Universal Studios

At least one version of corporate history claims that the twenty-year-old Irving Thalberg rose so quickly because he told subordinates that he alone spoke for Carl Laemmle in making production decisions, while the others were more concerned with battling among themselves. Previous "Merry Farm" events have included manufactured snow, handcrafts exhibits, and a "visit with Santa Claus." This event was originally created by Gary Salisbury in the Fall of 1985. For several years some of these junior partners carried considerable weight within Universal; inevitably factions and rivalries were the rule. A Christmas event, known as "Knott's Merry Farm" also happens annually. Among those early film-production studios (and their proprietors) were:. Season of Screams also highlights recent Halloween Haunts. In the early years of Universal, the company absorbed a number of small firms. Season of Screams is a DVD produced by an independent company which traces the beginnings of Halloween Haunt and the story behind how it all got started back in 1973.

Movie Not Listed. Interesting facts: During the month of October, Knott's Scary Farm generates HALF the revenue for Knott's Berry Farm's fiscal year. For example, for Waterworld in 1995, the sea level on earth rises, covering the land as the Universal title moves into place. Elvira (actress Cassandra Peterson) was introduced into the Halloween Event in 1982 and was prominently featured in many Halloween Haunt events. There have been occasional modifications to the logo to match the picture. Several attractions are decorated for the event including the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Train and there are 10 or more mazes of various themes from aliens to spiders to clowns from outer-space. Added to this was a dramatic, swelling theme by Jerry Goldsmith. Over a thousand specially employed monsters are also scattered - oftentimes hidden out of view - throughout the park at this time.

This was tweaked a bit in 1997 to add lights on earth and highlights on the rotating letter-wrap. During this special ticketed event, the entire park (or major portions of it) rethemes itself into a "haunted house" style attraction in the form of "mazes" and "scare zones" in the evening. Using CGI, the new introduction simulates a satellite-eye view of earth; as the point-of-view pulls back, a classically-styled "UNIVERSAL" moves into place like a belt. The event was created by Bill Hollingshead and Gary Salisbury as documented in the DVD Season of Screams. To celebrate the company's seventy-fifth anniversary, the logo got a digital makeover in 1990. The park's annual Halloween Haunt has drawn crowds since 1973. Added at the bottom of the screen was the sub-head, "AN MCA COMPANY." Earlier on this was used for widescreen where the logo is slower and UNIVERSAL blurs in then A & Pictures are sandwiched on it. It features no actual "rides", but instead is a showcase of Native American art, crafts, and dance.

When the "International" portion of the name was dropped in 1963, the logo was updated to a more stylized revolving globe inside a whirling Van Allen Belt, with the name "UNIVERSAL" centered over it. The most recent addition to the park, Indian Trails is a small area sandwiched in between Camp Snoopy, Ghost Town, and Fiesta Village. Following the 1946 merger with International Pictures, a new, more conventional logo was introduced, with a realistic representation of earth shown underneath the new name "Universal-International" in a dignified type font. It is also home to Mystery Lodge, a multimedia show based on an Expo 86 pavilion featuring a Native American storyteller. With new management in the mid-1930s came a completely new logo; introduced in 1937, a highly stylized glass globe, surrounded by twinkling stars, rotated to display the name "UNIVERSAL PICTURES." This logo quickly conveyed a message of "new management" while tapping into the modern movement in design. Wild Water Wilderness is a small area that features one major ride: the Big Foot Rapids river raft ride. At the end of the movie The End is on the globe then it read " It's A UNIVERSAL PICTURE". Schulz "Peanuts" comic strip characters.

