History
1943–1945: Origins
On February 16, 1943, Samuel Bronston announced the formation of his namesake production company, having secured the financial support of three banking institutions. Those included were Lazard, Guaranty Trust Co. of New York, and the Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles (SFNB). [5] Bronston appointed Joe Nadel as production manager and Bernard Herzbrun as art director. The studio was headquartered at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. Furthermore, he announced a five-year plan to release 15 feature films, each to be distributed by United Artists (UA). The first inaugural production was the 1943 film Jack London . [6] [7]
By April 1943, Bronston had signed Alfred Santell and Ernest Pascal to direct and write the screenplay, respectively, for Jack London. The film was intended to start production on May 28, 1943, [8] but was postponed until July 1943 when Bronston selected Michael O'Shea for the title role, on loan from Hunt Stromberg. [9] The New York Times reported Bronston's next project was a biographical film of General Billy Mitchell by Isaac Don Levine, for which he acquired the screen rights for $100,000. [10] Bronston had planned to film The Life of Billy Mitchell in 1945, but the project did not reach fruition. [11]
Lewis Milestone had a chance encounter with Bronston, who encouraged him to work independently for his production company. Milestone explained, "I was taking a walk one night when I met Sam Bronston and he asked me to do a film for him which United Artists would release. That suited me fine. I didn't want to go back to a major studio which would have meant having to wrestle continuously with a whole army of executives." [13] By August 1944, Milestone signed a contract with Bronston Productions to direct independent film projects. After considering a number of best-selling novels, [14] Milestone announced he would direct Borrowed Night, a film adaptation of the Oscar Ray novel. The story concerned two boys and one girl who are forced into the Wehrmacht and escape through goldbricking. [15] Meanwhile, Bronston also had contracted two French directors René Clair and Julien Duvivier, with the intention they would adapt Jack London's other novels, which included The Valley of the Moon , The Star Rover , and The Little Lady of the Big House . [16]
However, by the fall of 1944, Clair instead decided to direct a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1943 play And Then There Were None (which was also performed under the title Ten Little Indians). Dudley Nichols was hired to write the screenplay, while the principal cast included Louis Hayward, Barry Fitzgerald, and ZaSu Pitts. Principal photography was scheduled to begin on November 15, 1944. [17] Meanwhile, Duvivier had been set to direct Edward Chodorov's 1944 play Decision. The project centered on a returning U.S. war veteran who discovers fascism rampant at home, but United Artists dropped the production when it was met with opposition from the United States Office of War Information (OWI). [18] Between 1942 to 1945, the OWI reviewed Hollywood film scripts, and urged revisions or discarded material which portrayed the United States in a negative light, including anti-war sentiment. [19]
In 1944, the Zeppo Marx Agency sent Milestone a copy of Harry Brown's war novel A Walk in the Sun . Milestone read the novel and prompted Bronston to buy the screen rights. Bronston purchased the rights from the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company. In November 1944, filming for A Walk in the Sun began at the Agoura Ranch in San Fernando Valley, as a stand-in for Italy. Financing for the film was primarily handled by the bank creditor Walter E. Heller & Co. of Chicago which loaned $850,000, while Ideal Factoring Corp. contributed secondary financing for $300,000. However, the loan from Ideal Factoring (headed by Martin Hersh) was secured at the start of the production. [21] Back in New York, Bronston phoned Milestone to report Walter E. Heller had withdrew their loan agreement. Bronston tried to arrange a more lucrative arrangement, in which they offered $200,000 at 6 percent interest, plus a bonus of 15 percent and 40 percent of the picture's profits (for a sum total of $300,000). Alarmed at the figure, the Chicago banks withdrew their offer. Bankrupt, Bronston withdrew from the project altogether. [13]
Milestone and other private creditors arranged a package deal with Charles K. Feldman to defer their salaries in exchange for a percentage of the box office gross. [21] Milestone next flew out to Chicago to meet with David O'Hara, head of the Chicago financiers, and negotiated $750,000 to finish the production. Filming on A Walk in the Sun wrapped on January 5, 1945. United Artists however decided not to distribute the film as they had agreed to release The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), another war film. Milestone then screened for Darryl F. Zanuck, in which Twentieth Century-Fox agreed to distribute the film. [13]
