Hal B. Wallis and Warner Bros.

Cowboys, detectives, and Elvis. If you had a movie in which someone needed to be shot or sung at, Wallis was your man. The legendary Hal B. Wallis produced films over five decades, including all-time classics featuring some of the biggest stars of the times: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn; the ultimate Bogie pictures The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942); Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957); a series of movies starring Elvis Presley in the 1960s; and True Grit (1969) and its sequel, Rooster Cogburn (1975).

Wallis got his start in Hollywood under Jack Warner of Warner Bros. (No relation to Yakko, Wakko, or Dot). He produced movies with big-name male stars. Humphrey Bogart. Kirk Douglas. John Wayne. Elvis Presley. Wallis worked for Warner Bros. until 1944, shortly after Casablanca, when he left to form his own production company. Throughout his career, Wallis's films were nominated for numerous Academy Awards. He even has a building named after him in Rancho Mirage, California.

Surprisingly, Bogie wasn't the first choice to play Sam Spade. Wallis offered the role to George Raft, who turned it down because he didn't want to work with the yet-to-be legendary director John Huston. Big mistake, George. Wallis also recommended the giant Sydney Greenstreet for the role of portly Kasper "Fat Man" Gutman. Basically, Wallis launched a bunch of careers in the 1940s.

The movie premiered on October 3, 1941. Even though it was nominated for Academy Awards, it won none (which still causes us noir geeks over at Shmoop a lot of pain). However, the film was a box office smash, which definitely made Wallis happy. Wallis was awarded an Irving G. Thalberg memorial award—i.e., the Oscars for producers—twice: in 1938 and 1943. Wallis died in 1986 (source).