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131-502: The Gypsy Moths stars Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr . The film also features Gene Hackman , and Bonnie Bedelia in her first film role. Kerr had worked previously with Lancaster in From Here to Eternity (1953) and Separate Tables (1958). The film had the only nude love scene in her film career. Elmer Bernstein composed the score. A skydiving team called the Gypsy Moths visits

262-401: A Howard DGA-15 (N22418) used as the jump ship, flown by David Llorente and Larry Perkins. After decoding the "DGA" designation of the aircraft, Browdy (Gene Hackman) jokes that "You're much better off jumping out of it, than taking a chance on landing it." At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the film featured an extreme variation of the sport, the use of "batwings",

393-502: 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

524-434: A cerebral hemorrhage . Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but dropped out. At the age of 9, Lancaster met Nick Cravat with whom he developed a lifelong partnership. Together, they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement , one of the city's oldest settlement houses. In the 1930s, they formed the acrobat duo Lang and Cravat and soon joined

655-538: A Best Actor Golden Globe nomination, and in 1957 he starred in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with frequent co-star Kirk Douglas . During the 1950s, his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster , was highly successful, with Lancaster acting in films such as: Trapeze (1956), a box office smash in which he used his acrobatic skills and for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor ; Sweet Smell of Success (1957),

786-559: A Giant Step (1959), about a black student; and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1960), from an Australian play, shot on location in Australia and Britain. HHL served as the production company for the 1960–61 TV series Whiplash . The Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions company dissolved in 1960 after Hill ruptured his relationship with both Hecht and Lancaster. Hill went on to produce a single additional film, The Happy Thieves , in

917-409: A Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor; and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with Kirk Douglas, which was a huge commercial hit directed by John Sturges . Lancaster re-teamed with Tony Curtis in 1957 for Sweet Smell of Success , a co-production between Hecht-Hill-Lancaster and Curtis' own company with wife Janet Leigh , Curtleigh Productions. The movie, directed by Alexander Mackendrick ,

1048-573: A US Air Force General who, opposed by a Colonel played by Douglas, tries to overthrow the President in Seven Days in May . Then, in 1966, he played an explosives expert in the western The Professionals . Although the reception of his 1968 film The Swimmer was initially lackluster upon release, in the years after it has grown in stature critically and attained a cult following . In 1970, Lancaster starred in

1179-591: 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,

1310-498: A boarder in the Brandon house, while Joe takes an interest in a topless dancer. Mike eventually asks Elizabeth to leave town with him, but she declines. During the next skydiving exhibition, Mike performs a spectacular "cape jump" stunt but fails to pull the ripcord, intentionally falling to his death. Although nobody wants to discuss it, they suspect that he committed suicide. That night, Annie consoles Malcolm, and they have sex. Before

1441-686: A company, Norma Productions, and did a deal with Universal to make a thriller about a disturbed G.I. in London, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands in 1948, with Joan Fontaine and directed by Norman Foster. It made a profit of only $ 50,000, but was critically acclaimed. Back in Hollywood, Lancaster made another film noir with Siodmak, Criss Cross , in 1949. It was originally going to be produced by Hellinger and when Hellinger died, another took over. Tony Curtis made an early appearance. Lancaster appeared in

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1572-526: A dark drama today considered a classic; Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), a WWII submarine drama with Clark Gable ; and Separate Tables (1958), a hotel-set drama which received seven Oscar nominations. In the early 1960s, Lancaster starred in a string of critically successful films, each in very disparate roles. Playing a charismatic biblical con-man in Elmer Gantry in 1960 won him the Academy Award and

1703-451: A dialogue coach. Lancaster starred in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) for Stanley Kramer , alongside Spencer Tracy , Richard Widmark and a number of other stars. The film was both a commercial and critical success, receiving eleven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. He then did another film with Hecht and Frankenheimer (replacing Charles Crichton ), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962),

1834-458: A direct sort of way.' 'The Gypsy Moths' is about as stimulating as Miss Kerr's fuzzy remark." The Albany Times-Union review began by citing the Kerr-Lancaster parallel from From Here to Eternity : "Now, 15 years later, [the two] have another love scene but this one is compatible with the new freedom as the audience is introduced to the actors free of their swim suits. For Miss Kerr to engage in

1965-498: A fourth picture for Wallis, Rope of Sand , in 1949. Norma Productions signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros. The first was 1950's The Flame and the Arrow , a swashbuckler movie, in which Lancaster drew on his circus skills. Nick Cravat had a supporting role and the film was a huge commercial success, making $ 6 million. It was Warners' most popular film of the year and established an entirely new image for Lancaster. Lancaster

