Oliver A. Unger
Encyclopedia
Oliver A. Unger was an award-winning film producer
, distributor
, and exhibitor who participated in every phase of the motion picture business including production, distribution, marketing, promotion, and exhibition during a 45-year career. He was also a television producer
and owner of movie theaters and television stations throughout the United States.
, Hungary
, in 1920 where his father, Bertram Unger, was a bank president. They returned to New York City in 1926 and Unger attended Columbia Grammar School
until his graduation in 1931. Unger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University
in 1935.
In 1984 the Unger family donated Oliver Unger's collection of personal documents and film production files to the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center.
Unger was organizing Celebration 33 - a benefit commemorating the thirty-third anniversary of the State of Israel - when he died at the age of 66. He was survived by his wife, Virginia; two sons, Anthony B. Unger and Stephen A. Unger
; three daughters: Meryl L. Unger, Dr. Olivia A. Raynor and Victoria R.S. Unger; and a grandson, David A. Unger.
, where he purchased foreign films for distribution in the United States. It was during this time that he founded Distinguished Films and Tola Productions with Marty Levine. They produced The Roosevelt Story, an 80-minute documentary about President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and filmed under the supervision of Elliott Roosevelt
. The Roosevelt Story was awarded the Peace Prize at the 1948 Brussels Film Festival and regarded as "the most popular compilation film of the later 1940s."
In 1961, Unger and Ely Landau
formed the Landau-Unger Company, which produced films such as The Pawnbroker
and Long Day's Journey into Night
. Unger presented the latter at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival
, where its stars (Katharine Hepburn
, Ralph Richardson
, Jason Robards
, Dean Stockwell
) won the Best Actress and Actor Awards collectively. The Landau-Unger Company also distributed the Eleanor Roosevelt Story, which won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Documentary
.
Unger produced several films in Southern Africa with Harry Alan Toweers in the 1960s.
The Landau-Unger Company was sold to Commonwealth United Corporation in 1967, at which time Unger was named Vice Chairman of Commonwealth United Company. In 1969 he added the titles of Vice Chairman of Commonwealth United Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth’s Entertainment Division. Films financed, produced and distributed by Commonwealth United under Unger's tutelage include The Madwoman of Chaillot
, The Magic Christian
, Julius Caesar
and The Battle of Neretva
.
In the early 1970s Unger was responsible for acquiring the U.S. marketing rights for a number of Charles Chaplin’s films, including Modern Times
and City Lights
. Soon thereafter, Unger formed Marwi Capital Development N.V. in Paris
, whose principal activity was to produce Assassination at Sarajevo also released as The Day That Shook the World (starring Christopher Plummer
, Maximilian Schell
, and Florinda Bolkan
) and Force 10 from Navarone (starring Harrison Ford
, Robert Shaw
, Carl Weathers
and Barbara Bach
).
Additionally, over a 20-year period Unger owned and operated (with various partners) a number of movie theaters in Manhattan
and The Bronx
, among them The Tudor Theatre, The Lido, The Studio, The Little Carnegie, The Cinema Rendezvous and The Fine Arts.
Unger co-founded National Telefilm Associates
with Ely Landau
and Harold Goldman in 1954, where he served in various capacities and rose eventually to Chairman and President before leaving in 1961. Among the NTA's holdings were various television stations in the United States, including Channel 13 in Newark, N.J. WNTA-TV (now WNET
), whose pioneering programming included award-winning shows such as Play of the Week,
Open End (hosted by David Susskind
), and The Mike Wallace Interviews
.
In November 1962, Unger partnered with Bill Sargent and Joe Louis
to promote Cassius Clay's (later Muhammad Ali
) first closed-circuit fight against Archie Moore
in Los Angeles. A couple of years later Unger formed the Freedom Networks after he was approached by Roy Wilkins
and Thurgood Marshall
(then President and Executive Director of the NAACP, respectively) to produce and promote The Freedom Spectacular, a charity event commemorating the tenth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
.
In 1972, Unger and Peter Gettinger formed Hotel Films International, the first venture in Europe that made films available in hotel rooms via closed-circuit television. They sold the company to a Swiss/Arab interest in 1975.
, the latter was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1969 Academy Awards.
The Roosevelt Story (1947)
Coast of Skeletons (1964)
Mozambique (1964)
Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
Sandy the Seal (1969)
Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
As Executive Producer, Presenter, Distributor, Other (partial list)
City Lights
(1931)
Modern Times
(1936)
Long Day's Journey into Night
(1962)
The Pawnbroker
(1964)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Eleanor Roosevelt Story (1965)
Ten Little Indians
(1965)
Our Man in Marrakesh
(1966)
The Battle of Neretva
(1969)
The Madwoman of Chaillot
(1969)
The Day That Shook the World
(1975)
I Love You Rosa
(1972)
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
, and exhibitor who participated in every phase of the motion picture business including production, distribution, marketing, promotion, and exhibition during a 45-year career. He was also a television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and owner of movie theaters and television stations throughout the United States.
