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11 Coming Apart at the Seams [1944-1948] From World War lIon, the fortunes of United Artists steadily declined. One by one all of the attributes that had made it synonymous with quality motion pictures fell away. At best, UA's movies in this period lacked distinction ; too often they lacked merit altogether or were in questionable taste. The financial state of the company became more and more precarious . Producers decamped. Product became increasingly scarce. Tangled law suits occupied the time of the management, and among the owners, petty quarrels and vindictiveness replaced concern for independent production. In such a climate, it was not surprising that UA was unable to cope with the many problems that beset the industry as a whole-increased competition , a dwindling audience, constricting foreign markets, television, and the consequences of the Paramount decision. PROBLEMS AT THE WAR'S END Whereas the rest ofthe movie industry enjoyed a tremendous boom during the war years, VA barely managed to eke out a profit. Paramount's earnings . for example, jumped from $4 million in 1939 to an all-time high of $44 million in 1946; Twentieth Century's profits rose from $4 million to $22 million; and Warner's from $1.7 million to $19 million. Among the Little Three, Columbia rebounded from a mere $2,000 to over $3 million. 1 By comparison, UA's net income was $445,000 in 1939; and $409,000 in 1946. In 1944, UA showed a deficit of $311,000, making it the only company to have an unprofitable year during the war. The cause was simply that VA did not release a single picture of note during the first four months of the season. It depended on the Paramount package to get through, hoping that the new roster of independents would soon deliver pictures worthy of the United Artists name. There were a few hits in this period, to be sure. Selznick finally resumed production and turned out [ 202 ] Coming Apart at the Seams: 1944-1948 [ 203 three big pictures in 1944-1945, Since You WentAway, ['11 Be Seeing You, and Spellbound. And in addition to those already mentioned in the previous chapter, there were Cagney's Blood on the Sun (1945) and Lester Cowan's The Story of G. I. Joe (1945). But product came in neither quantity nor quality. VA's experience with Hunt Strpmberg was particularly disappointing. His debut as an independent, Lady of Burlesque, was a great success, grossing over $2 million and earning a 5650,000 profit. Guest in the House (1944) brought in $50,000 profit. But because the returns on these pictures had to help finance the remaining three in the group, the recovery of VA's loan was contingent upon total receipts. And with each succeeding production-Young Widow (1946), The Strange Woman (1946), and Dis.. honored Lady (1947)-Stromberg was less able to control costs. The first picture went over budget by 5600,000; the second by $1 million; and the last, by 51.2 million. Although The Strange Woman was a moderate success, the others failed dismally at the box office. The final tally for the five Stromberg productions showed a 5900,000 loss; UA, by 1946, had to write offthe books its 5250,000 loan to this former box-office champion of champions. And then there was Howard Hughes' The Outlaw. VA gave Hughes a distribution contract in December, 1944, with the understanding that he would adhere to the production and advertising codes of the Motion Picture Association of America (formerly the MPPDA). The movie itself had received a seal of approval the previous year when Hughes opened it on his own in San Francisco, but his tasteless publicity campaign had antagonized the community. He had plastered the largest billboards in the Bay area with provocative and steamy likenesses of his star, Jane Russell. They created a furor. It was only when the chief of police issued warrants to seize the film and arrest the theater manager that Hughes had them removed. As a result of Hughes' efforts, The Outlaw was condemned by the Legion ofDecency, the censorship board ofthe Catholic Church. After a short run, Hughes withdrew the picture from circulation and returned to his war-related projects. For the VA release, The Outlaw, as well as its advertising material, had to be resubmitted to the MPA, because a movie had to receive seals of approval for both content and advertising to be exhibited in theaters belonging to...

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