2096-530: 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

2227-547: 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

2358-404: A largely fictionalized biography. In it he plays Robert Stroud , a federal prisoner incarcerated for life for two murders, who begins to collect birds and over time becomes an expert in bird diseases, even publishing a book. The film shows Stroud transferred to the maximum security Alcatraz prison where he is not allowed to keep birds and as he ages he gets married, markets bird remedies, helps stop

2489-479: A love scene in Jones' movie was a departure from her former roles, and thus it caused a stir. In 'The Gypsy Moths' her explicit nude scene takes her a step further, even to the brink of being the most mature (almost said oldest) featured actress to disrobe for the cameras....of the two sequences, the earlier was far more successful. Two highly disciplined persons...abandon their stations for a brief fling, and their embrace on

2620-657: A new production company, Hillworth Productions, co-owned with his wife Rita Hayworth . Lancaster played the title role in Elmer Gantry (1960), written and directed by Richard Brooks for United Artists. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance. Hecht and Lancaster worked together on The Young Savages (1961), directed by John Frankenheimer and produced by Hecht. Sydney Pollack worked as

2751-470: 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

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2882-509: 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

3013-520: A political thriller with Douglas, and The Train (1964), a World War Two action film (Lancaster had Frankenheimer replace Arthur Penn several days into filming). 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

3144-492: A precursor to modern wingsuit flying . Jerry Rouillard was a key technical advisor and stunt double for Lancaster. Carl Boenish and Jay Gifford were responsible for the aerial photography, including photographing the jumps with a 35 mm camera mounted on their helmets, while they jumped with the stunt doubles, a team of a half dozen skydivers; Mike Milts, Garth Taggart, Russ Benefiel, Dave Thompson, Bill Ledbetter and Jerry Rouillard. The Gypsy Moths ran in limited release in

3275-490: A prison drama written by Richard Brooks and directed by Jules Dassin . It was also well received. Wallis released his films through Paramount, and so Lancaster and other Wallis contractees made cameos in Variety Girl in 1947. Lancaster's next film was a thriller for Wallis in 1947, I Walk Alone , co-starring Lizabeth Scott and a young Kirk Douglas , who was also under contract to Wallis. Variety listed it as one of

3406-584: A prison rebellion, and writes a book on the history of the U.S. penal system, but never gets paroled. The sympathetic performance earned Lancaster a Best Actor Oscar nomination, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Role. Hecht went on to produce five films without Lancaster's assistance, through his company Harold Hecht Films Productions between 1961 and 1967, including another Academy Award winner, Cat Ballou , starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda . Lancaster made A Child Is Waiting (1963) with Judy Garland . It

3537-488: 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

3668-685: 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

3799-498: A small town in Kansas (Benton) to put on a show for the Fourth of July weekend. Their leader, Mike Rettig, is accompanied by his partners, Joe Browdy and Malcolm Webson. The skydivers stay at the home of Malcolm's uncle and aunt, John and Elizabeth Brandon. Mike becomes romantically involved with Elizabeth, and her husband overhears them having sex. Malcolm falls for local student Annie Burke,

3930-416: 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

4061-559: A stroke in 1990 forced him to retire; four years later he died from a heart attack. His final film role was in the Oscar-nominated Field of Dreams . Lancaster was born on November 2, 1913, in New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, the son of Elizabeth ( née Roberts) and mailman James Lancaster. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class origin. All four of his grandparents were emigrants from

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4192-499: 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

4323-425: 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

4454-463: A two-picture deal, the first of which was to be 1954's Apache , starring Lancaster as a Native American. They followed it with another Western in 1954, Vera Cruz , co-starring Gary Cooper and produced by Hill. Both films were directed by Robert Aldrich and were hugely popular. United Artists signed Hecht-Lancaster to a multi-picture contract, to make seven films over two years. These included films in which Lancaster did not act. Their first

4585-680: 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

4716-480: 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

4847-716: 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 ,

4978-412: Is extraneous and slows up the rhythm of the film at that point. Proof that this excess footage is the revelation that when 'The Gypsy Moths' played Radio City Music Hall the nude love scene and portions of the topless go-go bar scene were deleted without any loss of value to the film. It had an 'M' rating in New York, but with the addition of the two scenes is playing with an 'R' rating, a real disservice to

5109-541: 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

5240-576: 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

5371-569: 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

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5502-492: 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

