113-531: George Sidney (October 4, 1916 – May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . His work includes cult classics Bye Bye Birdie (1963) and Viva Las Vegas (1964). With an extensive background in acting, stage direction, film editing, and music, Sidney created many of post-war Hollywood's big budget musicals, such as Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951), Kiss Me Kate (1953), Jupiter's Darling (1955), and Pal Joey (1957). He
226-502: A Las Vegas –based hotel and casino company (which it later divested in the 1980s). In 1981, the studio acquired United Artists . In 1986, Kerkorian sold MGM to Ted Turner , who retained the rights to the MGM film library, sold the studio lot in Culver City to Lorimar , and sold the remnants of MGM back to Kerkorian a few months later. After Kerkorian sold and reacquired the company again in
339-446: A $ 5 million insurance policy was reportedly issued on her legs in 1952. Charisse's first husband, whose surname she kept, was Greek-born Nico Charisse; they were married in 1939 and had a son, Nico "Nicky" Charisse, before divorcing in 1947. In 1948, Charisse married singer Tony Martin , and remained married to him until her death in 2008. They had a son, Tony Martin Jr. Her daughter-in-law
452-554: A European tour, she met up again with Nico Charisse, a young dancer she had studied with for a time in Los Angeles. They married in Paris in 1939 and had a son, Nicky. Charisse appeared uncredited in some films like Escort Girl (1941) and was in a short for Warner Bros, The Gay Parisian (1942). The outbreak of World War II led to the breakup of the ballet company, and when Charisse returned to Los Angeles, David Lichine offered her
565-591: A bidding war which included Time Warner (the current parent of Turner Broadcasting ) and General Electric (the owners of the NBC television network at the time), MGM was acquired on September 23, 2004, by a partnership consisting of Sony Corporation of America , Comcast , Texas Pacific Group (now TPG Capital, L.P.), Providence Equity Partners , and other investors. After its bankruptcy in 2010, MGM reorganized, with its creditors' $ 4 billion debt transferred to ownership. MGM's creditors controlled MGM through MGM Holdings,
678-783: A cameo in Easy to Love (1953) then co-starred with Kelly in the Scottish-themed musical film Brigadoon (1954), directed by Minnelli. It was a box office disappointment. She again took the lead female role (alongside Kelly) in his MGM musical It's Always Fair Weather (1955), which lost money. In between she made an appearance in Deep in My Heart (1954). Charisse co-starred with Dan Dailey in Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), which earned 3.7 million dollars at
791-590: A dancing role in Gregory Ratoff 's Something to Shout About (1943) at Columbia. This brought her to the attention of choreographer Robert Alton —who had also discovered Gene Kelly —and soon she joined the Freed Unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , where she became the resident MGM ballet dancer. Charisse made some uncredited appearances in Mission to Moscow (1943) (as a ballet dancer) and Thousands Cheer (1943). She
904-461: A deal with Screen Gems , the television division of Columbia Pictures , to form the successful television animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions , and was a shareholder in the company. Sidney later featured Hanna-Barbera's Fred Flintstone , Barney Rubble , Huckleberry Hound , and Yogi Bear in Bye Bye Birdie (1963). In 1961, Sidney appeared as himself, along with the canine Lassie in
1017-530: A host of new stars, among them Greta Garbo , John Gilbert , William Haines , Joan Crawford , and Norma Shearer (who followed Thalberg from Universal). Established names like Lon Chaney , William Powell , Buster Keaton , and Wallace Beery were hired from other studios. They also hired top directors such as King Vidor , Clarence Brown , Erich von Stroheim , Tod Browning , and Victor Seastrom . The arrival of talking pictures in 1928–29 gave opportunities to other new stars, many of whom would carry MGM through
1130-547: A huge role was Ida Koverman , Mayer's secretary and right hand. In 1937, Mayer hired Mervyn LeRoy , a former Warner Bros. producer/director as MGM's top producer and Thalberg's replacement. LeRoy convinced Mayer to acquire the film rights to the popular children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ; MGM purchased the rights from Samuel Goldwyn for $ 75,000 in 1938. MGM's hits in 1939 included The Wizard of Oz ; Ninotchka , starring Greta Garbo ; The Women , starring Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer ; and Gone with
1243-445: A namesake collection at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History . George Sidney was born into show business. His father, Louis "L.K." Sidney, was the CEO with Loew's Incorporated theatre chain. An only child, George tagged along with his father to work at Radio City Music Hall, where he learned the art of choreography, set design, and stage direction. His mother, Hazael Mooney,
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#17328767304821356-470: A number of successful films in the 1970s, including Westworld (1973), Soylent Green (1973), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Wind and the Lion (1975), Network (1976) and Coma (1978). Despite these successes, MGM never reclaimed its former status. The MGM Recording Studios were sold in 1975. In 1979, Kerkorian issued a press statement that MGM was now primarily a hotel company. In 1980, MGM hit
1469-509: A pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz . Lot 3, 40 acres (160,000 m ) of back-lot property, was sold off for real-estate development. In 1971, it was announced that MGM was in talks with 20th Century-Fox about a possible merger, a plan which never came into fruition. Under Aubrey, MGM also sold off MGM Records and its overseas theater holdings. Through the 1970s, studio output slowed considerably as Aubrey preferred four or five medium-budget pictures each year along with
1582-488: A private company. New management of its film and television production divisions was installed. In 1924, movie theater magnate Marcus Loew had a problem. He had bought Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919 for $ 3 million, to provide a steady supply of films for his large Loew's Theatres chain. However, he found that his new property only provided a lackluster assortment of films. Seeking to solve this problem, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 for $ 5 million to improve