In January 1945, Bronston filed a $4 million lawsuit against Ideal Factoring Corp., Walter E. Heller and Co., David Hersh, and five others, charging them with seeking to defraud him of the profits and his financial interest in the film A Walk in the Sun. Bronston alleged in the suit the defendants had unlawfully sold his rights to the film to Ideal Factoring. [24] Within a year, A Walk in the Sun had earned $1.6 million in domestic box office rentals. Twentieth Century-Fox took 30 percent of the earnings for their distribution fee. [21] Since the budget had exceeded its original amount, Variety estimated that the bank creditors lost $200,000. [25]
That same month, Bronston had lost the rights to Ten Little Indians due to copyright issues. A new production company Popular Pictures, Inc., headed by Harry Popkin and Edward J. Peskay, was formed to finish the project, retitled as And Then There Were None (1945). René Clair and Dudley Nichols remained with the project, along with the principal cast. [26]
1946–1959: Return from dormancy
In March 1946, Bronston announced plans to produce a biographical film of John Paul Jones. He stated he had wanted to commence filming during the same summer with the cooperation of the United States Navy. [27] A month later, Bronston offered the project to Warner Bros. Pictures. [28] However, the project was dropped due to the needed expenses and lengthy screen time necessary to cover the subject adequately. [29]
In 1949, The New York Times reported that Bronston was developing a feature-length documentary in Rome based on The Vatican: Behind the Scenes in the Holy City, a book by Ann Carnahan. The documentary was intended to feature the daily life of Vatican citizens and views of holy places to be visited by pilgrims during the impending Holy Year. At the time, the documentary was the first color film production taken within the Vatican. [30] Bronston was also involved in a lengthy project to document the Vatican's treasures in an extensive collection of 35 mm slides. According to Bronston's biographer Mel Martin, Bob Considine narrated the film.
A year later, in 1950, Variety reported Bronston had returned to the United States, having spent 15 months filming the Vatican. Bronston, who had been the production chief of All-Nations Television Corp., intended to release his documentary as a series of shorts for theatrical distribution. He also sought to publish pictures of the Vatican in Life magazine. [32]
By 1955, Bronston formed Admiralty Pictures Corporation, a newly-formed investment company with a group of New York investors. Bronston was the president, while R. Stuyvesant Pierrepont Jr. served as the chairman of the board of directors. Through this contact, Bronston recruited multiple limited partners, including Nelson and Laurence Rockefeller. The most prominent partner of Bronston's partners was Pierre S. du Pont III, a member of the prominent family and senior executive in its business enterprises. The Du Ponts had financed patriotic radio and television series, and Bronston's project appealed to him. Du Pont personally invested nearly $1.5 million, over a quarter of the film's total cost. Several companies which invested included DuPont, General Motors, Eastman Kodak, and Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
Bronston had initially planned to film John Paul Jones (1959) in the United States and overseas, including in both Scotland and Italy. In 1957, Bronston met with José María de Areilza, then Spain's Ambassador to the United States, at a U.S. State Department dinner. Areilza encouraged him to shoot on location in Spain. Moreover, Bronston's pool of investors had investments frozen in place by local currency restrictions in Italy, France, and Spain. One day, he received a private investment of $500,000, which was tied up in Spanish pesetas. When Bronston arrived in Madrid, he selected Spain to film John Paul Jones because of the support of the government, and the cheap, cost-efficient labor and filming conditions.
Bronston hired John Farrow to direct John Paul Jones as part of his three-picture deal, and the cast included Robert Stack in the title role, Macdonald Carey, Charles Coburn, Marisa Pavan and Jean Pierre Aumont. [37] He also hired retired Admiral Chester Nimitz as his personal advisor on the film. Nimitz immediately connected Bronston with assistance from the United States Navy, including Nimitz's successor, who pledged the Navy's full cooperation. Alan Brown was recruited as associate producer, having served as Nimitz's executive officer at the Pacific Fleet headquarters. [39] The production was shot mostly on location in Spain, with permission from the Royal Palace of Madrid by the Francoist Spanish government. Minor filming was done on location in England and France.
