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==Columbia Pictures==
==Columbia Pictures==
⚫
In June 1946 Katzman announced he would make his first feature for Columbia, a remake of ''The Last of the Mohicans'' starring Jon Hall.<ref>'LAST OF MOHICANS' TO BE FILMED AGAIN: Katzman, in Columbia Deal, to Star Jon Hall in Remake-- Two Premieres Here Today
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES..22 June 1946: 25. </ref>
===Musicals===
===Musicals===
⚫
In June 1946 Katzman announced he would make his first feature for Columbia, a remake of ''The Last of the Mohicans'' starring Jon Hall.<ref>'LAST OF MOHICANS' TO BE FILMED AGAIN: Katzman, in Columbia Deal, to Star Jon Hall in Remake-- Two Premieres Here Today
In August 1946 he signed with Jean Porter to star in ''Betty Co-Ed'', a low budget musical.<ref>Red to Do Tent Shows; 'L.A.' Operetta Planned
Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 5 Aug 1946: A2. </ref> ''Betty Co Ed'' came out before the Mohicans film. It was made by Katzman's his Monogram director [[Arthur Dreifuss]]. They then made some films with [[Gloria Jean]], ''[[I Surrender Dear (1948 film)|I Surrender Dear]]'' (1948) and ''[[Manhattan Angel]]'' (1949).<ref>MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven'', iUniverse, 2005</ref> These were typically completed in nine days with a budget around $140,000 per film. <ref name="drop">{{cite news|title=Hollywood Survey: Sharp Drop in Production Noted -- Still Another Dumas Exploit -- Other Items|author=Thomas F Brady|work=New York Times|date=11 May 1947|page=X5}}</ref>
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES..22 June 1946: 25. </ref> However the first movies he ended up making were musicals. In August 1946 he signed with Jean Porter to star in ''Betty Co-Ed'', a low budget musical.<ref>Red to Do Tent Shows; 'L.A.' Operetta Planned
Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 5 Aug 1946: A2. </ref> It was made by Katzman's his Monogram director [[Arthur Dreifuss]].
Katzman and Dreifuss then made some films with [[Gloria Jean]] who had been a star at Universal, ''[[I Surrender Dear (1948 film)|I Surrender Dear]]'' (1948) and ''[[Manhattan Angel]]'' (1949).<ref>MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven'', Universe, 2005</ref> These were typically completed in nine days with a budget around $140,000 per film. <ref name="drop">{{cite news|title=Hollywood Survey: Sharp Drop in Production Noted -- Still Another Dumas Exploit -- Other Items|author=Thomas F Brady|work=New York Times|date=11 May 1947|page=X5}}</ref>


He made some comedies starring [[Gloria Henry]], ''[[Racing Luck (1948 film)|Racing Luck]]'' (1948) and ''[[Triple Threat (1948 film)|Triple Threat]]'' (1948), and the musicals ''[[Mary Lou (1948 film)|Mary Lou]]'' (1948) and ''[[Glamour Girl (1948 film)|Glamour Girl]]'' (1948).
He made some comedies starring [[Gloria Henry]], ''[[Racing Luck (1948 film)|Racing Luck]]'' (1948) and ''[[Triple Threat (1948 film)|Triple Threat]]'' (1948), and the musicals ''[[Mary Lou (1948 film)|Mary Lou]]'' (1948) and ''[[Glamour Girl (1948 film)|Glamour Girl]]'' (1948). Box office on these pictures declined and Katzman started focusing on action pictures intead.
===Action Films===
===Action Films===
Katzman's work on the exceptionally successful ''[[Superman (serial)|Superman]]'' [[Serial (film)|serial]] led him away from musicals; for the next six years, he would produce only action fare for Columbia. These were harem (“bosom and sand”), swashbucklers, western, action, and prison pictures. He would make around ten features a year, producing them in four to ten weeks.<ref name="may"/>
Katzman's work on the exceptionally successful ''[[Superman (serial)|Superman]]'' [[Serial (film)|serial]] led him away from musicals; for the next six years, he would produce only action fare for Columbia. These were harem (“bosom and sand”), swashbucklers, western, action, and prison pictures. He would make around ten features a year, producing them in four to ten weeks.<ref name="may"/>
Line 82: Line 83:
[[Charles Schneer]], who worked for Katzman in the 1940s and 1950s, said the producer:
[[Charles Schneer]], who worked for Katzman in the 1940s and 1950s, said the producer:
<blockquote>Knew everything there was to know about making a movie. He was a very enterprising fellow, and was enormously intuitive. But, he was a very tough taskmaster and a real skinflint. I managed to get along well with Sam, because I knew what he was and respected what he did. Unfortunately, all his input was negative. He never contributed anything positive. I would suggest an idea, and he would knock it down. I would argue with him, but I never got very far. He wouldn't say: 'Do this instead oi that.' He would only say: 'Don't do this' — and I didn't. I certainly learned the value of a dollar from Sam.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Starlog|first=Steve|last=Swires|title=Mentor to the Magicks Part One|issue=150|date=January 1990|url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-150/page/n56/mode/1up/search/schneer?q=charles+schneer+starlog|page=59}}</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Knew everything there was to know about making a movie. He was a very enterprising fellow, and was enormously intuitive. But, he was a very tough taskmaster and a real skinflint. I managed to get along well with Sam, because I knew what he was and respected what he did. Unfortunately, all his input was negative. He never contributed anything positive. I would suggest an idea, and he would knock it down. I would argue with him, but I never got very far. He wouldn't say: 'Do this instead oi that.' He would only say: 'Don't do this' — and I didn't. I certainly learned the value of a dollar from Sam.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Starlog|first=Steve|last=Swires|title=Mentor to the Magicks Part One|issue=150|date=January 1990|url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-150/page/n56/mode/1up/search/schneer?q=charles+schneer+starlog|page=59}}</ref></blockquote>
⚫
In July 1952 Katzman was to make at least 15 films a year for seven years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: Garson in 'Interrupted Melody;' Bacon-Bergman and Bjork Deals on Fire|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=11 July 1952|page=B9}}</ref> In November 1952 this contract was amended so Katzman would make twenty films (seventeen features and three serials).<ref>HOLLYWOOD DEBATE: New York Times (16 Nov 1952: X5.</ref>

