Curtleigh Productions was an American independent film and television production company established by actor and actress husband-and-wife teamTony Curtis andJanet Leigh. The company was formed in 1955 and produced a handful of major motion pictures during its span, includingMister Cory,Sweet Smell of Success,The Vikings,The Defiant Ones, andTaras 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.

Four of Curtleigh Productions' films have won and been nominated for awards and prizes at various ceremonies and film festivals, including theAcademy Awards, theGolden Globe Awards, theBritish Academy Film Awards, theBodil Awards, theDirectors Guild of America Award, theWriters Guild of America Awards, theLaurel Awards, theBambi Award, theGolden Reel Awards, theNew York Film Critics Circle Awards, theInternational Film Music Critics Award, and theEdgar Allan Poe Award, and at theBerlin International Film Festival and theSan Sebastián International Film Festival. In addition,Sweet Smell of Success was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United StatesNational Film Preservation Board in 1993 and was selected for preservation in theLibrary of Congress'National Film Registry.

Tony Curtis andJanet Leigh first worked together onHow to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border, a short film co-starring and directed byJerry Lewis in 1949. At the time, Curtis was signed to an exclusive seven-year contract withUniversal-International Pictures,^[1] while Leigh was signed to an exclusive seven-year contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.^[2] The couple married on June 4, 1951.^[3] As a husband-and-wife team, they were loaned out from their respective contracted studios to appear together inParamount Pictures'Houdini (1953), and a year later Leigh was borrowed forUniversal-International Pictures'The Black Shield of Falworth (1954). In January 1955, Curtis and Leigh expressed a desire to co-star in a remake ofSeventh Heaven, a property owned by20th Century-Fox Films.^[4]

In April 1955, Leigh's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract expired and she opted to sign two non-exclusive contracts: one was a five-year deal withColumbia Pictures for one film a year; the other was a four-picture contract with Universal-International Pictures.^[2][5] Curtis' Universal-International Pictures contract was set to expire five months later, in September 1955, and so the couple immediately began looking into forming their independent film production company, hoping for the freedom of choosing their own starring vehicles.^[1][6] In late May 1955, Leigh announced that if the pair was to go into a film production partnership, the name of the company would be Curtleigh Productions.^[6]

In late July 1955, it was reported thatMusic Corporation of America, which represented Curtis, was negotiating a new non-exclusive two-pictures a year for four years contract for the actor with Universal-International Pictures.^[1][7] The original deal, however, granted Universal-International Pictures a first-pick privilege on any property Curtis wished to make outside of his contract, which meant that if the studio liked the story, it would have to be made in-house.^[1] The new contract was to come into effect following his completion of theHecht-Lancaster Productions filmTrapeze, for which he was borrowed, and would be filmed in Paris, France from August to November 1955.^[1][8] Curtis was loaned out to Hecht-Lancaster Productions for $150,000, most of which went to Universal-International Pictures, but the actor reported that a sizable portion of his salary was already reserved to launch Curtleigh Productions later in the year.^[8] While filmingTrapeze, Curtis gained a lot of insight into the world of independent filmmaking from producersBurt Lancaster andHarold Hecht, who were operating the most successful independent film production company in the United States at the time.^[9][10][11] Hecht and Lancaster were very supportive of Curtis' independent freedom and would later set up a Curtleigh Productions office in their headquarters in Beverly Hills, California.^[12]

In early August 1955, before Curtis left for Europe, Curtleigh Productions announced that it had purchased its first property: a high-budget adult Western written byBlake Edwards titledMassacre.^[13][14] The film was to be co-produced by Curtis andMilton Bren, starring Curtis, and directed by Edwards in the summer of 1956.^[13][14][15] In mid-September 1955, Curtleigh Productions acquired the filming rights toLeo Rosten's short storyCory, a yarn concerning a gambler and his rise in high society, which had earlier been published inCosmopolitan magazine.^[16][17] Curtis, who was planning to star in the picture, immediately assigned Edwards to develop the screenplay and offered the job of directing it to British directorCarol Reed, with whom he was filmingTrapeze in France.^[18]

In late September 1955, Curtleigh Productions, Incorporated was officially registered and the corporation's executives were assigned: Cutis was President; his father Emanuel Schwartz was appointed vice-president; Myrt Blum was appointed Secretary; Roger Graham was appointed treasurer; and E. W. Wheeler and Fred Morrison were appointed Assistant Secretaries.^[19][20] Leigh chose not to be included in the executive corporate structure because she was already involved in a dress manufacturing company with her father.^[7] In mid-November 1955, with Curtis still in France filmingTrapeze, Curtleigh Productions announced that it had acquired the filming rights to French authorJules Verne's adventure novel,Five Weeks in a Balloon, a story about the exploration of Africa from ahot-air balloon.^[21] Curtleigh Productions hired British writer Kathleen Dormer to adapt the novel into a comedy screenplay.^[21] Curtis planned to co-star in the picture withAlec Guinness, and hoped to film on location in Paris, France during the spring of 1956.^[21] Afilm was eventually made six years later through a different film production company and with a different cast.

