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Post by topbilled on Aug 15, 2023 15:34:59 GMT
By the beginning of 1959, movie admissions in North America had dropped to under 40 million tickets sold per week. This was the worst year for Hollywood since 1922. Considering how many studios were still operating, the fact that fewer new films were in production spoke volumes. Efforts were instead being put into producing weekly television series.
Movie studios needed to do something spectacular to get audiences interested in the cinema again. MGM thought the answer was a remake of the silent classic BEN HUR.
It cast Charlton Heston in the lead role and sent director William Wyler to Rome to film it. Most of the interiors were done at the Cinecitta studios. It was an expensive endeavor, but after it took home eleven Oscars including Best Picture, it eventually recouped its cost and turned a profit. Other studios would try to emulate MGM’s success.
Hollywood movies that were produced largely on location were nicknamed ‘runaways.’ Until the late 1950s, studio films were primarily shot on sound stages and backlots in the Los Angeles area. If the story’s setting occurred in a different locale, stock footage was inserted. And in rare cases, a second unit with an associate director might be sent to an actual location to film new exterior shots. But by and large, the movies were done with contract stars and studio technicians that were based in Hollywood. Now all of that was changing. A picture like Billy Wilder’s SOME LIKE IT HOT was made down in San Diego.
In addition to location-based films, the studios were trying riskier subject matter in order to compete with television. The Broadway hit about teenage pregnancy, BLUE DENIM, was adapted by 20th Century Fox and featured the young stars from the stage version, Brandon de Wilde and Carol Lynley.
Other subject matter was just as sensational and controversial. United Artists produced ON THE BEACH, a harrowing tale about a nuclear holocaust starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. It featured Fred Astaire in a dramatic role as an Australian scientist.
The industry was also making suspense thrillers and adventure yarns that emphasized glamorous locations and ultra sophisticated stars. The prime example was Alfred Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST which cast Cary Grant as an ad exec mistaken for a spy. On a train out of town, Grant’s character meets a woman played by Eva Marie Saint. Of course, complications soon develop, romantic and otherwise. The action culminates in a dramatic climax that takes place over the faces of Mount Rushmore.
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 15, 2023 17:32:19 GMT
As always, great color in these year by years. Thank you.
"On the Beach" is a movie I appreciate more each time I see it. It's based on a book by one of my favorite popular authors of the early-mid twentieth century, Nevil Shute. "No Highway in the Sky" and "A Town Like Alice" are two others of his very good books that were turned into very good movies.
I'm a touch confused by this line of yours, "Considering how many studios were still operating, the fact that only fifteen new films were in production spoke volumes." Is that the right number or did you, maybe, mean fifty? Just asking as fifteen sounds really low.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Aug 15, 2023 17:43:37 GMT
It was a pretty good year for melodrama too: Universal's Imitation of Life, Warner's A Summer Place and Fox's The Best of Everything. Warner in particular built on this success and used its new stable of young stars in movies like Parrish and Rome Adventure over the next few years. And, as you pointed out, major effort was put into television series, in Warner's case using many of those same young stars interchangeably for both movies and TV.
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 15, 2023 18:07:51 GMT
It was a pretty good year for melodrama too: Universal's Imitation of Life, Warner's A Summer Place and Fox's The Best of Everything. Warner in particular built on this success and used its new stable of young stars in movies like Parrish and Rome Adventure over the next few years. And, as you pointed out, major effort was put into television series, in Warner's case using many of those same young stars interchangeably for both movies and TV.
The book that "The Best of Everything" is based on is also a really good sudsy page-turner.
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Post by topbilled on Aug 15, 2023 19:17:55 GMT
I'm a touch confused by this line of yours, "Considering how many studios were still operating, the fact that only fifteen new films were in production spoke volumes." Is that the right number or did you, maybe, mean fifty? Just asking as fifteen sounds really low. |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 20, 2023 13:57:59 GMT
I will start posting the write-ups for the 1960s, later this weekend. So please check back and thanks for reading!
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Post by topbilled on Aug 21, 2023 1:19:28 GMT
It was the beginning of a new decade in Hollywood. In order to stay afloat, studios continued to diversify. United Artists, which had already moved into the music business, added to its holdings by taking over an independent TV production company called Ziv. Ziv had started as a distributor of old feature films on television but also produced low-budget original series for syndication.
MGM was also rethinking its business model and embarked upon the process of diversification. The studio acquired Verve Records, which worked nicely with the soundtracks for its musical films. But MGM went beyond the entertainment field and purchased hotels. And while MGM and UA diversified, 20th Century Fox found another way to raise cash. It was now selling off sections of its backlot. The land proved to be a valuable real estate commodity, and some of the property had oil underneath it.
Meanwhile, American films continued to be made in foreign countries. This arrangement usually benefited independent producers and independent stars. The unions back in Hollywood were worried about these developments, because overseas production threatened to diminish union power in the industry. Soon members were advocating the picketing of movie theaters that showed runaway films made outside Hollywood.
