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Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American
film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...
and
distribution company Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service p ...
owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by
Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...
, Mark Dintenfass,
Charles O. Baumann Charles O. Baumann (January 20, 1874 – July 18, 1931) was an American film producer, film studio executive, and pioneer in the motion picture industry. Biography Career He was a partner in the Crescent Film Company formed in 1908 and in ...
, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and
Jules Brulatour Pierre Ernest Jules Brulatour (April 7, 1870 – October 26, 1946) was a pioneering executive figure in American silent cinema. Beginning as American distribution representative for Lumiere Brothers raw film stock in 1907, he joined producer ...
, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont,
Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipme ...
,
Titanus Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lom ...
, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its
studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. Universal Pictures is a member of the
Motion Picture Association The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...
(MPA), and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age.


History


Early years

Universal Studios was founded by
Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...
, Mark Dintenfass,
Charles O. Baumann Charles O. Baumann (January 20, 1874 – July 18, 1931) was an American film producer, film studio executive, and pioneer in the motion picture industry. Biography Career He was a partner in the Crescent Film Company formed in 1908 and in ...
, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane and
Jules Brulatour Pierre Ernest Jules Brulatour (April 7, 1870 – October 26, 1946) was a pioneering executive figure in American silent cinema. Beginning as American distribution representative for Lumiere Brothers raw film stock in 1907, he joined producer ...
. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons, and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up
dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...
to buy the first several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed
Motion Picture Patents Company The Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC, also known as the Edison Trust), founded in December 1908 and terminated seven years later in 1915 after conflicts within the industry, was a trust of all the major US film companies and local foreign-bra ...
(or the "Edison Trust") meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on the
Latham Loop The Latham Loop is used in film projection and image capture. It isolates the filmstrip from vibration and tension, allowing movies to be continuously shot and projected for extended periods. Invention of the Latham loop is usually credited to fi ...
used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution. Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with his brothers-in-law
Abe Stern Abe Stern (March 8, 1888 – July 12, 1951) was an American film producer. He produced 542 films between 1917 and 1929. He was a co-founder of Universal Studios. He was born in Fulda, Germany, and died in Los Angeles County, California. ...
and
Julius Stern Julius Stern (8 August 1820 – 27 February 1883) was a Jewish German musical pedagogue and composer. Biography Stern was born at Breslau. He received his elementary education in music from the violinist Peter Lüstner, and at the age of nine p ...
. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early films in
America's first motion picture industry Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...
were produced in the early 20th century. Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted
Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was thought to be the first film actor to ...
, formerly known as " The Biograph Girl", and actor King Baggot, in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing. The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30, 1912. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley, and Brulatour. The company was established on June 8, 1912, formed in a merger of Independent Moving Pictures (IMP), the
Powers Motion Picture Company Patrick Anthony Powers (8 October 1870 – 30 July 1948) was an American businessman who was involved in the movie and animation industry of the 1910s, '20s, and '30s as a distributor and producer. His firm, Celebrity Productions, was the fi ...
, Rex Motion Picture Manufacturing Company,
Champion Film Company The Champion Film Company was an independent production company founded in 1909 by Mark M. Dintenfass. The studio was one of the film companies that merged to form Universal Pictures. Champion was the first film production company to establish i ...
,
Nestor Film Company The Nestor Film Company, originally known as the Nestor Motion Picture Company, was an American motion picture production company. It was founded in 1909 as the West Coast production unit of the Centaur Film Company located in Bayonne, New Jersey. ...
, and the
New York Motion Picture Company The New York Motion Picture Company was a film production and distribution company from 1909 until 1914. It changed names to New York Picture Corporation in 1912. It released films through several different brand names, including 101 Bison, Kay ...
. Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company, with movie production, distribution, and exhibition venues all linked in the same corporate entity, the central element of the Studio system era. Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912, the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. ''Universal Weekly'' and ''Moving Picture Weekly'' were the alternating names of Universal's internal magazine that began publication in this era; the magazine was intended to market Universal's films to exhibitors. Since much of Universal's early film output was destroyed in subsequent fires and nitrate degradation, the surviving issues of these magazines are a crucial source for film historians. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility,
Universal City Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, on a 230-acre (0.9-km2) converted farm just over the
Cahuenga Pass The Cahuenga Pass (, ; Tongva: ''Kawé’nga'') is a low mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood Hills district of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has an elevation of . The Cahuenga Pass connec ...
from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...
s,
westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referr ...
and serials. In 1916,
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Universal, unlike the top-tier studios, did not own any theaters to market its feature films. By branding their product, Universal gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would help theater owners make judgments for films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see. Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures: * Red feather Photoplays – low-budget feature films * Bluebird Photoplays – mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions * Jewel – prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actors
Directors included Jack Conway,
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
, Rex Ingram,
Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formi ...
, George Marshall and
Lois Weber Florence Lois Weber (June 13, 1879 – November 13, 1939) was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is identified in some historical references as among "the most important and prolific film directors in the ...
, one of the few women directing films in Hollywood. Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals
Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of America's ...
, William Fox, and
Marcus Loew Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM). Life and career Loew was born in New York City ...
, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films ''
Blind Husbands ''Blind Husbands'' is a 1919 American drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The film is an adaptation of the story ''The Pinnacle'' by Stroheim. Plot A group of holiday-makers arrive at Cortina d'Ampezzo, an Alpine village in th ...
'' (1919) and ''
Foolish Wives ''Foolish Wives'' is a 1922 American erotic silent drama film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures under their Super-Jewel banner and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Mis ...
'' (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained a return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational
ad campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
that attracted moviegoers.
Character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the 1920s, appearing steadily in dramas. His two biggest hits for Universal were ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...
'' (1923) and '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (1925). During this period Laemmle entrusted most of the production policy decisions to
Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...
. Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief, Thalberg was giving Universal's product a touch of class, but
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
's head of production
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
lured Thalberg away from Universal with a promise of better pay. Without his guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio, and would remain so for several decades. In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of
Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successful ...
. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films, but at least some of them were exhibited through other independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York City without the benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary. In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this to be a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios were generating more profit while Universal was losing money.


Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

In early 1927, Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers since they wanted to get back into producing them. On March 4,
Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pict ...
signed a contract with Universal in the presence of its vice president, R. H. Cochrane. Mintz's company, Winkler Pictures, was to produce 26 " Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" cartoons for Universal. Walt Disney and
Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious ...
created the character and the Walt Disney Studio provided the animation for the cartoons under Winkler's supervision. The films enjoyed a successful theatrical run, and Mintz would sign a contract with Universal ensuring three more years of Oswald cartoons. However, after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films, Mintz took most of Walt's
animators An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games ...
to work at his own studio. Disney and Iwerks would create Mickey Mouse in secret while they finished the remaining Oswald films they were contractually obligated to finish. Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by
Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz wa ...
. In February 2006, NBCUniversal sold all the Disney-animated Oswald cartoons, along with the rights to the character himself, to The Walt Disney Company. In return, Disney released
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquired Sunday night NFL football package. Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons.


Keeping leadership of the studio in the family

In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr. head of Universal Pictures as a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, 70 of Carl, Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl, Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl". Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle". Among these relatives was future Academy Award-winning director/producer William Wyler. "Junior" Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted the studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production. His early efforts included the critically panned
part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...
version of
Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' C ...
's novel '' Show Boat'' (1929), the lavish musical ''
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
'' (1929) which included Technicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal), '' King of Jazz'' (1930). The more serious ''
All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma ...
'' (1930) won its year's
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
. Laemmle, Jr. created a niche for the studio, beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed
Universal Horror Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially concei ...
. Among them are '' Dracula'' (1931), ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific e ...
'' (1931), ''
The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...
'' (1932) and '' The Invisible Man'' (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include '' Imitation of Life'' (1934) and '' My Man Godfrey'' (1936).