In January 1956, Curtleigh Productions acquiredPaul Gallico's 1953 novelThe Foolish Immortals, after Leigh had read the serialized version inThe Saturday Evening Post.^[22] It was to be the couple's first co-starring and co-producing project.^[22] The plot was to have Leigh playing the secretary of an elder woman, one of the richest in the world and willing to pay any amount of money to get her youth back; Curtis was to play a promoter who works for a man claiming to have the coveted recipe for eternal youth.^[22][23]

In February 1956, Music Corporation of America finalized the negotiations of Curtis' new contract with Universal-International Pictures.^[24][25] The new non-exclusive seven-year contract allowed Curtis to choose his independent film projects without the approbation of the major studio.^[24][7] However, by the time that the new deal was activated, Curtis had already consented to make Curtleigh Productions' filmCory in-house at Universal-International Pictures. On the one hand, this gave the picture security by assuring that it would be made, but on the other hand, it meant that Curtleigh Productions and Curtis would receive no screen credits for the production.^[26] In the spring of 1956, Universal-International Pictures assignedRobert Arthur to co-produceCory; Arthur would go on to work on several more projects with Curtis, Leigh and Curtleigh Productions.^[27]

By the end of February 1956, Curtleigh Productions had entered into a multi-picture co-producing deal with Hecht-Lancaster Productions (soon to be renamedHecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions with the addition ofJames Hill).^[12][28] Curtleigh Productions was given its own lavish office, with complimentary secretary Bobbie LaPask,^[29] inside the Hecht-Lancaster Productions Building at 202 North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, California.^[12][27][30] While Curtis and Leigh had planned to filmThe Foolish Immortals in the late summer of 1956, immediately after Curtis finished shootingCory at Universal-International Pictures, plans were altered when Leigh became sickly during her pregnancy ofKelly Curtis.^[31][27] Instead, Curtis accepted to co-star in and co-produce thefilm noirThe Sweet Smell of Success as his first collaborative engagement with Hecht-Lancaster Productions.^[28][31]The Sweet Smell of Success, a drama about a manipulative newspaper columnist and a shady press agent, was written byErnest Lehman, based on his personal experience as a press agent and working withWalter Winchell.^[32][33] The story had originally been published inCosmopolitan as a novelette under the titleTell Me About It Tomorrow, which Hecht-Lancaster Productions optioned in 1955 as part of a multi-picture financing and distribution deal withUnited Artists.^[34] The screenplay was co-written withClifford Odets and Lehman was one of the co-producers and shareholders in the film.^[32]

In April 1956, Curtleigh Productions announced that Curtis would be starring in two more films in collaboration with Hecht-Lancaster Productions.^[35][36] One was to beCry Tough, a film noir about the corruption of the garment union trade by the Brooklyn Jewish mob, based on a novel byIrving Shulman and to be co-produced by William Schorr.^[35][37] The other was to beThe Ballad of Cat Ballou, a musical western comedy based onRoy Chanslor's novel, which would pair Lancaster and Curtis as estranged brothers shooting it out.^[38][39][40] By mid-May 1956,Cory had been retitledMister Cory;^[41] filming began on May 21, 1956 usingCinemaScope cameras andEastmancolor film atUniversal Studios and on location atLake Arrowhead, California.^[32] The color film noir co-starred Curtis,Martha Hyer,Charles Bickford andKathryn Grant, and was directed by Blake Edwards.^[42][43] Before filmingThe Sweet Smell of Success, Curtis madeThe Midnight Story as part of his Universal-International Pictures commitment.^[44]

In early July 1956, Curtleigh Productions purchased a new story by Edwards, varyingly reported under the titlesJada orJadda.^[45][46] Edwards would adapt his own screenplay and also direct the film, with Curtis and Kathryn Grant set to co-star, recreating their chemistry fromMister Cory.^[47][48] The story was set in Chicago during the 1920s and dealt with gangsters and racketeers during prohibition.^[49][50] Filming began onThe Sweet Smell of Success on October 21, 1956, on location in New York City with directorAlexander Mackendrick; by the end of November 1956, filming had moved to studio takes atSamuel Goldywn Studio in West Hollywood, California.^[51] The film co-started Curtis and Lancaster and featuredBarbara Nichols,Susan Harrison,Martin Milner andSam Levene.

