Carl Laemmle(1867-1939)
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
The roots of Universal Pictures can rightfully be traced back to 1906
when Carl Laemmle returned home to Chicago after a stint as a
bookkeeper in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and opened up a chain of
nickelodeons. This in turn led to the ambitious 39-year-old organizing
a film exchange network he boldly called the Laemmle Film Service,
which expanded west and north into Canada. Although he was an original
member of the Edison Patents Company, he bristled at the idea of paying
royalties to move to the next level: film production. Laemmle founded
IMP (Independent Motion Picture Company) in New York in 1909 and for
the next three years produced a number of economical multi-reel films
while Edison's agents did their best to shut him down.
Thomas Edison's General Film Company
(known as "The Trust") filed incessant claims of patent infringement on
those companies that refused to pay. Many of these independents (which
included such future film moguls as
Adolph Zukor and
Jesse L. Lasky) pulled up stakes and left
for California. As for Laemmle, he doggedly fought 289 legal actions
brought about by GFC from 1909-12 and was ultimately victorious. IMP
reformed in 1912 as Universal, filming two final productions in New
York, The Dawn of Netta (1912)
and a one-reeler, The Nurse (1912),
before relocating his company to Los Angeles. From 1912-14 Universal
operated two California studios, one in Hollywood and the Universal
"Oak Crest Ranch" in the San Fernando Valley. The two operations were
move to the new Universal City ("Taylor Ranch") in 1914 For a short
time in 1912, the New York Film Company battled with Universal over the
ownership of the Bison Motion Picture properties at Evendale and Santa
Monica. New York Film Company wins the right to withdraw from
Universal. Universal/Bison Evendale plant was returned to the New York
Film Company. Universal was given the rights to trade names "Bison" and
101 Bison" Universal/Bison brand began production at the Providencia
Ranch ( Universal Oak Crest ranch- the first Universal City) in 1912.
Universal began newsreel production in 1913 under
Jack Cohn. In 1914 Laemmle acquired the Taylor
Ranch on the north side of the Hollywood Hills and set about building
Universal City.
Damon and Pythias (1914) was
Universal's first film completed there, just prior to the studio's
official opening in March 1915 and, until 1925, Universal City would be
the largest and most prolific studio in the world (eventually
supplanted by MGM soon after its inception). Organized studio tours
began in 1915 (they were discontinued in 1928 with the arrival of
talkies, but resumed in 1964), which proved highly profitable. Laemmle,
lacking a theater network, instituted a three-tiered branding system to
market Universal's releases: Red Feather (low-budget), Bluebird
(mainstream/medium budget) and Jewell (prestige releases, often
roadshow attractions commanding premium prices). Heavy emphasis was
placed on one-, two- and three-reel productions.
Universal became known as the most paternalistic of all the Hollywood
studios. Virtually all of "Uncle" Carl's relatives (including his son
Carl Laemmle Jr. and his vastly more
talented nephew, William Wyler, were
employed there). The studio enjoyed enormous hits during the 1920s,
especially Lon Chaney's
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
and
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
before the actor was lured away to MGM. Lacking a theater network,
Universal concentrated on independent rural theatrical houses, offering
affordable exhibitor's packages which allowed them to change bills
numerous times per week. This marketing strategy largely concentrated
on product that would appeal to rural theaters through 1930. During the
1920s Europe also became a major source of revenue, with Universal
actively involved in co-productions overseas. Sound productions became
the norm by 1929 and Universal responded by increasing the number of
quality productions, scoring its first Academy Award for Best Picture
with
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
the following year. The studio became famous for popularizing the
monster craze, beginning with
Dracula (1931), that remained strong into
1935. Unfortunately, the studio's other product was proving less
successful as the ravages of the Depression took hold. Laemmle's
emphasis on quality productions misfired in the mid-'30s and he was
forced to take an unfavorable $750,000 loan from Standard Capital
which, after cost overruns on the production of
Show Boat (1936), resulted in his
ouster from the studio. He was forcibly retired from the movie industry
in 1936 and sold Universal to Standard Capital Company, headed by
Charles R. Rogers, who
instituted drastic cost-cutting measures that coincided with the
signing of Deanna Durbin, whose popularity
virtually single-handedly saved the studio from financial disaster from
1937-40, until other popular stars (notably the comedy team of
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello) were added to the
studio's roster by a later management team headed by J. Cheever Cowdin.