1695-685: A remake—failed: Cimarron (1960), King of Kings (1961), Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961), and, most notoriously, Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). The Cinerama film The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (also 1962), the first film in Cinerama to actually tell a story, was also a financial failure. One other big-budget epic that was a success, however, was the MGM-Cinerama co-production How
1808-462: A reputed tryst with a showgirl from The Rockettes , George was sent to Los Angeles at age 15 to learn the movie business from his "uncle," studio head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Louis B. Mayer . George Sidney began as a dog walker and errand boy in the early 1930s. Sidney soon learned the art of editing at MGM, where he worked alongside aspiring film maker Fred Zinnemann , who went on to direct From Here to Eternity (1953) and Oklahoma! (1955). By
1921-625: A slightly unusual serious acting role in Party Girl (1958), where she played a showgirl who became involved with gangsters and a crooked lawyer, although it did include two dance routines. It was far more profitable for MGM than her musicals. She went to Universal to co-star with Rock Hudson in Twilight for the Gods (1958). MGM wanted Charisse for the role of Eve Kendall in 1959's North by Northwest , but Alfred Hitchcock wanted Eva Marie Saint . After
2034-416: A smattering of low-budget fare. In October 1973 and in decline in output, MGM closed its distribution offices then outsourced distribution for its films for a ten-year period to United Artists . UA also purchased MGM's music publishing arm, Robbins, Feist & Miller plus half of Canadian record label Quality Records . Kerkorian had largely distanced himself from the operations of the studio, focusing on
2147-551: A subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios, MGM is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA); it was a founding member before leaving in the 2005 acquisition. MGM was the last studio to convert to sound pictures—nonetheless, from the end of the silent film era through the late 1950s, it was the dominant motion picture studio in Hollywood. It was slow to respond to the changing legal, economic, and demographic nature of
2260-425: A symbolic low point when David Begelman , earlier fired by Columbia following the discovery of his acts of forgery and embezzlement, was installed as MGM's president and CEO. In 1980, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. split its production and casino units into separate companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Co. and MGM Grand Hotels, Inc. The rise of ancillary markets was enough to allow MGM to increase production to 10-15 films
2373-680: A writer and producer who had found success at running RKO Pictures . Lavish musicals were Schary's focus, and hits like Easter Parade (1948) and the popular films of Mario Lanza (including The Toast of New Orleans (1950) and The Great Caruso (1951)) helped keep MGM profitable. In August 1951, Mayer was fired by MGM's East Coast executives and he was replaced by Schary. Gradually cutting loose expensive contract players (including $ 6,000-a-week Judy Garland in 1950 and "King of Hollywood" Clark Gable in 1954), saving money by recycling existing movie sets instead of building costly new scenery, and reworking expensive old costumes, Schary managed to keep
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#17328767304822486-408: A year compared to three to six in the previous decade, but first it needed to revive its distribution unit. Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea ; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilities as a dancer, and she
2599-480: A year in Technicolor with Northwest Passage (1939) being one of the most notable of this era. In addition to a large short-subjects program of its own, MGM also distributed the shorts and features produced by Hal Roach Studios , including comedy shorts starring Laurel and Hardy , Our Gang and Charley Chase . The studio's distribution deal with Roach lasted from 1927 to 1938, and MGM benefited in particular from
2712-716: A year to a more manageable 25 features per year. During this period, MGM released several very successful musicals with stars such as Judy Garland , Fred Astaire , Gene Kelly , and Frank Sinatra . Audiences began drifting to television in the late 1940s, and MGM and the other studios were finding it increasingly difficult to attract them to theaters. With its high overhead expenses, MGM's profit margins continued to decrease. Word came from Nicholas Schenck in New York to find "a new Thalberg" who could improve quality while paring costs. Mayer thought he had found this savior in Dore Schary ,
2825-521: Is actress and model Liv Lindeland , who was married to Tony Martin Jr. until his death in 2011. Sheila Charisse, another daughter-in-law and the wife of Nicky Charisse, her son from her first marriage to Nico, died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 on May 25, 1979. Charisse, like her husband Tony Martin Sr., was a staunch Republican and campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election and Richard Nixon in 1968 . She
2938-541: The Columbia film It Happened One Night (1934). Mayer and Irving Thalberg's association began warmly, but eventually relations between the two became strained; Thalberg preferred literary works and expensive costume pictures over the lower-budget, family-oriented crowd pleasers Mayer wanted. Thalberg, always physically frail, was removed as head of production in 1932. Mayer encouraged other staff producers, among them his son-in-law David O. Selznick , but no one seemed to have
3051-576: The Howard Hughes film Hell's Angels (1930), now had a big break and became a Hollywood sex symbol and one of MGM's most admired stars. Despite Harlow's gain, Garbo arguably remained the biggest star at MGM. Shearer was still a money maker despite her screen appearances becoming scarce, and Crawford continued her box-office popularity until 1937. MGM also received a boost through the man who would become known as "King of Hollywood", Clark Gable. Gable's career took off to new heights after he won an Oscar for