Mister Cory opened to theaters in late January 1957.^[52] In February 1957, Curtleigh Productions announced that it would make a bullfighting story about a famous matador who trains his son (set to inherit his father's title after his passing), and in the process cures his fear of bulls.^[53][54] Curtis was to play dual roles of the father and son and offered the co-starring part toGina Lollobrigida.^[53][55] The picture was to be filmed on location in Spain in late 1957, as a co-production between Curtleigh Productions and producerHarold Mirisch's company,The Mirisch Company, for United Artists.^[53] The property had originally been written by Jameson Brewer under the titleThe Wound, as a teleplay forGeneral Electric Theater; Curtis first became interested in the project when he was offered to play the role in the television episode.^[54] Brewer and Edwards together developed the screenplay, tentatively titledCortez and Son orLopez and Son, which Edwards was to direct.^[53][54] Curtis filmed the video version in April 1957 atRepublic Studios forRevue Productions, but the program would not air the episode until November 10, 1957, under the titleCordana.^[54][55][56] By the time that Curtis returned from filmingThe Vikings in Europe, the project had been abandoned in favor of Curtis starring inThieves Market for The Mirisch Company, which in turn was replaced months later bySome Like It Hot.^[57][58]

Earlier that year, In January 1957, Curtleigh Productions had announced that Leigh would resume her film career, following a year off due to maternity leave.^[59] She was to co-star with Curtis in a light comedy for Curtleigh Production.^[59] The couple instead became attached to the adventure swashbucklerThe Vikings in March 1957, a property whichKirk Douglas had been developing since 1954 through his film production companyBryna Productions.^[60] Curtis was paid $150,000 as an actor and Leigh was paid $60,000 as an actress, but Curtleigh Productions also received 10% of the film's profits.^[61][62][63] The $3,000,000 production was being financed by United Artists, with which Bryna Productions had an existing six-picture contract, and was to co-star Douglas,Ernest Borgnine andMichael Rennie.^[64][65][66]

Also in March 1957, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions announced that it was interested in co-producing, with Curtleigh Productions, a film version ofReginald Rose's teleplay "The Defender".^[67] The drama, which had been made for television onColumbia Broadcasting System's programStudio One, revolved around a father and son team of lawyers defending a man accused on murder, and was to star Curtis.^[67] In April 1957, Curtis became attached toKings Go Forth, aWorld War II drama whichFrank Sinatra was planning to star in and co-producing through his film production company, Eton Productions.^[68] The film was to be co-produced byFrank Ross, through his film production company,Frank Ross Productions, and Curtis was approached with a straight salaried-actor deal.^[69] Curtis however negotiated for Curtleigh Productions to receive 10% of the film's profits.^[61][70] He would do the same a year later when negotiating his fee forSome Like it Hot.^[71]

The Vikings began shooting usingTechnirama cameras and Technicolor film on June 20, 1957, on location near the Finnafjorden fjords in Norway, then inBrittany, France, and finally interior scenes atBavaria Filmkunst in Geiselgasteig, Germany.^[72][73] Curtis was so impressed by cinematographerJack Cardiff's work that he offered the director of photography the job of directing two films for Curtleigh Productions, the first of which was scheduled to be filmed in Europe during the spring of 1958.^[74]

Sweet Smell of Success premiered on June 27, 1957, in New York City.^[75] Although the film went on to be nominated and won several awards, it was not an immediate box office success. Curtis won aBambi Award for Best Actor - International and was nominated for aBritish Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Actor and aGolden Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance; while Nichols was nominated for aGolden Laurel Award for Top Female Supporting Performance. In 1993, the United StatesNational Film Preservation Board deemedSweet Smell of Success "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in theLibrary of Congress'National Film Registry. In 2012, the film was inducted into the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame.

Thesoundtrack toSweet Smell of Success, composed byElmer Bernstein andChico Hamilton, and published through Hecht and Lancaster's music publishing company,Calyork Music, was noteworthy on its own. It was the first time that a film had two separate soundtracklong plays issued, each featuring different music.^[76]Decca Records released not only the two long players but also issued an extended play and two singles.^[77] The first album,Music from the Sound Track Sweet Smell of Success, featured Bernstein's orchestrated jazz score,^[78] while the second album,The Chico Hamilton Quintet Plays Jazz Themes Recorded for the Sound Track of the Motion Picture Sweet Smell of Success, featured Hamilton's band jazz piece.^[79] Curtis himself became a musician during the filming when he picked up the flute. Hamilton strongly encouraged him to pursue the instrument and the two were scheduled to record an album together in 1958.^[80]Kings Go Forth began shooting on September 1, 1957, on location in France with directorDelmer Daves.^[81]