Universal was also--briefly--home to displaced low-budget veteran
producers Trem Carr and
W. Ray Johnston, who worked there in
1936 while reforming Monogram Pictures after breaking off from an
unhappy association with Republic Pictures.
While many contemporary observers disliked Rogers' handling of the
so-called "New" Universal, the undeniable fact is that he saved the
studio at a critical point in its history. Carl Laemmle died in 1939 of
a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 72. As with most Hollywood
studios, production boomed during WW2, and by 1945 the studio was
averaging a release of one feature film per week. Universal merged with
International Pictures, an independent studio headed by ex-20th
Century-Fox executives William Goetz and
Leo Spitz in 1946 and renamed
Universal-International Pictures (reverted to Universal in 1963). Since
the company had consciously avoided building a proprietary theater
chain it was unaffected by the 1949 Supreme Court theater anti-trust
decision. Indeed, the studio was actually better positioned than the
other majors as it's revenue stream continued unabated. Universal was
purchased by and merged with Decca Records in 1952.
While not a pioneer in television production (most majors, with the
notable exception of Columbia, initially stonewalled it), the medium
became a huge part of Universal City in the late 1950s. In 1962
Universal was purchased by and merged with The Music Corporation of
America (MCA) and became MCA Universal. MCA's television production
company, Revue Televsion Productions with its
Leave It to Beaver (1957)
unit, would relocate to the sprawling Universal lot. Matsushita
Electrical Industrial Co. purchased MCA in 1991. The Seagram Co.
purchased MCA in 1995 and MCA Universal was renamed Universal Studios.
In 1998 Universal purchased the USA television network. The company
merged with a French global media company, Vivendi Media Group, and
became Vivendi Universal in 2000. In April 2004 Vivendi Universal was
purchased by and merged with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
and became NBC Universal.
when Carl Laemmle returned home to Chicago after a stint as a
bookkeeper in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and opened up a chain of
nickelodeons. This in turn led to the ambitious 39-year-old organizing
a film exchange network he boldly called the Laemmle Film Service,
which expanded west and north into Canada. Although he was an original
member of the Edison Patents Company, he bristled at the idea of paying
royalties to move to the next level: film production. Laemmle founded
IMP (Independent Motion Picture Company) in New York in 1909 and for
the next three years produced a number of economical multi-reel films
while Edison's agents did their best to shut him down.
Thomas Edison's General Film Company
(known as "The Trust") filed incessant claims of patent infringement on
those companies that refused to pay. Many of these independents (which
included such future film moguls as
Adolph Zukor and
Jesse L. Lasky) pulled up stakes and left
for California. As for Laemmle, he doggedly fought 289 legal actions
brought about by GFC from 1909-12 and was ultimately victorious. IMP
reformed in 1912 as Universal, filming two final productions in New
York, The Dawn of Netta (1912)
and a one-reeler, The Nurse (1912),
before relocating his company to Los Angeles. From 1912-14 Universal
operated two California studios, one in Hollywood and the Universal
"Oak Crest Ranch" in the San Fernando Valley. The two operations were
move to the new Universal City ("Taylor Ranch") in 1914 For a short
time in 1912, the New York Film Company battled with Universal over the
ownership of the Bison Motion Picture properties at Evendale and Santa
Monica. New York Film Company wins the right to withdraw from
Universal. Universal/Bison Evendale plant was returned to the New York
Film Company. Universal was given the rights to trade names "Bison" and
101 Bison" Universal/Bison brand began production at the Providencia
Ranch ( Universal Oak Crest ranch- the first Universal City) in 1912.
Universal began newsreel production in 1913 under
Jack Cohn. In 1914 Laemmle acquired the Taylor
Ranch on the north side of the Hollywood Hills and set about building
Universal City.