Personal
Unger was born in Chicago, Illinois, of Hungarian descent. His family also lived in New York before moving back to BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, in 1920 where his father, Bertram Unger, was a bank president. They returned to New York City in 1926 and Unger attended Columbia Grammar School
Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School is the oldest non-sectarian private school in the United States, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan , in New York City, New York...
until his graduation in 1931. Unger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1935.
In 1984 the Unger family donated Oliver Unger's collection of personal documents and film production files to the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center.
Unger was organizing Celebration 33 - a benefit commemorating the thirty-third anniversary of the State of Israel - when he died at the age of 66. He was survived by his wife, Virginia; two sons, Anthony B. Unger and Stephen A. Unger
Stephen A. Unger
Stephen A. Unger is a "leading executive recruiter" who served as managing partner of the media and entertainment divisions at the three largest executive search firms in the world...
; three daughters: Meryl L. Unger, Dr. Olivia A. Raynor and Victoria R.S. Unger; and a grandson, David A. Unger.
Film
From 1937-1945 Unger worked for Hoffberg Productions, eventually serving as Vice President. During this period he was involved with importing and distributing foreign films. He was one of the first businessmen to travel to Europe after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, where he purchased foreign films for distribution in the United States. It was during this time that he founded Distinguished Films and Tola Productions with Marty Levine. They produced The Roosevelt Story, an 80-minute documentary about President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and filmed under the supervision of Elliott Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt was a United States Army Air Forces officer and an author. Roosevelt was a son of U.S. President Franklin D...
. The Roosevelt Story was awarded the Peace Prize at the 1948 Brussels Film Festival and regarded as "the most popular compilation film of the later 1940s."
In 1961, Unger and Ely Landau
Ely Landau
Ely Abraham Landau was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series....
formed the Landau-Unger Company, which produced films such as The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker (film)
The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
and Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)
Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Ely Landau with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was by Eugene O'Neill, the music score by André Previn and the...
. Unger presented the latter at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival
1962 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Tetsuro Furukaki *Henry Deutschmeister *Sophie Desmarets *Jean Dutourd *Mel Ferrer *Romain Gary *Jerzy Kawalerowicz *Ernst Krüger...
, where its stars (Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
, Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell
Dean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
) won the Best Actress and Actor Awards collectively. The Landau-Unger Company also distributed the Eleanor Roosevelt Story, which won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Documentary
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
.
Unger produced several films in Southern Africa with Harry Alan Toweers in the 1960s.
The Landau-Unger Company was sold to Commonwealth United Corporation in 1967, at which time Unger was named Vice Chairman of Commonwealth United Company. In 1969 he added the titles of Vice Chairman of Commonwealth United Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth’s Entertainment Division. Films financed, produced and distributed by Commonwealth United under Unger's tutelage include The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot (film)
The Madwoman of Chaillot is a 1969 American satirical comedy-drama film made by Commonwealth United Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. It was directed by Bryan Forbes and produced by Ely A. Landau with Anthony B. Unger as associate producer...
, The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian (film)
The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (1970 film)
Julius Caesar is a 1970 independent film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Stuart Burge from a screenplay by Robert Furnival. The film stars Charlton Heston , Jason Robards and John Gielgud . It is the first film version of the play made in color...
and The Battle of Neretva
The Battle of Neretva
Battle of Neretva is a 1969 Yugoslavian partisan film. The film was written by Stevan Bulajić and Veljko Bulajić, and directed by Veljko Bulajić. It is based on the true events of World War II. The Battle of the Neretva was due to a strategic plan for a combined Axis powers attack in 1943 against...
.
In the early 1970s Unger was responsible for acquiring the U.S. marketing rights for a number of Charles Chaplin’s films, including Modern Times
Modern Times (film)
Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
and City Lights
City Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
. Soon thereafter, Unger formed Marwi Capital Development N.V. in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, whose principal activity was to produce Assassination at Sarajevo also released as The Day That Shook the World (starring Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
, and Florinda Bolkan
Florinda Bolkan
Florinda Bolkan is a Brazilian actress, born Florinda Bulcão.-Biography:Daughter of a congressman and a granddaughter of a priest on her mother's side, Florinda lived in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará state, and in Rio de Janeiro until she became a world citizen...
) and Force 10 from Navarone (starring Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
, Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
and Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
).
Additionally, over a 20-year period Unger owned and operated (with various partners) a number of movie theaters in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, among them The Tudor Theatre, The Lido, The Studio, The Little Carnegie, The Cinema Rendezvous and The Fine Arts.