In late 1957, Curtis was offered to play one of the leads inStanley Kramer's new filmThe Long Road, an original drama written byHarold Jacob Smith andNedrick Young about two convicts who escape from a chain gang.^[80][82] Curtis loved the screenplay so much that he offered to co-produce the film through Curtleigh Productions,^[83] and pushed for the casting ofSidney Poitier as his co-star.^[80][82] As a co-producer on the picture, Curtis and Curtleigh Productions received 30% of the film's profits.^[84] By January 1958,The Long Road had been retitledThe Defiant Ones andStanley Kramer Productions secured a six-picture financing and distribution deal with United Artists.^[85] Filming began onThe Defiant Ones on February 28, 1958.^[85][86] In late February 1958, Curtleigh Productions announced that Curtis and Edwards were developing two new properties.^[87] The first was a feature film set in Hawaii titledBeach Boy, which Edwards had scripted and would direct with Curtis starring.^[87][88] The second was a television pilot film for an adventure series, which Edwards was to produce and with Curtis narrating instead of starring.^[87]

The Vikings held its East Coast premiere on June 12, 1958 at dual cinema houses in New York City: the Victoria Theatre and theAstor Theatre, which were side by side and took up a full block on Broadway between West 45th Street and West 46th Street.^[89][90] To promote the event, Bryna Productions commissioned the largest and costliest theater marquee-billboard advertisement ever manufactured at the time; a 261-foot long (22,825 square feet), three-dimensional, electrically articulated spectacular that extended across the entire block, hanging across the façade of both theaters.^[89][91] The billboard, which included 6,000 light bulbs, a 52-foot sail and eleven moving oars, alone cost $105,000 to make, which was included in United Artists' $2,000,000 advertising and publicity campaign budget allocated for the picture during the summer of 1958.^[92][89] The film then premiered in Los Angeles on June 19, 1958, at theFox-Wilshire Theater; this movie house, too, was decorated with Norse-theme articles for a cost of $4,000, followed by an after-party for over 200 guests, Hollywood celebrities and members of the press.^[90][93] The film premiered in London on July 8, 1958, at theLeicester Square Theatre and was attended byPrince Philip,^[89] and the movie was also screened at a handful of European film festivals, including theSan Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain and the Brussels World Film Festival in Belgium.^[94][95]The Vikings became one of the most successful films of 1958;^[96] it was one of the biggest money-makers of the year and was bestowed several awards.^[90] It received aGolden Laurel Award for Top Action Drama, the San Sebastián International Film Festival awarded it the Zulueta Prize, and theDirectors Guild of America nominated it forOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

In late May 1958, Curtleigh Productions announced that Curtis would star inA Most Contagious Game, a suspense-crime-thriller about a magazine reporter who goes undercover as a gangster to research the underworld but ends up becoming a mob leader himself.^[97] The filming rights to Samuel Grafton's novel had first been purchased byVictor Saville's Parklane Pictures in 1955, which produced a television movie forStudio One,^[98] then were picked up by Bryna Productions in January 1956.^[99][100] Douglas, Lancaster andLeslie Nielsen had all been tied to the project over the years and Bryna Productions commissioned Grafton, and thenSydney Boehm to write the screenplay.^{[101][102][103]}A Most Contagious Game was to be co-produced by Curtleigh Productions and Bryna Productions, through a financing and distribution deal with Universal-International Pictures, and was set to begin filming in late 1958 after Curtis wrappedSome Like It Hot.^[97][40] Production was delayed when Bryna Productions startedSpartacus, and in January 1959, the three-year option onA Most Contagious Game expired; the filming rights were scooped up byDick Clark.^[104] In 1962, Curtis would himself option the filming rights throughCurtis Enterprises, but the picture was never made.^[105]

