Brother of actress Clara Guiol.
Guiol began as a prop boy for DW Griffith and moved on to photograph and direct at the Hal Roach studios where he met another upcoming cameraman/director, George Stevens; both men worked on many of the best Laurel and Hardy silent shorts. When Stevens moved on to RKO in the sound era Guiol went with him. Unfortunately, many of the B films Guiol directed there did not make money. Stevens, however, never forgot him, hiring him as a screenwriter on "Gunga Din," associate producer on "Penny Serenade" and "The More the Merrier;" producer of "Talk of the Town," associate director of "A Place in the Sun" and "Shane." In 1956, Guiol shared an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay on Stevens "Giant.".
The Fred Guiol Script Collection is housed in the Paulina June and George Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton. Contains over 111 titles written, produced, directed or worked on during a thirty-five year Hollywood career from the 1920s to 1960s by Fred Guiol. Donated on November 6, 1970 by Mr. Guiol's daughter Mrs. Peggy Davis.