Television
In the early 1950s Unger worked as Vice President of Snader Telescription Sales and headed Station Distributors, "one of the country's first television syndication outfits."Unger co-founded National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates was an independent distribution company that handled reissues of American film libraries, including much of Paramount Pictures' animated and short-subjects library.-History:...
with Ely Landau
Ely Landau
Ely Abraham Landau was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series....
and Harold Goldman in 1954, where he served in various capacities and rose eventually to Chairman and President before leaving in 1961. Among the NTA's holdings were various television stations in the United States, including Channel 13 in Newark, N.J. WNTA-TV (now WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
), whose pioneering programming included award-winning shows such as Play of the Week,
Play of the Week
Play of the Week is an American anthology series of televised stage plays which aired in NTA Film Network syndication from October 12, 1959 to May 1, 1961...
Open End (hosted by David Susskind
David Susskind
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
), and The Mike Wallace Interviews
The Mike Wallace Interview
The Mike Wallace Interview is a series of 30-minute television interviews conducted by host Mike Wallace in 1957-60. Before The Mike Wallace Interview was televised nationally on prime-time in 1957, the host of the show had risen to prominence a year earlier with Night-Beat, a television interview...
.
In November 1962, Unger partnered with Bill Sargent and Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
to promote Cassius Clay's (later Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
) first closed-circuit fight against Archie Moore
Archie Moore
Archie Moore, born Archibald Lee Wright , was light heavyweight world boxing champion who had one of the longest professional careers in the history of that sport....
in Los Angeles. A couple of years later Unger formed the Freedom Networks after he was approached by Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
(then President and Executive Director of the NAACP, respectively) to produce and promote The Freedom Spectacular, a charity event commemorating the tenth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
.
In 1972, Unger and Peter Gettinger formed Hotel Films International, the first venture in Europe that made films available in hotel rooms via closed-circuit television. They sold the company to a Swiss/Arab interest in 1975.
Medal of Honor
In 1978, at a special investiture ceremony "in recognition of his services in promoting US/Yugoslavian cultural and trade relations," Unger was bestowed a "Medal of Honor" and designated an "Honored Artist" by President Marshall Tito for films that he either produced or co-produced in Yugoslavia: Assassination at Sarajevo, Force 10 from Navarone and The Battle of NeretvaThe Battle of Neretva
Battle of Neretva is a 1969 Yugoslavian partisan film. The film was written by Stevan Bulajić and Veljko Bulajić, and directed by Veljko Bulajić. It is based on the true events of World War II. The Battle of the Neretva was due to a strategic plan for a combined Axis powers attack in 1943 against...
, the latter was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1969 Academy Awards.
Filmography
As Producer (partial list)The Roosevelt Story (1947)
Coast of Skeletons (1964)
Mozambique (1964)
Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
Sandy the Seal (1969)
Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
As Executive Producer, Presenter, Distributor, Other (partial list)
City Lights
City Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
(1931)
Modern Times
Modern Times (film)
Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
(1936)
Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)
Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Ely Landau with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was by Eugene O'Neill, the music score by André Previn and the...
(1962)
The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker (film)
The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
(1964)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Eleanor Roosevelt Story (1965)
Ten Little Indians
Ten Little Indians (1965 film)
The 1965 version of Ten Little Indians is the second film version of Agatha Christie's detective novel And Then There Were None . Although its background story is the same as the 1945 version , this one takes place on an isolated snowy mountain...
(1965)
Our Man in Marrakesh
Our Man in Marrakesh
Our Man in Marrakesh is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Don Sharp, starring Tony Randall and Senta Berger.-Plot:...
(1966)
The Battle of Neretva
The Battle of Neretva
Battle of Neretva is a 1969 Yugoslavian partisan film. The film was written by Stevan Bulajić and Veljko Bulajić, and directed by Veljko Bulajić. It is based on the true events of World War II. The Battle of the Neretva was due to a strategic plan for a combined Axis powers attack in 1943 against...
(1969)
The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot (film)
The Madwoman of Chaillot is a 1969 American satirical comedy-drama film made by Commonwealth United Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. It was directed by Bryan Forbes and produced by Ely A. Landau with Anthony B. Unger as associate producer...
(1969)
The Day That Shook the World
The Day That Shook the World
The Day That Shook the World is the English language title for the 1975 Czechoslovakian/Yugoslavian/German co-production film called Sarajevski atentat...
(1975)
I Love You Rosa
I Love You Rosa
I Love You Rosa is a 1972 Israeli film directed by Moshé Mizrahi. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Zivi Avramson - Esther* Naomi Bachar - Luna...
(1972)