The Defiant Ones premiered at the eighthBerlin International Film Festival on June 29, 1958, at which Poitier won aSilver Berlin Bear Award for Best Actor and Kramer was nominated for aGolden Berlin Bear Award for Best Director.^[106][107] The film then had its American premiere at the Roosevelt Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on August 13, 1958.^[108] The film was not a financial success,^[109] but it was extremely well-received by the press and critics and won several accolades, including aBritish Academy Film Award for United Nations, aGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama, aMotion Picture Sound EditorsGolden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing - Feature Film, aNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film. It was also nominated for aBritish Academy Film Award for Best Film from any Source, aGolden Globe Award for Best Film Promoting International Understanding, and aGolden Laurel Award for Top Drama. Poitier won aBritish Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Actor and was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, and aGolden Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance; Curtis was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, aBritish Academy Film Award for Best Foreign Actor and aBambi Award for Best Actor - International. Kramer won aNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director and aBodil Award for Best American Film and was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Picture and anAcademy Award for Best Director, aGolden Globe Award for Best Director and aDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Young and Smith wonAcademy Awards for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen,Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Written American Drama,New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Screenplay andEdgar Allan Poe Awards for Best Motion Picture.Sam Leavitt won anAcademy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White and aGolden Laurel Award for Top Cinematography - Black and White.Theodore Bikel was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and aGolden Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance.Cara Williams was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.Frederic Knudtson was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Film Editing andErnest Gold was nominated for aGolden Laurel Award for Top Score.

In mid-August 1958, Curtleigh Productions became involved with a new bullfighting story titledBullfight, about a matador named Domingo who gets gored and turns to prize fighting, only to find it more difficult than fighting bulls.^[84] Curtleigh Productions purchasedLeslie Stevens' original screenplay and the film was to be co-produced by Stevens' film production company,Daystar Productions, with Curtis starring.^[110] In mid-November 1958, Curtleigh Productions announced that it had hired Stevens to script an originalbiographical film story about the love affair between Italian poetGabriele D'Annunzio and Italian actressEleonora Duse.^[111][112] The picture was to be titledThe Perfect Love and was scheduled to be filmed in Rome, Italy in 1959, also as a co-production with Daystar Productions.^[113][114]

In June 1959, Curtis became attached to a long-anticipatedbiographical picture about the life of croonerRuss Columbo.^[115] Producer Maurice Duke had been attempting to make the film since 1952 and received permission from the late vocalist's brothers, Anthony and John Columbo, and sister Carmella Columbo,^[116] castingPerry Como in the role.^[117][118] The motion picture was to be titledPrisoner of Love, after thesong of the same title composed by Columbo.^[119] By July 1953, Como had been replaced byJohnny Desmond;^[120] Desmond was subsequently replaced byTony Martin in 1955.^[121][122] Desmond, however, refused to relinquish the part and embarked on his own film development,^[123] this led to a series of lawsuits and countersuits between Duke, Desmond and the Columbo family which lasted years and ultimately prevented the film from ever being made.^{[124][116][123]}

When Duke approached Curtis to star in and co-produceThe Russ Columbo Story, the film had been out of circulation for three years (due to the legal entanglements). The announcement of the film was made byHubbell Robinson, executive producer ofFord Startime, a new color television series forNational Broadcasting Company that presented episodes individually produced by stars (as opposed to stars being loaned out to appear in a pre-developed show).^[125] Curtis was to produce the musical drama through Curtleigh Productions with Duke, who still owned the property, coming in as associate producer.^[126] Curtleigh Productions hiredJoseph Stefano to adapt thePrisoner of Love screenplay into a teleplay and planned to haveRobert Mulligan direct it.^[125][127] Although Curtis was to star in the film, vocalistAlan Dale was scheduled to overdub the singing^[128] andGary Crosby was cast to portray his fatherBing, one of Columbo's friends.^[129] Several other vocalists from the 1930s were reported to be cast as themselves.^[129]

The Russ Columbo Story was booked to be filmed at Universal Studios in November 1959, with a scheduled broadcast for January 1960.^[125] The television version of the film was to be edited into a one-hour program,^[125] but Curtleigh Productions had planned to film enough footage so that a longer cut could be edited and released as a theatrical feature film later in the year.^[130][127] The longer cut would also be used for European screenings and Curtleigh Productions was to oversee foreign language dubbing.^{[127][130][131]}

Shortly afterThe Russ Columbo Story was announced in the summer of 1959, Desmond and his agent Daniel Winkler announced to the press that they would attempt to halt the film's production, threatening a lawsuit if necessary.^[132][126] Desmond claimed that he owned the exclusive film, television and theatrical rights to Columbo's life, which allegedly included agreements with several people connected with the late singer's life, as well as controlling interests in the songs Columbo had composed.^[126][132] Desmond noted that he was still planning to play the role in a film.^[126][133] By mid-August 1959, the negative publicity and conflicts surrounding threats of a lawsuit led Curtleigh Productions andFord Startime to abandon the project.^[134] Duke and his lawyer Paul Pearlin immediately filed a Superior Court lawsuit against Desmond and Winkler, claiming $450,000 in damages for conspiring with others in preventing the film from being made.^[135]