Damon and Pythias (1914) was
Universal's first film completed there, just prior to the studio's
official opening in March 1915 and, until 1925, Universal City would be
the largest and most prolific studio in the world (eventually
supplanted by MGM soon after its inception). Organized studio tours
began in 1915 (they were discontinued in 1928 with the arrival of
talkies, but resumed in 1964), which proved highly profitable. Laemmle,
lacking a theater network, instituted a three-tiered branding system to
market Universal's releases: Red Feather (low-budget), Bluebird
(mainstream/medium budget) and Jewell (prestige releases, often
roadshow attractions commanding premium prices). Heavy emphasis was
placed on one-, two- and three-reel productions.
Universal became known as the most paternalistic of all the Hollywood
studios. Virtually all of "Uncle" Carl's relatives (including his son
Carl Laemmle Jr. and his vastly more
talented nephew, William Wyler, were
employed there). The studio enjoyed enormous hits during the 1920s,
especially Lon Chaney's
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
and
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
before the actor was lured away to MGM. Lacking a theater network,
Universal concentrated on independent rural theatrical houses, offering
affordable exhibitor's packages which allowed them to change bills
numerous times per week. This marketing strategy largely concentrated
on product that would appeal to rural theaters through 1930. During the
1920s Europe also became a major source of revenue, with Universal
actively involved in co-productions overseas. Sound productions became
the norm by 1929 and Universal responded by increasing the number of
quality productions, scoring its first Academy Award for Best Picture
with
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
the following year. The studio became famous for popularizing the
monster craze, beginning with
Dracula (1931), that remained strong into
1935. Unfortunately, the studio's other product was proving less
successful as the ravages of the Depression took hold. Laemmle's
emphasis on quality productions misfired in the mid-'30s and he was
forced to take an unfavorable $750,000 loan from Standard Capital
which, after cost overruns on the production of
Show Boat (1936), resulted in his
ouster from the studio. He was forcibly retired from the movie industry
in 1936 and sold Universal to Standard Capital Company, headed by
Charles R. Rogers, who
instituted drastic cost-cutting measures that coincided with the
signing of Deanna Durbin, whose popularity
virtually single-handedly saved the studio from financial disaster from
1937-40, until other popular stars (notably the comedy team of
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello) were added to the
studio's roster by a later management team headed by J. Cheever Cowdin.
Universal was also--briefly--home to displaced low-budget veteran
producers Trem Carr and
W. Ray Johnston, who worked there in
1936 while reforming Monogram Pictures after breaking off from an
unhappy association with Republic Pictures.
While many contemporary observers disliked Rogers' handling of the
so-called "New" Universal, the undeniable fact is that he saved the
studio at a critical point in its history. Carl Laemmle died in 1939 of
a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 72. As with most Hollywood
studios, production boomed during WW2, and by 1945 the studio was
averaging a release of one feature film per week. Universal merged with
International Pictures, an independent studio headed by ex-20th
Century-Fox executives William Goetz and
Leo Spitz in 1946 and renamed
Universal-International Pictures (reverted to Universal in 1963). Since
the company had consciously avoided building a proprietary theater
chain it was unaffected by the 1949 Supreme Court theater anti-trust
decision. Indeed, the studio was actually better positioned than the
other majors as it's revenue stream continued unabated. Universal was
purchased by and merged with Decca Records in 1952.
While not a pioneer in television production (most majors, with the
notable exception of Columbia, initially stonewalled it), the medium
became a huge part of Universal City in the late 1950s. In 1962
Universal was purchased by and merged with The Music Corporation of
America (MCA) and became MCA Universal. MCA's television production
company, Revue Televsion Productions with its
Leave It to Beaver (1957)
unit, would relocate to the sprawling Universal lot. Matsushita
Electrical Industrial Co. purchased MCA in 1991. The Seagram Co.
purchased MCA in 1995 and MCA Universal was renamed Universal Studios.
In 1998 Universal purchased the USA television network. The company
merged with a French global media company, Vivendi Media Group, and
became Vivendi Universal in 2000. In April 2004 Vivendi Universal was
purchased by and merged with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
and became NBC Universal.