Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1918 to 1923 and

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) * Hollywood ...

until 1938.

History

Newspaper tycoon

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

formed Cosmopolitan in conjunction with

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; 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 Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

after Hearst's bid for entry into the motion picture business was rebuffed by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. The advantage of Paramount having a production deal with Cosmopolitan was that they had the film rights to stories that had appeared in the wide variety of Hearst's magazines. These included

Cosmopolitan magazine ''Cosmopolitan'' (stylized in all caps) is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, sinc ...

(from which Hearst took the film company's name), as well as '' Harpers Bazaar'', and '' Good Housekeeping''. Thus the stories arrived pre-sold to the public, who were familiar with them through reading them in Hearst's magazines. Hearst's magazines would also advertise and promote his films. Cosmopolitan's first successful film was '' Humoresque'' (1920), which also was the first film to receive the ''Photoplay'' Medal of Honor. For its studio complex, Hearst acquired Sulzer's Harlem River Park and Casino at 126th Street and Second Avenue but a fire on February 18, 1923, destroyed the complex while shooting '' Little Old New York'' with Marion Davies, directed by Sidney Olcott. The sets had been designed by Joseph Urban. Cosmopolitan heavily promoted the career of Hearst's lover, actress Marion Davies. She appeared in 29 silent and 17 talking films with the company. Due to disagreements with Paramount in the distribution of the Cosmopolitan Pictures in block booking venues, Hearst left Paramount to have his films released by other studios. Starting in 1923, they were distributed or co-produced by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

until 1934 when a disagreement with

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

over the film ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

'' led Cosmopolitan to go to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

p.189 Procter, Ben H. ''William Randolph Hearst: Final Edition, 1911-1951'' 2007 Oxford University Press

Legacy

Robert G. Vignola was a director strongly associated with Cosmopolitan Productions. He directed several films there, including the extravagant '' When Knighthood Was in Flower'' (1922), which at a cost of $1.8 million, was then the most expensive picture ever made. Director

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

made three comedies with Cosmopolitan: '' Show People'' (1928), '' The Patsy'' (1928) and '' Not So Dumb'' (1930), each starring Davies. One film without Davies was ''

The Mask of Fu Manchu ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code film directed by Charles Brabin. Written by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf and John Willard (playwright), John Willard, it was based on the List of works by Sax Rohmer, 1 ...

'' (1932, MGM). Other important directors worked briefly with Cosmopolitan, such as

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

with '' Young Mr. Lincoln'' (released 1939), Michael Curtiz with '' Captain Blood'' (released 1936), and

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

with '' Ceiling Zero'' (also in 1936).

Notes

{{Authority control Mass media companies established in 1918 Film production companies of the United States Companies based in New York City Mass media companies disestablished in 1938 1918 establishments in New York (state) 1938 disestablishments in California William Randolph Hearst