The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an
independent filmAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
company founded by
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. is an American film producer.Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of actress Frances Howard and the pioneer motion picture mogul Samuel Goldwyn...
, the son of the famous Hollywood
mogulA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
,
Samuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
, in 1979.
Background
The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from around the world to U.S. audiences; they soon added original productions to their roster as well, starting with
The Golden Seal in 1983.
In succeeding years, the Goldwyn company was able to obtain (from Samuel Sr.'s estate) the rights to all films produced under Samuel Goldwyn, including the original
Bulldog DrummondBulldog Drummond is a detective film which tells the story of Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, a British officer bored with civilian life, who investigates an extortion case for a beautiful girl. The film stars Ronald Colman, Claud Allister, Lawrence Grant, Montagu Love, Wilson Benge, Joan...
(1929),
ArrowsmithArrowsmith is a 1931 film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Sidney Howard from the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith, and directed by John Ford.-Plot:...
(1931), and
Guys and DollsGuys and Dolls is a 1955 musical film starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. The film was made by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and distributed by MGM. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the screenplay...
(1955). The company also acquired some distribution rights to several films and television programs that were independently produced but released by other companies, including
Sayonara, the
Hal RoachHarold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
-produced Laurel & Hardy-starring vehicle
Babes in ToylandBabes in Toyland is a Laurel and Hardy musical film released in November 1934. The film is also known by its alternate titles Laurel and Hardy in Toyland, Revenge Is Sweet , March of the Wooden Soldiers and Wooden Soldiers .Based on Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland, the film...
(1934), the
FlipperFlipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park...
TV series produced by
MGM TelevisionMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television is an American television production/distribution launched in 1955 and a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc....
, the Academy Award-winning
Tom JonesTom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
(1963), and the
Rodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
film productions of
South PacificSouth Pacific is a 1958 musical romance film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and based on James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific...
(1958),
Oklahoma! (1955), as well as the CBS Television adaptation of
Cinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
(1965).
Animated films include
The Care Bears MovieThe Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian animated film, the second feature production from the Toronto animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, orphanage owners...
,
The Chipmunk AdventureThe Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated film featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Chipmunk Adventure was directed by Janice Karman from a screenplay by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr....
, and
Rock-a-DoodleRock-a-Doodle is a 1992 American animated re-telling of Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest Films for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and originally released in the United States on April 3, 1992.-Plot:Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose...
. Among the television programs in the Goldwyn company's library are the television series
American GladiatorsAmerican Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
and
Steve KrantzStephen Falk Krantz was a film producer and writer who was most active from 1966 to 1996.- Career :Born in Brooklyn, New York, Steve Krantz graduated from Columbia University and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces in the Pacific during World War II as a second lieutenant.He worked as a...
's miniseries
Dadah is DeathDadah Is Death is a 1988 Australian film based on the executions of Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers in Malaysia in 1986.-Cast:*Julie Christie ... Barbara Barlow*Hugo Weaving ... Geoffrey Chambers*John Polson ... Kevin Barlow...
.
In 1991, after a merger with Heritage Entertainment, Inc., the company went public as
Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. Heritage and Goldwyn attempted to merge during late 1990, but the plans fell apart while Heritage went through a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. That company and its library were acquired by
MetromediaMetromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
in 1996 (for US$125 million), and in 1997 sold to
Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. This company's function of acquiring independent films for American release (or producing such films) has been assumed by
United ArtistsUnited Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
(incidentally one of the distributors of films from the original Goldwyn company), which was recently relaunched with the help of
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and
Paula WagnerPaula Wagner is an American film producer and film executive.-Early career:Wagner began her career at Creative Artists Agency. In 1993 she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W's first film, Mission: Impossible, was an international hit that brought the...
.
Goldwyn has since gone on to found
Samuel Goldwyn FilmsSamuel Goldwyn Films is an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn...
. This successor company has continued to release independent films such as
What tнe #$*! Dө ωΣ (k)πow!? [a quantum tableWhat the Bleep Do We Know!? is a 2004 film that combines documentary-style interviews, computer-animated graphics, and a narrative that describes the spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness...
] and the Academy Award-nominated
The Squid and the WhaleThe Squid and the Whale is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson. It tells the semi-autobiographical story of two boys in Brooklyn dealing with their parents' divorce in the 1980s. The film is named after a giant squid and sperm whale diorama...
.
Flimography
- Forbidden Zone
Forbidden Zone is a 1982 musical comedy film based upon the stage performances of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The film stars Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell and members of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, and features appearances by Warhol Superstar Viva, Joe Spinell and The...
(1982)
- The Golden Seal (1983)
- The Care Bears Movie
The Care Bears Movie is a 1985 Canadian animated film, the second feature production from the Toronto animation studio Nelvana. One of the first films based directly on a toy line, it introduced the Care Bears characters and their companions, the Care Bear Cousins. In the film, orphanage owners...
(1985)
- The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated film featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Chipmunk Adventure was directed by Janice Karman from a screenplay by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr....
(1987)
- Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming of age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor.The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screen writer, Amy Holden Jones...
(1988)
- My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
- Rock-a-Doodle
Rock-a-Doodle is a 1992 American animated re-telling of Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest Films for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and originally released in the United States on April 3, 1992.-Plot:Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose...
(1992, U.S. release)
- Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a 1993 British/American romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Benedick....
(1993)
- Napoleon
Napoleon is a 1995 Australian film directed by Mario Andreacchio, and written by Mark Saltzman about a golden retriever puppy who runs away from his city home to the wild dogs.- Plot :...
(1997, U.S. release)
See also
- Samuel Goldwyn Television
Samuel Goldwyn Television 1 was a U.S. television production/distribution division of The Samuel Goldwyn Company that started in 1979. SGT's best known series was the competition series American Gladiators, which was very successful in first-run syndication for seven seasons and has recently been...
- Samuel Goldwyn Studio
Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios lot and the offices and stages that his company, Goldwyn Pictures, rented there during the 1920s and 1930s...
- Samuel Goldwyn Productions
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
- Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn...
(Successor)