One of Katzman's regular directors in the 1950s was [[William Castle]] who later wrote in his memoirs that Katzman "was a smallish man with a round cherubic face and twinkling eyes. Few people in the motion picture industry took him seriously as a producer of quality films, but to me, Sam was a great showman."<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Castle|title=Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America|year=1976 |publisher=Putnam |page=123}}</ref>
One of Katzman's regular directors in the 1950s was [[William Castle]] who later wrote in his memoirs that Katzman "was a smallish man with a round cherubic face and twinkling eyes. Few people in the motion picture industry took him seriously as a producer of quality films, but to me, Sam was a great showman."<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Castle|title=Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America|year=1976 |publisher=Putnam |page=123}}</ref>
⚫
Cinematographer Robert Kline later recalled "we did 106 features in six years, working six days a week - an average of 20 to 22 features a year. Those were "B" pictures... There was a clever writer in the unit. Sam would pick up a newspaper and say, "Oh, here's a story." He'd give it to the writer and the writer would turn out a script. We'd go all over. We were actually a traveling unit, a very cohesive unit, and I really learned my trade from that experience."<ref>AN AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE SEMINAR WITH RICHARD KLINE, ASC
⚫
Anonymous. American Cinematographer; Hollywood Vol. 57, Iss. 8, (Aug 1976): 876-879,933-935,944. </ref>

⚫
In July 1952 Katzman was to make at least 15 films a year for seven years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: Garson in 'Interrupted Melody;' Bacon-Bergman and Bjork Deals on Fire|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=11 July 1952|page=B9}}</ref> In November 1952 this contract was amended so Katzman would make twenty films (seventeen features and three serials).<ref>HOLLYWOOD DEBATE: New York Times (16 Nov 1952: X5.</ref>


In July 1954 it was announced that Clover Productions would make 15 films for Columbia.<ref>{{cite news|title='Can Can' Buy Inspires Cast Conjectures; 'Atom Brain Creature' On Way|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=28 July 1954|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sinatra to Star in Musical Film: He Will Appear in Lasky's Salute to Young America, 'The Big Brass Band'|author=Thomas M Pryor Special to The New York Times..|work=New York Times|date=17 Dec 1954|page=36}}</ref>
In July 1954 it was announced that his company, Clover Productions, would make 15 films for Columbia.<ref>{{cite news|title='Can Can' Buy Inspires Cast Conjectures; 'Atom Brain Creature' On Way|author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date=28 July 1954|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sinatra to Star in Musical Film: He Will Appear in Lasky's Salute to Young America, 'The Big Brass Band'|author=Thomas M Pryor Special to The New York Times..|work=New York Times|date=17 Dec 1954|page=36}}</ref>
===Transfer to Teen Movies===
By the mid 1950s television was making inroads into the action market. The Jungle Jim series wound up with ''[[Jungle Moon Men]]'' (1955) and ''[[Devil Goddess]]'' (1955). Serials were gradually phased out, with his last ones being ''[[The Adventures of Captain Africa]]'', ''[[Perils of the Wilderness]]'' (1956) and ''[[Blazing the Overland Trail]]'' (1956). Instead Katzman decided to focus on films that would appeal to the 15-25 age group, which meant more sci-fi, horror, and rock musicals.<ref name="may"/>