Released by Warner Bros. in 1959, John Paul Jones received mixed reviews from film critics. The film earned $1 million in distributor rentals from the United States and Canada. [42] In 1964, Warner Bros. sold their ownership of the film to Bronston, who planned to re-release the film later that same year. [44]
1960–1964: Successful releases and bankruptcy
Upon the completion of John Paul Jones, Bronston decided to set up offices in Madrid and began development on a more ambitious film, King of Kings (1961). Within a few years, Bronston hired more production staff personnel and studio executives to handle management and distribution. Michał Waszyński was hired as an executive producer, [46] after Bronston had met Waszyński through Robert Haggiag. Waszyński presented himself as a descendant from the displaced Polish aristocracy. Regarded for his elegance and impeccable manners, he was known as the "Prince." Waszyński had previously worked as an assistant to F. W. Murnau and directed over thirty Polish films, among them The Dybbuk (1937). Jaime Prades, a Uruguayan who worked for Cesáreo González's studio, served as an intermediary between Bronston's studio and the Spanish government.
In October 1958, Bronston and John Farrow formed a production company, Brofar. [49] However, John Farrow exited the project due to Bronston who allegedly saw the script as anti-Semitic and not sufficiently dramatic. In November 1959, Nicholas Ray was then hired as director, and promptly hired screenwriter Philip Yordan to write a new script. In March 1960, Bronston met with Pope John XXIII, who had been pleased the script refocused its blame for the Crucifixion of Jesus on the Romans, gave King of Kings his blessing and pledged the Vatican's full cooperation.
Having consolidated his studio operations in Spain, Bronston initially tried to acquire the Sevilla Film Studios, the largest Spanish film studio with five sound stages. The deal fell through, and Bronston instead rented the Sevilla and Chamartín Studios, the latter whose new sound stages had been approved by municipal authorities. Filmed in Super Technirama 70, King of Kings went into production in April 1960. [53] By June of the same year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) obtained the film's distribution rights. [54] King of Kings premiered at the Loew's State Theatre in New York City on October 11, 1961, and began roadshow engagements in 22 key cities throughout the United States. [55] The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success, [56] earning $8 million in distributor rentals from the United States and Canada. [57]
While King of Kings was still in pre-production, Bronston was preparing another historical epic El Cid (1961). A dream project of Bronston's since 1958, the film's subject matter was tailored to appease the Francoist regime, whose namesake leader envisioned himself as the Cid's latter-day incarnation. Set in the 11th century, the film centered on Don Rodrigo de Bivar, known as the Cid, who mobilizes the Kingdom of Spain against the Moors. As Spanish financiers and banks were not permitted to invest into Samuel Bronston Productions, Inc., a foreign company, Bronston set up a local production company, Samuel Bronston Espanola, which allowed Spanish investment into his films. Thereby, local villages were employed to make costumes, and foundries made steel helmets and swords.
Before principal photography began on El Cid, Bronston was faced with an infringement lawsuit from Cesáreo González's Aspa Films, who had earlier announced his El Cid project in 1956. [60] [61] By August 1960, Bronston negotiated to have Aspa Films and Robert Haggiag's Dear Film involved in his production, making El Cid an international co-production. [60] Furthermore, Bronston signed Allied Artists to distribute the film in the United States. Filmed in Super Technirama 70, and directed by Anthony Mann, [62] interior filming for El Cid were shot at Chamartín, Sevilla, and Cea Studios while additional filming was done in Rome for tax incentives. At the box office, the film earned $12 million in distributor rentals from the United States and Canada. [64]
In September 1961, Bronston announced he was planning a trilogy of historical epic films in Spain; among them was 55 Days at Peking (1963) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). [65] Nicholas Ray, who was set to direct an epic retelling of the French Revolution, decided instead to direct 55 Days at Peking. Bronston purchased the Chamartín Studios near the completion of King of Kings, and renamed it the Samuel Bronston Studios. [67] Meanwhile, the sets for 55 Days of Peking were built in Las Matas, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) outside of Madrid, leading into the Sierra de Guadarrama. There, Bronston rented a vast terrain of some 250 acres (100 ha) and periodically renewed an option to purchase it.
