Milton Sperling
Encyclopedia
Milton Sperling was an American film producer
and screenwriter
for 20th Century Fox
and Warner Bros.
where he had his own independent production unit United States Pictures
.
, Sperling entered the film industry by working at Paramount
's Astoria Studios as a shipping clerk. He later became a personal secretary for Darryl F. Zanuck
and Hal Wallis at Warner Bros.
in 1931. After Zanuck resigned his position as Head of Production of Warner Bros. Studios in 1933 and was offered a position with Twentieth Century Pictures (later merged with Fox Pictures), Sperling became an assistant to Edward Small
an independent film producer who released his Reliance Pictures and Edward Small Productions through United Artists
. Sperling learned as much about an independent low budget film production unit as he had about high budget major studio films from Zanuck and Wallis at Warner Bros.
.
Zanuck hired Sperling for his combined 20th Century Fox
where Sperling's first screenplay
Sing, Baby Sing was released in 1936. Sperling later did more screenwriting credited and uncredited for 20th Century Fox
becoming a film producer
in 1941 with his first productions being Sun Valley Serenade
then I Wake Up Screaming
both in 1941.
Though working prolifically for Fox, in 1936, Sperling was introduced to Harry Warner
's (of the Warner brothers) 16 year old daughter Betty Warner. They married in 1939.
In 1941 Sperling was an associate producer on the US Marine Corps Technicolor
romantic military film comedy To the Shores of Tripoli
and quickly filmed a new ending showing John Payne
hearing the news about the attack and reenlisting in the Marines. Sperling also enlisted in the Marines with orders to attend Military Intelligence
school but still a couple of films before leaving the studio. The US Marine Corps used Sperling's film expertise by assigning him to the US Marine Corps Photographic Unit where he produced the documentaries The Battle for The Marianas (1944) and the Technicolor
To the Shores of Iwo Jima
(1945) filmed up front with the Marines in their Pacific Island campaigns where several combat cameramen lost their lives shooting the footage.
Returning from the war, Zanuck offered Sperling his old job back but his father in law Harry Warner
told Sperling that a member of the family should not work for a rival studio. offering him an independent production unit where he could make the films he wanted.
After World War II
the major studios were looking at studios that only financed and released films such as United Artists
and Monogram Pictures
and decided that hiring stars, directors, and film crews on a picture by picture basis would be more economical, especially with the problems with the trade unions the major studios were having.
Sperling named his company "United States Pictures
" with his first of 14 films released under the label being Cloak and Dagger (1946 film). Sperling contributed to the screenplays on several of these films including The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)
(1955) that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Writing, Story and Screenplay . Sperling also produced other films not under the United States Pictures
label such as Top Secret Affair (1957) filmed in England and Marjorie Morningstar (film)
(1958).
The final United States Pictures
film was Battle of the Bulge (film)
filmed in Spain
in 1965. Sperling later produced a Spanish made "spaghetti western
" with Lee Van Cleef
in the role of Captain Apache (1971) then several television movies until his death by cancer in 1988.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
for 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
where he had his own independent production unit United States Pictures
United States Pictures
United States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
.
Biography
After leaving the City College of New YorkCity College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, Sperling entered the film industry by working at Paramount
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...
's Astoria Studios as a shipping clerk. He later became a personal secretary for Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
and Hal Wallis at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in 1931. After Zanuck resigned his position as Head of Production of Warner Bros. Studios in 1933 and was offered a position with Twentieth Century Pictures (later merged with Fox Pictures), Sperling became an assistant to Edward Small
Edward Small
Edward Small was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970....
an independent film producer who released his Reliance Pictures and Edward Small Productions through United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. Sperling learned as much about an independent low budget film production unit as he had about high budget major studio films from Zanuck and Wallis at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
.
Zanuck hired Sperling for his combined 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
where Sperling's first screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
Sing, Baby Sing was released in 1936. Sperling later did more screenwriting credited and uncredited for 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
becoming a film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
in 1941 with his first productions being Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
then I Wake Up Screaming
I Wake Up Screaming
I Wake Up Screaming is a 1941 film noir. It is based on the novel of the same name by Steve Fisher, who co-wrote the screenplay with Dwight Taylor...
both in 1941.
Though working prolifically for Fox, in 1936, Sperling was introduced to Harry Warner
Harry Warner
Harry Morris Warner was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three brothers Warner played a crucial role in the film business and played a key role in establishing Warner Bros...
's (of the Warner brothers) 16 year old daughter Betty Warner. They married in 1939.
In 1941 Sperling was an associate producer on the US Marine Corps Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
romantic military film comedy To the Shores of Tripoli
To the Shores of Tripoli
To the Shores of Tripoli is a Technicolor 1942 film starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly and Minor Watson. The film was directed by H...
and quickly filmed a new ending showing John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
hearing the news about the attack and reenlisting in the Marines. Sperling also enlisted in the Marines with orders to attend Military Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
school but still a couple of films before leaving the studio. The US Marine Corps used Sperling's film expertise by assigning him to the US Marine Corps Photographic Unit where he produced the documentaries The Battle for The Marianas (1944) and the Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
To the Shores of Iwo Jima
To the Shores of Iwo Jima
To the Shores of Iwo Jima is a 1945 Kodachrome color short war film produced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It documents the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was the first time that American audiences saw in color the footage of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima.-Overview:The...
(1945) filmed up front with the Marines in their Pacific Island campaigns where several combat cameramen lost their lives shooting the footage.
Returning from the war, Zanuck offered Sperling his old job back but his father in law Harry Warner
Harry Warner
Harry Morris Warner was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three brothers Warner played a crucial role in the film business and played a key role in establishing Warner Bros...
told Sperling that a member of the family should not work for a rival studio. offering him an independent production unit where he could make the films he wanted.
After 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...
the major studios were looking at studios that only financed and released films such as United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
and decided that hiring stars, directors, and film crews on a picture by picture basis would be more economical, especially with the problems with the trade unions the major studios were having.
Sperling named his company "United States Pictures
United States Pictures
United States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
" with his first of 14 films released under the label being Cloak and Dagger (1946 film). Sperling contributed to the screenplays on several of these films including The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (film)
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell is a 1955 film directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gary Cooper as Billy Mitchell, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger and Elizabeth Montgomery in her film debut.-Plot:...
(1955) that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Writing, Story and Screenplay . Sperling also produced other films not under the United States Pictures
United States Pictures
United States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
label such as Top Secret Affair (1957) filmed in England and Marjorie Morningstar (film)
Marjorie Morningstar (film)
Marjorie Morningstar is a 1958 melodrama film based on the 1955 novel of the same name. The film, released by Warner Bros. and directed by Irving Rapper tells a fictional coming of age story about a young Jewish girl in New York City in the 1950s...
(1958).
The final United States Pictures
United States Pictures
United States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
film was Battle of the Bulge (film)
Battle of the Bulge (film)
Battle of the Bulge is a widescreen war film produced in Spain that was released in 1965. It was directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson...
filmed in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1965. Sperling later produced a Spanish made "spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
" with Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
in the role of Captain Apache (1971) then several television movies until his death by cancer in 1988.