In August 1954 Katzman said he had 14 films lined up, with four more to come, and had assigned four writers to projects: [[Curt Siodmak]] to ''The Creature with the Atom Brain'', Berne Giler on ''Dressed to Kill'', Ray Buffum on a juvenile delinquency story, and Robert E. Kent on a Western.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety195-1954-08/page/n5/mode/1up/search/+%22sam+katzman%22?q=%22loners%22+%22sam+katzman%22|title=Sam Katzman's 4 films|page=6|date=August 4, 1954}}</ref>
In August 1954 Katzman said he had 14 films lined up, with four more to come, and had assigned four writers to projects: [[Curt Siodmak]] to ''The Creature with the Atom Brain'', Berne Giler on ''Dressed to Kill'', Ray Buffum on a juvenile delinquency story, and Robert E. Kent on a Western.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety195-1954-08/page/n5/mode/1up/search/+%22sam+katzman%22?q=%22loners%22+%22sam+katzman%22|title=Sam Katzman's 4 films|page=6|date=August 4, 1954}}</ref>


''[[Creature with the Atom Brain (film)|Creature with the Atom Brain]]'' (1955) led to a series of science fiction films, such as ''[[It Came from Beneath the Sea]]'' (1955), with effects from [[Ray Harryhausen]]. That was produced by [[Charles H. Schneer]] who had worked with Katzman for a number of years; Schneer and Harryhausen went on to make ''[[Earth vs. the Flying Saucers]]'' (1956) for Katzman before Schneer left to form his own unit at Columbia.
By the mid 1950s television was making inroads into the action market and so Katzman decided to focus on films that would appeal to the 15-25 age group.<ref name="may"/>
===Rock and Roll Musicals===
Katzman specialized in films that were topical. He worked so quickly and cheaply that he could make a feature film on a popular subject and get it into theaters while the topic was still hot.


Katzman would still make Westerns such as ''[[The Gun That Won the West]]'' (1955), ''[[Seminole Uprising]]'' (1955), ''[[Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado]]'' (1955) and ''[[Duel on the Mississippi]]'' (1955), swashbucklers like ''[[Pirates of Tripoli]]'' (1955) and crime films such as ''[[New Orleans Uncensored]]'' (1955), ''[[Chicago Syndicate (film)|Chicago Syndicate]]'' (1955), ''[[The Crooked Web]]'' (1955), ''[[The Houston Story]]'' (1956), ''[[Miami Exposé]]'' (1956) and ''[[Inside Detroit]]'' (1956). He also did the occasional thriller like ''[[Uranium Boom]]'' (1956).
⚫
Robert Kline later recalled "we did 106 features in six years, working six days a week - an average of 20 to 22 features a year. Those were "B" pictures like "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK". There was a clever writer in the unit. Sam would pick up a newspaper and say, "Oh, here's a story." He'd give it to the writer and the writer would turn out a script. We'd go all over. We were actually a traveling unit, a very cohesive unit, and I really learned my trade from that experience."<ref>AN AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE SEMINAR WITH RICHARD KLINE, ASC

⚫
Anonymous. American Cinematographer; Hollywood Vol. 57, Iss. 8, (Aug 1976): 876-879,933-935,944. </ref>
However his work had an increasing teenage focus, such as ''[[Teen-Age Crime Wave]]'' (1955) and ''[[Rumble on the Docks]]'' (1956), which were teen orientated crime films. He also started making musicals again, with rock music.

⚫
In 1955, when Columbia wanted to release the first rock-and-roll musical, Katzman reworked elements from his Gloria Jean musical ''I Surrender Dear'' into one of Columbia's biggest hits, ''[[Rock Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock]]'' (1956) with [[Bill Haley and His Comets]].<ref>MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven'', iUniverse, 2005</ref> This cost $300,000 and earned over $4 million.<ref name="may"/> This was followed by ''[[Cha-Cha-Cha Boom!]]'' (1956), ''[[Don't Knock the Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Calypso Heat Wave]]'' (1957) and ''[[Juke Box Rhythm]]'' (1958).


Katzman also produced horror films for the teenage audience, including ''[[The Werewolf (1956 film)|The Werewolf]]'' (1956), ''[[The Man Who Turned to Stone]]'' (1957), ''[[The Giant Claw]]'' (1957), ''[[Zombies of Mora Tau]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Night the World Exploded]]'' (1957).
⚫
In 1955, when Columbia wanted to release the first rock-and-roll musical, Katzman reworked elements from his Gloria Jean musical ''I Surrender Dear'' into one of Columbia's biggest hits, ''[[Rock Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock]]'' with [[Bill Haley and His Comets]].<ref>MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, ''Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven'', iUniverse, 2005</ref> This cost $300,000 and earned over $4 million.<ref name="may"/> This was followed by ''[[Cha-Cha-Cha Boom!]]'' (1956), ''[[Don't Knock the Rock]]'' (1956), ''[[Calypso Heat Wave]]'' (1957) and ''[[Juke Box Rhythm]]'' (1958).
===Science Fiction===
Katzman also produced horror and science-fiction films for the teenage audience, including ''[[Earth vs. the Flying Saucers]]'' and ''[[The Werewolf (1956 film)|The Werewolf]]'' (1956).