3164-569: The Looney Tunes ' sister series, Merrie Melodies . The Happy Harmonies regularly ran over budget, and MGM dismissed Harman and Ising in 1937 to start its own animation studio . After initial struggles with a poorly received series of The Captain and the Kids cartoons, the studio rehired Harman and Ising in 1939, and Ising created the studio's first successful animated character, Barney Bear . However, MGM's biggest cartoon stars would come in
3277-492: The MGM Grand Hotel , investing $ 120 million into that project. Another portion of the backlot was sold in 1974. The last shooting done on the backlot was the introductory material for That's Entertainment! (1974), a retrospective documentary that became a surprise hit for the studio. That's Entertainment! was authorized by Dan Melnick , who was appointed head of production in 1972. Under Melnick's regime, MGM produced
3390-555: The 1930s, MGM produced approximately 50 pictures a year, though it never met its goal of releasing a new motion picture each and every week (it was only able to release one feature film every nine days). Loew's 153 theaters were mostly located in New York, the Northeast, and Deep South; Gone with the Wind (1939) had its world premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. A fine reputation
3503-471: The 1930s: Clark Gable , Jean Harlow , Robert Montgomery , Spencer Tracy , Myrna Loy , Robert Taylor , Jeanette MacDonald , and Nelson Eddy among them. MGM was one of the first studios to experiment with filming in Technicolor . Using the two-color Technicolor process then available, MGM filmed portions of The Uninvited Guest (1924), The Big Parade (1925), and Ben–Hur (1925), among others, in
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3616-443: The 1950 film, The Titan: Story of Michelangelo was telecast by ABC in 1952, but that was a documentary.) Beginning in 1959, and lasting until 1991, telecasts of The Wizard of Oz became an annual tradition, drawing huge audiences in homes all over the U.S. and earning additional profits for MGM. The studio was all too happy to see Oz become, through television, one of the two or three most famous films MGM has ever made, and one of
3729-646: The 1990s, he expanded MGM by purchasing Orion Pictures and the Samuel Goldwyn Company , including both of their film libraries. Finally, in 2005, Kerkorian sold MGM to a consortium that included Sony Pictures . In 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and reorganization . After reorganization, it emerged from bankruptcy later that year under its creditors' ownership. Two former executives at Spyglass Entertainment , Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum , became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of MGM's new holding company . After Barber's departure in 2018,
3842-485: The American Musical Academy of Arts Association to handle all of their press and artist development. The AMAAA's main function was to develop the budding stars and to make them appealing to the public. Stars such as Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, and Jeanette MacDonald reigned as the top-paid figures at the studio. Another MGM actress of the era, Jean Harlow , who had previously appeared in
3955-663: The City (1949), Who Was That Lady? (1960), and The Swinger (1966) diversified his filmography. His period adventure films, including The Three Musketeers (1948),) and the Oscar-winning Merry Wives of Windsor (1954), earned the respect of his colleagues. Sidney's personal favorite was Scaramouche (1952), a period piece set in pre-revolutionary France that starred Janet Leigh . Sidney left MGM to make The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) at Columbia Pictures where he made his base for
4068-751: The Clouds Roll By (1946). She also had a supporting role in the Esther Williams musical Fiesta (1947). Charisse was second billed in The Unfinished Dance (1947) with Margaret O'Brien but the film was a box office flop. She had a good supporting part in On an Island with You (1948) with Williams and danced in The Kissing Bandit (1948). She had a supporting part in Words and Music (1948). Charisse
4181-459: The Loew's merger going through. Schenck and Mayer had never gotten along (Mayer reportedly referred to his boss as "Mr. Skunk"), and the abortive Fox merger increased the animosity between the two men. From the outset, MGM tapped into the audience's need for glamor and sophistication. Having inherited few big names from their predecessor companies, Mayer and Thalberg began at once to create and publicize
4294-528: The Loews theater chain and the three studios on April 17, 1924, celebrated with a fete on April 26, 1924. Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with 24-year-old Irving Thalberg as head of production. Final approval over budgets and contracts rested with New York City-based Loews Inc., while production decisions rested with the production headquarters in Culver City. MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years. In 1925, MGM released
4407-509: The Rain (1952), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). However, Brigadoon (1954), Deep in My Heart (1954), It's Always Fair Weather (1955), Invitation to the Dance (1956), and Les Girls (1957) were extravagant song and dance flops, and even the now-classic The Band Wagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957) lost money upon their initial releases. In 1952, as a settlement of
4520-525: The Rings: The Return of the King also did in 2003. During this period, MGM fell into a questionable practice that eventually nearly doomed the studio: an entire year's production schedule relied on the success of one big-budget epic film each year. This policy began in 1959, when Ben–Hur proved profitable enough to carry the studio through 1960. However, four succeeding big-budget epics—like Ben–Hur , each
4633-672: The University of Southern California and lectured extensively about film production. George Sidney's work has been celebrated at museums and film festivals around the world: Paris, Barcelona, Helsinki, Moscow, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Deauville, and Honolulu. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . at the Northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine. Sidney was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award four times, starting with
George Sidney - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-478: The West Was Won (1962), with a huge all-star cast. King of Kings , while a commercial and critical bomb at the time, has since come to be regarded as a film classic. The losses caused by these films led to the resignations of Sol Siegel and Joseph Vogel who were replaced by Robert M. Weitman (head of production) and Robert O'Brien (president). The combination of O'Brien and Weitman seemed to temporarily revive
