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Subway-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (or MGM ) is an American company specialized in the production and the film distribution of cinema and programs for television. Its principal subsidiary companies are MGM Pictures and United Artists.

History

The MGM was created in 1924 by the amalgamation of three companies: Subway Pictures Corporation (created in 1915), Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (created in 1917) and Louis B. Mayer Pictures (created in 1918). The first owner of the MGM was Marcus Loew (1870-1927), one of the principal American owners of cinemas. He placed Louis B. Mayer at the direction of the studio and named Irving Thalberg responsible for the production part. The studio taken for currency Ars Gratia Artis ( art is the reward of art ) and for emblem the lion “Leo” in 1928.

Shortly after fusion, following the death of Loew, its associate Nicholas Schenck took the control of the studio. Schenck then tried in vain to resell the company with the 20th Century Fox, which created strong tensions with Mayer.

In the Years 1930, always under the direction of Mayer and Thalberg, MGM became the largest production company of Hollywood. It produced the many traditional ones, among which Grand Hotel or the series of the Tarzan and made Greta Garbo and of Joan Crawford of the stars. Following frequent disputes with Mayer and Schenck, Thalberg was retrogressed in 1932. Mayer engaged then of the independent producers such as David O. Selznick to deal with the creative aspect of the company.

With died of Thalberg in 1936, Mayer was found with the full powerss and engaged the production of many commercial films. Between 1936 and the beginning of the Second world war, MGM produced inter alia Gone With The Wind and the Magician of OZ . As from 1941, MGM supported the effort of war. Many stars of the firm helped to sell coupons, others (James Stewart and Clark Gable for example) engaged.

It is at this period that MGM became one of the principal producers of cartoons. The service animation was created at the end of the Thirties by two old of Warner Bros. : Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising. In 1941, Tex Avery joined the studio following a dispute with Leon Schlesinger of Warner. Avery carried out the traditional ones such as Red-Hot Riding Hood , Swing Shift Cinderella or the series of the Droopy, but the greatest success of the company in the field of animation was the series Tom and Jerry created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

After the war, MGM specialized in the production of musical comedies. The majority of the large singers and dancers of the time joined the studio: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra. Collapsing under the workload, Mayer engaged the author and producing Dore Schary to deal with the production. As of the beginning, the relationship between the two men was very tended. Schary wished to privilege films with message and reproached Mayer for spending more time on the racecourses than to its office. In 1951, Mayer put Schenck at the foot of the wall while requiring of him to choose between him and Schary. Schenck chooses Schary and returned Mayer of the station which it had occupied for 27 years. Mayer died in 1957.

MGM was not saved by the crisis which struck the large studios in the Fifties and Sixties. In 1957, following the failure of the Tree of life , the studio lost money for the first time of its history. Schary was returned and, to rectify the accounts, the department animation was closed. Hanna and Barbera were gone from there to create Hanna-Will bore Productions and the production of Tom and Jerry was sub-contracted initially at a society based in Eastern Europe then at the company of Chuck Jones Sib Tower 12 Productions. Association with Chuck Jones taken end in 1967.

In 1959, the studio was constrained to sell its network of rooms. The firm managed to be maintained with flood with successes like Ben-Hur and while starting to produce programs for television, but the ten following years transfer a waltz of the leaders to the head of the company, none not managing to align two years profit.

MGM was repurchased in 1969 by the millionaire Kirk Kerkorian (born the 6/6/1917), who had acquired in 1967 United Artists. It carried out a true purging of the company, reducing manpower considerably and reselling part of the inheritance of the firm (several hectares of grounds to the red escarpins of Dorothy in the Magician of OZ ). In the Seventies, the rate/rhythm of production of the MGM decreased considerably. Kerkorian resold the department distribution and quickly started to be wearied of its new toy. The studio nevertheless managed to obtain some successes ( Shaft , the crystal Age or Fame ) and repurchased United Artists in 1981.

In 1986, Ted Turner (born the 11/19/1938) repurchased MGM and United Artists. There remained owner about it during 74 days. Not being able to support the debt of the unit (and in particular that of United Artists following the fiasco of the Door of the paradise ), Ted Turner was constrained to resell MGM and UA with Kerkorian. Turner did not keep that part of catalog MGM. The film sets were sold with Lorimar (which was then repurchased by Warner) then, in 1990, in Sony.

In April 1989, extremely of successes of Rain man and a fish named Wanda , Kerkorian announces the sale of the studios to Australian the Qintex for 20 $ per title, that is to say approximately 1 billion dollar, while preserving the mark " MGM" and logo with the lion celebrates it. In October of the same year, the sale is cancelled and Kerkorian of finds again in the search of a reprendor for MGM.

In 1990, the studio was repurchased by the Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti via Pathé Communication with the support of LCL, for 1,3 billion dollar this time. Parretti knew a short state of grace with successes like Get Shorty and Leaving Las Vegas but did not escape the bankruptcy in 1992. In 1993, LCL invests 400 million dollars to try, in vain, to rectify the studio. In 1995, the network of rooms in Europe, is 526 rooms was resold with the group Chargeurs (rooms of the Netherlands) and with Virgin (network of the United Kingdom).

The October 10th 1996, Kerkorian (associate with Seven Network and Frank Mancuso Sr.) repurchased MGM with the Crédit Lyonnais for 1,3 billion dollar. The same year, MGM repurchased Metromedia International and absorbed its subsidiary companies (Orion Pictures, Goldwyn Entertainment and the Motion Picture Corporation off America), which enabled him to reconstitute a catalog.

But in 2002, the company is put on sale, with height of 7 billion dollars.

In 2005, Sony receives the green light of the European commission to repurchase the MGM for 5 billion dollars.

Organization of Subway-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc

  • Subway-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
    • MGM Pictures
    • United Artists (repurchased in 2006 by Tom Cruise)
    • MGM Television Entertainment
    • MGM Networks
    • MGM Distribution Co.
    • MGM Worldwide Television Distribution
    • MGM Home Entertainment
    • MGM One Training course
    • MGM To consume Products
    • MGM Music
      • Interactive
    • MGM
    • MGM Online.
  • Participation in television channels

Catalog of films

  • List of films produced by Subway-Goldwyn-Mayer

Selective catalog of films

Years 1930

Years 1940

Years 1950

Years 1960

Years 1970

Years 1980

Years 1990

Years 2000

External bonds

  • ''' the official site of the MGM '''

Simple: Subway-Goldwyn-Mayer

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