Tensions escalated. Eventually, the motion picture business was hit with a major strike. The Writers Guild was first to go on strike– asking for better contracts, recognition of tenure, and residuals from TV broadcasts. The standoff lasted nearly five months. It gained momentum when other unions also jumped on the bandwagon. The Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild went on strike, too; seeking better pensions and health benefits, as well as residuals.
Ultimately, salaries and benefits were improved—for those that still managed to retain employment in an industry with dwindling profits. Because budgets were shrinking at the major studios, more talent was being laid off. Huge crews were no longer needed, so technicians were let go. In front of the camera, fading stars had their contracts canceled. And there were even less employed writers than ever. When the war ended, studios had almost 500 screenwriters under contract; but in 1960, just fifteen years later, there were only 67 contracted screenwriters in Hollywood.
In addition to these cutbacks, the studios also discontinued the costly training programs they had in operation. These programs had been designed to teach newly signed players the basics of acting, fencing, horseback riding, dancing, and so on. But new movie stars were now expected to have many of these skills already, and more importantly, they were expected to have built some sort of loyal following on television. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Aug 21, 2023 2:25:51 GMT
"When the war ended, studios had almost 500 screenwriters under contract; but in 1960, just fifteen years later, there were only 67 contracted screenwriters in Hollywood."
Wow!
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Post by intrepid37 on Aug 21, 2023 2:32:55 GMT
"When the war ended, studios had almost 500 screenwriters under contract; but in 1960, just fifteen years later, there were only 67 contracted screenwriters in Hollywood."
Wow!
I wonder how much of that was due to the advent of television which had exploded in the 1950's. A lot fewer theatrical films needed to be made for public consumption once tv had replaced b-movies. |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 21, 2023 13:49:14 GMT
"When the war ended, studios had almost 500 screenwriters under contract; but in 1960, just fifteen years later, there were only 67 contracted screenwriters in Hollywood."
Wow!
I wonder how much of that was due to the advent of television which had exploded in the 1950's. A lot fewer theatrical films needed to be made for public consumption once tv had replaced b-movies.
Television replicated the old B-movie production model. The key difference is that there were more television shows in production than there had been B-movies. So if you think about it, there were more employment opportunities in television than there had been in films.
But television lacked the prestige of film. |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 23, 2023 13:54:19 GMT
Weekly movie attendance was down around 41 million, and production costs were rising in Hollywood. Studios tried to find new ways to offset their increasing expenses and maintain profitability. One solution was to sell off buildings that were not being used anymore and only lease space as needed for new productions.
Some of the studios were able to survive because of recent diversifications into music and television. For example, Columbia Pictures had begun a television arm called Screen Gems that produced a sitcom version of the popular comic strip Dennis the Menace. In 1961, the Screen Gems subsidiary also began episodes of Hazel with Tony and Oscar winner Shirley Booth. It was an instant success and ranked fourth during its inaugural season.
But not every studio had lucrative TV ventures to offset rising costs. And if films were going to continue to make money for the major Hollywood companies, new ideas had to be implemented. Citing the success of European films, American filmmakers decided that a change in stories needed to occur. It was the only way they could compete with foreign productions.
Foreign films seemed to be attracting audiences for a variety of reasons. First, the content seemed more sophisticated. And second, the films seemed to have a more stylized approach when it came to specific storytelling conventions. One director who garnered a lot of attention was Michaelangelo Antonioni. His hit LA NOTTE had starred Jeanne Moreau and Marcello Mastroianni as an unfaithful married couple dealing with the deteriorating state of their relationship. The picture became highly regarded and earned top honors at the Berlin Film Festival.
Another one of the year’s most important films came from Universal. It was a follow-up to 1959’s PILLOW TALK, a raucous sex farce that first paired virginal Doris Day with smooth talking Rock Hudson. The studio decided there would be great value reuniting them, with third wheel Tony Randall, in LOVER COME BACK. It repeated the same basic formula with a few slight variations. Again, the premise relied on Day’s aggressive femininity, as well as Hudson’s rakish childlike vulnerability, played for laughs. Audiences were thoroughly amused, and Universal had another hit. |
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Post by I Love Melvin on Aug 24, 2023 22:59:10 GMT
On a more ominous note, Cleopatra started filming in Rome and eventually almost brought down a studio and created a world-wide scandal that even the Pope weighed in on. (Hope I'm not preempting your plan for a later thread. Forgive me if I am.)
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Post by NoShear on Aug 25, 2023 15:36:56 GMT
It was the beginning of a new decade in Hollywood. In order to stay afloat, studios continued to diversify. United Artists, which had already moved into the music business, added to its holdings by taking over an independent TV production company called Ziv. Ziv had started as a distributor of old feature films on television but also produced low-budget original series for syndication.
MGM was also rethinking its business model and embarked upon the process of diversification. The studio acquired Verve Records, which worked nicely with the soundtracks for its musical films. But MGM went beyond the entertainment field and purchased hotels. And while MGM and UA diversified, 20th Century Fox found another way to raise cash. It was now selling off sections of its backlot. The land proved to be a valuable real estate commodity, and some of the property had oil underneath it.