5633-507: The greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Lancaster performed as a circus acrobat in the 1930s. At the age of 32, and after serving in World War II , he landed a role in a Broadway play and drew the attention of a Hollywood agent. His breakthrough role was in the film noir The Killers in 1946 alongside Ava Gardner . A critical success, it launched both of their careers. In 1948 Lancaster starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in

5764-555: 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

5895-471: 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

6026-443: 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

6157-646: 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,

6288-485: 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

6419-627: The Golden Globe for Best Actor. He played a Nazi war criminal in 1961 in the all-star, war-crime-trial film, Judgment at Nuremberg . Playing a bird expert prisoner in Birdman of Alcatraz in 1962, he earned the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor and his third Oscar nomination. In 1963, Lancaster traveled to Italy to star as an Italian prince in Visconti's epic period drama The Leopard . In 1964, he played

6550-688: The Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret. He then found temporary work, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants. After the United States entered World War II , Lancaster joined the United States Army in January 1943 and performed with the Army's 21st Special Services Division, one of

6681-459: 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

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6812-528: 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

6943-624: The Norma-Warners contract was that Lancaster had to appear in some non-Norma films, of which this was one. In 1954, for his own company, Lancaster produced and starred in His Majesty O'Keefe , a South Sea island tale shot in Fiji. It was co-written by James Hill, who would soon become a part of the Hecht-Lancaster partnership. Hecht and Lancaster left Warners for United Artists , for what began as

7074-560: 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

7205-525: 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

7336-515: The U.S., with few theaters giving it extended showings. Frankenheimer was depressed and felt that a recent management change at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer resulted in the film only being partially re-edited "so it could debut at family-friendly Radio City Music Hall, where it promptly bombed. Only in Hollywood could dealing with clueless studio executives be more frightening than jumping out of an airplane into free fall." In his review for The New York Times , Vincent Canby noted that The Gypsy Moths had

7467-478: 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

7598-446: 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

7729-410: The beach says it all....It was brief and it told the story without any need for nudity or more explicit action. John Frankenheimer falls victim to the current trend. The nude scene isn't needed....The two actors have set the tone of the scene and have created the empathy between the two characters so that the audience can take the scene to its conclusion without assistance from the director. The nude scene

7860-520: The box-office hit, air-disaster drama Airport . In 1974 he again starred in a Visconti film, Conversation Piece . He experienced a career resurgence in 1980 with the crime-romance Atlantic City , winning the BAFTA for Best Actor and landing his fourth Oscar nomination. Starting in the late 1970s, he also appeared in television mini-series, including the award-winning Separate but Equal with Sidney Poitier . He continued acting into his late 70s, until

7991-414: The busty but tarnished waitress-dancer. She matches Hackman's expansive acting stride for stride as the two move towards an assignation." After its initial showings, the film was lengthened to 110 minutes and the rating changed to M for mature audiences. This rating was an early version of the later PG. As soon as it appeared, The Gypsy Moths disappeared. Director Frankenheimer claimed the film did not get

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8122-518: 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

8253-521: The commercially and critically acclaimed film Sorry, Wrong Number , where he portrayed the husband to her bedridden invalid character. In 1953 Lancaster played the illicit lover of Deborah Kerr in the military drama From Here to Eternity . A box office smash, it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and landed a Best Actor nomination for Lancaster. Later in the 1950s, he starred in The Rainmaker (1956), with Katharine Hepburn , earning

8384-510: The company's name to Hecht-Lancaster Productions. The first film under the new name was another swashbuckler: 1952's The Crimson Pirate , directed by Siodmak. Co-starring Cravat, it was extremely popular. Lancaster changed pace once more by doing a straight dramatic part in 1952's Come Back, Little Sheba , based on a Broadway hit, with Shirley Booth , produced by Wallis and directed by Daniel Mann . Alternating with adventure films, he went into South Sea Woman in 1952 at Warners. Part of

8515-535: 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

8646-448: 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

8777-413: 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

8908-422: 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

9039-404: 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,

9170-583: 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

9301-675: The film was to be co-produced by Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts (who formed their own film production company Landers-Roberts Productions), directed by Frankenheimer and with Lewis functioning as executive producer. In September 1967, Burt Lancaster was announced as the lead and the film was scheduled to be filmed in the Midwest starting in May 1968. John Phillip Law was originally in the cast, but Scott Wilson replaced him after Law broke his wrist. The aerial sequences in The Gypsy Moths were filmed at locations in and around Benton, Kansas , with