The Laemmles lose control

Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled the end of the Laemmle era at the studio. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the depression was risky, and for a time, Universal slipped into
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
. The theater chain was
scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio, and production operations. The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of '' Show Boat'' (1936), a remake of its earlier 1929
part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...
production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as a
B-picture A B movie or B film is a Low-budget film, low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the les ...
. The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935, and unlike the 1929 film, was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel. Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. They would not allow production to start on ''Show Boat'' unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. The production went $300,000 over budget; Standard called in the loan, cash-strapped Universal could not pay, and Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2, 1936. Although Universal's 1936 ''Show Boat'' (released a little over a month later) became a critical and financial success, it was not enough to save the Laemmles' involvement with the studio. They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded. Because the Laemmles personally oversaw production, ''Show Boat'' was released (despite the takeover) with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and in the advertising campaign of the film. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Joining him were British entrepreneurs C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank, who bought a significant stake in the studio. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and
Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players. In 1933, she caught the attention of film director John M. Stahl and ha ...
, left. Meanwhile, producer
Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successful ...
, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, repeated his formula in the United States. Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, ''
Three Smart Girls ''Three Smart Girls'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin (her feature film debut), and Ray Milland. The film's screenplay was written by Adele Comandini and Austin ...
'' (1936). The film was a box-office hit and reputedly resolved the studio's financial problems. The success of the film led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career produced her most successful pictures. When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star with
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
,
W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathet ...
, and Donald O'Connor. A popular Universal film of the late 1930s was ''
Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, ...
'' (1939), starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount. By the early 1940s, the company was concentrating on lower-budget productions that were the company's main staple: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror pictures, the latter now solely B pictures. The studio fostered many series:
The Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play '' Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They prov ...
and
Little Tough Guys The Little Tough Guys (later billed as 'The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys') were a group of actors who made a series of films and serials released by Universal Studios from 1938 through 1943. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End ...
action features and serials (1938–43); the comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41); comedies with Hugh Herbert (1938–42) and
The Ritz Brothers The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1960s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. Early life The four brothers were born to Austria ...
(1940–43); musicals with Robert Paige, Jane Frazee, The Andrews Sisters, and
The Merry Macs The Merry Macs were an American close-harmony pop music quartet active from the 1920s till the 1960s and best known for the hits "Mairzy Doats", " Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" and " Sentimental Journey". The group also sang on recordin ...
(1938–45); and westerns with
Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He ...
(1932–33),
Buck Jones Buck Jones (born Charles Frederick Gebhart; December 12, 1891 – November 30, 1942) was an American actor, known for his work in many popular Western movies. In his early film appearances, he was credited as Charles Jones. Early life, milita ...
(1933–36), Bob Baker (1938–39), Johnny Mack Brown (1938–43); Rod Cameron (1944–45), and Kirby Grant (1946–47). Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars and often borrowed talent from other studios or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich,
Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players. In 1933, she caught the attention of film director John M. Stahl and ha ...
and
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
were two of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including Edgar Bergen,
W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathet ...
, and the comedy team of
Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansa ...
(
Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New J ...
and Lou Costello). Abbott and Costello's military comedy ''
Buck Privates ''Buck Privates'' is a 1941 musical military comedy film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies ...
'' (1941) gave the former
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
comedians A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...
a national and international profile. During the war years, Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer
Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of ''Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Param ...
and his partner, director Fritz Lang, lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters, and the studio continued to please the public with low- to medium-budget films.
Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
and Nigel Bruce in new '' Sherlock Holmes'' mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen
adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
of radio's ''
Inner Sanctum Mysteries ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels ...
'' with
Lon Chaney, Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Drac ...
(1943–45).
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
was also borrowed for two films from
Selznick International Pictures Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture� ...
: ''
Saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
'' (1942) and '' Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943). As Universal's main product had always been lower-budgeted films, it was one of the last major studios to have a contract with Technicolor. The studio did not make use of the
three-strip Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
process until ''
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (1942), starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez. Technicolor was also utilized for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, ''
Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (1943) with
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
and
Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
. With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget Technicolor films followed.