4859-446: The Wind , starring Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler . Although Gone With the Wind was produced by Selznick International Pictures , the film was distributed by MGM as part of a deal for producer David O. Selznick , Mayer's son-in-law, to obtain the services of Gable as well as financial assistance necessary for Selznick to complete the film. After Selznick International foundered in 1944, MGM acquired
4972-472: The acclaimed "Dancing in the Dark" and "Girl Hunt Ballet" routines. Vincente Minnelli directed. Critic Pauline Kael said that "when the bespangled Charisse wraps her phenomenal legs around Astaire, she can be forgiven everything, even her three minutes of 'classical' ballet and the fact that she reads her lines as if she learned them phonetically." The film was another classic but lost money for MGM. Charisse had
5085-528: The age of 20, Sidney directed many screen tests, with established and aspiring stars, including Errol Flynn , Tyrone Power , Judy Garland and Ava Gardner . Sidney honed his skills with 85 one-reel shorts—a genre that eventually gave him two Academy Awards with "Quicker'n A Wink" (1940) and "Of Pups and Puzzles" (1941). In 1938 at age 22, Sidney directed the Our Gang short comedies, which MGM had acquired from Hal Roach upon George's recommendation. Sidney loathed
5198-540: The box office, with production costs of 2.4 million dollars. She rejoined Astaire in the film version of Silk Stockings (1957), a musical remake of 1939's Ninotchka , with Charisse taking over Greta Garbo 's role. Astaire paid tribute to Charisse in his autobiography, calling her "beautiful dynamite" and writing: "That Cyd! When you've danced with her you stay danced with." The film was well received but lost money for MGM. In her autobiography, Charisse reflected on her experience with Astaire and Kelly: Charisse had
5311-518: The classic television version of Dr. Seuss 's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) featuring the voice of Boris Karloff . Tom and Jerry folded in 1967, and the animation department continued with television specials and one feature film, The Phantom Tollbooth . A revived Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation was in existence from 1993 to 1999. In 1959, MGM enjoyed what is quite probably its greatest financial success of later years, with
5424-624: The craft of movie making gave his films a visual intensity that captivated the American public and created the foundation for the big-budget Hollywood productions. Sidney's final film Half a Sixpence was released in 1967. Sidney became good friends with MGM animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera . Hanna and Barbera's Jerry Mouse appeared alongside Gene Kelly in Sidney's film Anchors Aweigh (1945). After MGM closed its animation studio on May 15, 1957, Sidney helped Hanna and Barbera form
5537-535: The decision. Mayer was active in the California Republican Party and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds. During this time, in the summer of 1929, Fox was badly hurt in an automobile accident. By the time he recovered, the stock market crash in the fall of 1929 had nearly wiped Fox out and ended any chance of
5650-678: The decline of the Hollywood musical in the late 1950s, Charisse retired from dancing but continued to appear in film and TV productions from the 1960s through the 1990s. She went to Europe to make Five Golden Hours (1961) and Minnelli's Two Weeks in Another Town . She had a supporting role in Something's Got to Give (1962), the last, unfinished film of Marilyn Monroe . She did Assassination in Rome (1965) in Italy. A striptease number by Charisse set to
5763-448: The earlier Hanna and Barbera shorts, they did receive positive reviews in some quarters. In 1963, the production of Tom and Jerry returned to Hollywood under Chuck Jones and his Sib Tower 12 Productions studio (later absorbed by MGM and renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts ). Jones' group also produced its own works, winning an Oscar for The Dot and the Line (1965), as well as producing
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#17328767304825876-413: The end of MGM's animation department, as the studio determined it could generate the same amount of revenue by reissuing older cartoons as it could by producing and releasing new ones. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, by then the heads of the MGM cartoon studio, took most of their unit and made their own company, Hanna-Barbera Productions , a successful producer of television animation. In 1956, MGM sold
5989-533: The episode "The Stones Go to Hollywood" of the sitcom The Donna Reed Show . The episode plugged Sidney's then current feature film Pepe , in which Donna Reed made a cameo. Sidney devoted much of his later life to professional service as a mentor to directors, writers, and educators. Sidney became the youngest president of the Directors Guild of America, having been nominated by his friend, director John Ford . A lifelong learner, Sidney attended law school at
6102-456: The exercise video Easy Energy Shape Up , targeted for active senior citizens. She made her Broadway debut in 1989 in the musical version of Grand Hotel as the aging ballerina , Elizaveta Grushinskaya. In her eighties, Charisse made occasional public appearances and appeared frequently in documentaries spotlighting the golden age of Hollywood . She was featured in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records under "Most Valuable Legs", because
6215-422: The extravagant and successful Ben-Hur , taking a $ 4.7 million profit that year, its first full year. Also in 1925, MGM, Paramount Pictures and UFA formed a joint German distributor, Parufamet . Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loew's passed to Nicholas Schenck. In 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation bought the Loew family's holdings with Schenck's assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with
6328-404: The failure of the big-budget epic Raintree County (1957) prompted the studio to terminate Schary's contract. Schary's reign at MGM had been marked with few legitimate hits, but his departure (along with the retirement of Schenck in 1955) left a power vacuum that would prove difficult to fill. Initially Joseph Vogel became president and Sol Siegel head of production. In 1957 (by coincidence,
