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:zm^ss^JZittl ThP Power Heliind the Scenes
PRODUCERS Unsung
Heroes Who Make or Break the Pictures
8 WaL 21 ofS.euSon 6 ms
WHOEVER
said. "I care not who
makes the nation's laws if I may
write its songs" understood clearly
how much more the latter entered into
the hearts of the people. Thus it might
be said for the producers of motion pictures,
that no matter who makes the laws,
those who make the pictures which entertain
the public are closer to the roots
of the people's affections than those who
make themselves responsible for their protection
and good conduct. A motion picture
hit
producer has made something on
which a vast audience has placed its seal
of approval. His skill has brought forth
a product with general mass appeal in
the entertainment field, and he can land
doubtless does)
feel the customary elation
which comes after a creative effort of any
kind makes its public appearance.
For the 1950-51 sea.son. eight producers
made 21 of its hits, while 37 others had
only one hit each. During the 1949-50
season, 35 producers had one hit each,
ten had two each, and only one, Sol C.
Siegel, produced three hits. In 1950-51.
five producers had three hits each and
three had two hits each. Of the five men
that produced three hits for the season,
three of them—Arthur Freed, Joe Pasternak,
and Darryl F. Zanuck—had two each
last year. Robert L. Welch had one hit
last season and William Jacobs none, so
their product jumped considerably, boxofficewise,
for 1950-51. However, neither
Welch nor Jacobs are new in the business.
None of these producers is. They
have all served full apprenticeship before
becoming masters of their art, as will be
shown by studying their backgrounds and
careers.
Taking them in the order in which they
are listed, we find Arthur Freed came up
via the song route, having many popular
screen songs to his credit before becoming
a producer. That is probably why he
made three such effective musicals for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as those listed, including
the outstanding "Show Boat."
William Jacobs, native of Chicago and
educated at the Mo.sely Institute, developed
into a producer from a .screenplay
writer. He produced three delightful hi*
musicals for Warner Bros, for the season.
Joe Pasternak, who scored two hits in
1949-50 and has three hits for 1950-51,
was fortunate in having Mario Lanza in
two of those three. He is one producer
who has held the reins of productional
power on both sides of the Atlantic.
Robert L. Welch, one of whose hits of
the season starred Bing Cro.sby and the
other two Bob Hope, out of the university
became an actor-producer at the Hedgerow
Theatre in Philadelphia. He went to
the Pasadena Playhouse, then was a writer
and producer on the Kate Smith. Fred
Allen and Jack Benny shows, as well as
the originator of the Henry Aldrich shows,
coining the expression, "Coming, Mother."
Also, he produced all the U.S. Armed
Forces radio shows during World War II.
Darryl F. Zanuck, the Nebraska boy who
made good in pictures to the extent that
he is listed in that bible of distinguished
attainment. Who's Who, has three unusual
pictures to his credit this year, each differing
from the other: one a religious epic
starring Gregory Peck, another a sophisticated
vehicle for Bette Davis, and the
other an adult theme for Cary Grant's
thespian talents.
Louis P. Edelman, Harvard graduate,
entered the motion picture industry
as a prop boy at the Metro studios and
went on to the sound and story department,
then to the Warner and to the Fox
studios, and to Columbia in 1942. He is
the first of those listed here for two hits,
both made in the Warner studios.
Leonard Goldstein, one of the few western-born
producers, used his talents in a
number of studios before coming to Universal
and producing the Ma and Pa Kettle
series, along with such successes as
"Tomahawk" and "Up Front."
William Perlberg, Cornell graduate who
served in the U.S. Navy during World
War I, has aLso worked in a number of
studios in varying capacities, but mostly
as a producer in late years. While now
with Paramount, his two hits for the season
were made for 20th Century-Fox.
Sol C. Siegel, who .scored with three
hits for the 1949-50 season, has only one
hit to his credit for 1950-51 but it is
Danny Kaye's "On the Riviera. " Other
notable hits who.se producers had only one
credit for the .season include "Born Yesterday"
(S. Sylvan Simon), "Cyrano de
Bergerac" (Stanley Kramer i, and "King
Solomon's Mines" iSam Zimbalisti.
Producers credited with 1950-51 top
boxoffice attractions are listed below.
THREE WINNERS
ARTHUR FREED:
Show Boat (MGM)
Royal Wedding (MGM)
Pagan Love Song (MGM)
WILLIAM JACOBS:
Tea for Two (WB)
On Moonlight Bay (WB)
Lullaby of Broadway (WB)
JOE PASTERNAK:
Great Caruso, The (MGM)
Rich, 'young and Pretty (MGM)
Toast of New Orleans (MGM)
ROBERT L. WELCH:
Mr. Music (Para)
Fancy Pants (Para)
Lemon Drop Lid, The (Para)
DARRYL F.
ZANUCK:
David and Bathsheba (20th-Fox)
All About Eve (20th-Fox)
People Will Talk (20th-Fox)
TWO WINNERS
LOUIS F. EDELMAN:
Operation Pacific (WBi
West Point Story. The (WB)
LEONARD GOLDSTEIN:
Tomahawk (U-I)
Up Front (U-I)
WILLIAM PERLBERG:
For Heaven's Sake (20th-Fox)
I'll Get By (20th-Fox)
ONE WINNER
ROBERT ARTHUR:
Abbott and Costello Meet the
Invisible Man (U-I)
ROBERT BASSLER:
Halls of Montezuma (20th-Pox)
JOHN BECK:
Harvey (U-I)
PANDRO S. BERMAN:
Father's Little Dividend iMGM)
CLARENCE BROWN:
To Please a Lady (MGM)
80 BAROMETER Section