Liberty Films
Encyclopedia
Liberty Films was an independent motion picture production company founded in California
by Frank Capra
and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, It's a Wonderful Life
(1946), originally released by RKO Radio Pictures
, and the film version of the hit play State of the Union
(1948), originally released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
Capra had made two previous attempts at independent production. He formed Frank Capra Productions in 1939 and produced Meet John Doe
, but dissolved it when he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps
in December 1941. Later during World War II
he unsuccessfully sought a production partnership with director Leo McCarey
.
All four eventual partners in Liberty Pictures had spent most of World War II
as officers making motion pictures for the Army Signal Corps, and were hesitant to return to working under the Hollywood studio system
. Capra explained his dissatisfaction in an article for the New York Times:
Briskin had been production chief at Columbia Pictures
, where Capra had worked since 1927. Within months of Liberty's incorporation, directors William Wyler
and George Stevens
became partners.
Liberty was capitalized
at $1,000,000, and it had a standing bank credit of $3,500,000, for which the four owners were individually and collectively responsible. The ownership was divided unequally among the partners: 32 percent to Capra as president and organizer, 18 percent to Briskin, 25 percent each to Wyler and Stevens. But their voting rights were equal. By dissolving Liberty a few years hence, as the partners planned, they would pay only a 25% capital gains tax
on the profits instead of the 90% income tax
they would pay on their high salaries at a studio.
Liberty contracted in August 1945 to produce nine features for distribution by RKO, three each from the three producer-directors, who were each expected to deliver one picture per year. The production offices of Liberty Films were housed at RKO Studios.
The company announced in November 1945 that its first production would be James Stewart
in It's a Wonderful Life, produced and directed by Capra. Capra's next pictures were to be adaptations of Jessamyn West
's novel The Friendly Persuasion
and Alfred Noyes
' novel No Other Man. William Wyler planned to direct an adaptation of Stendhal
's The Red and the Black
. George Stevens
was announced to produce and direct One Big Happy Family, written by Joseph Fields
.
The film rights to the play State of the Union were acquired in late 1946, with an intended release before the presidential election in 1948. To obtain Spencer Tracy
for the lead role, when he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Liberty Films agreed to pay for use of MGM's production facilities to make the picture, and to pay MGM's parent company a percentage distribution fee.
Liberty's first release, It's a Wonderful Life, in November 1946, was a financial failure. Although it was in the top 7% of that year's films as ranked by box office gross
, it was unable to recoup its high production cost of $2.3 million, much less show a profit. The partners sought a major studio to buy Liberty Films before bank foreclosure
, although Wyler and Stevens were "violently opposed" to the idea at first. Paramount Pictures
bought the company in May 1947. The four partners were given a total of $3,450,000 in Paramount stock, and Capra, Wyler, and Stevens were given five-picture contracts at Paramount. In the purchase, Paramount acquired Liberty's interest in three movies: It's a Wonderful Life, I Remember Mama
(which George Stevens was filming at RKO), and State of the Union (not yet filmed). The company was dissolved in April 1951. It's a Wonderful Life was incorporated into Paramount's pre-1950 library, and in 1955 Paramount sold it to U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.
along with their many of their short subjects, which were all later sold to National Telefilm Associates
, and in turn became Republic Pictures
, which was sold to Paramount's current parent Viacom
in 1999. Hence Paramount now once again owns It's a Wonderful Life.
Paramount meanwhile held on to State of the Union for another two years until MCA
acquired most of Paramount's pre-1950 theatrical sound features in 1957 (and formed EMKA, Ltd.
to hold the copyright) then bought the US branch of Decca Records
, which owned Universal Studios
, in 1962. This explains why EMKA/NBCUniversal owns the rights to State of the Union today.
Capra later wrote that the creation of Liberty Films was to "(1) influence the course of Hollywood films, (2) make four former Army officers independently rich, and (3) virtually prove fatal to my professional career."
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946), originally released by RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
, and the film version of the hit play State of the Union
State of the Union (film)
State of the Union is a 1948 film adaptation written by Myles Connolly and Anthony Veiller of the Russel Crouse, Howard Lindsay play of the same name. Directed by Frank Capra and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, the film is Capra's first and only project for MGM Pictures...
(1948), originally released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
Capra had made two previous attempts at independent production. He formed Frank Capra Productions in 1939 and produced Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created unwittingly by a newspaper columnist and pursued by a wealthy businessman. It became a box office hit...
, but dissolved it when he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
in December 1941. Later during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he unsuccessfully sought a production partnership with director Leo McCarey
Leo McCarey
Thomas Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. During his lifetime he was involved in nearly 200 movies, especially comedies...
.
All four eventual partners in Liberty Pictures had spent most of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as officers making motion pictures for the Army Signal Corps, and were hesitant to return to working under the Hollywood studio system
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
. Capra explained his dissatisfaction in an article for the New York Times:
- Had the motion picture been a product which demanded uniformity as its ultimate goal, the results would have been highly satisfactory. But unfortunately it was, and is, a combination of mechanical perfection and creative endeavor. And in applying the mass-production yardstick to both the mechanics and creative side of film-making, the latter became molded into a pattern. The efforts and achievements of the individual producers and directors had to meet with the approval of each studio's chief executive.… Producers and directors working under him found that instead of creating as they pleased, letting their own imagination and artistry have full rein, with the public the final judge of the worth and merit of their efforts, they were of necessity obliged to make pictures for the approval of the one man at the top. Thus the creative side of film-making, from the selection of the story, the writers who would put it into script form, the casting of the players, the designing of their costumes and the sets which provided their backgrounds, the direction, the cutting and editing of the final film was tailored (consciously or unconsciously) to the tastes of the studio's head man.