6441-583: The few films that nearly everybody in the U.S. has seen at least once. Today The Wizard of Oz is regularly shown on the Turner -owned channels, no longer just once a year. In animation, MGM purchased the rights in 1930 to distribute a series of cartoons that starred a character named Flip the Frog , produced by Ub Iwerks . The first cartoon in this series (titled Fiddlesticks ) was the first sound cartoon to be produced in two-color Technicolor. In 1933, Ub Iwerks canceled
6554-471: The film industry. A renowned clotheshorse, Sidney was routinely on Mr. Blackwell 's Best Dressed List. He was known for his love of Hermes neckwear and British tailoring. His clothing is in the costume collection at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas . In his personal life, Sidney was married in 1942 to drama coach, Lillian "Burnsie" Burns Salzer (1903–1998). He
6667-456: The first million-dollar executive in American history. The company remained profitable, and an increase in MGM's "series" pictures ( Andy Hardy starring Mickey Rooney , Maisie starring Ann Sothern , The Thin Man starring William Powell and Myrna Loy , and Dr. Kildare / Dr. Gillespie with Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore ) is cited as evidence of Mayer's restored influence. Also playing
6780-461: The form of the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry , created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1940. The Tom and Jerry cartoons won seven Academy Awards between 1943 and 1953. In 1941, Tex Avery , another Schlesinger alumnus, joined the animation department. Avery gave the unit its image, with successes like Red Hot Riding Hood , Swing Shift Cinderella , and the Droopy series. Avery left
6893-438: The full rights to Gone With the Wind . While The Wizard of Oz was a critical hit, the production costs for the film were so expensive it took 20 years before it turned a profit. Within one year, beginning in 1942, Mayer released his five highest-paid actresses from their MGM contracts: Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Jeanette MacDonald and Myrna Loy. After being labeled " box office poison ", Crawford's MGM contract
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#17328767304827006-470: The government's restraint-of-trade action, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. 334 US 131 (1948), Loews, Inc. gave up control of MGM. It would take another five years before the interlocking arrangements were completely undone, by which time both Loews and MGM were losing money. In 1956, Schary was ousted from MGM in another power struggle against the New York-based executives. Cost overruns and
7119-657: The latter of whom MGM supported. MGM and other film studios deducted a days pay from each of their employees to raise an anti-Sinclair fund that amounted to $ 500,000. Irving Thalberg was to lead MGM's anti-Sinclair campaign and the studio recruited Carey Wilson to create a series of anti-Sinclair propaganda films. These films, directed by Felix E. Feist , included fake newsreels of Sinclair supporters who were portrayed as bums and criminals. They were shown in Californian movie theaters, with one episode featuring hired actors as Sinclair supporters speaking with foreign accents. During
7232-522: The lush Technicolor remake of Show Boat . In 1958, he was presented with a Golden Globe Award for Best World Entertainment through Musical Films. Posthumously, Sidney's widow, Corinne Entratter Sidney, donated the director's extensive professional archive to the Smithsonian Institution . These artifacts include scripts with handwritten notes, personal correspondence, and his extensive photography collection spanning Sidney's 60-year career in
7345-439: The mid-1950s, MGM could make a claim its rivals could not: the studio never lost money, although it did produce an occasional disaster such as Parnell (1937), Clark Gable's biggest flop. MGM was the only Hollywood studio that continued to pay dividends during the 1930s. MGM stars dominated the box office during the 1930s, and the studio was credited for inventing the Hollywood stable-of-stars system as well. MGM contracted with
7458-435: The motion picture industry during the 1950s and 1960s; and although its films often did well at the box office, it lost significant amounts of money throughout the 1960s. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr. , whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios . Three years later, an increasingly unprofitable MGM was bought by Kirk Kerkorian , who slashed staff and production costs, forced
7571-457: The movie's theme song opened the 1966 Dean Martin spy spoof, The Silencers , and she played a fashion magazine editor in the 1967 caper film Maroc 7 . She frequently performed dance numbers on TV variety series such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dean Martin Show , with seven appearances on The Hollywood Palace , a show she also hosted three times. She did Fol-de-Rol in 1968, which
7684-510: The musical The Broadway Melody (1929), however, was both a box-office success and won the Academy Award as Best Picture of the Year. MGM was the last major studio to convert to sound. The studio's first all-color, "all-talking" sound feature with dialogue was the musical The Rogue Song in 1930. MGM included a sequence made in Technicolor's superior new three-color process, a musical number in
7797-400: The next decade for such films as Jeanne Eagels (1957), Pepe (1960), and Bye Bye Birdie (1963). He returned to MGM to film A Ticklish Affair (1963) and Elvis Presley 's Viva Las Vegas (1964). In both his technical skill and artistic vision, George Sidney stands among the 20th century's most celebrated film directors. He was ranked second 11 years later. Sidney's dedication to
7910-590: The onscreen narrators of a tribute to the great MGM musical films. She also appeared in episodes of Burke's Law and Frasier in 1995 before retiring from acting. Subsequently, she made a final appearance in the TV movie Empire State Building Murders , which aired two months after her death in 2008. In 1976, Charisse and her husband Tony Martin wrote their joint memoirs with Dick Kleiner entitled The Two of Us (1976). In 1990, following similar moves by MGM colleagues Debbie Reynolds and Angela Lansbury , Charisse produced
