Avon Productions was an American film production company formed by producers Lawrence Weingarten and Pandro Berman. Both men worked at MGM at the company was financed by MGM who would distribute. The company was formed in 1957. [1] [2] Both men would work on productions but only one would take credit. Weingarten said "after all these years we felt that it was time we shared in the profits of the picutres we made." [3]
The company made some hugely poular films including Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and BUtterfield 8.
This company wound up in August 1961. [4] Some films announced for the company would be done by other companies (Sweet Bird of Youth) or made as TV series ( The Travels of Jamie McPheeters ). Some were never made (e.g. Strike Heaven in the Face, Recollection Creek, No Blade of Grass.) [2] [5] [6]
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favorite, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. Set in the "plantation home in the Mississippi Delta" of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, the play examines the relationships among members of Big Daddy's family, primarily between his son Brick and Maggie the "Cat", Brick's wife.
Jailhouse Rock is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor and Jennifer Holden. Adapted by Guy Trosper from a story written by Nedrick Young, the film tells the story of Vince Everett (Presley), a convict who learns the guitar while in prison and later becomes a star following his release.
American International Pictures LLC is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.
Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.
Screen Gems is an American brand name owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation, initially as a cartoon studio, then a television studio, and later on as a film studio. The label currently serves as a film production that specializes in genre films, mainly horror.
The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Mirisch Films, and The Mirisch Corporation.
MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired in Borehamwood, which remained in use until it was closed in 1970.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1958 American drama film directed by Richard Brooks based on the 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. The film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson and Judith Anderson.
Pandro Samuel Berman, also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer.
Charles Schnee was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote the scripts for the Westerns Red River (1948) and The Furies (1950), the social melodrama They Live by Night (1949), and the cynical Hollywood saga The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), for which he won an Academy Award.
Helen Rose was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Lawrence Wheaton Gates was an American actor.
Sol C. Siegel was an American film producer. Two of the numerous films he produced, A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Lawrence Weingarten was an American film producer. He was best known for working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and producing some of the studio's most prestigious films such as Adam's Rib (1949), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958).
Vaughn Everett Taylor was an American actor. He became known for his roles in many anthology series, including Kraft Television Theatre (1947–1957) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950–1954). He also appeared in films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Psycho (1960).
Joseph Richard Vogel was an American executive best known for his stint at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, including a reign as president from 1956 to 1963.
Sweet Bird of Youth is a 1962 American drama film starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page, with Shirley Knight, Madeleine Sherwood, Ed Begley, Rip Torn and Mildred Dunnock in support. Based on the 1959 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, the film was adapted and directed by Richard Brooks.
ThePlaywrights Company (1938–1961) was an American theatrical production company.
Benjamin Thau was an American businessman who became vice-president of the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of the Loew's theater chain. From 1928 he was in charge of casting, in the business of discovering and developing talented performers. He was known for his quiet and calming influence with often temperamental stars. Towards the end of his career he was head of the studio from 1956 to 1958.
Curtleigh Productions was an American independent film and television production company established by actor and actress husband-and-wife team Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The company was formed in 1955 and produced a handful of major motion pictures during its span, including Mister Cory, Sweet Smell of Success, The Vikings, The Defiant Ones, and Taras Bulba. Although plans originally called for co-starring vehicles for the couple, Leigh took little interest in developing properties. Following the couple's divorce in 1962, Curtis continued to develop and produce properties previously acquired through Curtleigh Productions, first channeling the corporate structure through his own outfit, Curtis Enterprises, then forming a new film production company, Reynard Productions.