Curtis and Robinson had already found a replacement property to develop, in caseThe Russ Columbo Story did not work out, and in early October 1959 announced thatThe Juggler would be filmed forFord Startime.^[136]The Juggler was based onThe Juggler of Notre Dame, a fable penned by French authorAnatole France about Saint Barnaby, the patron saint of circus performers.^[137][138] Thesixteenth century story recounts a homeless juggler who is attacked by a mob in the streets of Paris, France and seeks refuge in a monastery; he is treated for his wounds but loses one of his arms, ultimately finding humbleness.^{[138][139][140]} Curtleigh Productions kept the same team of people under contract to develop the new story: Stefano adapted the teleplay, Mulligan was to direct and co-produce the picture and Curtis would star in the title role.^[136][137] William Frye came in as producer and promptly acquired the filming rights to France's story.^[138]

Filming ofThe Juggler was originally planned to start in December 1959,^[136] but it was pushed back to January 4, 1960 withTed Post secured as director.^[141] The picture was shot in ten days at Universal Studios, using already-made A-budget quality sets, props and costumes, for a total production cost of only $200,000.^[142][131] The film co-starredNehemiah Persoff andPatricia Medina, with a supporting cast includingBert Freed,Elisha Cook, Jr.,Charles Morton andHeather Ames.^[141][140] Curtleigh Productions announced thatThe Juggler was the first picture shot expressly for dual purposes: television broadcast and theatrical screenings.^[143] Television films had previously been edited or compiled into full-length features at later times, butThe Juggler was deliberately filmed with a plethora of scenes that could be included or withheld without affecting the story-line.^[142][143] Curtleigh Productions oversaw the editing of a television cut, which ran 51 minutes, and a theatrical cut, which ran 90 minutes; the theatrical cut was afterwards dubbed in five additional languages for the European market.^{[131][143][144]} Curtleigh Productions also arranged a deal that afterThe Juggler's first broadcast, the rights to the film reverted back to the production company, leaving it free to arrange television re-runs or market the picture as a theatrical film with full profits.^[142][131]

By mid-January 1960,The Juggler had been retitled toThe Young Juggler, following aColumbia Pictures objection citing the previous use of that title for its 1953-distributed filmThe Juggler, produced by Stanley Kramer and starring Kirk Douglas.^[145][143]The Young Juggler was originally booked to premiere onFord Startime in the United States on Tuesday, March 15, 1960 for National Broadcasting Company,^[141] but it was pushed back by two weeks, airing on March 29, 1960.^[140] The film was next shown on the Canadian version ofFord Startime on April 26, 1960.^[146] After completingThe Young Juggler, Curtleigh Productions announced that it was interested in developing a television series that explored progressive jazz music and modern art.^[143]

On March 3, 1960, Curtleigh Productions signed with theScreen Actors Guild, which had been striking and halting production of films while negotiating post-1948 theatrical film sales to television.^[147][148] The Screen Actors Guild had lost a prior strike to establish residuals and payments to cast and crew members for pre-1948 theatrical film sales to television, but was adamant about major studios and independent film producers sharing their cut of broadcasts and re-runs with those involved for any forthcoming post-1948 film sales.^[148][149]

After signing with the Screen Actors Guild, in early March 1960, Curtleigh Productions announced that its next project would beDraw Sabres, an original Western comedy about two brothers in theUnited States Cavalry who fightApache Indians and start a war of their own over a blonde.^{[149][150][151]} The screenplay was written by Edwards, who was also scheduled to direct the picture, and Curtis hoped to castLaurence Harvey as his co-star.^[152][153]Draw Sabres was to be filmed during the second half of 1960, following Curtis' completion ofThe Great Impostor which he was filming with director Mulligan for Universal-International Pictures.^[149][153] The production was pushed back to mid-1961 when Curtis agreed to co-star inLady L with Lollobrigida and directorGeorge Cuckor forJulian Blaustein atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.^[154][151] By November 1960, Curtis hoped to castJack Lemmon,Dean Martin orFrank Sinatra as his brother inDraw Sabres.^[155][151]

In January 1961, Curtleigh Productions announced that Stanley Margulies had been appointed vice-president of the company. Margulies had, for the previous six years, been a devoted partner to Kirk Douglas as publicity director ofBryna Productions, executive producer ofBrynaprod's television department, and vice-president of the company's advertisement subsidiary, Public Relations Consultants.^[156][157] Margulies had handled extensive publicity for such films asThe Vikings andSpartacus and was familiar with Curtis.^[158] As vice-president of Curtleigh Productions, Margulies was to act as producer for motion pictures and supervisor of publicity for the company.^[158]

