City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures

by Bernard F. Dick

Horror films. Deanna Durbin musicals. Francis the talking mule. Ma and Pa Kettle. Ross Hunter weepies. Theme parks. ET . Apollo 13 . These are only a few of the many faces of Universal Pictures.

In February 1906 Carl Laemmle, German immigrant and former clothing store manager, opened his first nickelodeon in Chicago. He quickly moved from exhibition to distribution and to film production. A master of publicity and promotions, within ten years "Uncle Carl" had moved his entire operation to southern California, founded a city, and established Universal Pictures as one of the major Hollywood studios.

In time Universal found its niche in horror films featuring Karloff and Lugosi, comedies starring Abbott and Costello and W.C. Fields, and low-budget musicals. But Carl Laemmle Jr. proved less adept than his father at empire building. Eventually he was forced out by financial difficulties, opening the way for a string of studio heads who entered and exited one after another. Thus the age of corporate Hollywood arrived at Universal Pictures earlier than at other studios.

The Universal-International merger in 1946, Decca's stock takeover in the early 1950s, and MCA's buyout in 1962 all presaged today's Hollywood, where the art of the deal often eclipses the art of making movies. Stars and executives have come and gone, shaping and reshaping the studio's image, but through it all Universal's revolving globe logo has remained on movie screens around the world. And, unlike several other studios of Hollywood's golden age, Universal still makes movies today.

Genres: Film

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

Bernard F. Dick is Professor of Communication and English and Co-Director of the School of Art and Media Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Teaneck, New Jersey, campus. He is the author of a number of books on film including The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film; Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood; Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars; Forever Mame: Rosalind Russell; and She Walked in Beauty: Claudette Colbert. He has just completed a biography of Loretta Young, Hollywood Madonna.

Reviews

[David Fiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful analysis of Universal's odd journey from rebel production house to "minor major" family business to last of the (sort of) old time studios... The chapter on Carl Laemmle Jr.'s tenure is particularly interesting (Dick has a completely different take on that fascinating, and sadly short-lived period). The chapter is so much more interesting than the rest of the book that one can't help wishing that the author had written an entire book on 1929-1936.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is interesting when considering the rise and fall of Carl Laemmle but, like Hollywood itself, gradually just becomes a tale of convoluted deal making.