayfair Productions (at 1250 6th Avenue, New York) turned out films including The Boys From SyracuseThe Boys from Syracuse (film)
The Boys from Syracuse is a 1940 musical film directed by A. Edward Sutherland, based on a stage musical by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, which in turn was based on the play The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare...
, Pardon My Sarong
Pardon My Sarong
-Plot:Tommy Layton , a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus and rides it from Chicago to Los Angeles. Once there he intends to participate in a yacht race to Hawaii. The drivers of the bus, Algy and Wellington , are then chased by a detective who was hired by the bus company. They escape capture by...
, The Hairy Ape
The Hairy Ape
-Plot :The play tells the story of a brutish, unthinking laborer known as Yank, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich...
, New Orleans and Hellzapoppin'
Hellzapoppin' (film)
Hellzapoppin' is a 1941 Universal Pictures adaptation of the musical of the same name directed by H.C. Potter. The cast includes Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson , Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, Shemp Howard, and The Six Hits.The credits for the movie assert that "any resemblance between Hellzapoppin and a...
. He also imported several foreign films, among them the Italian movie Fabiola
Fabiola (film)
Fabiola is a 1949 Italian language motion picture historical drama directed by Alessandro Blasetti, very loosely based on the 1854 novel of the same name by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman. The film stars Michèle Morgan, Henri Vidal and Michel Simon...
.
In 1942, Levey produced Jacaré, Killer of the Amazon
Jacare (film)
Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
. Former Universal newsreel editor Charles E. Ford
Charles E. Ford
-External links:* Charles E. Ford on the Internet Movie Database * Reviews of Jacare * *...
directed this filmed record of James Dannaldson
James Dannaldson
James Melven Dannaldson starred in the Frank Buck film Jacaré.-Early life:Dannaldson was the son of James Jerrmiel Dannaldson and Lulu Belgium Rola Hiatt. Young James...
's hunting expedition into the Amazon jungles. The film is filled with wild-animal footage, including a terrifying attack by a 28-foot anaconda. Levey incorporated a narration by Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
and music by Miklos Rozsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
.
Levey produced The Hairy Ape
The Hairy Ape
-Plot :The play tells the story of a brutish, unthinking laborer known as Yank, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich...
in 1944. Afterward, he became curious as to how familiar the general public was with the author, Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. "Have you ever heard of Eugene O'Neill? Have you ever heard of The Hairy Ape?" were the questions posed in eight cities east of the Mississippi to 1,008 individuals. 61 per cent had heard of O'Neill and 52.1 per cent had heard of The Hairy Ape. But a breakdown showed that though the majority had heard of the names of both the author and his work, they didn't all know that O'Neill was a playwright and that "The Hairy Ape" was the title of a play. There was, for instance, the group (0.8 per cent) which believed O'Neill was a baseball player, while a smaller group (0.3 per cent) identified O'Neill as the name of a Liberty ship. Although 17.1 per cent recognized the title as a play, 10.7 per cent thought it was the name of a comic strip character, while 8 per cent were sure "The Hairy Ape" was a wrestler.
In 1955, after a period of inactivity, Levey announced plans to film Thomas Costain's novel The Tontine, starring Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, but the film was never made.
Later life
Levey lived in New York at 970 Park Avenue970 Park Avenue
970 Park Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City.970 was designed by the New York Architectural firm of Schwartz & Gross and built by the developers Bing & Bing. It is located on Park Avenue at 83rd Street....
, then at 24 West 55th Street (the Rockefeller Apartments). He died, apparently of a heart attack, on a Manhattan street.
Filmography
- New Orleans (1947) (producer)
- Abilene TownAbilene TownAbilene Town was a 1946 western film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The film starred Randolph Scott, Ann Dvorak, Lloyd Bridges, Rhonda Fleming, and Edgar Buchanan....
(1946) (producer) - The Hairy ApeThe Hairy Ape-Plot :The play tells the story of a brutish, unthinking laborer known as Yank, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich...
(1944) (producer) - Butch Minds the Baby (1942) (producer)
- Pardon My SarongPardon My Sarong-Plot:Tommy Layton , a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus and rides it from Chicago to Los Angeles. Once there he intends to participate in a yacht race to Hawaii. The drivers of the bus, Algy and Wellington , are then chased by a detective who was hired by the bus company. They escape capture by...
(1942) (producer) - JacaréJacare (film)Jacaré was a film made in 1942 of James Dannaldson’s expedition to the Amazon.Clyde E. Elliott, Charles E. Ford and James Dannaldson led the film crew, which shot some 260,000 feet of film on the lower reaches of the Amazon River in Spring 1942...
(1942) (producer) - Hellzapoppin'Hellzapoppin' (film)Hellzapoppin' is a 1941 Universal Pictures adaptation of the musical of the same name directed by H.C. Potter. The cast includes Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson , Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, Shemp Howard, and The Six Hits.The credits for the movie assert that "any resemblance between Hellzapoppin and a...
(1941) (producer) (uncredited) - Tight Shoes (1941) (producer)
- The Boys from SyracuseThe Boys from Syracuse (film)The Boys from Syracuse is a 1940 musical film directed by A. Edward Sutherland, based on a stage musical by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, which in turn was based on the play The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare...
(1940) (producer)