Edward Finney

Edward Finney

Known for: Production
Biography: 1903-04-18
Deathday: 1983-01-10 (79 years old)

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Biography

Edward Francis Finney (1903–1983) was an American film producer and director. He is best known as the man who introduced cowboy singer Tex Ritter to the moviegoing public. Finney was educated at the City College of New York, and became an engineer at Western Electric. He entered the motion picture industry as a prop man for silent-comedy producer C.C. Burr. Finney was a born salesman and his persuasive ideas landed him a job with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as press sheet editor. He advanced to managerial posts in studio advertising departments, with gradually increasing responsibilities, at Pathé, United Artists, Monogram Pictures, Republic Pictures, and Grand National Pictures.

Grand National gave Finney his first chance at producing films, in 1936. He established Boots and Saddles Pictures and made a successful series of singing cowboy westerns starring his discovery Tex Ritter. When Grand National ceased operations in 1939, Finney moved his business to Monogram.

Finney became an independent producer in 1941. Occasionally Finney would be hired to make low-budget features for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC); some of these were good enough to be distributed by the more prosperous Monogram studio. Finney co-produced Andrew L. Stone's farce comedy Hi Diddle Diddle (1943), which was released by major distributor United Artists and became a surprise hit. In 1946 Finney joined forces with California exhibitor turned producer Robert L. Lippert to form Screen Guild Productions. Finney's later films were distributed by Screen Guild and by United Artists.

Finney's wide knowledge of film properties was helpful to him as a producer. He often incorporated elaborately staged file footage from other films into his own films, making the new productions appear more costly than they actually were. This became a drawback by the 1950s, when Finney's stock shots looked noticeably older than the new footage. Finney retired from production in 1952, but in 1957 he partially financed the quickie exploitation film Gun Girls and took screen credit as producer, under the pseudonym "Edward Frank."

Edward Finney found a new outlet for his large library of old films in the 1950s: the lucrative home-movie field. He reprinted dozens of features and shorts, and offered them to collectors in the 16mm and 8mm formats.

In 1959 Edward Finney read newspaper accounts of singing star Gloria Jean now working as a hostess in a restaurant favored by movie people. Finney, a Gloria Jean fan of long standing, decided to make his own Gloria Jean movie and reactivated Boots and Saddles Pictures. He wrote, produced, and edited the new film, the lightweight comedy Laffing Time, co-starring Finney himself (as comedian "Eddie Finn") and veteran comic El Brendel. Finney later added old action footage to it and retitled it The Madcaps. This version was released to theaters in 1964. A third version, Tobo the Happy Clown (1966), added footage from antique comedies and was aimed at the kiddie-matinée market; Finney played the title role.Tobo the Happy Clown was Edward Finney's last theatrical production. He serviced the home-movie community into the late 1970s.

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Filmography

all 44

Movies 44

Producer 39

Director 4

Tobo - circus clown / Puppet Tobo Jr.
Tobo the Happy Clown

Tobo the Happy Clown (1965)

Movie
Producer
Gun Girls

Gun Girls (1957)

Movie
Producer
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory

Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952)

Movie
Producer
Call of the Forest

Call of the Forest (1949)

Movie
Executive Producer
The Prairie

The Prairie (1947)

Movie
Director
Queen of the Amazons

Queen of the Amazons (1947)

Movie
Producer
Strange Holiday

Strange Holiday (1945)

Movie
Associate Producer
Hi Diddle Diddle

Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)

Movie
Producer
Corregidor

Corregidor (1943)

Movie
Director
King of the Stallions

King of the Stallions (1942)

Movie
Director
Riot Squad

Riot Squad (1941)

Movie
Producer
Gentleman from Dixie

Gentleman from Dixie (1941)

Movie
Director
Silver Stallion

Silver Stallion (1941)

Movie
Producer
The Pioneers

The Pioneers (1941)

Movie
Producer
Ridin' the Cherokee Trail

Ridin' the Cherokee Trail (1941)

Movie
Producer
Rollin' Home to Texas

Rollin' Home to Texas (1940)

Movie
Producer
Take Me Back to Oklahoma

Take Me Back to Oklahoma (1940)

Movie
Producer
The Cowboy from Sundown

The Cowboy from Sundown (1940)

Movie
Producer
Arizona Frontier

Arizona Frontier (1940)

Movie
Producer
Roll Wagons Roll

Roll Wagons Roll (1940)

Movie
Producer
Rainbow Over the Range

Rainbow Over the Range (1940)

Movie
Producer
The Golden Trail

The Golden Trail (1940)

Movie
Producer
Pals of the Silver Sage

Pals of the Silver Sage (1940)

Movie
Producer
Rhythm of the Rio Grande

Rhythm of the Rio Grande (1940)

Movie
Producer
Westbound Stage

Westbound Stage (1939)

Movie
Producer
Riders of the Frontier

Riders of the Frontier (1939)

Movie
Producer
Down the Wyoming Trail

Down the Wyoming Trail (1939)

Movie
Producer
The Man from Texas

The Man from Texas (1939)

Movie
Producer
Rollin' Westward

Rollin' Westward (1939)

Movie
Producer
Sundown on the Prairie

Sundown on the Prairie (1939)

Movie
Producer
Song of the Buckaroo

Song of the Buckaroo (1938)

Movie
Producer
Where the Buffalo Roam

Where the Buffalo Roam (1938)

Movie
Producer
Starlight Over Texas

Starlight Over Texas (1938)

Movie
Producer
Utah Trail

Utah Trail (1938)

Movie
Producer
Rollin' Plains

Rollin' Plains (1938)

Movie
Producer
Frontier Town

Frontier Town (1938)

Movie
Producer
Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts

Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts (1937)

Movie
Producer
The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen

The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen (1937)

Movie
Producer
Riders of the Rockies

Riders of the Rockies (1937)

Movie
Producer
Sing Cowboy Sing

Sing Cowboy Sing (1937)

Movie
Producer
Hittin' the Trail

Hittin' the Trail (1937)

Movie
Producer
Trouble in Texas

Trouble in Texas (1937)

Movie
Producer
Arizona Days

Arizona Days (1937)

Movie
Producer
Headin' for the Rio Grande

Headin' for the Rio Grande (1936)

Movie

Ratings

Average 3.87
Based on 5.1 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1936
1938
1940
1939
1965
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Information

Known For
Production

Gender
Male

Birthday
1903-04-18

Deathday
1983-01-10 (79 years old)

Birth Place
New York City, United States of America

Citizenships
United States of America


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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