Meanwhile, American films continued to be made in foreign countries. This arrangement usually benefited independent producers and independent stars. The unions back in Hollywood were worried about these developments, because overseas production threatened to diminish union power in the industry. Soon members were advocating the picketing of movie theaters that showed runaway films made outside Hollywood.
Tensions escalated. Eventually, the motion picture business was hit with a major strike. The Writers Guild was first to go on strike– asking for better contracts, recognition of tenure, and residuals from TV broadcasts. The standoff lasted nearly five months. It gained momentum when other unions also jumped on the bandwagon. The Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild went on strike, too; seeking better pensions and health benefits, as well as residuals.
Ultimately, salaries and benefits were improved—for those that still managed to retain employment in an industry with dwindling profits. Because budgets were shrinking at the major studios, more talent was being laid off. Huge crews were no longer needed, so technicians were let go. In front of the camera, fading stars had their contracts canceled. And there were even less employed writers than ever. When the war ended, studios had almost 500 screenwriters under contract; but in 1960, just fifteen years later, there were only 67 contracted screenwriters in Hollywood.
In addition to these cutbacks, the studios also discontinued the costly training programs they had in operation. These programs had been designed to teach newly signed players the basics of acting, fencing, horseback riding, dancing, and so on. But new movie stars were now expected to have many of these skills already, and more importantly, they were expected to have built some sort of loyal following on television. Lots to proverbially chew on here, TopBilled... ZIV's syndicated Sea Hunt was still logging its original bottom time in 1960 and would continue resurfacing at least long enough for me to take excursions with Lloyd Bridges' Mike Nelson in the early 1970s. The Verve/ MGM label's stable eventually yielded the Velvet Underground discography which included the following track - the original release version of I Love Melvin's response to your Dolly Parton's Rockstar album thread, TopBilled: Finally, hope the latest writers strike has seen you weathering it OK, TopBilled. |
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Post by NoShear on Aug 26, 2023 16:13:33 GMT
On a more ominous note, Cleopatra started filming in Rome and eventually almost brought down a studio and created a world-wide scandal that even the Pope weighed in on. (Hope I'm not preempting your plan for a later thread. Forgive me if I am.) I Love Melvin, thought of a pair of famous faces seen in the crowd at the opening ceremonies of the 1960 Summer Olympics which are said to have presented scheduling considerations in regard to the early production of CLEOPATRA in Rome:  Those opening ceremonies also included Rafer Johnson who was somewhere in between his first (uncredited) movie role and securing the title of "The World's Greatest Athlete" in Rome:  If haven't already viewed, you can catch Johnson in Sergeant Rutledge this coming Tuesday evening with Woody Strode's star on TCM... |
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Post by topbilled on Aug 26, 2023 16:55:13 GMT
Not every Hollywood studio focused on television to the extent United Artists, Columbia Pictures and Universal did. Fox was in the process of selling off chunks of its valuable back lot. This helped keep the company going while several productions– THE LONGEST DAY and a remake of CLEOPATRA– experienced numerous delays and went seriously over budget.
As CLEOPATRA’s costs spiraled out of control, Darryl F. Zanuck began to worry that his investment in the company was threatened. He stepped back in to oversee day-to-day production, and Spyros Skouras was forced out. Also, many of the men Skouras had appointed to various divisions and subsidiaries during Zanuck’s exile in Paris were let go. Zanuck was determined to return the studio to its former glory.
Meanwhile, MGM focused on overseas productions. But there was trouble when the studio attempted to re-film an earlier classic, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. A lengthy location shoot in Tahiti was rife with problems. Director Carol Reed ended up quitting, and was replaced by Lewis Milestone. Also, the film’s star Marlon Brando was using set designers to decorate a friend’s wedding and borrowed company planes to haul supplies for private parties. When the film finally opened, Brando’s performance was largely jeered and the picture flopped.
Due to MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY’s disappointing performance at the box office, MGM barely broke even in 1962. The company only turned out eleven other motion pictures during the year, and most of them did lukewarm business. At one point in ’62, MGM had nothing in production—the first time ever since operations began in 1925.
Several important films released in 1962 were directed by John Frankenheimer. Though Hollywood auteurs were a bit overshadowed by their European counterparts in the early 1960s, Frankenheimer was one who received special recognition. As a storyteller, he relied on instincts he had developed during his days in live television. With ALL FALL DOWN and BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, he crafted compelling social message dramas. But his crowning achievement would be THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, a movie that hit close to home for many about the chilling effects of the Korean war.
At Paramount, the trend of epic filmmaking continued. The studio decided to green-light CIRCUS WORLD, a big budget spectacle starring John Wayne and Rita Hayworth. It did not premiere until two years later because of on-going production issues. Frank Capra was initially assigned to direct, but he fought with Wayne over script rewrites and left; Henry Hathaway soon took over. In addition to this, Wayne did not get along with Hayworth on set. Plus several of the original cast members bowed out, when they realized their roles were being reduced so Wayne’s could be more prominent. Among those who walked off were David Niven and Rod Taylor. |
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