An updated logo was introduced in 1929, as a biplane circling the globe "wiped" into place the words "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE". It is themed around the Charles M. Universal has used an image of planet Earth as their logo since the early 1920s. Camp Snoopy is targeted towards younger visitors, with many of the rides and attractions being built specifically for children. As presently structured, GE owns 80% of NBC Universal, with Vivendi holding the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006. The Supreme Scream is now the tallest structure in Orange County at 300 feet in height. The reorganized "Universal" film conglomerate has enjoyed several financially successful years. It is also home to the Sky Cabin Tower, which once also housed the Parachute Sky Jump attraction and was, at one time, the tallest structure in Orange County.

remained the name of the production subsidiary; and while some expressed doubts that regimented, profit-minded GE and high-living Hollywood could coexist, so far the mix seems to be working. Other rides include the roller coaster Boomerang. The resulting media super-conglomerate was re-named NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. Originally themed as a gypsy camp, and later re-themed to the "Roaring 20's" and "Knott's Airfield", this area is home to most of the park's major thrill rides, such as the recently constructed Xcelerator (which replaced the failed Windjammer racing coaster, known to be a mechanical nightmare by employees) , Supreme Scream, and Perilous Plunge. Subsequently burdened with debt, Vivendi sold its majority share in Universal (including the studio and theme parks) to GE in 2004, parent of NBC. Fiesta Village is a Latin-themed area which features a number of carnival-style attractions, including the Montezooma's Revenge roller coaster and the Jaguar! family roller coaster. (These same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices.) Seeing a way out, in June 2000, Seagram sold itself to French water-utility and media company Vivendi and the media conglomerate became Vivendi/Universal, while the music-related subsidiaries of MCA were sold to Geffen Music, thus effectively ending the existence of MCA. In 1966 he donated the town to San Bernardino County, which made it a regional park.

sold Universal's television holdings (including cable network USA) to Barry Diller. Walter Knott purchased the Calico ghost town in 1951 and restored it. To raise money, Seagram head Edgar Bronfman, Jr. The Ghost Town section is based upon the real ghost town of Calico, California near Barstow, and other ghost towns in the Western United States. to enter the lucrative videotape sales industry; but the up-and-down profit in Hollywood was no substitute for a secure cash-cow like whiskey. The Bird Cage Theatre melodrama theater (recently closed) has launched many acting careers, including Steve Martin's. Hoping to build a media empire around Universal, Seagram bought Polygram and other entertainment properties, and created MCA/Universal Home Video Inc. Ghost Town itself has a place in history aside from the buildings brought here.

This provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and, in frustration, five years later Matsushita sold control MCA/Universal to the Canadian liquor-distributor Seagram. In late 2004 Knott's opened the longest inverted roller coaster on the West Coast, Silver Bullet. At this time, the production subsidiary was renamed Universal Studios Inc. More recently, the much-acclaimed GhostRider wooden roller coaster has been added. Anxious to expand its broadcast and cable presence, in 1990 Lew Wasserman, now head of MCA, sought a rich partner, of MCA/Universal to Matsushita Electric, the Japanese electronics manufacturer. This themed area includes attractions such as the narrow gauge Ghost Town & Calico Railroad (using much historic equipment from Colorado narrow-gauge lines), the Butterfield Stagecoach, a Pan-for-Gold attraction, the Calico Mine Train dark ride, Timber Mountain Log Ride which is the world's first log flume attraction, and The Wild West Stunt Show. There would be other film hits like E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, but overall the film business was still hit-and-miss. Ghost Town is the oldest part of the Knott's amusement park, and includes most of the buildings Walter brought to the property in the 1940's and 1950's.

Weekly series production was the workhorse of the company. Also on the property (but across Beach Blvd.) is a replica of Independence Hall and Knott's Soak City, USA. Though Universal's film unit did produce occasional hits, among them Airport, The Sting, American Graffiti, and a blockbuster that restored the company's fortunes, Jaws, Universal in the 1970s was primarily a television studio. In addition, a small shopping village called California Marketplace sits outside the admission gate, and includes the famous Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant and a number of gift shops. An innovation of which Universal was especially proud was the creation in this period of the ninety-minute, made-for-television movie. Knott's Berry Farm is divided into six distinct themed areas: Camp Snoopy, Ghost Town, Indian Trails, Fiesta Village, The Boardwalk, and Wild Water Wilderness. Television now carried the load, as Revue-MCA dominated the American networks, particularly NBC (which later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal-see below), where for several seasons it provided up to half of all prime time shows. Buena Park Downtown is a series of shopping centers containing Wal-Mart and Kohls stores and it is located near Knott's Berry Farm.