In May 1957 Katzman told ''Variety'' that he felt, “A picture that makes
In May 1957 Katzman told ''Variety'' that he felt, “A picture that makes money is a good picture—whether it is artistically good or bad. I’m in the five and dime business and not in the Tiffany business. I make pictures for the little theatres around the country.” <ref name="may"/>
money is a good picture—whether it is artistically good or bad. I’m in the
five and dime business and not in the Tiffany business. I make pictures for the little theatres around the country.” <ref name="may"/>


His movies around this stage wee normally budgeted between $250,000 and $500,000. He said at Columbia he had made 110 pictures, none of which lost money, and the average gross was $1 million. He said at least 40% of the 110 pictures made were still in release.<ref name="may">{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |date=1 May 1957 |page=17 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety206-1957-05/page/n16/mode/1up |title=$300,000 Picture's Gross Expectancy Same as $1-Mil Film–Katzman}}</ref>
In May 1957 he said his movies were normally budgeted between $250,000 and $500,000. He said at Columbia he had made 110 pictures, none of which lost money, and the average gross was $1 million. He said at least 40% of the 110 pictures made were still in release.<ref name="may">{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |date=1 May 1957 |page=17 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety206-1957-05/page/n16/mode/1up |title=$300,000 Picture's Gross Expectancy Same as $1-Mil Film–Katzman}}</ref>


“Every picture I make now has a selling gimmick aimed at the young audience," he said in 1957, and he made car movies, horror stories, science fiction and music. He said his pictures are the “bread and butter” pictures of the industry. “I don't get ulcers with the type of pictures I make,” he said.<ref name="may"/>
“Every picture I make now has a selling gimmick aimed at the young audience," he said in 1957, and he made car movies, horror stories, science fiction and music. He said his pictures are the “bread and butter” pictures of the industry. “I don't get ulcers with the type of pictures I make,” he said.<ref name="may"/>


In 1957 Katzman made seven films for Columbia. He announced he would double this<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety209-1958-01/page/n6/mode/1up |date=1 January 1958 |page=7 |title=Katzman's Columbia 7 in '57 to be Doubled |magazine=Variety}}</ref>
In 1957 Katzman made seven films for Columbia, including non-teenage fare such as ''[[Utah Blaine]]'' (1957), ''[[Escape from San Quentin]]'' (1957), ''[[The Tijuana Story]]'' (1957) and ''[[The World Was His Jury]]'' (1957). He announced in December of that year he would double this amount over the following twelve months.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety209-1958-01/page/n6/mode/1up |date=1 January 1958 |page=7 |title=Katzman's Columbia 7 in '57 to be Doubled |magazine=Variety}}</ref>
Katzman's later films included ''[[Crash Landing (1958 film)|Crash Landing]]'' (1958), based on [[Pan Am Flight 6]].


Katzman's later films at Columbia included some teen melodrama,s ''[[Going Steady (1958 film)|Going Steady]]'' (1958) and ''[[Life Begins at 17]]'' (1958);''[[Crash Landing (1958 film)|Crash Landing]]'' (1958), a disaster film based on [[Pan Am Flight 6]]; some war films starring [[Van Johnson]] shot in Europe, ''[[The Last Blitzkrieg]]'' (1959) and ''[[The Enemy General]]'' (1960); a drama about trapeze artists, ''[[The Flying Fontaines]]'' (1959).
He did ''[[The Enemy General]]'' (1960) with [[Van Johnson]].


==Later Career==
==Later Career==

Revision as of 03:10, 23 February 2020

Sam Katzman
Born(1901-07-07)July 7, 1901
New York City
DiedAugust 4, 1973(1973-08-04) (aged 72)
Hollywood
Occupation(s)Film producer and director
Years active1933–1973

Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had proportionally high returns for the studios and his financial backers.[1]

Early Career

Born to a Jewish family,[2] Katzman went to work as a stage laborer at the age of 13 in the fledgling East Coast film industry and moved from prop boy to assistant director at Fox Films.[3] He would learn all aspects of filmmaking and was a Hollywood producer for more than 40 years.[1] Katzman worked as an assistant to Norman Taurgo and got married on the set of The Diplomats in 1928 at Fox.[4]

In October 1927 he signed with comic Joe Russo to make a series of two-reel comedies.[5]

Screencraft Pictures

Katzman was a production supervisor at Screencraft Productions and Showmen's Pictures. Screencraft was formed in July 1935.[6]

His movies included His Private Secretary (1933) starring a young John Wayne made for $9,000 which earned $95,000.[7] They also made Police Call (1933), Ship of Wanted Men (1933), Public Stenographer (1933), and St. Louis Woman (1934).

