Post by Terry Harbin on Jun 2, 2005 23:53:54 GMT -5
Conflict with Hearst
What the Whartons did not know was that Hearst would return and that he would put a heavy hand on the details of the Beatrice Fairfax production and content. He also showed great displeasure with the Whartons Black Stork film since Hearst had tossed the idea of picturing the story on the table.
His own writer Jack Lait worked for the Hearst owned Chicago newspaper and he had penned many of the eye catching articles. Wharton had hired Lait and Dr. Heiselden in anticipation that Hearst would produce it, but that was not forth coming.
So the Whartons' stepped in and got the picture done and it exists today. By the fourth episode of Beatrice, tension grew with Hearst as the contractual agreements were being tested. Hearst's meddling in his International Film Service surfaced during the first year of its organization.
He seems to have been more successful earlier because he just threw money at the projects so they would be produced. He should have continued handling business with a hands off approach. His International film service never was very profitable and no films produced by his other film companies reached any note worthy status.
The International Film Service would cease to exist by 1921, which was also a fate that would befall the Whartons. They settled the lawsuits against Hearst successfully in 1919, which were filed in February of 1917. Hearst finally signed over checks to the sum of $39,000 to meet the amount misappropriated during the 1916 serials filmed in Ithaca.
In the same month, they filed those lawsuits The Whartons' became their own distributors and set up an office in NYC to release The Wharton brand of films. No longer would they be at the whims of others and they could produce and distribute wholesome Super Features along with short comedies and their main staple, serial films.
The Whartons' were one of the first Independent producers to release their productions on a states rights basis. This concept of promotion was established as a way to compete with the larger studios that had huge budgets. It was an exciting time and many producers went the independent route.
Unfortunately the visions and lofty expectations were not to be. The bigger studios had their strongholds and nothing would unravel there dominance of the industry. Many a good company went under after the independents futile efforts were exhausted.
The Whartons could have become the exception they had established themselves nicely in the scheme of things. They controlled, produced, marketed and distributed their own products through the states rights market.
What the Whartons did not know was that Hearst would return and that he would put a heavy hand on the details of the Beatrice Fairfax production and content. He also showed great displeasure with the Whartons Black Stork film since Hearst had tossed the idea of picturing the story on the table.
His own writer Jack Lait worked for the Hearst owned Chicago newspaper and he had penned many of the eye catching articles. Wharton had hired Lait and Dr. Heiselden in anticipation that Hearst would produce it, but that was not forth coming.
So the Whartons' stepped in and got the picture done and it exists today. By the fourth episode of Beatrice, tension grew with Hearst as the contractual agreements were being tested. Hearst's meddling in his International Film Service surfaced during the first year of its organization.
He seems to have been more successful earlier because he just threw money at the projects so they would be produced. He should have continued handling business with a hands off approach. His International film service never was very profitable and no films produced by his other film companies reached any note worthy status.
The International Film Service would cease to exist by 1921, which was also a fate that would befall the Whartons. They settled the lawsuits against Hearst successfully in 1919, which were filed in February of 1917. Hearst finally signed over checks to the sum of $39,000 to meet the amount misappropriated during the 1916 serials filmed in Ithaca.
In the same month, they filed those lawsuits The Whartons' became their own distributors and set up an office in NYC to release The Wharton brand of films. No longer would they be at the whims of others and they could produce and distribute wholesome Super Features along with short comedies and their main staple, serial films.
The Whartons' were one of the first Independent producers to release their productions on a states rights basis. This concept of promotion was established as a way to compete with the larger studios that had huge budgets. It was an exciting time and many producers went the independent route.
Unfortunately the visions and lofty expectations were not to be. The bigger studios had their strongholds and nothing would unravel there dominance of the industry. Many a good company went under after the independents futile efforts were exhausted.
The Whartons could have become the exception they had established themselves nicely in the scheme of things. They controlled, produced, marketed and distributed their own products through the states rights market.