 Seven Arts Productions' first logo (1957–1961) | |
| Formerly | Creative Telefilms & Artists Limited (proposed, 1957)[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Genre | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1957; 68 years ago (1957) |
| Founder | Eliot Hyman Ray Stark Norman Katz |
| Defunct | 1967; 58 years ago (1967) |
| Fate | Merged withWarner Bros. to formWarner Bros.-Seven Arts |
| Successors | Company Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Library: Warner Bros. (excluding co-productions) |
Key people | Eliot Hyman Ray Stark Norman Katz |
| Parent | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969) |
Seven Arts Productions was afilm production company established in 1957 byEliot Hyman,Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. It produced films for distribution by other studios.[2]
The company was established in 1957. It originated fromAssociated Artists Productions (AAP), managed by Ray Stark and Eliot Hyman, which specialised in acquiring older films and reselling them to television. Stark and Hyman sought to enter film production; however, AAP's principal stockholder, Louis Chesler, did not share this interest, which led to the creation of Seven Arts. Chesler, a Toronto-based industrialist, became chairman of the new company.
According to Stark, the company aimed to remake older Warner Bros. films or adapt previously filmed stories into stage plays. Hyman served as a private partner while continuing as president of AAP. His son, Kenneth Hyman, acted as liaison between Seven Arts and AAP.[3] David Stillman was appointed president of Seven Arts.
Seven Arts' first film wasThe Gun Runners, released byUnited Artists. A review inVariety remarked that Seven Arts, "by reputation, has become one of Hollywood's major independents before canning a single picture."[4] Its second official production wasTen Seconds to Hell, a co-production withHammer Films filmed in Germany. Seven Arts also played a significant, though often uncredited, role in co-financing Hammer's early horror films such asThe Curse of Frankenstein andDracula.[5] The company also had early success on Broadway, helping to financeThe World of Suzie Wong.[6]
In September 1958, Seven Arts signed a five-year contract withJacques Bergerac.[7] In December of that year, it entered into a three-picture agreement with John Huston forFreud,Montezuma, andLysistrata.[8] The first film Huston ultimately made for Seven Arts wasThe Misfits (1961), released through United Artists.
In September 1960, Seven Arts announced plans to invest US$17.5 million in 13 to 15 films, with a total projected budget of US$30 million. These includedThe Misfits,West Side Story,Two for the Seesaw, andBy Love Possessed for United Artists. The company also retained interests in films such asThe Nun's Story,Strangers When We Meet,The Last Sunset (originally titledThe Day of the Gun), andAnatomy of a Murder, due to its ownership of certain rights. In addition, it was involved in 18 Hammer Films productions in the United Kingdom. At the time, Seven Arts was also developing future projects includingThe Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone,The Sergeant,The Powder Keg,The Watch That Ends the Night withTyrone Guthrie, andThe Long Walk withLaurence Harvey. On Broadway, the company planned to produce a musical adaptation ofGone with the Wind and an American version of the television seriesRomancero. Seven Arts also invested in real estate in the Bahamas.[9]
Disagreements eventually arose between Seven Arts and United Artists, leading to the termination of their partnership. It was agreed that three properties originally owned by Seven Arts—West Side Story,By Love Possessed, andTwo for the Seesaw—would instead be produced by theMirisch Corporation.West Side Story proved to be particularly successful.[10] In February 1961,Kenneth Hyman relocated to London to oversee Seven Arts' European operations.[11]
Seven Arts reported a loss of US$1,090,212 in 1960 but achieved a profit of US$1.1 million in 1961.[10] In June 1961, the company issued its first annual report, which announced the formation of the Seven Arts–Bryanston Film Company (see below), a US$5 million real estate investment in the Bahamas, and the acquisition of the Famous Artists Agency. At the time, it had talent contracts with figures such asFred Coe,John Patrick,John Huston,Mel Ferrer, andIsobel Lennart.[12]
In July 1962, Seven Arts announced plans to produce twenty films forMGM over the following years, describing the agreement as "the largest single pact ever negotiated with a major distributor by an independent producing company." The company also entered into a four-picture deal with20th Century Fox, a three-picture deal withWarner Bros., and a two-picture deal withColumbia Pictures, in addition to its existing arrangement with the Mirisch Corporation to make films forUnited Artists.[10]
The MGM deal included titles such asLolita,The Main Attraction,Tamahine,The Night of the Iguana,A Global Affair,Sunday in New York,Of Human Bondage,The Careful Man (directed byJoshua Logan),A Candle for St. Jude byRumer Godden,This Property Is Condemned,Film of Memory (based on a French play),The Wild Affair,Meet Me in Monte Carlo (a musical withAlain Delon andNancy Kwan),Not That Kind of Girl, andThe New Adventures of Robin Crusoe.