Supreme Pictures

He worked as a producer at A. W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures, where he mostly made Westerns starring Bob Steele.[8] Filming started 15 May 1934 with A Demon for Trouble (1934).[9]

Other films included Western Justice (1934), The Brand of Hate (1934), Smokey Smith (1935), Tombstone Terror (1935), Trail of Terror (1935), Alias John Law (1935), Big Calibre (1935), Sundown Saunders (1935), Brand of the Outlaws (1936) and The Kid Ranger (1936).

Victory Pictures

In June 1935 Katzman announced he would make six films written by Peter Kyne for Fox, starting with Danger Ahead.[10] He ended up taking over Bryan Foy's studios at Culver City and doing the films through his own company, Victory Pictures.[11]

From 1935–40 Victory produced two serials and 30 features, including Western film series starring Tom Tyler and Tim McCoy[12], and action pictures with Herman Brix and Bela Lugosi. Puritan ceased production in 1939.

Katzman's films included crime films like Hot Off the Press (1935), Bars of Hate (1935), The Fighting Coward (1935) and Danger Ahead (1935), many of which were written by Peter B. Kyne.

He did The Phantom of the Range (1936), a Western. Katzman entered the world of serials with Shadow of Chinatown (1936) starring Bela Lugosi.

In June 1937 a fire damaged the building where Victory was based.[13]

In January 1939 Victory announced they would make 20 more Westerns.[14] However the company soon wound up.

Monogram Pictures

In 1940 Katzman moved to Monogram Pictures and produced, under the names Banner Productions, Clover Productions and Four Leaf Productions, the East Side Kids features of the 1940s, eight thrillers starring Bela Lugosi, and two musicals.

In April 1941 Katzman signed Lugosi to make three films, including one in collaboration with the East Side Kids.[15] Lugosi wound up making nine films for Katzman.

In January 1943 Katzman signed a contract with Billy Gilbert for four films.[16]

In November 1945 he signed a deal to make a series of films about teenagers.[17]

Serials

In September 1944 Katzman was offered a job producing serials for Columbia Pictures, starring with Brenda Starr, Reporter[18]

With typical thrift, he produced them on the side, using Monogram's actors and technicians. He continued to produce features for Monogram through 1948.

Columbia Pictures

Musicals

In June 1946 Katzman announced he would make his first feature for Columbia, a remake of The Last of the Mohicans starring Jon Hall.[19] However the first movies he ended up making were musicals. In August 1946 he signed with Jean Porter to star in Betty Co-Ed, a low budget musical.[20] It was made by Katzman's his Monogram director Arthur Dreifuss.

Katzman and Dreifuss then made some films with Gloria Jean who had been a star at Universal, I Surrender Dear (1948) and Manhattan Angel (1949).[21] These were typically completed in nine days with a budget around $140,000 per film. [22]

He made some comedies starring Gloria Henry, Racing Luck (1948) and Triple Threat (1948), and the musicals Mary Lou (1948) and Glamour Girl (1948). Box office on these pictures declined and Katzman started focusing on action pictures intead.

Action Films

Katzman's work on the exceptionally successful Superman serial led him away from musicals; for the next six years, he would produce only action fare for Columbia. These were harem (“bosom and sand”), swashbucklers, western, action, and prison pictures. He would make around ten features a year, producing them in four to ten weeks.[23]

In February 1948 Katzman had signed a five year deal with Johnny Weismuller to make "jungle movies" starting with two films a year for two years where the budgets would be at least $350,000.[24] These turned into the Jungle Jim series.

In October 1948 Katzman signed a seven-year, $4 million contract with Columbia to make four feature films a year through his Kay Pictures corporation, four serials a year via his Esskay Productions, and a Jungle Jim film series starring Johnny Weissmuller.[25].

He used stars who had been established at other studios and were no longer at their peak, such as Jon Hall who appeared in The Prince of Thieves (1948), The Mutineers (1949), Hurricane Island (1951), When the Redskins Rode (1951), Brave Warrior (1952) and Last Train from Bombay (1952). For The Prince of Thieves (1948) Katzman secured a budget of $400,000.[22]

Katzman produced several crime films like Chinatown at Midnight (1949).