9432-429: The film. Actually, the film is well-made and benefits from some very good performances....In addition to the acting of Lancaster and Miss Kerr, there is a wonderful performance by Gene Hackman who makes a supporting role the most complete character in the film....Scott Wilson's performance as the youngest member of the trio...is a compelling piece of work....And Frankenheimer gains a delightful performance from Sheree North,

9563-507: 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

9694-461: 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

9825-438: 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

9956-470: 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

10087-657: 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

10218-579: The lead and the partners immediately hired David Heilweil to write the screenplay. John Frankenheimer, who had been directing and co-producing films in partnership with Douglas and Lewis since 1962 through his own film production company, John Frankenheimer Productions , was to direct the film from the start. After Douglas and Lewis broke off their partnership in December 1966 (after eleven years of working together), Lewis formed his own film production company, Edward Lewis Productions , and took with him several of

10349-439: 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

10480-528: The military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served in the Fifth Army in Italy under General Mark Clark from 1943 to 1945. He was discharged October 1945 and was an entertainment specialist with the rank of technician fifth grade . Lancaster returned to New York after his Army service. Although initially unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster

10611-435: 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

10742-677: The music industry with the music publishing companies Leigh Music , Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music , Calyork Music and Colby Music and the record labels Calyork Records and Maine Records . The HHL team impressed Hollywood with its success; as Life wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures, it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)." In late 1957, they announced they would make ten films worth $ 14 million in 1958. Lancaster made two films for Wallis to complete his eight-film commitment for that contract: The Rainmaker (1956) with Katharine Hepburn , which earned Lancaster

10873-510: 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

11004-422: The opportunity to produce their own movies within five years of hitting Hollywood. Through Hecht, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis . Lancaster left New York and moved to Los Angeles. Wallis signed him to a non-exclusive eight-movie contract. Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury for Wallis in 1947, where Lancaster was billed after John Hodiak and Lizabeth Scott . It

11135-498: 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

11266-497: 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,

11397-404: The producers feel they must create a human side for the athlete. And so Frankenheimer tries to inveigle us into caring about three only hinted-at love relationships. Most of the footage of these affairs must be on a cutting room floor, because as they stand, their brevity is ludicrous....When Deborah Kerr, who plays opposite Lancaster, meets the three men she says, 'I think you are all subtle, but in

11528-407: The properties that he had acquired and developed with Frankenheimer. In January 1967, Lewis and Frankenheimer announced that they had together signed a four-picture financing and distribution deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , for a co-production deal between Edward Lewis Productions and John Frankenheimer Productions, including The Gypsy Moths . The screenplay had been re-written by William Hanley and

11659-528: The province of Ulster , Ireland. His maternal side was from Belfast , the descendants of English dissenters who had colonized Ireland as part of the Plantation of Ulster . Lancaster grew up in East Harlem , New York City. He developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School , where he was a basketball star. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of

11790-459: 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

11921-402: 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

12052-463: The same attention as his thrillers, like Seconds (1966) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Despite this, he would call The Gypsy Moths one of his two favorite films. The Gypsy Moths was widely seen in Australia, with a local skydiving fraternity quick to seize the opportunity to promote their sport, showing a 16 mm print at many club meetings. Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994)

12183-415: The semblance of an "action film," but "if this were a real action movie, I would be required to do little except look up at the sky and squint. Unfortunately, there isn't that much skydiving." Gene Siskel was mostly critical: "John Frankenheimer...is once again to be credited with superb action photography....But when Frankenheimer's parachutists get down to earth, the film falls apart....in commercial films,

12314-530: 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 ,

12445-694: 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

12576-511: 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

12707-511: 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

12838-431: 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

12969-416: 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

13100-509: 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

13231-467: 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

13362-455: 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

13493-468: The team leaves for good, they have to bury Mike. To pay for the funeral, Malcolm does the same stunt that killed Mike. He leaves by train that night, without attending Mike's funeral. James William Drought 's 1955 novel, The Gypsy Moths – A Fable , was originally acquired by Kirk Douglas and Edward Lewis ' film production company Douglas and Lewis Productions in April 1966. The plan was for Douglas to play

13624-468: 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

13755-405: The time. Marty star Borgnine was under contract to Hecht-Lancaster and was unhappy about his lack of upcoming roles, especially after only receiving some seven lines in 1957's Sweet Smell of Success and half of his normal pay for Marty . He eventually sued for breach of contract to gain back some of this money in 1957. Without Hill, Hecht and Lancaster produced The Kentuckian in 1955. It

