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Fred Guiol
Fred Guiol
Fred Guiol
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Fred Guiol (February 17, 1898 – May 23, 1964), pronounced "Gill," was an American film director and screenwriter.

Key Information

Career

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Guiol worked at the Hal Roach Studios for many years, first as a property man, later as assistant director and finally writer and director. He directed Laurel and Hardy's earliest short films, as their famous comic partnership gradually developed during 1927.[1] Guiol directed many of Hal Roach's Streamliners in the 1940s.

Guiol had worked closely with another Roach employee, cameraman George Stevens. When Stevens became a director in the 1930s, he often engaged Guiol as a screenwriter, Guiol, along with Ivan Moffat, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for adapting Edna Ferber's novel Giant into the George Stevens production of Giant.[2]

Fred Guiol is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Partial filmography

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References

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Fred Guiol

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Fred Guiol is an American film director and screenwriter known for co-writing the screenplay for the epic Giant (1956) with Ivan Moffat, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Born on February 17, 1898, in San Francisco, California, Guiol entered the film industry in the early decades of Hollywood and initially established himself as a director of low-budget comedies and other features in the 1920s and 1930s. His career later focused on screenwriting, including a notable collaboration with director George Stevens on the adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel Giant. Guiol's work spanned multiple genres and eras of American cinema, from early directing assignments to behind-the-scenes roles on major studio films. He died on May 23, 1964, in Bishop, California.

Early life

Birth and early years

Fred Guiol was born Frederick Lawrence Guiol on February 17, 1898, in San Francisco, California. Details about his early childhood, parents, or family background remain scarce in available biographical records. He had a sister, Clara Guiol, who pursued a career as an actress. No further primary information on his upbringing or pre-professional years appears in standard sources.

Career

Entry into the film industry

Fred Guiol entered the film industry initially as a prop boy for D.W. Griffith before joining Hal Roach Studios in 1917, where he worked as a property man on the studio's productions. He advanced to roles as photographer/cameraman, assistant director, and gag writer, contributing to silent comedy shorts during the studio's early years. His work as a gagman involved crafting humorous sequences for various Roach comedies, laying the foundation for his creative involvement in comedy writing and directing. This period at Hal Roach marked his transition from technical work to directing and screenwriting.

Work at Hal Roach Studios

Fred Guiol was employed at Hal Roach Studios from 1917 through the early sound era, initially in technical roles before becoming a gagman, screenwriter, and director. He contributed to the studio's blend of slapstick and situational humor in shorts and early features. His contributions included gag material and writing for comedy series such as Our Gang, Charley Chase comedies, and Laurel and Hardy shorts, particularly in the silent era. Over time, Guiol's role expanded to directing opportunities.

Directorial credits

Fred Guiol's directorial credits at Hal Roach Studios included early silent-era shorts, notably several of the first Laurel and Hardy two-reelers under Leo McCarey's supervision, such as Sugar Daddies (1927), Do Detectives Think? (1927), and The Second Hundred Years (1927). In the sound era, he directed comedy shorts and features, including Wheeler and Woolsey vehicles The Rainmakers (1935), Silly Billies (1936), and Mummy's Boys (1936), as well as some short subjects. His directing style emphasized fast-paced visual comedy and ensemble interplay, drawing from his gag-writing background.

Later career

After his primary period at Hal Roach Studios, Guiol directed low-budget comedy features and B-pictures during the late 1930s and 1940s, including Tanks a Million (1941), Hay Foot (1942), and Here Comes Trouble (1948). He also took on producing and associate producing roles on various projects in the 1940s. Guiol maintained a longstanding professional association with director George Stevens, a former colleague from Hal Roach. This collaboration led to Guiol serving as associate producer on Stevens-directed films such as Penny Serenade (1941) and The More the Merrier (1943). In the 1950s, he contributed to Stevens' productions in additional crew capacities on A Place in the Sun (1951) and Shane (1953). Guiol's most prominent later work came as a screenwriter when he co-wrote the screenplay for Stevens' Giant (1956), adapting Edna Ferber's novel alongside Ivan Moffat. For this, he and Moffat received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. During this later phase, Guiol directed occasional television projects, including an episode of My Hero (1953) and the TV movie Botsford's Beanery (1955). His screen credits appear to taper off after the mid-1950s.

Death

Final years and death

Fred Guiol died on May 23, 1964, in Bishop, California, at the age of 66. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. No details regarding the cause of his death or specific circumstances in his final years are documented in available sources.
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