But it was too late, since the audience was no longer there, and by 1968, the film-production unit began to downsize. The park has served as an anchor for other tourist-oriented businesses such as Medieval Times ,Wild Bill's Wild West Dinner Extravaganza and Pirate's Dinner Adventure. And so, with MCA in charge, for a few years in the 1960s Universal became what it had never been: a full-blown, first-class movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary (launched in 1964). In contrast to the early rustic days of Knott, the vicinity of the park is now heavily suburbanized and thus some visitors to the park may perceive the phrase "berry farm" somewhat as a misnomer. As a last gesture before getting out of the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. Since being acquired by Cedar Fair, the park has seen an aggressive shift towards thrill rides, with the construction of a number of large roller coasters and the addition of a high-performance Shoot the Chutes ride. remained a subsidiary only engaged in export/international release of Universal product. In 1997, the Knott family sold the amusement park operations to Cedar Fair L.P., owners of the renowned Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.

Universal-International Pictures Inc. In 1995, the Knott family sold the food specialty business to ConAgra. The actual, long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA finally took place in mid-1962, and the production subsidiary reverted in name to Universal Pictures, while the parent company became MCA/Universal Pictures Inc. Because of its long history, Knott's Berry Farm currently claims to be "America's First Theme Park.". The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, and Cary Grant were signed to Universal Pictures contracts. In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott's Berry Farm officially became an amusement park. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, it was increasingly influential on Universal's product. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter built a Ghost Town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as the Calico, California ghost town and Prescott, Arizona.

After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its (by now) 360-acre (1.5 km²) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million. 1974) began serving fried chicken dinners, and within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. Talent agent MCA had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary. 1890 - d. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the mass audience drift away, probably forever. In 1934, Knott's wife Cordelia (b. By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was in trouble. In the 1930s Walter Knott cultivated the world's first boysenberry, a combination of the red raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry.

This kind of arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal, and eventually at other studios as well. In the 1920s, Walter Knott and his family sold berries from a roadside stand. When one of those films, Winchester '73 proved to be a hit, Stewart became a rich man. . Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. Knott's slogan is "America's 1st Theme Park". Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. The theme park is operated by Cedar Fair L.P., and the food products are now part of ConAgra Foods.

case. In addition, Knott's also operates three Soak City USA water parks in Southern California, and was the originator of the Camp Snoopy theme park in Minnesota's Mall of America. Paramount Pictures, et al. Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, and a manufacturer of food specialty products (primarily jams and preserves) based in Placentia, California. vs. 1952: Ghost Town & Calico Railroad. Though Decca would continue to keep picture-budgets lean, they were favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract-actors go in the wake of the 1948 U.S. 1960: Calico Railroad.

At this point Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil, whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. 1969: Timber Mountain Log Ride; Fiesta Village themed area. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out, and the studio reverted once more to the low-budget fare it knew best. 1971: John Wayne Theatre. While there were to be a few hits like The Egg & I, The Killers, and Naked City, the studio still struggled. 1975: Corkscrew; Bear-y Tales. William Goetz, a founder of International, was made head of production at the re-named (as Universal-International Pictures Inc.) production arm of the Universal Pictures complex (distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.; Universal-International Pictures additionally served Universal as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films), and he set out an ambitious schedule. 1976: Motorcycle Chase; Parachute Sky Jump; Sky Cabin.

While trying to improve the quality of the studio's output, he instigated a merger in 1946 with a struggling American independent production company, International Pictures. 1978: Montezooma's Revenge. Arthur Rank bought a one-fourth interest in Universal in 1945. 1983: Camp Snoopy themed area. After the War, looking to expand his American presence, the British entrepreneur J. 1984: Studio K Opened. During the war years Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, but their pictures were a small bit of quality in a schedule dominated by the likes of Cobra Woman and Frontier Gal. 1986: Bear-y Tales removed.

