Eros Films was a British film distribution and, later, production company, in operation from May 1947 to June 1961. It was founded by three brothers: Philip, Sydney, and Michael Hyams.

Hyams Bros

The Hyams' father was a Russian immigrant baker, who in association with architect

George Coles George Coles may refer to: * George Coles (Cambridge University cricketer) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer * George Coles (politician) (1810–1875), Canadian politician; first Premier of Prince Edward Island * George Coles (Kent cricket ...

financed the building of the Popular Cinema in 1912, located in

Stepney, London Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

. The oldest brother Philip (born London 26 March 1894; died London 8 January 1997) began working at the theatre in 1912 and was joined in 1919 by his younger brother Sydney. The two started a chain of cinemas that they then sold to

Gaumont British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

in 1928; they began anew, creating another theatre chain. They linked again with Gaumont in 1935 to form Gaumont Super Cinemas, adding their brother Michael. During the years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the brothers attracted crowds by booking

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

s, live variety acts, and talent shows. They sold again to Gaumont in 1944, due to reduced patronage during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

History

In 1947, the brothers formed Eros Films, located at 111 Wardour Street, London, which was possibly named after the statue at Piccadilly Circus. Eros distributed American films but also financed and distributed British films made by independents; several British producers recalled that major British production units did not wish to distribute the films of minor British studios. Robert S. Baker of

Tempean Films Tempean Films was a British film production company formed in 1948 by Robert Baker and Monty Berman. Tempean's output of B movies were distributed by Eros Films. The company later moved into television, adapting Leslie Charteris' series of T ...

recalled that Eros distributed 20 to 30 of their films, usually shown as

second feature 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 featur ...

s with popular American films, which Eros had acquired for UK distribution.MacKillop, Ian & Sinyard, Neil. ''British Cinema in the 1950s: An Art in Peacetime''. Manchester University Press, 28/06/2003. p. 178 In the 1950s, Michael Hyams emigrated to the United States, where he became vice president of American British TV Movies Inc. The company distributed Eros' British productions to the American television market like '' Colonel March of Scotland Yard'', ''

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

'' and a number of Eros-produced feature films.

Co-production and production

Eros co-produced British films such as ''

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By ''The Man Who Watched Trains Go By'' (1952) is a crime drama film, based on the 1938 novel by Georges Simenon and directed by Harold French. It has an all-European cast, including Claude Rains in the lead role of Kees Popinga, who is infatuated ...

'' (1954), ''

The Sea Shall Not Have Them ''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, about a North Sea rescue during the Second W ...

'' (1955), and the American giant monster film ''

Behemoth, the Sea Monster ''The Giant Behemoth'' is a 1959 British-American science fiction giant monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien, Pete Peterson, Irving Block, Jack Rabin, and Louis de Witt. The film stars Gene Evans a ...

'' (1959), insisting the film have the same type of monster as ''

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American science fiction monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, and Kenneth Tobey. The scree ...

.'' The company produced one film by themselves, the British World War II film ''

Battle of the V-1 ''Battle of the V-1'' (also known as ''Battle of the V.1'', ''Battle of the V1'', ''Missiles from Hell'' and ''Unseen Heroes'') is a British war film from 1958, starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Medina, Milly Vitale, David Knight and Christopher ...

'' (1958).

The end of Eros

Irving Allen and

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

's Warwick Films had previously had a successful financing and distribution arrangement with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, but there was occasionally friction between the two organisations. Allen thought they would increase their profits by creating their own distribution company to release films of a more highbrow nature than their successful action films. The two acquired Eros from the Hyams brothers in 1959, though the brothers remained on the board. Eros distributed Allen and Broccoli's '' The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' and ''

Johnny Nobody ''Johnny Nobody'' is a 1961 British drama film made by Viceroy Films Limited, with John R. Sloan as producer, and Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli as executive producers. It was directed by the British film and stage actor Nigel Patrick, w ...

'', but both films failed at the box office. The number of creditors and amounts owed by Eros led to the firm's

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in June 1961.

References

External links

Eros Films fanfare The International Jingle Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eros Films Film production companies of the United Kingdom Film distributors of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1947 Mass media companies disestablished in 1961 1947 establishments in England 1961 disestablishments in England Defunct companies of the United Kingdom