During the 1950s, Universal had numerous successes with The Killers, the Abbott and Costello films, and several monster, science fiction and western films, as well as a variety of light comedies and melodramas, both of them courtesy of producer Ross Hunter, and the latter of them usually directed by Douglas Sirk. Universal then merged with International Pictures in the 1940s, and then was bought out by the U.S.
Its "art house" subsidiary, Focus Features (including the remnants of Gramercy Pictures), is responsible for distributing acclaimed films such as Brokeback Mountain, Being John Malkovich and Milk.ĭuring The Great Depression, the studio fell into a crisis and narrowly avoided bankruptcy in the 1930s, which caused the Laemmles to cede control of the studio to creditors. In addition, Universal was the primary distributor of Walter Lantz's cartoons such as Woody Woodpecker. Another mainstay in this period was the Comedy Duo, Abbott and Costello, with both franchises combining in the late 1940s onward. Most of the "classic" movie monsters, such as Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, The Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera and the Gill Man (aka the Creature from the Black Lagoon), are best known in their Universal incarnations. Universal established a reputation in the 1930s and 1940s for the production of horror films. It was during this period that Universal churned up a number of hits such as Show Boat, All Quiet on the Western Front, and the creation of the Universal Horror series, which gave Universal a near-monopoly on the horror film genre. After his son, Carl Laemmle Jr., took over from his father in 1928, the studio underwent a major overhaul in order to compete with the other studios in Hollywood. Unlike many other studio heads, Laemmle took a cautious role in film-making, choosing not to open a theater chain and financing the movies himself without putting the studio in debt. Laemmle, along with a number of film producers in Hollywood, formed the studio with the intent to capitalize on the system.
The studio was the brainchild of Carl Laemmle Sr., a German-born Jewish immigrant who played a crucial role in the creation of the star system of film-making. The studio is symbolized by an image of a globe, which has undergone many changes, the most recent being in 2012 for its 100th anniversary.
Universal's headquarters, Universal City, was one of the first purpose-built studio lots ever built, and is now a major tourist attraction as well as a working studio. Universal Pictures (aka Universal or Universal Studios) is one of the five major American movie studios, and the longest-lived Hollywood studio, dating all the way back to 1912 (predating Paramount Pictures by just over a week). "When in Hollywood, visit Universal Studios." note Ask for Babs.
0 kommentar(er)