13886-410: The top grossers of the year, taking in more than $ 2 million. In 1948, Lancaster had a change of pace with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller 's All My Sons , made at Universal Pictures with Edward G. Robinson . His third film for Wallis was an adaptation of Sorry, Wrong Number in 1948, with Barbara Stanwyck . Hecht kept to his promise to Lancaster to turn producer. The two of them formed

14017-588: 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

14148-541: 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

14279-541: Was Marty in 1955, based on Paddy Chayefsky 's TV play starring Ernest Borgnine and directed by Delbert Mann . It won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Palme d'Or award at Cannes and Borgnine an Best Actor Oscar . It also earned $ 2 million on a budget of $ 350,000. Vera Cruz had been a huge success, but Marty secured Hecht-Lancaster as one of the most successful independent production companies in Hollywood at

14410-617: 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

14541-572: Was a critical success but a commercial disappointment. Over the years it has come to be regarded as one of Lancaster's greatest films. HHL produced seven additional films in the late 1950s. Four starred Lancaster: Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), a Robert Wise directed war film with Clark Gable , which was mildly popular; Separate Tables (1958) a hotel-set drama with Kerr and Rita Hayworth (who married James Hill), which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Oscar awards for lead actor David Niven and supporting actress Wendy Hiller , and

14672-463: Was a member of the French Foreign Legion . Robert Aldrich worked on the movie as a production manager. The second was 1952's The First Time , a comedy which was the directorial debut of Frank Tashlin . It was meant to star Lancaster but he wound up not appearing in the film – the first of their productions in which he did not act. In 1951, the actor/producer duo changed

14803-456: 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

14934-438: Was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in films and television series. He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor (winning once), and he also won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor. The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as # 19 of

15065-425: Was borrowed by 20th Century Fox for Mister 880 in 1950, a comedy with Edmund Gwenn . MGM put him in a popular Western, Vengeance Valley in 1951, then he went to Warners to play the title role in the biopic Jim Thorpe – All-American , also in 1951. Norma signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to make two films through a Norma subsidiary, Halburt. The first film was 1951's Ten Tall Men , where Lancaster

15196-534: Was both a critical and commercial success; The Devil's Disciple (1959), with Douglas and Laurence Olivier , which lost money (and saw Lancaster fire Mackendrick during shooting); and the Western The Unforgiven (1960), with Audrey Hepburn , which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Three were made without Lancaster, all of which lost money: The Bachelor Party (1957), from another TV play by Chayefsky, and directed by Delbert Mann; Take

15327-603: 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

15458-444: 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

15589-482: 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

15720-426: Was directed by Lewis Allen . Then producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in 1946's The Killers , which was completed and released prior to Desert Fury . Directed by Robert Siodmak , it was a great commercial and critical success and launched Lancaster and his co-star Ava Gardner to stardom. It has since come to be regarded as a classic. Hellinger used Lancaster again on Brute Force in 1947,

15851-428: Was directed by Lancaster in his directorial debut, and he also played a lead role. Lancaster disliked directing and only did it once more, on 1974's The Midnight Man . Lancaster still had commitments with Wallis, and made The Rose Tattoo for him in 1955, starring with Anna Magnani and Daniel Mann directing. It was very popular at the box office and critically acclaimed, winning Magnani an Oscar. In 1955, Hill

15982-455: Was encouraged to audition for a Broadway play by a producer who saw him in an elevator while he was visiting his then-girlfriend at work. The audition was successful and Lancaster was cast in Harry Brown 's A Sound of Hunting (1945). The show only ran three weeks, but his performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht . Lancaster had other offers but Hecht promised him

16113-402: 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

16244-689: 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,

16375-487: 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

16506-469: Was made an equal partner in Hecht-Lancaster, with his name added to the production company. Hecht-Hill-Lancaster (HHL) released their first film Trapeze in 1956, with Lancaster performing many of his own stunts. The film, co-starring Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida , went on to become the production company's top box office success, and United Artists expanded its deal with HHL. In 1956, Lancaster and Hecht partnered with Loring Buzzell and entered

16637-733: Was produced by Kramer and directed by John Cassavetes . He went to Italy to star in The Leopard (1963) for Luchino Visconti , co-starring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale . It was one of Lancaster's favorite films and was a big hit in France but failed in the US (though the version released was much truncated). He had a small role in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) for producer/star Kirk Douglas, and then did two for Frankenheimer: Seven Days in May (1964),

16768-454: 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

16899-476: 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

17030-490: 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

17161-636: 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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