Fields, and Marlene Dietrich. 1987: Kingdom of the Dinosaurs; Tampico Tumbler; Gran Slammer. Low and medium budget fare dominated through the years of World War II, when the studio's most popular stars were the many cast-off Paramount players like Mae West, W.C. 1988: Bigfoot Rapids. Only the films of young singer Deanna Durbin were given reasonably high budgets, under the control of Joe Pasternak upon his emigration from Europe; if any one star can be said to have kept Universal in business during the early 1940s, it was Durbin, despite her often being woefully miscast as a young teenager when she was, clearly, a fully adult woman. 1989: Corkscrew removed. By the start of World War II, the company was concentrating on small-budget production of the fare that had once been Universal's sidelines: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror classics. 1990: Boomerang.

Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan, now left. 1991: Studio K Closed. The Laemmles were unceremoniously removed from all association with the company, and the new owners instituted severe cuts in production budgets. 1992: Indian Trails themed area. When production dragged on, a cash-strapped studio could not repay the loan, and the bank foreclosed, claiming the pledged collateral, the Laemmle family's stock in (and therefore control of) Universal Pictures Company Inc. 1994: Mystery Lodge. Throughout its twenty-plus years' existence, Universal had never borrowed money; to complete production on "Show Boat" the studio turned to the Standard Chartered Bank for a $750,000 production loan. 1995: Jaguar!.

His intentions to upgrade production resulted in, in 1935, a lavish, all-star remake of Show Boat. This would prove to be a costly production for the studio, and for the Laemmle family. 1996: The Boardwalk themed area (retheme of Roaring 20's); HammerHead; Wacky Soap Box Racers removed. held fast to distribution, studio and production operations. 1997: Windjammer Surf Racers. The theater chain was scrapped, but Laemmle Jr. 1998: XK-1 removed; Supreme Scream; Woodstock's Airmail; GhostRider. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the depression was risky, and for a time Universal slipped into receivership. 1999: Wipeout; Coasters restaurant; Charlie Brown Speedway; Parachute Sky Jump removed; HeadAche removed; Pacific Pavilion removed.

Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life and My Man Godfrey. water park; Haunted Shack removed. also created a successful niche for the studio, beginning a long-running series of horror classics, among them Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. 2000: Perilous Plunge; Soak City U.S.A. Laemmle, Jr. 2001: VertiGo; Windjammer Surf Racers removed. His early efforts included the 1929 version of Show Boat, the first color musical; King of Jazz; and All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of the "Best Picture" award for 1930. 2002: Xcelerator; VertiGo removed.

saw what his father could not, and acted at once to bring Universal up to date, by buying and building theaters, converting the studio to sound production, and upgrading the quality of production. 2003: Tampico Tumbler removed; Gran Slammer removed; La Revolución; Joe Cool's Gr8 Sk8; HammerHead removed. To his credit, Laemmle, Jr. 2004: Lucy's Tugboat; Rip Tide; Screamin' Swing; Silver Bullet. benefitted from one of the greatest acts of nepotism in Hollywood history when his father handed him the keys to — and control of — Universal City as a twenty-first birthday gift in 1928. Fridays restaurant. Carl Laemmle, Jr. 2005: T.G.I.

Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary. 2006: Pacific Spin (Soak City U.S.A.); Johnny Rockets restaurant. In the USA, Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films, but at least some of them were exhibited through other, independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York, without benefit of English subtitles. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. This unit produced 3-4 films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe.

In 1926, Universal also opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under production direction of Joe Pasternak. Mayer company. For a few years in the early twenties the young producer Irving Thalberg tried to improve the quality of Universal's output, but he left in 1923 for a better opportunity with the Louis B. Content with a market in small towns, its product was primarily melodramas, cheap westerns, and serials.

By the early 1920s, as the other studios soared, Universal was decidedly in the second rank. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox and Marcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, as a studio head he was extremely cautious, and within a few years the rapidly expanding film business had passed him by.

Studio management now became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Following the westward trend of the industry, in 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion-picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9 km²) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. By naming the stars of films, he was able to attract many of the leading players of the time, and created the star-system which helps sell films today. Though dodging the Edison trust, the new Universal company was an immediate success, in part because Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing credit to actors.