8023-498: The otherwise black-and-white The Cat and the Fiddle (1934), starring Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro . The studio then produced a number of three-color short subjects including the musical La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935); the first complete Technicolor feature was Sweethearts (1938) with MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, the earlier of the popular singing team's two films in color. From then on, MGM regularly produced several films
8136-497: The process. MGM released The Viking (1928), the first complete Technicolor feature with a synchronized score and sound effects, but no spoken dialogue. With the arrival of " talkies ", MGM moved slowly and reluctantly into the sound era, releasing features like White Shadows in the South Seas (1928) with music and sound effects, and Alias Jimmy Valentine (1928) with limited dialogue sequences. Their first full-fledged talkie,
8249-459: The quality of the theaters' products. However, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant Nicholas Schenck was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. A solution came in the person of Louis B. Mayer , head of Louis B. Mayer Pictures. Loew bought the Mayer studio for $ 75,000. Loews Incorporated completed the merger of
8362-402: The release of its nearly four-hour Technicolor epic Ben–Hur , a remake of its 1925 silent film hit, loosely based on true story—despite being adapted from the novel by General Lew Wallace . Starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the film was critically acclaimed, and won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a record that held until Titanic matched it in 1997 and The Lord of
8475-516: The series and frequently claimed in interviews he was only seven years older than the oldest cast member. Actually, the oldest cast member, semi-regular Tommy Bond was ten years his junior; stars Carl Switzer and Spanky McFarland were eleven and twelve years younger and the rest of the regular cast was under ten. Sidney moved on to direct the Crime Does Not Pay series and popular Pete Smith specialties. During World War II, George Sidney
8588-530: The shorts, The Dogway Melody (1930), spoofed MGM's hit 1929 musical The Broadway Melody . MGM entered the music industry by purchasing the "Big Three" starting with Miller Music Publishing Co. in 1934, then Robbins Music Corporation. In 1935, MGM acquired a controlling interest in the capital stock of Leo Feist, Inc. , the last of the Big Three. In the 1934 California gubernatorial election Democratic Upton Sinclair ran against Republican Frank Merriam ,
8701-694: The studio in 1953, leaving Hanna and Barbera to focus on the popular Tom and Jerry and Droopy series. After 1955, all cartoons were filmed in CinemaScope until MGM closed its cartoon division in 1957. In 1961, MGM resumed the release of new Tom and Jerry shorts, and production moved to Rembrandt Films in Prague , Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) under the supervision of Gene Deitch , who had been hired away from Terrytoons . Although Deitch's Tom and Jerry cartoons were considered to be vastly inferior to
8814-511: The studio running much as it had through the early 1940s, though his sensibilities for hard-edged, message movies would never bear much fruit. One bright spot was MGM musical pictures, under the aegis of producer Arthur Freed , who was operating what amounted to an independent unit within the studio. MGM produced some well-regarded and profitable musicals that would later be acknowledged as classics, among them An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in
8927-511: The studio sought to be acquired by another company to pay its creditors. In May 2021, Amazon acquired MGM for US$ 8.45 billion ; the deal closed in March 2022. In October 2023, Amazon Studios absorbed MGM Holdings and rebranded itself as Amazon MGM Studios. As of 2023, its most commercially successful film franchises include Rocky and James Bond , while its most recent television productions include Fargo and The Handmaid's Tale . As
9040-431: The studio to produce low-quality, low-budget fare, and then ceased theatrical distribution in 1973. The studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were distributed through other studios, usually United Artists . Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and an expanded film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up internal production, and kept production going at UA, which
9153-416: The studio's output. This management-by-committee resulted in MGM losing its momentum, developing few new stars, and relying on the safety of sequels and bland material. ( Dorothy Parker memorably referred to the studio as "Metro-Goldwyn-Merde". ) Production values remained high, and even "B" pictures carried a polish and gloss that made them expensive to mount. After 1940, production was cut from 50 pictures
9266-509: The studio. MGM released David Lean 's immensely popular Doctor Zhivago (1965), later followed by such hits as The Dirty Dozen (1967), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Where Eagles Dare (1968). However the company's time was taken up fighting off proxy attacks by corporate raiders , and then MGM backed another series of box office failures, including the musical remake of Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Weitman moved over to Columbia in 1967 and O'Brien
9379-467: The success of the popular Laurel and Hardy films. In 1938, MGM purchased the rights to the Our Gang series from Roach and production of the successful series moved to the MGM studios, where it continued until 1944. From 1929 to 1931, MGM produced a series of comedy shorts called All Barkie Dogville Comedies , in which trained dogs were dressed up to parody contemporary films and were voiced by actors. One of
9492-455: The sure touch of Thalberg. As Thalberg's health deteriorated in 1936, Mayer could now serve as his temporary replacement. Rumors had begun circulating for some time that Thalberg was leaving MGM to set up his own independent company; his premature death at age 37 in September 1936 cost MGM dearly. After Thalberg's untimely death, Mayer became head of production, as well as studio chief, becoming
9605-468: The television rights for The Wizard of Oz to CBS , which scheduled it to be shown in November of that year. In a landmark event, the film became the first American theatrical fiction film to be shown complete in one evening on prime time television over a major American commercial network. ( Olivier's version of Hamlet was shown on prime time network TV a month later, but split in half over two weeks, and
