Famous Players–Lasky
Hollywood, California , |
The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company – originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays – and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.[2]
The deal, guided by president Zukor, eventually resulted in the incorporation of eight film production companies, making the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation one of the biggest players of the silent film era. Famous Players–Lasky, under the direction of Zukor, is perhaps best known for its vertical integration of the film industry and block booking practices.
On April 1, 1927, the company name was changed to Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation.[3] In September 1927, the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation studio in Astoria (New York City) was temporarily closed with the objective of equipping it with the technology for the production of sound films.[4][5] The Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation now owns the Famous Players trademark. In 2017, Paramount started a secondary film division known as Paramount Players, which acknowledges their heritage under the Famous Players name.
The former
History
Paramount Communications | |
1994 | Viacom acquires Paramount Communications |
---|---|
1995 | Westinghouse acquires CBS |
1997 | Westinghouse renamed to CBS Corporation |
2000 | Viacom acquires UPN and CBS Corporation |
2005 | Viacom splits into second CBS Corporation and Viacom |
2006 | CBS Corporation shuts down UPN and replaces it with The CW |
2017 | CBS Corporation sells CBS Radio to Entercom (now Audacy) |
2019 | CBS Corporation and Viacom re-merge as ViacomCBS |
2022 | ViacomCBS renamed to Paramount Global |
Formation
In 1914, film-production companies Famous Players Films (founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers) and Jesse L. Lasky Feature Plays (founded in 1911) signed a distribution deal with Paramount Pictures Corporation (founded by William Wadsworth Hodkinson in 1914). Under the agreement Hodkinson would distribute the two companies' films through a 65/35 arrangement in which the producer agreed to take only 65% of film profits with 35% of the gross revenue going to Hodkinson's Paramount. While initially the agreement seemed like a good deal, Zukor and Lasky quickly realized that they could make much higher revenues if they could integrate the production and distribution of their films. Accordingly, less than a year into their distribution contracts the two men began looking for a way to buy Hodkinson out of Paramount and to incorporate the three companies.[8]
In late 1915 Zukor began buying as much Paramount stock as possible, including stock belonging to Hiram Abrams, a member of the Paramount board of directors. On July 13, 1916, at Paramount Corporation's annual board meeting, Hodkinson found himself ousted from the presidency and replaced by Abrams, who won the seat by a single vote. After accepting the presidency, Abrams announced to the board, "On behalf of Adolph Zukor, who has purchased my shares in Paramount, I call this meeting to order."[8]
Within a week of removing Hodkinson, on July 19, 1916, Famous Players and the Lasky Feature Play Company merged to form Famous Players–Lasky, with Zukor as president and Jesse L. Lasky as vice president. For a brief period Famous Players–Lasky acted as a holding company for its subsidiaries- Famous Players, Feature Play, Oliver Morosco Photoplay, Bosworth, Cardinal, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Artcraft, and The George M. Cohan Film Corporation. However, on December 29, 1917, all of the subsidiaries were incorporated into one entity called the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation.[8]
The push for vertical integration
However, Zukor was not satisfied simply with consolidation. The cost of producing films was rising – screenplays cost more to purchase and the rise of the star system meant that celebrities were demanding higher salaries. Zukor needed to increase revenue, and he would do so over the next ten years by integrating film production, distribution and exhibition into one corporation.[8]
In 1919, Famous Players–Lasky faced a boycott from the First National Exhibitions Circuit, a group that controlled nearly 600 theaters nationwide. The Circuit disagreed with the corporation's distribution practices, which required theaters to purchase large blocks of feature films, often sight-unseen. In addition to selling strategic blocks of features, theater owners were offered options such as "program distribution", in which the exhibitor booked a single evening's worth of entertainment, and "star series" in which the exhibitor signed up for a given number of pictures per year featuring a particular star. "Selective Bookings" in which exhibitors were allowed to purchase a single film, made up only a small percentage of the corporation's offerings.[8]
The Circuit's protest of these practices and boycott of Famous Players–Lasky films put the corporation in desperate need of its own theaters. In 1919, Zukor began directing the purchase of theater chains across the nation. In the Northeast, Zukor acquired Alfred Black's New England Theaters, Inc. and in the South, Zukor acquired
The finish
On April 24, 1930, Paramount-Famous Lasky Corporation became the Paramount Publix Corporation.[13][14] Financial problems within the movie industry as a result of the Great Depression pushed Paramount Publix Corporation, with $2,020,024 in debts but only $134,718 in assets, into receivership on August 3, 1933.[15]
Federal Trade Commission v. Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, et al.