During filming on 55 Days of Peking, Jaime Prades was forced out and Bronston promoted Michał Waszyński as vice president of production, while remaining as the film's associate producer. That same time, Bronston was heavily involved with The Fall of the Roman Empire, a more ambitious film project in which he sought to reconstruct the city of Rome in Las Matas. Bronston was already arranging the distribution pre-sales on the project, and looked to reuse materials from the Peking set to construct the exterior Roman Forum sets. On September 11, 1962, Nicholas Ray was hospitalized for a heart attack, which suited both Bronston and Waszyński who wanted to move forward with The Fall with the Roman Empire. Ray was relieved of his duties, and Charlton Heston called in Guy Green to direct the remaining scenes between him and Ava Gardner. Bronston called in second unit director Andrew Marton to finish the remainder of filming.
Released in May 1963, 55 Days at Peking was distributed by Allied Artists in the United States and Canada. [72] It received mixed reviews from film critics, who praised the production design, but were not impressed with the script. By January 1964, the film earned $5 million in distributor rentals from the United States and Canada. [74] Due to the film's estimated $9 million production budget, the film did not earn a profit in the United States, but recouped its cost from international territories. In July 1964, Bronston later told The Hollywood Reporter the film had earned $7.2 million in total.
In April 1963, Bronston formed Bronston Distributions, Inc., intent to release The Fall of the Roman Empire, which was scheduled for spring 1964 for first-run roadshow engagements. Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., executive vice president of the production unit, was selected to head the distribution company, with Harold Roth as sales manager. [77] Additionally, Lazarus and Milton Goldstein, a foreign sales executive, were assigned to cover the Cannes Film Festival and other film festivals to scout for potential films to release. [78] That same year, Bronston Distributions, Inc. released a French-language comedy War of the Buttons (1962) to no financial success. [79]
However, in December 1963, Paramount Pictures signed a distribution deal to release Bronston's next four films, for an investment of $40 million. The Fall of the Roman Empire and Circus World were both scheduled for 1964, while a Nightrunners of Bengal film was in development with Richard Fleischer set to direct. [80] Concerned that both films had both gone over budget (costing a total of $24 million), Pierre S. du Pont III asked Bronston to sign him as the principal trustee, granting him control over Bronston's films. This way, Bronston could not proceed with any contractual or financial measure without du Pont's full approval. [81]
By March 1964, du Pont III had acquired control over Bronston Productions. [82] It was also separately reported half of the 40-person staff at Bronston Productions' New York office had been laid off with no warning, a decision Bronston had made "at the request of our banks". Lazarus told Variety that he was not leaving "at the moment", but the layoffs were advised in order to cut unnecessary overhead. [79] The next month, Lazarus had left and partnered film producer Max Rosenberg to form an independent studio, Pennell Pictures. [83] Goldstein also left, and was named as special assistant for special productions to Paramount International Films. [84]
Released in March 1964, The Fall of the Roman Empire earned a mixed critical reception and was a financial failure, in which it earned $1.9 million in distributor rentals in the United States and Canada. [86] A month later, Paramount announced it was still releasing Circus World later that year, with its investment in the film left intact. [87] Frank Capra was originally set to direct the film, but was replaced by Henry Hathaway. He and the film's star John Wayne helped secure Paramount Pictures' financial investment to complete and release the film. However, Circus World was another financial failure, in which it earned $1.6 million in distributor rentals in the United States and Canada. [86]
In June 1964, Bronston filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting over $5.6 million in owed debts to Pierre S. du Pont III. [89] The case was filed in New York Supreme Court before Justice Thomas A. Aurelio. Du Pont's attorney Simon H. Rifkind presented three promissory notes signed by Bronston on December 14 and 28, 1962. Bronston's attorneys argued their client signed the notes "solely as an accommodation to satisfy certain tax problems of Mr. du Pont, and were made with the clear understanding that Mr. Bronston was not to be personally liable on them." In late December 1966, Aurelio awarded du Pont III a summary judgment award of nearly $3.6 million, affirming Bronston's statements were "without valid basis." [90]
1965–1971: Financial litigation and aftermath
At the time, Bronston had established his studio facilities in Las Matas, which still belonged to his Spanish company. To alleviate his debts, Bronston leased his studios to Televisión Española (TVE). Another part of his studio was lent to Twentieth Century-Fox, which used the facilities to shoot four films in Spain, which included 100 Rifles (1969) and Patton (1970). Philip Yordan also formed a production company called Scotia International to film Battle of the Bulge (1965) and Krakatoa, East of Java (1968). Bronston still received revenue through his investments in Spanish petroleum oil, and continued box office rentals from his films were paid to his creditors.