Charles Schneer, who worked for Katzman in the 1940s and 1950s, said the producer:

Knew everything there was to know about making a movie. He was a very enterprising fellow, and was enormously intuitive. But, he was a very tough taskmaster and a real skinflint. I managed to get along well with Sam, because I knew what he was and respected what he did. Unfortunately, all his input was negative. He never contributed anything positive. I would suggest an idea, and he would knock it down. I would argue with him, but I never got very far. He wouldn't say: 'Do this instead oi that.' He would only say: 'Don't do this' — and I didn't. I certainly learned the value of a dollar from Sam.[26]

One of Katzman's regular directors in the 1950s was William Castle who later wrote in his memoirs that Katzman "was a smallish man with a round cherubic face and twinkling eyes. Few people in the motion picture industry took him seriously as a producer of quality films, but to me, Sam was a great showman."[27] Cinematographer Robert Kline later recalled "we did 106 features in six years, working six days a week - an average of 20 to 22 features a year. Those were "B" pictures... There was a clever writer in the unit. Sam would pick up a newspaper and say, "Oh, here's a story." He'd give it to the writer and the writer would turn out a script. We'd go all over. We were actually a traveling unit, a very cohesive unit, and I really learned my trade from that experience."[28]

In July 1952 Katzman was to make at least 15 films a year for seven years.[29] In November 1952 this contract was amended so Katzman would make twenty films (seventeen features and three serials).[30]

In July 1954 it was announced that his company, Clover Productions, would make 15 films for Columbia.[31][32]

Transfer to Teen Movies

By the mid 1950s television was making inroads into the action market. The Jungle Jim series wound up with Jungle Moon Men (1955) and Devil Goddess (1955). Serials were gradually phased out, with his last ones being The Adventures of Captain Africa, Perils of the Wilderness (1956) and Blazing the Overland Trail (1956). Instead Katzman decided to focus on films that would appeal to the 15-25 age group, which meant more sci-fi, horror, and rock musicals.[23]

In August 1954 Katzman said he had 14 films lined up, with four more to come, and had assigned four writers to projects: Curt Siodmak to The Creature with the Atom Brain, Berne Giler on Dressed to Kill, Ray Buffum on a juvenile delinquency story, and Robert E. Kent on a Western.[33]

Creature with the Atom Brain (1955) led to a series of science fiction films, such as It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), with effects from Ray Harryhausen. That was produced by Charles H. Schneer who had worked with Katzman for a number of years; Schneer and Harryhausen went on to make Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) for Katzman before Schneer left to form his own unit at Columbia.

Katzman would still make Westerns such as The Gun That Won the West (1955), Seminole Uprising (1955), Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado (1955) and Duel on the Mississippi (1955), swashbucklers like Pirates of Tripoli (1955) and crime films such as New Orleans Uncensored (1955), Chicago Syndicate (1955), The Crooked Web (1955), The Houston Story (1956), Miami Exposé (1956) and Inside Detroit (1956). He also did the occasional thriller like Uranium Boom (1956).

However his work had an increasing teenage focus, such as Teen-Age Crime Wave (1955) and Rumble on the Docks (1956), which were teen orientated crime films. He also started making musicals again, with rock music.

In 1955, when Columbia wanted to release the first rock-and-roll musical, Katzman reworked elements from his Gloria Jean musical I Surrender Dear into one of Columbia's biggest hits, Rock Around the Clock (1956) with Bill Haley and His Comets.[34] This cost $300,000 and earned over $4 million.[23] This was followed by Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! (1956), Don't Knock the Rock (1956), Calypso Heat Wave (1957) and Juke Box Rhythm (1958).

Katzman also produced horror films for the teenage audience, including The Werewolf (1956), The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957), The Giant Claw (1957), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) and The Night the World Exploded (1957).

In May 1957 Katzman told Variety that he felt, “A picture that makes money is a good picture—whether it is artistically good or bad. I’m in the five and dime business and not in the Tiffany business. I make pictures for the little theatres around the country.” [23]

In May 1957 he said his movies were normally budgeted between $250,000 and $500,000. He said at Columbia he had made 110 pictures, none of which lost money, and the average gross was $1 million. He said at least 40% of the 110 pictures made were still in release.[23]

“Every picture I make now has a selling gimmick aimed at the young audience," he said in 1957, and he made car movies, horror stories, science fiction and music. He said his pictures are the “bread and butter” pictures of the industry. “I don't get ulcers with the type of pictures I make,” he said.[23]

In 1957 Katzman made seven films for Columbia, including non-teenage fare such as Utah Blaine (1957), Escape from San Quentin (1957), The Tijuana Story (1957) and The World Was His Jury (1957). He announced in December of that year he would double this amount over the following twelve months.[35]

Katzman's later films at Columbia included some teen melodrama,s Going Steady (1958) and Life Begins at 17 (1958);Crash Landing (1958), a disaster film based on Pan Am Flight 6; some war films starring Van Johnson shot in Europe, The Last Blitzkrieg (1959) and The Enemy General (1960); a drama about trapeze artists, The Flying Fontaines (1959).

