Bernard Launois
Bernard Launois is a French exploitation film director, screenwriter and actor. As an actor, he sometimes used the pseudonym Bob Gary.
He was born in Mézières, France. Having studied pharmacology for two years in the university, he sought a career in the film industry instead. He worked as a trainee editor and then as an assistant director. In 1953, he was employed by Paramount's programming department in Paris.
During the 1960s, he worked for several film distribution and production companies, such as and. In 1979, he founded his own company, Lancaster Film, to finance the films he wrote and directed. He also edited film trailers and played minor roles as an actor. His debut film as director, Lâchez les chiennes, was an improvised work that he wrote in three days. Devil Story, his seventh and last feature film, has gained a cult following because of its reputation as one of the worst films in history. It was restored in 4K resolution from its 35mm original camera negative and released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome, an American home video distribution company, in 2021.
He founded Delta Films and bought a four-theatre multiplex in 1987. He retired from the filmmaking business at the end of the 1980s.
Filmography
Director
- 1972: Lâchez les chiennes
- 1975: ' or Le Gibier
- 1976: Les Machines à sous
- 1976: La Grande Suédoise or Partouzes franco-suédoises
- 1980: '
- 1980: or Gueules de vacances
- 1985: Devil Story or ''Il était une fois... le diable''
Producer
- 1976: Les Machines à sous
- 1980: Touch' pas à mon biniou or ''Gueules de vacances''
Actor
- 1970: Le Voyageur by
- 1971: Une Femme libre de Claude Pierson
- 1971: Chaleurs or La femme créa l'amant by Daniel Daert
- 1971: Caroline mannequin nu by Daniel Lesueur
- 1971: Deux mâles pour Alexa by Juan Logar
- 1973: Pigalle carrefour des illusions by Pierre Chevalier
- 1973: by Christian Lara
- 1980: Touch' pas à mon biniou or Gueules de vacances
- 1985: Devil Story or ''Il était une fois... le diable''