Universal-International and Decca Records takes control

In 1945, J. Arthur Rank, who had already owned a stake in the studio almost a decade before, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal, the independent company International Pictures, and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. Rank and International remained interested in Universal, however, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International; the merger was announced on July 30, 1946.
William Goetz William B. Goetz (March 24, 1903 – August 15, 1969) was an American film producer and studio executive. Goetz was one of the founders of Twentieth Century Pictures, and later served as vice president of 20th Century Fox after the merger with ...
, a founder of International along with Leo Spitz, was made head of production at the renamed ''Universal-International Pictures'', a subsidiary of ''Universal Pictures Company, Inc.'' which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
, decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of
B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featu ...
s, serials and curtailed Universal's horror and "
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
" cycles. He also reduced the studio's output from its wartime average of fifty films per year (which was near twice the major studio's output) to thirty-five films a year. Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc. Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such classics as
David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the River ...
's ''
Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...
'' (1946) and
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
's '' Hamlet'' (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into the lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer
Castle Films Castle Films was a film company founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle (1897–1960) in 1924. Originally, Castle Films produced industrial and advertising films. Then in 1937, the company pioneered the production and d ...
in 1947 and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors. Goetz licensed Universal's pre–Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's
Realart Pictures Realart Pictures was a motion picture distribution company founded in 1948 by Jack Broder and Joseph Harris. The company specialized in reissues of older pictures, particularly from the library of Universal Pictures, but also handled an occasion ...
for cinema re-release, but Realart was not allowed to show the films on television. The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like '' The Killers'' (1946) and ''
The Naked City ''The Naked City'' (aka ''Naked City'') is a 1948 American film noir directed by Jules Dassin, starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart and Don Taylor. The film, shot almost entirely on location in New York City, depicts the poli ...
'' (1948), Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out, and the studio returned to low-budget and series films such as ''
Ma and Pa Kettle Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late 1940s and 1950s. The hillbilly duo had their hands full with a ramshackle farm and a brood of rambunctious child ...
'' (1949), a spin-off of the studio's 1947 hit ''
The Egg and I ''The Egg and I'', first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in the US state of Washington. The book is based on ...
'' and the inexpensive '' Francis'' (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including ''
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert), as Dracula requires a "simp ...
'' (1948), were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point, Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil, whose
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello, the studio retained the
Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz wa ...
cartoon studio, whose product was released with Universal-International's films. In the 1950s, Universal-International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis. The studio also had a success with monster and
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
films produced by
William Alland William Alland (March 4, 1916 – November 11, 1997) was an American actor, film producer and writer, mainly of Western and science-fiction/monster films, including ''This Island Earth'', ''It Came From Outer Space'', '' Tarantula!'', '' The De ...
, with many directed by Jack Arnold and starring
John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In hi ...
. Other successes were the
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...
s directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by
Ross Hunter Ross Hunter (born Martin Terry Fuss; May 6, 1916 or 1920 – March 10, 1996) was an American film and television producer and actor. He is best known for producing light comedies such as '' Pillow Talk'' (1959), and the glamorous melodramas '' ...
, which were critically reassessed more positively years later. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were
Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Gold ...
, Tony Curtis,
Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was nom ...
,
Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...
, and John Gavin. Although Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in the wake of the 1948 '' U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al.'' decision. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, '' Winchester '73'' (1950), proved to be a hit, the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal and eventually at other studios as well.