Later Career

20th Century Fox

Katzman signed a deal with 20th Century Fox starting with The Wizard of Baghdad (1960), an "Eastern" with Dick Shawn. He did this under a verbal agreement with Buddy Adler then in September 1960 Robert Goldstein signed him to a three picture contract. These were to be Gentlemen Pirates written by Mel Levy, a film about Mississippi gamblers written by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Pat Silver, and Cypress Gardens by Lou Morheim.[36] He said at the time that Hollywood was making too many blockbusters and "the motion picture business must deal in a saleable product of entertainment at a price the public can afford and not price itself out. of the market.”[37]

He wound up making only one more film at Fox, Pirates of Tortuga (1961), a swashbuckler similar to many of the films he made at Columbia.

He returned to Columbia to make The Wild Westerners (1962), a Western, as well as two "twist" movies starring Chubby Checker, Twist Around the Clock (1961) and Don't Knock the Twist (1962).

MGM

Katzman accepted an offer to move his operation to MGM in 1963. He started with a low budget musical Hootenanny Hoot (1963), which led to several more musicals: Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) (a remake of Girl Crazy). MGM also financed three of Katzman's best known movies: two films starring Elvis Presley, Kissin' Cousins (1964) and Harum Scarum (1965), as well as Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), a biopic of Hank Williams starring George Hamilton. Hamilton later wrote in his memoirs that "Jungle Sam cracked the whip, whacked the cane and the whole film was in the can right on time. But he gave me free rein creatively and our director... brought in something memorable, and even Sam knew it."[38]

In December 1964 Katzman announced he would make five films that year for MGM in his third year at the studio.[39]

Katzman made the Herman's Hermits film Hold On! (1966) and singer Roy Orbison's only film, The Fastest Guitar Alive.[40]

In 1967 he signed a new contract with MGM to make at least two films a year.[41] These were Hot Rods to Hell (1967), the last film for John Brahm, and Riot on Sunset Strip (1967). Katzman wound up selling the latter to AIP for release.[42]

His last films for MGM were A Time to Sing (1967) with Hank Williams Jr and The Young Runaways (1968).

Katzmen returned to Columbia to make The Love-Ins (1967), a movie about LSD, and For Singles Only (1968), a sex comedy.[43]

Final Movies

Katzman's final films were produced by his son Jerry. These included Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969) for AIP, How to Succeed with Sex (1970) and The Loners (1972) for Fanfare Productions.

Personal life

He was the uncle of television producer Leonard Katzman, and, in turn, the great-great-uncle of Ethan Klein of the Israeli-American YouTube comedy channel h3h3Productions.

He was married to Hortense Katzman. They married on the set of the film The Diplomats in 1928.[44]

She sued for divorce in 1955 but the two reconciled.[45]

Sam Katzman died on August 4, 1973, in Hollywood. He is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Quotation

Twist Around the Clock only cost $250,000 to make, but in less than six months it grossed six million – so of course I'm gonna make more 'Twist' movies!

NME – February 1962[46]

Selected filmography

As producer unless otherwise mentioned.

Unmade films

Bibliography

  • Wheeler Winston Dixon. Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood. Southern Illinois University Press, 2005.