Charges
On August 30, 1921, the
Several grievances were brought to court, including one from an independent theater owner in Middleton, New York, who claimed when his movie house rejected a five-year block booking deal with Famous Players–Lasky, the distributor used predatory tactics to run him out of business. The theater owner reportedly withstood threats and goon-squad intimidation that recalled the tactics of the former
Case results
After reviewing a massive 17,000 pages of testimony and 15,000 pages of exhibits the FTC concluded in early 1927 that block booking was an unfair trade practice. On July 9, 1927, it ordered the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation to cease and desist block booking practices and reform its theater purchasing policies. The three respondents- Adolph Zukor, Jesse Lasky and the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation- were given 60 days to comply with the ruling.[17]
The corporation largely ignored the cease and desist order and stalled reforms. After the 60-day deadline arrived, they were granted two extensions. On April 15, 1928, the corporation, now the Paramount-Famous-Lasky Corporation, submitted a report of compliance to the FTC. The report disputed the charges, and denied that it practiced block booking. The defiance attracted negative press attention and the report was rejected by the FTC. The corporation's non-compliance eventually led to the FTC taking antitrust action against the Paramount-Famous-Lasky Corporation.[17]
Star power
In part, the success of the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation can be attributed to Adolph Zukor's adept handling of the star system. Celebrities such as Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, Nancy Carroll, Sessue Hayakawa, Mae Murray, opera singer Geraldine Farrar, Owen Moore, Thomas Meighan, Cleo Ridgely, and Ruth Chatterton helped to define the Famous Player-Lasky brand.[8][18]
Major films
- The Sheik (1921)
- Blood and Sand (1922)
- The Covered Wagon (1923)
- The Ten Commandments (1923)
- Beau Geste (1926)
- It (1927)
- Wings (1927)
References
- ^ Kaufman was studio manager and Zukor's brother-in-law.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ISBN 9781838716196. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Famous Players–Lasky Corporation". SilentEra.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ "PARAMOUNT STUDIOS, BUILDING N0.1 (MAIN BUILDING)" (PDF). New York City: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. 14 March 1978. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch)". Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Bernard F. Dick. Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2001) pp10-18.
- ^ Albin Krebs (11 June 1976). "Adolph Zukor Is Dead at 103; Built Paramount Movie Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
- ^ Gertrude Jobes (1966). Motion Picture Empire. Archon Books. p. 219.
- ISBN 978-0-486-22403-9.
- ^ "$5,500,000 Theater for Times Square" (PDF). The New York Times. 1922-06-03. Retrieved 2009-04-16. (pdf)
- ^ "PARAMOUNT CHANGES NAME; To Be Known Hereafter as the Paramount Publix Corporation". The New York Times. New York City. 25 April 1930. p. 20. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ Blair, John M.; Reeside, Arthur (1940). "Appendix I". Investigation of Concentration of Economic Power. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 59. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "J.L. Lasky Invokes New Bankruptcy Law. Listing $2,020,024 Liabilities and $134,718 Assets, He Asks Deal With Creditors". The New York Times. August 3, 1933. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ "Acts to Dissolve Big Lasky Concern as 'Movie Trust'". New York World. Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers(SIMPP). 1 September 1921. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- ^ a b c d "Introduction: The First Paramount Case". SIMPP Research Database. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ISBN 0-8038-1246-9.