Bernard Launois

Bernard Launois (French pronunciation: [bɛʁ.naʁ lonwa], born 8 April 1930) is a French exploitation film director,[1] screenwriter and actor. As an actor, he sometimes used the pseudonym Bob Gary.[2]

He was born in Mézières, France.[1] After studying pharmacology for two years in the university, he sought a career in the film industry instead. He worked as a trainee editor and then briefly as an assistant director. In 1953, he was employed by Paramount's programming department in Paris.[2]

During the 1960s, he worked for several film distribution and production companies, such as Parafrance and Les Films Copernic.[2] 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.[2] His debut film as director, Lâchez les chiennes (lit. 'Unleash the Bitches'; 1972), was an improvised work that he wrote in three days.[1] Devil Story, his seventh and last feature film, gained a cult following despite its reputation as one of the worst films in history.[1][3]

He founded Delta Films and bought a four-theatre multiplex in 1987.[2] He retired from the filmmaking business at the end of the 1980s.[1]