With Margulies on board, Curtleigh Productions moved into a modest office space onRevue Studios' lot in early February 1961 and began expanding its production potential.^[158][159] In February 1961, Curtis was offered one of the leads in Harold Hecht's production ofTaras Bulba, which the producer had been attempting to make since early 1959 through Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions.^[160][161] After the break-up of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions, Hecht continued developing the property through his own company,Harold Hecht Productions.^[161] The film was based onNikolai Gogol'snovella of the same name, which tells the story of aCossack clan inUkraine fighting against thePoles, all while a love story develops between the son of the Cossack leader and the daughter of an aristocratic Polish family. Curtis was to co-star in the picture withAnthony Quinn, though the latter was ultimately replaced byYul Brynner.^[162] Instead of accepting a flat fee as an actor for his role inTaras Bulba, Curtis negotiated a deal in which Curtleigh Productions would co-produce and receive 15% of the film's profits.^[163] The film was set to begin filming in August 1961, with a $3,000,000 financing and distribution deal backed by United Artists.^[164][162] By the end of March 1961,Taras Bulba's budget had been increased to $5,000,000 and Hecht was looking into filming it on location in Argentina.^[165]

In late March 1961, Curtleigh Productions announced that it would make a comedy film aboutPlayboy magazine founder and editorHugh Hefner.^[166][167] Hefner was to be one of the partners in the production of the film and approved of Curtis portraying him in the lead.^[166] Early reports also hinted that Leigh was to play one of thePlayboy Bunnies andJack Lemmon would have a part in the film.^[167][168]Playboy was to be Margulies' film debut as a producer and he sought to hireI. A. L. Diamond to write the screenplay but he was tied up withBilly Wilder projects.^[159][166] In mid-June 1961,Bernard Wolfe was announced as screenwriter forPlayboy.^[169] A week later, Curtis signed a three-year, five-picture, non-exclusive renewal contract with Universal-International Pictures.^[170][171] Reports varied as to whether or notPlayboy would be financed and distributed by Universal-International Pictures.^[170][169] In late June 1961, Curtis traveled to Chicago to live with and study Hefner's personality and mannerism for the role.^[172]

Another project that Curtleigh Productions developed during the summer of 1961 was a short art film about Hollywood.^[159] It was to be a silent film with a big background score composed byAndré Previn, showcasing the city's sights and sceneries from an original point of view.^[159] In mid-August 1961, Curtleigh Productions announced thatMarion Hargrove was scripting a film titled40 Pounds of Trouble, adapted fromDamon Runyon's noveletteLittle Miss Marker about a gambler who dies and leaves his daughter in the hands of the casino's manager.^[173] The film was planned to be shot in Nevada in mid-1962, following Curtis' completion ofTaras Bulba andPlayboy, and to be financed and distributed by Universal-International Pictures.^[174][175]

Before leaving for location shooting onTaras Bulba, Curtleigh Productions announced in early September 1961 that authorRay Russell had been secured to write an original screenplay titledExit 41.^[176] The project was later retitledSoft Sell and was to be about theMadison Avenue crowd.^[177][178] Curtis, Leigh and their two children departed Los Angeles in early September 1961, taking a train to New York, then sailing south toBuenos Aires, Argentina and finally embarking another train to reachSalta, Argentina.^{[179][180][181]}Taras Bulba began filming usingPanavision cameras and Eastmancolor DeLuxe film on October 12, 1961, on location in Salta, Argentina with directorJ. Lee Thompson.^[182] After two and a half months of location shooting, which accounted for delays due to extensive hiring of extras for the battle scenes, the production moved back to Hollywood in December 1961 for three additional months of filming and post-production atColumbia Studios.^[164]Taras Bulba wound up costing United Artists a total of $7,000,000.^[183]

While Curtis was in Argentina, Margulies continued to develop properties at Curtleigh Productions' office. In September 1961,Gower Champion was secured to directPlayboy.^[184] Champion was greatly impressed by Wolfe's screenplay and described the film as alike to being in the year 1970, looking back at the 1960s.^[185] On October 6, 1961, Margulies registered a new corporation,Curtis Enterprises, Incorporated, with Curtis as president and Margulies as vice-president.^[186] Curtis Enterprises and Curtleigh Productions would be used interchangeably during most of 1962, as projects were shifted back and forth within the corporate structure.^[186] By December 1961, Curtis, Lemmon andLarry Storch had been confirmed to act inPlayboy.^[164]