References

  1. ^ a b "Sam Katzman: He Makes The Serials". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 20 September 1953. p. 15. Retrieved 30 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Jewish Virtual Library: "Katzman, Sam" 2008
  3. ^ p.48 Dixon, Wheeler W Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2005)
  4. ^ LASKY SIGNS WELL KNOWN ACTOR Los Angeles Times 30 Nov 1928: 14.
  5. ^ "Burlesque's Comic Films". Variety. 26 October 1927. p. 41.
  6. ^ "Incorporations". Variety. 4 July 1933. p. 24.
  7. ^ Scheuer, P. K. (July 31, 1963). Katzman doesn't give a hoot for art. Los Angeles Times
  8. ^ Ramon Novarro Plans to Star in Screen Version of Drama by Hungarian Playwright: PLAYER'S FUTURE MAY DEPEND ON PRODUCTION Lou Brock Decides to Remain at Radio Studio; Lee Tracy Will Play "Lemon Drop Kid" Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 16 May 1934: 13.
  9. ^ "Another of Those Spasmodic Cowboy Revivals On". Variety. 15 May 1934. p. 29.
  10. ^ "Kaztman Doing 6 Kynes". Variety. 12 June 1935. p. 6.
  11. ^ "Republic Merge". Variety. 26 June 1935. p. 40.
  12. ^ p. 438 Pitts, Michael R. Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940: An Illustrated History of 53 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each McFarland & Company, 1 Jan 1997
  13. ^ SCENE AS FLAMES RAGE IN MOTION-PICTURE PLANT: ACTORS FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES AS FIRE SWEEPS FILM STUDIO Los Angeles Times7 June 1937: A1.
  14. ^ "20 Victory Giddy Ups". Variety. 11 January 1939. p. 7.
  15. ^ Miriam Hopkins Likely 'Mississippi Belle' Lead: Los Angeles Times 12 Apr 1941: A9.
  16. ^ Of Local Origin New York Times 9 Jan 1943: 9.
  17. ^ Detective Will Menace Belita in 'The Hunted' Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times7 Nov 1945: A3.
  18. ^ NEWS OF THE SCREEN: New York Times 9 Sep 1944: 12.
  19. ^ 'LAST OF MOHICANS' TO BE FILMED AGAIN: Katzman, in Columbia Deal, to Star Jon Hall in Remake-- Two Premieres Here Today Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES..22 June 1946: 25.
  20. ^ Red to Do Tent Shows; 'L.A.' Operetta Planned Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 5 Aug 1946: A2.
  21. ^ MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven, Universe, 2005
  22. ^ a b Thomas F Brady (11 May 1947). "Hollywood Survey: Sharp Drop in Production Noted -- Still Another Dumas Exploit -- Other Items". New York Times. p. X5.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "$300,000 Picture's Gross Expectancy Same as $1-Mil Film–Katzman". Variety. 1 May 1957. p. 17.
  24. ^ SELZNICK TO MOVE OFFICES TO COAST: New York Times 16 Feb 1948: 17.
  25. ^ Schallert, Edwin (26 Oct 1948). "Italian-Made Feature Stars Patricia Medina; Prison Musical Readied". Los Angeles Times. p. A6.
  26. ^ Swires, Steve (January 1990). "Mentor to the Magicks Part One". Starlog. No. 150. p. 59.
  27. ^ Castle, William (1976). Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America. Putnam. p. 123.
  28. ^ AN AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE SEMINAR WITH RICHARD KLINE, ASC Anonymous. American Cinematographer; Hollywood Vol. 57, Iss. 8, (Aug 1976): 876-879,933-935,944.
  29. ^ Schallert, Edwin (11 July 1952). "Drama: Garson in 'Interrupted Melody;' Bacon-Bergman and Bjork Deals on Fire". Los Angeles Times. p. B9.
  30. ^ HOLLYWOOD DEBATE: New York Times (16 Nov 1952: X5.
  31. ^ Schallert, Edwin (28 July 1954). "'Can Can' Buy Inspires Cast Conjectures; 'Atom Brain Creature' On Way". Los Angeles Times. p. 15.
  32. ^ Thomas M Pryor Special to The New York Times.. (17 Dec 1954). "Sinatra to Star in Musical Film: He Will Appear in Lasky's Salute to Young America, 'The Big Brass Band'". New York Times. p. 36.
  33. ^ "Sam Katzman's 4 films". Variety. August 4, 1954. p. 6.
  34. ^ MacGillivray, Scott and Jan, Gloria Jean: A Little Bit of Heaven, iUniverse, 2005
  35. ^ "Katzman's Columbia 7 in '57 to be Doubled". Variety. 1 January 1958. p. 7.
  36. ^ "Sam Katzman on Exhib Vagaries". Variety. 28 September 1960. p. 3.
  37. ^ "Sam Katzman on Exhib Vagaries". Variety. 28 September 1960. p. 30.
  38. ^ George Hamilton & William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do, Simon & Schuster 2008 p 182
  39. ^ FILMLAND EVENTS: Sam Katzman Begins Busy Year at MGM Los Angeles Times 26 Dec 1964: 19.
  40. ^ "Filmland Events: Sam Katzman Begins Busy Year at MGM". Los Angeles Times. 26 Dec 1964. p. 19.
  41. ^ "CBS Film Unit Signs Producer". Los Angeles Times. 18 Sep 1967. p. d27.
  42. ^ Mark McGee, Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland, 1996 p263
  43. ^ 'Detective' Type Role for Mia Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 15 Aug 1967: e12.
  44. ^ Kingsley, Grace (30 Nov 1928). "Lasky Signs Well Known Actor: Comedienne and Assistant Director Wed at Studio; Sally O'Neill Will Star in New Circus Story; Youthful Player Signs With M.-G.-M". Los Angeles Times. p. 14.
  45. ^ "Film Producer Sam Katzman Sued by Wife". Los Angeles Times. 7 Dec 1955. p. 38.
  46. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 103. CN 5585.
  47. ^ Thomas F Brady Special to The New York Times.. (2 May 1951). "Fox Movie Studio Suspends Grable: Actress' Refusal to Appear in 'Girl Next Door' Leads to Action--Film Starts July 1". New York Times. p. 49.
  48. ^ "Philip Barry Jr. Lists Film". New York Times. 7 Jan 1958. p. 30.
  49. ^ "Thalberg Award to Jack Warner: Studio President Cited for High Quality of Movies -Ladd's Co-Stars Named Special to The New York Times.". New York Times. 26 Mar 1959. p. 27.
  50. ^ Martin, Betty (15 Apr 1967). "Role for Catherine Spaak". Los Angeles Times. p. 19.

External links

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