MCA takes over

In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France, and in the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris, Universal Productions France S.A., although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France. Except for the two first films it produced,
Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
's ''Le scandale'' (English title '' The Champagne Murders'', 1967) and
Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...
's ''Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou'' (English title ''Birds in Peru''), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, including Louis Malle's ''
Lacombe, Lucien ''Lacombe, Lucien'' is a 1974 French war drama film by Louis Malle about a French teenage boy during the German occupation of France in World War II. Plot In June 1944, as the Allies are fighting the Germans in Normandy, Lucien Lacombe, a 17- ...
'', Bertrand Blier's ''Les Valseuses'' (English title '' Going Places'', 1974), and Fred Zinnemann's ''
The Day of the Jackal ''The Day of the Jackal'' (1971) is a political thriller novel by English author Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin who is contracted by the Organisation armée secrète, OAS, a French dissident paramilitary organisation, to kill C ...
'' (1973). It was only involved in approximately 20 French film productions. In the early 1970s, the unit was incorporated into the French
Cinema International Corporation Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it ...
arm. By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was again changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions. The
Music Corporation of America MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...
(MCA), the world's largest talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its
Revue Productions Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predece ...
subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km2) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million, renamed Revue Studios. MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, yet was increasingly influential on Universal's products. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner,
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...
, and director
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
were signed to Universal contracts. The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. happened in mid-1962 as part of the MCA-
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
merger. The company reverted in name to Universal Pictures from Universal-International. As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964, MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc., merging the motion pictures and television arms of Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a
studio tour The Studio Tour (also known as The Backlot Tour) is a ride attraction at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in Universal City, California near Los Angeles. Studio Tour is the theme park's signature attraction. It travels through a worki ...
subsidiary launched in 1964. Television production made up much of the studio's output, with Universal heavily committed, in particular, to deals with NBC (which much later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below) providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons. An innovation during this period championed by Universal was the made-for-television movie. In 1982, Universal became the studio base for many shows that were produced by Norman Lear's Tandem Productions/
Embassy Television ELP Communications (formerly known as T.A.T. Communications Company, Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Embassy Communications) was an American television production company that originally began in 1974. History Beginning EL ...
, including '' Diff'rent Strokes'', '' One Day at a Time'', ''
The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...
'', '' The Facts of Life'', and ''
Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...
'' which premiered on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
that same fall. At this time,
Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...
, who had recently worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
's ''
Anne of the Thousand Days ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' is a 1969 British period historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 1 ...
'' (1969), and the equally lavish '' Mary, Queen of Scots'' (1971). Although neither could claim to be a big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and ''Anne'' was nominated for
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
,
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...
( Richard Burton),
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...
(
Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cr ...
), and Best Supporting Actor (
Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969) ...
). Wallis retired from Universal after making the film '' Rooster Cogburn'' (1975), a sequel to '' True Grit'' (1969), which Wallis had produced at Paramount. ''Rooster Cogburn'' co-starred John Wayne, reprising his Oscar-winning role from the earlier film, and
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
, their only film together. The film was only a moderate success. In 1983, Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films, Universal Classics, and the division has sights on separation. In 1987, both Universal Pictures, along with MGM/UA Communications Co. and Paramount Pictures teamed up in order to market feature film and television product to China, and the consumer reach is measured in terms of the 25-billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986, and Worldwide Media Sales, a division of the New York-based Worldwide Media Group had been placed in charge of the undertaking. In the early 1980s, the company had its own pay television arm Universal Pay Television (a.k.a. Universal Pay TV Programming, Inc.), which spawned in 1987, an 11-picture cable television agreement with then-independent film studio New Line Cinema. In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount to form
Cinema International Corporation Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it ...
, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada. Although Universal did produce occasional hits, among them ''
Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
'' (1970), ''
The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).''Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, page ...
'' (1973), ''
American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny H ...
'' (also 1973), '' Earthquake'' (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: ''
Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...
'' (1975), Universal during the decade was primarily a television studio. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased United Artists in 1981, MGM could not drop out of the CIC venture to merge with United Artists overseas operations. However, with future film productions from both names being released through the MGM/UA Entertainment plate, CIC decided to merge UA's international units with MGM and reformed as
United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
. There would be other film hits like '' Smokey and the Bandit'' (1977), '' Animal House'' (1978), '' The Jerk'' (1979), '' The Blues Brothers'' (1980), '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Scarface'' (1983), '' The Breakfast Club'' (1985), ''
Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'' (also 1985), ''
An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American animated musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features the voices of Phillip Glass ...
'' (1986), ''
The Land Before Time ''The Land Before Time'' is an American animated film series and media franchise created by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss, distributed by Universal Pictures and centered on dinosaurs. The series began in 1988 with the eponymous ''The Land Befo ...
'' (1988), ''
Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds ...
'' (1989), and ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
'' (1993), but the film business was financially unpredictable. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997, due to connections the founders have with Paramount, Universal, and Amblin Entertainment. In 2001, MGM dropped out of the UIP venture and went with
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
's international arm to handle distribution of their titles, an arrangement which remains ongoing. UIP nearly lost its connection with Universal Pictures in 1999 when Universal started Universal Pictures International to take over the assets of
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1 ...
, and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001. Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International, up until the release of the film '' Mickey Blue Eyes''. UIP then take over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International, such as '' The Green Mile'' and ''
Angela's Ashes ''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his life ...
''. On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006.