9718-588: The unsuccessful Flip the Frog series and MGM began to distribute its second series of cartoons, starring a character named Willie Whopper , that was also produced by Iwerks. In 1934, after Iwerks' distribution contract expired, MGM contracted with animation producers/directors Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising to produce a new series of color cartoons. Harman and Ising came to MGM after breaking ties with Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. and brought with them their popular Looney Tunes character, Bosko . These were known as Happy Harmonies , and in many ways resembled
9831-541: The year Mayer died), the studio lost money for the first time in its 34-year history. After Spencer Tracy left MGM in 1955, the only major star remaining under contract from MGM's heyday was Robert Taylor ; by 1960, MGM had released Taylor and the last of its contract players, with many either retiring or moving on to television. In 1958, MGM released what is generally considered its last great musical, Arthur Freed's Cinemascope color production of Gigi , starring Leslie Caron , Maurice Chevalier , and Louis Jourdan . It
9944-617: Was MGM's asset value, which included subsidiary businesses, real estate, and the value of 45 years' worth of glamour associated with the name, which he attached to a Las Vegas hotel and casino . As for film-making, that part of the company was bleeding money and was quickly and severely downsized under the supervision of James T. Aubrey Jr. With changes in its business model including fewer pictures per year, more location shooting and more distribution of independent productions, MGM's operations were reduced. Aubrey sold off MGM's accumulation of props, furnishings and historical memorabilia, including
10057-516: Was a famous Vaudeville star and half of the aquacade team, The Mooney Sisters. Sidney attended Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, New York. George Sidney absorbed the world of New York City theatre and art. At five years old, George Sidney became the most famous child actor in the world when he played the lead role in The Littlest Cowboy , a 1921 film with western super star, Tom Mix . After
10170-538: Was a huge hit. Because Debbie Reynolds was not a trained dancer, Kelly chose Charisse to partner with him in the celebrated "Broadway Melody" ballet finale from Singin' in the Rain (1952), which was acknowledged soon after release as one of the greatest musicals of all time. Charisse had a significant role in Sombrero (1953) as well as the lead female role in The Band Wagon (1953), where she danced with Astaire in
10283-582: Was a sickly girl who started dancing lessons at six to build up her strength after a bout of polio . At 12, she studied ballet in Los Angeles with Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska , and at 14, she auditioned for and subsequently danced in the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo as "Felia Siderova" and, later, "Maria Istomina". She was educated at the Hollywood Professional School . During
10396-456: Was adapted from the novel by Colette , and written by the team of Lerner and Loewe , who also wrote My Fair Lady and Camelot . Gigi was a box-office and critical success which won nine Academy Awards , including Best Picture . From it came several hit songs, including "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", "I Remember It Well", the "Waltz at Maxim's", and the Oscar-winning title song. The film
10509-649: Was also a president of the Screen Directors Guild for 16 years. A founding partner of Hanna-Barbera animation studio, Sidney was a proponent of the integration of animation into live action, which is immortalized in the dance scene between actor Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh (1945). An avid art collector, gardener, musician, painter, and photographer, George Sidney was known for his impeccable sense of style and generosity. His clothing, original scripts, notes, and personal papers are housed in
10622-580: Was an avid and skilled gardener. Sidney was a member of the Royal Horticultural Society . He died in Las Vegas, Nevada at age 85 from lymphoma on May 5, 2002. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures , commonly shortened to MGM ) is an American media company specializing in film and television production and distribution based in Beverly Hills, California . Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
10735-1255: Was assigned to the Air Force to supervise the Atomic Energy Commission Film Program at Eniwetok , for which received the Certificate of Merit from the Department of Defense and the Plaque of Honor from the United States Air Force. George Sidney was a central figure in the filming of nuclear testing projects. George Sidney came to the fore of American popular cinema with his blockbuster musical, The Harvey Girls (1946), starring Judy Garland and Angela Lansberry. The film introduced Cyd Charisse in her first speaking part. Sidney's adaptions of theatrical works to film include Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951), Kiss Me Kate (1953), Jupiter's Darling (1955), and Bye Bye Birdie (1963). His cast Frank Sinatra in his film Pal Joey (1957). These lavish productions brought George Sidney international acclaim. Sidney's romantic comedies, including Key to
10848-606: Was borrowed by Warners for In Our Time (1944), playing a ballerina. She was a ballerina in Ziegfeld Follies (produced in 1944 and released in 1946), dancing with Fred Astaire . Feedback was positive and Charisse was given her first speaking part supporting Judy Garland in the 1946 film The Harvey Girls . She followed it with Three Wise Fools (1946) and she danced with Gower Champion to " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes " in Till
10961-603: Was bought by Pathé Communications (led by Italian publishing magnate Giancarlo Parretti ) in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais , the studio's major creditor, then took control of MGM. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso , and Australia's Seven Network in 1996. The debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGM's ability to survive as an independent motion picture studio. After
11074-444: Was bracketed by two productions of Ben Hur . It divested itself of the Loews movie theater chain and, in 1956, expanded into television production. In 1969, businessman and investor Kirk Kerkorian bought 40% of MGM and dramatically changed the operation and direction of the studio. He hired new management, reduced the studio's output to about five films per year, and diversified its products, creating MGM Resorts International as