Briskin had been production chief at Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, where Capra had worked since 1927. Within months of Liberty's incorporation, directors William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
and George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
became partners.
Liberty was capitalized
Financial capital
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation, i.e. retail, corporate, investment banking, etc....
at $1,000,000, and it had a standing bank credit of $3,500,000, for which the four owners were individually and collectively responsible. The ownership was divided unequally among the partners: 32 percent to Capra as president and organizer, 18 percent to Briskin, 25 percent each to Wyler and Stevens. But their voting rights were equal. By dissolving Liberty a few years hence, as the partners planned, they would pay only a 25% capital gains tax
Capital gains tax
A capital gains tax is a tax charged on capital gains, the profit realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property...
on the profits instead of the 90% income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
they would pay on their high salaries at a studio.
Liberty contracted in August 1945 to produce nine features for distribution by RKO, three each from the three producer-directors, who were each expected to deliver one picture per year. The production offices of Liberty Films were housed at RKO Studios.
The company announced in November 1945 that its first production would be James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
in It's a Wonderful Life, produced and directed by Capra. Capra's next pictures were to be adaptations of Jessamyn West
Jessamyn West (writer)
Mary Jessamyn West was an American Quaker who wrote numerous stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion ....
's novel The Friendly Persuasion
The Friendly Persuasion
The Friendly Persuasion is an American novel published in 1945 by Jessamyn West. It was adapted as the motion picture Friendly Persuasion in 1956...
and Alfred Noyes
Alfred Noyes
Alfred Noyes was an English poet, best known for his ballads, "The Highwayman" and "The Barrel-Organ".-Early years:...
' novel No Other Man. William Wyler planned to direct an adaptation of Stendhal
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
's The Red and the Black
The Red and the Black
Le Rouge et le Noir , 1830, by Stendhal, is a historical psychological novel in two volumes, chronicling a provincial young man’s attempts to socially rise beyond his plebeian upbringing with a combination of talent and hard work, deception and hypocrisy — yet who ultimately allows his passions to...
. George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
was announced to produce and direct One Big Happy Family, written by Joseph Fields
Joseph Fields
Joseph Albert Fields was an American playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Life and career:Fields was born in New York City, the son of vaudevillean Lew Fields...
.
The film rights to the play State of the Union were acquired in late 1946, with an intended release before the presidential election in 1948. To obtain Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
for the lead role, when he was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Liberty Films agreed to pay for use of MGM's production facilities to make the picture, and to pay MGM's parent company a percentage distribution fee.
Liberty's first release, It's a Wonderful Life, in November 1946, was a financial failure. Although it was in the top 7% of that year's films as ranked by box office gross
Gross (economics)
In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is net, meaning after deductions.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
, it was unable to recoup its high production cost of $2.3 million, much less show a profit. The partners sought a major studio to buy Liberty Films before bank foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
, although Wyler and Stevens were "violently opposed" to the idea at first. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
bought the company in May 1947. The four partners were given a total of $3,450,000 in Paramount stock, and Capra, Wyler, and Stevens were given five-picture contracts at Paramount. In the purchase, Paramount acquired Liberty's interest in three movies: It's a Wonderful Life, I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama is a play by John Van Druten. Based on the fictionalized memoir Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, it focuses on the Hanson family, a loving family of Norwegian immigrants living on Steiner Street in San Francisco in the 1910s.Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein...
(which George Stevens was filming at RKO), and State of the Union (not yet filmed). The company was dissolved in April 1951. It's a Wonderful Life was incorporated into Paramount's pre-1950 library, and in 1955 Paramount sold it to U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.
U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.
U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. is best known as the original purchaser of Paramount Pictures' pre-October 1950 shorts and cartoons...
along with their many of their short subjects, which were all later sold to National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates was an independent distribution company that handled reissues of American film libraries, including much of Paramount Pictures' animated and short-subjects library.-History:...
, and in turn became Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
, which was sold to Paramount's current parent Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
in 1999. Hence Paramount now once again owns It's a Wonderful Life.
Paramount meanwhile held on to State of the Union for another two years until MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
acquired most of Paramount's pre-1950 theatrical sound features in 1957 (and formed EMKA, Ltd.
EMKA, Ltd.
EMKA, Ltd. is an in-name-only division of Universal Studios' television unit whose sole function is overseeing Paramount Pictures' pre-1950 sound feature film library. EMKA was formed by MCA in 1957 .In the aftermath of the landmark 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc...
to hold the copyright) then bought the US branch of Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, which owned Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, in 1962. This explains why EMKA/NBCUniversal owns the rights to State of the Union today.
Capra later wrote that the creation of Liberty Films was to "(1) influence the course of Hollywood films, (2) make four former Army officers independently rich, and (3) virtually prove fatal to my professional career."
External links
- Liberty Films at Hollywood Renegades Archive.