Matsushita, Seagram, Vivendi and NBCUniversal

Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought a rich partner. He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as Panasonic), which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6 billion in 1990. Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later, Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor
Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
for $5.7 billion. Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram bought
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...
in 1999 and other entertainment properties, but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont. To raise money, Seagram head
Edgar Bronfman Jr. Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. (born May 16, 1955) is an American businessman who currently serves as a Managing Partner at Accretive LLC, a private equity firm focused on creating and investing in technology companies. He previously served as CEO of ...
sold Universal's television holdings, including cable network USA, to
Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of ...
(these same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices). In June 2000, Seagram was sold to French water utility and media company Vivendi, which owned StudioCanal; the conglomerate then became known as Vivendi Universal. Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such as
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
's '' Mulholland Drive'' (2001) and ''
Brotherhood of the Wolf ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (french: Le Pacte des loups) is a 2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bell ...
'' (2001) which became the second-highest-grossing French language film in the United States since 1980. Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such as ''
Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television projec ...
'' (2003); a $40 million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246 million worldwide. In late 2000, the New York Film Academy was permitted to use the Universal Studios backlot for student film projects in an unofficial partnership. Burdened with debt, in 2004 Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (including the studio and theme parks) to General Electric (GE), parent of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBCUniversal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. After that deal, GE owned 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi held the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006. In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures acquired
DreamWorks SKG DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long-time chairperson, Stacey Snider, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snider was replaced by then-Vice Chairman
Marc Shmuger Marc Shmuger (born June 27, 1958) is an American entertainment executive and film producer. From 1998 to 2009 he was working for Universal Pictures, where he became chairman in 2006. From February 2016 to December 2017 he was the CEO of EuropaCorp. ...
and Focus Features head
David Linde David Linde (born February 8, 1960) is the CEO of the Los Angeles, California-based film production company Participant, a position to which he was appointed in October 2015. Prior to his role at Participant, Linde had leading roles at Universal ...
. On October 5, 2009, Marc Shmuger and David Linde were ousted, and their co-chairperson jobs were consolidated under former president of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson becoming the single chairperson. Donna Langley was also upped to co-chairperson. In 2009, Stephanie Sperber founded Universal Partnerships & Licensing within Universal to license consumer products for Universal. GE purchased Vivendi's share in NBCUniversal in 2011.


Comcast era (2011–present)

GE sold 51% of the company to cable provider Comcast in 2011. Comcast merged the former GE subsidiary with its own cable-television programming assets, creating the current NBCUniversal. Following Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, the Comcast-GE deal was closed on January 29, 2011. In March 2013, Comcast bought the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion. In September 2013, Adam Fogelson was ousted as co-chairman of Universal Pictures, promoting Donna Langley to sole chairman. In addition, NBCUniversal International Chairman,
Jeff Shell Jeff Shell is an American media executive who currently serves as the CEO for NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Career In 2001, Shell served as president of FOX Cable Network Group and then as president of Comcast Programming Group. In 20 ...
, would be appointed as Chairman of the newly created Filmed Entertainment Group. Longtime studio head
Ron Meyer Ronald Shaw Meyer (February 17, 1941 – December 5, 2017) was an American college and professional football coach. He is best known for having been the head coach of Southern Methodist University, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts ...
would give up oversight of the film studio and appointed Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal, providing consultation to CEO Steve Burke on all of the company's operations. Meyer retained oversight of Universal Parks and Resorts. Universal's multi-year film financing deal with
Elliott Management Elliott Investment Management is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world. It is the management affiliate of American hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limit ...
expired in 2013. In summer 2013, Universal made an agreement with
Thomas Tull Thomas Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. Tull is the founder of Tulco LLC, an investment hold ...
's Legendary Pictures to distribute their films for five years starting in 2014 (the year that Legendary's similar agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures ended). In June 2014, Universal Partnerships took over licensing consumer products for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
and Sprout with the expectation that all licensing would eventually be centralized within NBCUniversal. In May 2015, Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus Features as a genre label that concentrated on action, sci-fi, and horror films. On December 16, 2015,
Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...
announced that it entered into a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures by which the films will be distributed and marketed by either Universal or Focus Features. In early 2016, Perfect World Pictures announced a long-term co-financing deal with Universal, which represents the first time a Chinese company directly invest in a multi-year slate deal with a major U.S studio. On April 28, 2016, Universal's parent company, NBCUniversal, announced a $3.8 billion deal to buy DreamWorks Animation. On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed. Universal took over the distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation starting in 2019 with the release of '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', after DreamWorks Animation's distribution deal with
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
ended. On February 15, 2017, Universal Pictures acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners, strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin, and reuniting a minority percentage of the
DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and formerly DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a liv ...
label with DreamWorks Animation. In December 2019, Universal Pictures entered early negotiations to distribute upcoming feature film properties based on the Lego toys. Although the original ''
Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 Computer animation, computer-animated Adventure film, adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line o ...
'' characters are still owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures will serve as a distributor of future releases and will develop additional ''Lego'' films. The future of the already in-development films is believed to remain the same. In June, it was announced longtime Universal International Distribution President Duncan Clark would be stepping down. He would transition to a consulting role with the studio in August and would be replaced by Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.


