B.P. Schulberg(1892-1957)
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
One of the most powerful men in Hollywood during the 1920's, Benjamin
Percival Schulberg began his career as a reporter on the streets of New
York. He had his first fling with the film industry after being hired
as an assistant editor for a movie magazine. This work later enticed
him to write several screenplays of his own, having joined the
publicity department of a small studio, William Swanson's Rex (which,
in June 1912, was absorbed into Universal). Schulberg then moved on to
Famous Players as head of publicity, and, in 1919, founded his own
production company, Preferred Pictures. Having secured a prestige
signing of the actor Lon Chaney, Schulberg
first hit the big time with the oriental drama
Shadows (1922). However, his greatest
coup as an independent producer was to discover and promote the
'It Girl', 18-year old red-head Clara Bow,
who became the definitive
'jazzbaby' of the 1920's. Having acquired the right for the risqué novel by Percy Marks
about jazz and flappers, he starred Clara in
The Plastic Age (1925). In the
same picture, he also introduced an unknown actor named Luis Alonso,
who was destined for stardom under the name
Gilbert Roland.
Unable to compete with the majors, Preferred Pictures filed for
bankruptcy in 1925. However, the immense box-office success of "The
Plastic Age" prompted Adolph Zukor at
Paramount to offer Schulberg the position of head of the West Coast
studios (while William LeBaron presided
over the Eastern unit) and vice-president in charge of production,
working directly under Jesse L. Lasky.
Moving to Paramount, he took his company and Clara Bow with him. During
his tenure between 1925 and 1932, Schulberg became one of the most
popular and creative producers in the business. He was instrumental in
making Paramount the leading film company in Hollywood during the
20's, by recruiting top directors, like Josef von Sternberg,
Ernst Lubitsch and
William A. Wellman. He was also in
the forefront of technical innovation and helped the studio make a
smooth transition from silent to sound films. Alas, Clara Bow, whom he
had touted as the 'Anna Held of the Talkies', failed to make the grade,
despite attempts to change her image. As a result, she left Paramount
in 1931. The following year, Schulberg himself was ousted from his
position during a studio-wide purge, which also claimed Lasky and head
of sales Sidney Kent.
Schulberg continued on as an independent producer, with Paramount's
B-unit and with Columbia, but with little financial or artistic
success. Among the films he made during this period, only a few stand
out, notably the comedy
Three Cornered Moon (1933)
and the crime drama
Meet Nero Wolfe (1936), which
first introduced the corpulent, sedentary detective in the shape of
actor Edward Arnold. Disenchanted,
Schulberg retired in 1943, lamenting an 'indifferent and forgetful
industry'.
Percival Schulberg began his career as a reporter on the streets of New
York. He had his first fling with the film industry after being hired
as an assistant editor for a movie magazine. This work later enticed
him to write several screenplays of his own, having joined the
publicity department of a small studio, William Swanson's Rex (which,
in June 1912, was absorbed into Universal). Schulberg then moved on to
Famous Players as head of publicity, and, in 1919, founded his own
production company, Preferred Pictures. Having secured a prestige
signing of the actor Lon Chaney, Schulberg
first hit the big time with the oriental drama
Shadows (1922). However, his greatest
coup as an independent producer was to discover and promote the
'It Girl', 18-year old red-head Clara Bow,
who became the definitive
'jazzbaby' of the 1920's. Having acquired the right for the risqué novel by Percy Marks
about jazz and flappers, he starred Clara in
The Plastic Age (1925). In the
same picture, he also introduced an unknown actor named Luis Alonso,
who was destined for stardom under the name
Gilbert Roland.
Unable to compete with the majors, Preferred Pictures filed for
bankruptcy in 1925. However, the immense box-office success of "The
Plastic Age" prompted Adolph Zukor at
Paramount to offer Schulberg the position of head of the West Coast
studios (while William LeBaron presided
over the Eastern unit) and vice-president in charge of production,
working directly under Jesse L. Lasky.
Moving to Paramount, he took his company and Clara Bow with him. During
his tenure between 1925 and 1932, Schulberg became one of the most
popular and creative producers in the business. He was instrumental in
making Paramount the leading film company in Hollywood during the
20's, by recruiting top directors, like Josef von Sternberg,
Ernst Lubitsch and
William A. Wellman. He was also in
the forefront of technical innovation and helped the studio make a
smooth transition from silent to sound films. Alas, Clara Bow, whom he
had touted as the 'Anna Held of the Talkies', failed to make the grade,
despite attempts to change her image. As a result, she left Paramount
in 1931. The following year, Schulberg himself was ousted from his
position during a studio-wide purge, which also claimed Lasky and head
of sales Sidney Kent.
Schulberg continued on as an independent producer, with Paramount's
B-unit and with Columbia, but with little financial or artistic
success. Among the films he made during this period, only a few stand
out, notably the comedy
Three Cornered Moon (1933)
and the crime drama
Meet Nero Wolfe (1936), which
first introduced the corpulent, sedentary detective in the shape of
actor Edward Arnold. Disenchanted,
Schulberg retired in 1943, lamenting an 'indifferent and forgetful
industry'.