The 20th Century Fox agreement coveredGigot,The Other Side of the Mountain byJohn Patrick,The Disenchanted, andThe Hunt for Kimathi. The Warner Bros. slate includedThe Count of Monte Cristo,Panic Button, andWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Columbia's agreement involvedThe Enchantress withRobert Mitchum andAssault on a Queen, produced byMel Ferrer. The latter was eventually transferred to Warner Bros. and retitledRampage.
In addition, Seven Arts announced investments in a number of projects, includingThe Anatolian Smile fromElia Kazan,The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne fromJohn Huston, an untitled film byVittorio De Sica,Robert Rossen's adaptation ofThe Hostage byBrendan Behan,Dr. Strangelove,Richard Brooks'The Streetwalker,Sammy Going South,The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, and adaptations ofReflections in a Golden Eye andOh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. The company was also developing Broadway projects, including a planned musical version ofCasablanca with producerDavid Merrick.[10]
Not all of these projects were realised, while others were produced by different studios. Several, however, were completed, including the commercially successfulWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane? In May 1963, theLos Angeles Times described Seven Arts as "a deep, dark mystery" in Hollywood. At the time, the company had contract actors includingNancy Kwan,Sue Lyon,Keir Dullea,Victor Buono,Alain Delon, andSandy Dennis.[13]
In October 1963, Seven Arts announced plans to release three art-house films:Gentleman's Companion,Les Mystifiés, andSammy Going South. At the same time, it was developingNo Strings,Reflections in a Golden Eye,Settled Out of Court,A Candle for St. Jude,This Property Is Condemned, andConspiracy of Silence.[14]
Seven Arts also distributed feature films and television programs for broadcast. In 1960,Warner Bros. licensed its post-1949 library to Seven Arts for television syndication. Similar arrangements were made with20th Century Fox andUniversal Pictures.[2] The company also acquired theatrical reissue rights to some Fox titles.[2]
Lou Chesler's involvement in Seven Arts was controversial.[15] In April 1964, Chesler resigned as chairman and board member to focus on his business interests in the Bahamas. As part of this transition, Seven Arts sold its stake in the Grand Bahamas Holding Company.[16] According to some accounts, Eliot Hyman may have pushed for Chesler’s departure due to Chesler’s alleged connections to organised crime figures such asMeyer Lansky.[17]
Seven Arts signed a co-production agreement with the British companyBryanston. The partnership produced two films,Sammy Going South andThe Small World of Sammy Lee, both of which performed poorly at the box office. Seven Arts also handled the U.S. release of Bryanston'sThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, which was another box-office disappointment.
The two companies considered co-producingTom Jones, but withdrew due to rising production costs. The film was subsequently acquired by United Artists and went on to achieve both critical acclaim and commercial success.[18]
In November 1966, Seven Arts Productions acquired a controlling interest inWarner Bros. Pictures fromJack L. Warner for US$32 million.[19] The companies were merged asWarner Bros.-Seven Arts, which was later rebranded as Warner Bros. Inc. following its acquisition byKinney National Company in 1969.[20]
In his final year as head of production, Ray Stark remarked that he "hated ten" of the eleven films he produced, with the exception ofArrivederci Baby. He stated that his favourite productions at Seven Arts wereThe World of Suzie Wong,The Night of the Iguana, andReflections in a Golden Eye, all of which, he noted, were made independently of Eliot Hyman. Stark nonetheless described Hyman as "the smartest TV man in the business—and a financial wizard". Reflecting on his role at Seven Arts, Stark commented that "what I have really been is a deal maker. When you turn out a lot of film I guess there's a certain security." He later expressed his wish to focus more on producing.[21]
Neither the laterSeven Arts Pictures nor the defunct releasing company Seven Arts—a joint venture formed in the early 1990s betweenCarolco Pictures andNew Line Cinema (which later merged into Warner Bros.)—was related to the original Seven Arts Productions.
(Most of these were released in the United States through 20th Century Fox)
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