HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 financed the building of the Popular Cinema in 1912, located in Stepney, London. 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 was a British company that produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont. Film production Gaumont-British was fou ...
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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the brothers attracted crowds by booking double bills, live variety acts, and talent shows. They sold again to Gaumont in 1944, due to reduced patronage during the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
.


History

In 1947, the brothers formed Eros Films, located at 111 Wardour Street, London, which was possibly named after the statue at
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
. 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 recalled that Eros distributed 20 to 30 of their films, usually shown as
second feature A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...
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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
'' 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 The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (novel), 1938 novel by Georges Simenon and directed by Harold French. It has an all-European cast, including Claude Rains in t ...
'' (1954), '' The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' (1955), and the American giant monster film '' Behemoth, the Sea Monster'' (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 independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...
.'' The company produced one film by themselves, the British World War II film '' Battle of the V-1'' (1958).


The end of Eros

Irving Allen Irving Allen (born Irving Applebaum, November 24, 1905 – December 17, 1987) was an Austro-Hungarian–born American theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He received an Academy Award in 1948 for producing the short movie '' Climbin ...
and Albert R. Broccoli's
Warwick Films Warwick Films was a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick New York Hotel, Warwick Hotel in New York City where Broccoli and his wife were staying at the ...
had previously had a successful financing and distribution arrangement with
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, 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. The first film from Warwick distributed by Eros was ''
The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. I ...
''. In May 1961 Eros ran into financial difficulties, while distributing ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' and several staff were fired. Four films were awaiting distribution - ''Johnny Nobody'', ''Middle of Nowhere'', ''Carolina'' and ''Lies My Father Told Me''. 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 deb ...
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