Film production and distribution were the Universal company's activities. Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. While Laemmle was the primary figure in Universal, by absorbing several smaller firms he acquired a number of partners, among them Mark Dintinfass, Charles Baumann and Adam Kessel, and Pat Powers. That company quickly evolved into the "Independent Moving Picture Company", or IMP; and a further reorganization in 1911 saw IMP reincorporate as the "Universal Film Manufacturing Co.," on June 8, 1912, introducing the word "universal" into the organization's name.

Soon Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners saw that a way to avoid paying Edison was to produce their own pictures, and in June 1909, Laemmle and partners started the Yankee Film Company. Using Edison's patent on the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, the trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and also held a monopoly on distribution. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for any trust-produced film they showed. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, he gave up dry-goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons.

One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the take for the day. On a 1905 buying trip to Chicago, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. Carl Laemmle partnered with Abe Stern and Julius Stern to create Universal Pictures. The founder of Universal, Carl Laemmle, was an German Jewish immigrant who had settled in Wisconsin, where he managed a clothing store.

The longest-lived Hollywood film production company, Universal Pictures can trace its origins back to the creation in 1909 of a predecessor, the Yankee Film Company. . Distribution and other corporate, administrative offices are based in New York City. Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank.

Los Angeles Library Photo Collection "Nestor Studios" . Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills - map Providencial and Water Development. Los Angeles Library Photo Collection "Bird-Eye View of Universal City" 1911. Putnam's Sons, 1931, illustrated.

G.P. The Life and Adventures of Carl Laemmle. Drinkwater, John. New York: Vintage, 1994.

Movie-Made America. Skalr, Robert. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. When Hollywood Had a King.

Bruck, Connie. New York: Crown Publishers, 1998. The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA and the Hidden History of Hollywood. McDougal, Dennis.

New York: Fireside, 1989. The Hollywood Studios. Mordden, Ethan. New York: Pantheon Books, 1989.

The Genius of the System. Schatz, Thomas. Rex Motion Picture Co., William Swanson. Powers Motion Picture Co., Pat Powers, president.

The New York Motion Picture Company, Charles Baumann and Adam Kessel, proprietors. Nestor Motion Picture Company, David Horsley. Champion Motion Picture Co., Mark Dintinfass, president. Miami Vice (2006).

Nanny McPhee (2006). Curious George (2006). Two for the Money (2005). The Skeleton Key (2005).

Serenity (2005). The Producers (2005). Prime (2005). The Perfect Man (2005).

Munich (2005). King Kong (2005). Kicking & Screaming (2005). Jarhead (2005).

Cinderella Man (2005). The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). Van Helsing (2004). Ray (2004, distribution).

Meet the Fockers (2004). In Good Company (2004). Friday Night Lights (2004). The Chronicles of Riddick (2004).

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). The Bourne Supremacy (2004). Seabiscuit (2003). The Rundown (2003).

Peter Pan (2003). Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). Love Actually (2003). Hulk (2003).

Honey (2003). The Cat in the Hat (2003). Bruce Almighty (2003). American Wedding (2003).

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). 8 Mile (2002). The Bourne Identity (2002). Jurassic Park III (2001).

American Pie 2 (2001). The Mummy Returns (2001). A Beautiful Mind (2001, distribution). Erin Brockovich (2000, distribution).

End of Days (1999). American Pie (1999). The Mummy (1999). The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).

Daylight (1996). Casino (Film) (1995). Balto (1995). Apollo 13 (1995).

Junior (1994). We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993, distribution). Schindler's List (1993). Jurassic Park (1993).

Carlitos Way (1993). Scent of a Woman (1992). Child's Play 3 (1991). Kindergarten Cop (1990).

Child's Play 2 (1990). Back to the Future Part III (1990). An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1990). Back to the Future Part II (1989).

The Land Before Time (1988 plus sequels). Jaws: The Revenge (1987). An American Tail (1986). The Breakfast Club (1985).

Back to the Future (1985). Sixteen Candles (1984). Scarface (1983). Jaws 3-D (1983).

The Thing (1982). Sophie's Choice (1982). Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

E.T. Conan the Barbarian (1982). On Golden Pond (1981). The Blues Brothers (1980 plus sequel 2000).