Irving Allen entered film as an editor at Universal, Paramount and Republic in 1929. During the 1940s, Allen directed a number of superb shorts (including the Academy Award-nominated "Forty Boys and a Song" 1941) which often won more acclaim than his low-budget features. In the late 40s, Allen wisely began to shift from the director's chair to the producer's. He won an Oscar for producing the 1947 two-reel short "Climbing the Matterhorn". In the early 50s, he formed Warwick Productions with Albert R. Broccoli, making films in both the USA and England. Turning solo producer in 1960, Allen was
