Though the name Hal Wallis may not be as familiar as the names of other producers during Hollywood’s Golden Age, his career is well worth studying. The films he produced are certainly remembered today, including Jezebel (1938), Casablanca (1942), Now, Voyager (1942), and more.
In Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars by Bernard F. Dick, Dick examines the overlooked contributions of Wallis. Delving into his early years as a salesman and on to his time managing a Los Angeles movie theater, Dick chronicles Wallis’s rise to success. Wallis spent time working as a publicity assistant for Warner Bros., and rose through the ranks as department director, studio manager, and production executive. He would go on to form his own production company by 1944.
For this work, Dick consulted Walis’s personal production files and conducted exclusive interviews. In doing so, Dick creates a well-documented portrait of Wallis’s professional life.
Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars is available for purchase via the University Press of Kentucky.
Hometowns to Hollywood 