Units

*Universal Pictures International **Universal International Distribution * Universal Pictures Home Entertainment ** Universal Home Entertainment Productions **
Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
**DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment **Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia (joint venture with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) **Universal Playback **Studio Distribution Services (joint venture with
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
) * Focus Features *Universal Pictures International Entertainment ** NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan * Working Title Films **WT2 Productions **Working Title Television *
Carnival Films Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as international broadcasters including PB ...
* Rede Telecine (10%, joint venture with
Canais Globo Globosat, was a Brazilian pay television content service, part of Grupo Globo. Established in 1991, after the creation of subscription television services in Brazil, with 29 channels and over 1,000 employees, it is the largest pay television ...
, Disney, Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) * Illumination ** Illumination Studios Paris * Universal Animation Studios * DreamWorks Animation **
DreamWorks Animation Television DreamWorks Animation Television (abbreviated as DWATV or simply DAT) is an American animation studio that serves as the television production arm of DreamWorks Animation, itself a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's ...
** DreamWorks Classics ***
Big Idea Entertainment Big Idea Entertainment, LLC (formerly known as Big Idea Productions, Inc. and Big Idea, Inc.; also simply as Big Idea) is an American Christian animation company, best known for its computer-animated ''VeggieTales'' series of Christian-themed h ...
*** Bullwinkle Studios (JV) ***
Harvey Entertainment Harvey Films (also known as Harvey Entertainment, The Harvey Entertainment Company or simply Harvey) is the production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. It was a family business formed in the 1940s and was founded in 1957. In the early ...
**DreamWorks Theatricals **DreamWorks New Media *** DreamWorksTV ** DreamWorks Press *OTL Releasing *Back Lot Music *Universal Brand Development *
United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
(50%, joint venture with
Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, doing business as Paramount) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquar ...
's Paramount Pictures) *
Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...
(minor stake) (JV) **
Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshal ...
**
Amblin Television Amblin Television is the television production division of Amblin Partners. It was established in 1984 by Amblin Entertainment as a small-screen production arm for Steven Spielberg's ''Amazing Stories'' anthology series for NBC. The company has ...
**
DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and formerly DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a liv ...
**Storyteller Distribution


Film library

In addition to its own library, Universal releases the
EMKA, Ltd. EMKA Limited is a division of Universal Television with the sole function of overseeing the 1929–1949 Paramount Pictures sound feature film library. History A few years after the ruling of the ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'' ...
catalog of 1929–1949 Paramount Pictures, owned by sister company Universal Television.


Film series


Highest-grossing films

Universal was the first studio to have released three billion-dollar films in one year; this distinction was achieved in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
with ''
Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...
'', ''
Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...
'', and '' Minions''. Includes theatrical reissue(s).


See also

* List of television shows produced by Universal Studios * DreamWorks * Woody Woodpecker


Notes

# International distribution only. Released by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
domestically in North America.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1912 establishments in California American companies established in 1912 Entertainment companies established in 1912 Mass media companies established in 1912 French animation studios Film studios in Southern California Articles containing video clips Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Entertainment companies based in California Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Former Vivendi subsidiaries NBCUniversal Silent film studios Universal City, California Major film studios