11187-482: Was continuing to thrive, particularly with the lucrative James Bond film franchise. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production. The studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few months later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt, while keeping the library assets for himself. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt. MGM
11300-642: Was featured in That's Entertainment! III in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006. Cyd Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas , the daughter of Lela (née Norwood) and Ernest Enos Finklea Sr., who was a jeweler. Her nickname "Sid" was taken from her older brother Ernest E. Finklea Jr., who tried to say "Sis". It was later given the spelling of "Cyd" by Arthur Freed . She
11413-423: Was fifteen years her junior. In the late 1970s, he married his second wife, Jane Adler Robinson (d. 1991), who was the widow of actor Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973). In 1991, Sidney married his third wife, actress, model and journalist Corinne Kegley Entratter, also known as Corinne Cole , who was the widow of showman and Las Vegas entrepreneur Jack Entratter . Sidney was a prolific photographer. He collected art and
11526-556: Was filmed and broadcast in 1972. In the 1970s and 1980s Charisse guest-starred on shows such as Medical Center , Hawaii Five-O , The Love Boat , Fantasy Island , The Fall Guy , Glitter , Murder, She Wrote , and Crazy Like a Fox . She had a cameo in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) and played Atsil, an Atlantean high priestess, in the 1978 fantasy film Warlords of Atlantis . Charisse
11639-402: Was forced to resign a few years later. In the mid-1960s, MGM began to diversify by investing in real estate. Edgar Bronfman Sr. purchased a controlling interest in MGM in 1966 (and was briefly chairman of the board in 1969), and in 1967 Time Inc. became the company's second-largest shareholder. In 1969, Kirk Kerkorian purchased 40 percent of MGM stock. What appealed to Kerkorian
11752-689: Was founded on April 17, 1924, and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon since 2022. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures , Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well-known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious filmmaking company, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards . MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959,
11865-487: Was gained for lavish productions that were sophisticated and polished to cater to an urban audience. Still, as the Great Depression deepened, MGM began to economize by "recycling" existing sets, costumes, and furnishings from previous projects. This recycling practice never let up once started. In addition, MGM saved money because it was the only one of the big five studios that did not own an off-site movie ranch . Until
11978-557: Was given another opportunity in a "B" movie, Tension (1950), where she was third billed, but it was a box office disappointment. She was billed fifth in the prestigious East Side, West Side (1949) and was borrowed by Universal to play the female lead in The Mark of the Renegade (1951). Back at MGM Charisse was the leading lady in The Wild North (1951) with Stewart Granger , which
12091-522: Was in the TV movies Portrait of an Escort (1980) and Swimsuit (1989). She also made cameo appearances in Blue Mercedes 's "I Want to Be Your Property" (1987) and Janet Jackson 's " Alright " (1990) music videos. Charisse appeared on Broadway from late 1991 as a replacement for Liliane Montevecchi in Grand Hotel . Her last film appearance was in 1994 in That's Entertainment! III as one of
12204-440: Was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly ; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1991 made her Broadway debut. In her later years, she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries, and
12317-409: Was produced by MGM's trailer department as one of the compilation and promotional shows that imitated Disney's series Disneyland which was also on ABC . Parade was canceled by ABC in the 2nd quarter of 1956. MGM took bids for its movie library in 1956 from Lou Chesler and others, but decided on entering the TV market itself. Chesler had offered $ 50 million for the film library. MGM Television
12430-476: Was started with the hiring of Bud Barry to head up the operation in June 1956. MGM Television was to distribute its films to TV (starting with the networks), TV production and purchasing TV stations. TV production was expected to start with the 1957–58 season and was to include half-hour remakes of, or series based on, its pictures. Initial feature film sales focused on selling to the networks. The year 1957 also marked
12543-490: Was terminated and she moved to Warner Brothers, where her career took a dramatic upturn. Garbo and Shearer never made another film after leaving the lot. Of the five stars, Loy and MacDonald were the only two whom Mayer later rehired, in 1947 and 1948 respectively; Crawford returned to MGM after Mayer's departure for the musical drama Torch Song in 1953. Increasingly, before and during World War II, Mayer came to rely on his "College of Cardinals"—senior producers who controlled
12656-466: Was the aunt of the actress Nana Visitor . Charisse was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles , California on June 16, 2008, after suffering an apparent heart attack . She died the following day at age 86. She was a practicing Methodist , but due to her husband's religion she was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery , a Jewish cemetery in Culver City, California , following
12769-636: Was the last MGM musical to win a Best Picture Oscar, an honor that had previously gone to The Broadway Melody (1929), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), and An American in Paris (1951). The last musical film produced by the " Freed Unit " was an adaptation of the Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Judy Holliday and Dean Martin . However, MGM did release later musical films, including an adaptation of Meredith Willson 's The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) with Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell . MGM's first television program, The MGM Parade ,
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