In mid-January 1962, Curtleigh Productions signed a financing and distribution deal forPlayboy withColumbia Pictures.^[187] The $2,000,000 film was to be shot on location inChicago, Illinois as well as at Columbia Pictures'Gower Street Studios in mid-1962, once Curtis completed40 Pounds of Trouble.^[187][171] Wolfe'sPlayboy screenplay was however still in development.^[171] Author-comedianStan Freberg was reportedly also working on another project for Curtleigh Productions.^[188][189] In early February 1962, Curtleigh Productions announced that Hargrove's40 Pounds of Trouble screenplay had been completed and that television directorNorman Jewison would make his feature film debut as director of the picture.^[190] Jewison was scheduled to begin pre-production work on February 19, 1962, with the film to start shooting at Universal Studios in April 1962.^[190] In late February 1962, Curtleigh Productions, in partnership with Harold Hecht Productions, announced that they had acquired Dorothy Crider's storyI Married a Dog, which had been produced as a television episode on the Westinghouse Preview Theatre.^[191][192] The property was being developed byPhilip Rapp andRichard M. Powell under the titleMonsieur Cognac and revolved around a musician and a brandy-drinking dog that are both in love with the same woman.^[191]

In early March 1962, Curtis and Leigh separated.^[193] The couple held a press announcement on March 17, 1962 admitting that they had been having difficulty for several years and that shortly after returning from Argentina, Curtis had moved out from theirBeverly Hills, California home.^[193][194] Curtis and Leigh also explained that they hoped the separation would be temporary and that they would resume their marriage later that year.^[193] It was at this time that Curtis and Margulies formally activatedCurtis Enterprises, though it would take nearly a year for Curtleigh Productions' name to stop appearing in the press.^[195] It took some time for press representatives to fully catch on to the new name and for the company's projects to be fully shifted to the new corporation; but Curtis also explained that Curtleigh Productions would not be shut down, nor renamed, until the timing was financially appropriate.^[195][196] Although all of the current and future films in development were shifted to Curtis Enterprises, Curtleigh Productions remained an active corporation in order to collect previously-established film residuals (percentages) and to see through the release ofTaras Bulba, which had been filmed prior to the couple's separation.^[196]

Curtis and Margulies continued working onPlayboy,40 Pounds of Trouble,Soft Sell andMonsieur Cognac through Curtis Enterprises. On June 15, 1962 Leigh filed for divorce in the Santa Monica Superior Court, thereby ending any possibility for reconciliation and the resumption of Curtleigh Productions.^[197] The suit listed community property including 112.5 shares of Curtleigh Productions stock, as well as 50 shares of Curtis Enterprises stock.^[197] On August 3, 1962, Curtis and Margulies formed a new film production company,Reynard Productions, Incorporated, which would ultimately take over film production work from Curtis Enterprises in 1963, much in the same manner as Curtis Enterprises had taken over Curtleigh Productions' work.^[198]

Following private screenings for press and trade representatives in October and November 1962,Taras Bulba premiered on December 9, 1962 at theBeacon Theatre in New York City.^[199][200] The film then opened to several locations in the United States and Canada for Christmas week 1962.^[200][201]Taras Bulba was hyped as a major box office attraction butFranz Waxman's score wound up the main attraction. The soundtrack was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Music, Score - Substantially Original, aGolden Globe Award for Best Original Score and anInternational Film Music Critics Award for Best Archival Re-Recording of an Existing Score. Of the many remaining properties acquired and developed through Curtleigh Productions, only two were later successfully produced:40 Pounds of Trouble was made through Curtis Enterprises and distributed by Universal-International Pictures in late 1962, whileMonsieur Cognac was retitledWild and Wonderful and, after several years of development, was made through Reynard Productions and Harold Hecht Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures in mid-1964.

• Massacre (1955)^[13]
• Five Weeks in a Balloon (1955–1956)^[21]
• The Foolish Immortals (1956)^[22]
• Cry Tough (1956–1957)^[12]
• The Ballad of Cat Ballou (1956–1957)^[36]
• Jada /Jadda (1956–1957)^[45]
• The Wound /Cortez and Son /Lopez and Son /Cornada (1957–1958)^[54]
• The Defender (1957)^[67]
• Beach Boy (1958)^[87]
• A Most Contagious Game (1958–1959)^[97]
• Bullfight (1958)^[84]
• The Perfect Love (1958–1959)^[112]
• Prisoner of Love /The Russ Columbo Story (1959)^[125]
• Draw Sabres (1960–1961)^[149]
• Playboy (1961–1962)^[166]
• Hollywood (1961)^[159]
• Exit 41 /Soft Sell (1961–1962)^[176]

• 1955 establishments in California
• 1962 disestablishments in California
• Curtleigh Productions
• Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
• Defunct film and television production companies of the United States
• Entertainment companies based in California
• Mass media companies established in 1955
• Mass media companies disestablished in 1962
• Television production companies based in California
• Film production companies based in California
• Privately held companies based in Los Angeles

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