167-465: The Rains Came is a 1939 20th Century Fox film based on an American novel by Louis Bromfield (published in June 1937 by Harper & Brothers ). The film was directed by Clarence Brown and stars Myrna Loy , Tyrone Power , George Brent , Brenda Joyce , Nigel Bruce , and Maria Ouspenskaya . A remake of the film was released in 1955 under the name The Rains of Ranchipur . The story centers on
334-724: A Protestant at birth, Turner attended Mass with the Hislops, a Catholic family with whom her mother had temporarily boarded her in Stockton, California . She became "thrilled" by the ritual practices of the church, and when she was seven, her mother allowed her to formally convert to Roman Catholicism . Turner subsequently attended the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in San Francisco, hoping to become
501-668: A bestselling novel by James Gould Cozzens . The film became the first in-flight movie to be shown on a regular basis on a scheduled airline flight when TWA showed it to its first-class passengers. In mid-1962, Turner filmed Who's Got the Action? , a comedy in which she portrayed the wife of a gambling addict opposite Dean Martin . In September of that year, Turner and May separated, divorcing shortly after in October. They remained friends throughout her later life. In 1965, she met Hollywood producer and businessman Robert Eaton, who
668-444: A leading lady and one of MGM's top stars, appearing in such films as the film noir Johnny Eager (1941), the musical Ziegfeld Girl (1941), the horror Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), and the romantic war drama Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), the latter being one of several films in which she starred opposite Clark Gable . Her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her critically acclaimed performance in
835-517: A lesbian to her parents, who were both supportive of her. Despite this, Cheryl ran away from home multiple times and the press wrote about her rebelliousness. Worried she was still suffering from the trauma of Stompanato's death, Turner sent Cheryl to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut . Shortly before the release of Imitation of Life in the spring of 1959, Turner was cast in
1002-560: A stillborn baby boy in New York City. In 1949, Turner was to star in A Life of Her Own (1950), a George Cukor -directed drama about a woman who aspires to be a model in New York City. The project was shelved for several months, and Turner told journalists in December 1949: "Everybody agrees that the script is still a pile of junk. I'm anxious to get started. By the time this one comes out, it will be almost three years since I
1169-465: A VFX company that worked on Avatar and The Jungle Book , was purchased in April 2017 to operate as Fox VFX Lab. Technoprops' founder Glenn Derry would continue to run the company as vice president of visual effect reporting to Gerard Bevan and John Kilkenny, VFX president. On October 30, 2017, Vanessa Morrison was named president of a newly created 20th Century Fox division, Fox Family, reporting to
1336-550: A bid from Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal ) for $ 65 billion, Disney counterbid with $ 71.3 billion. On July 19, 2018, Comcast dropped out of the bid for 21st Century Fox in favor of Sky plc and Sky UK . Eight days later, Disney and 21st Century Fox shareholders approved the merger between the two companies. Although the deal was completed on March 20, 2019, 20th Century Fox was not planning to relocate to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank , but retained its headquarters at
1503-424: A biographical film about British actor David Garrick , in which she had a small role portraying an actress posing as a chambermaid. In late 1937, LeRoy was hired as an executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and asked Jack L. Warner to allow Turner to relocate with him to MGM. Warner obliged, as he believed Turner would not "amount to anything". Turner left Warner Bros. and signed a contract with MGM for $ 100
1670-469: A buyer for the film and the studio. Instead, Ice Age was released by Fox in conjunction with 20th Century Fox Animation on March 15, 2002, to critical and commercial success, receiving a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003. Ice Age would spawn a franchise and bolster Blue Sky into producing feature films and becoming a household name in feature animation. From 2000 to 2010, 20th Century Fox
1837-674: A carefree woman struggling to balance her new life as a mother. Though she wanted multiple children, Turner had Rh-negative blood , which caused fetal anemia and made it difficult to carry a child to term. Turner was urged by doctors to undergo a therapeutic abortion to avoid potentially life-threatening complications, but she managed to carry the child to term. She gave birth to a daughter, Cheryl , on July 25, 1943. Turner's blood condition resulted in Cheryl being born with near-fatal erythroblastosis fetalis . Meanwhile, publicity over Turner's remarriage to Crane led MGM to play up her image as
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#17327803595682004-451: A comedy feature film titled Ice Age . Studio management pressured staff to sell their remaining shares and options to Fox on the promise of continued employment on feature-length films. The studio moved to White Plains, New York and started production on Ice Age . As the film wrapped, Fox, having little faith in the film, feared that it might bomb at the box office. Fox terminated half of the production staff and tried unsuccessfully to find
2171-487: A crime drama in which she played a teenage murder victim. Though Turner only appeared on screen for a few minutes, Wilkerson wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that her performance was "worthy of more than a passing note". The film earned her the nickname of the " Sweater Girl " for her form-fitting attire, which accentuated her bust. Turner always detested the nickname, and upon seeing a sneak preview of
2338-491: A deal with Murdoch to purchase John Kluge 's Metromedia television stations. Murdoch went ahead alone and bought the stations, and later bought out Davis' remaining stake in 20th Century-Fox for $ 325 million. From 1985, the hyphen was permanently deleted from the brand name, with 20th Century-Fox changing to 20th Century Fox . To gain FCC approval of 20th Century-Fox's purchase of Metromedia 's television holdings, once
2505-672: A deal with the inventor Henri Chrétien , leaving the other film studios empty-handed, and in 1953 introduced CinemaScope in the studio's groundbreaking feature film The Robe . Zanuck announced in February 1953 that henceforth all 20th Century-Fox pictures would be made in CinemaScope. To convince theater owners to install this new process, 20th Century-Fox agreed to help pay conversion costs (about $ 25,000 per screen); and to ensure enough product, 20th Century-Fox leased access to CinemaScope to any rival studio choosing to use it. Seeing
2672-470: A default notice in regards to its licensing agreement for the under-construction 20th Century Fox World theme park in Malaysia by Genting Malaysia Bhd. In November 2018 Genting Malaysia filed suit in response and included soon to be parent The Walt Disney Company . On December 14, 2017, Disney announced plans to purchase most of 21st Century Fox, including 20th Century Fox, for $ 52.4 billion. After
2839-657: A dinner party in Los Angeles. The two eloped to Las Vegas a week after they began dating. The marriage was annulled by Turner four months later upon discovering that Crane's previous divorce had not yet been finalized. After discovering she was pregnant in November 1942, Turner remarried Crane in Tijuana in March 1943. During her early pregnancy, she filmed the comedy Marriage Is a Private Affair , in which she starred as
3006-406: A femme fatale spy aboard a ship. The film, released one month after The Prodigal , was a commercial success. MGM then gave Turner the titular role of Diane de Poitiers in the period drama Diane (1956), which had originally been optioned by the studio in the 1930s for Greta Garbo . After completing Diane , Turner was loaned to 20th Century-Fox to headline The Rains of Ranchipur (1955),
3173-413: A film every 12–18 months. The deal was to bolster Blue Sky's output and replace the loss of distributing DreamWorks Animation films, which are now owned and distributed by Universal Pictures . The first film to be released under the production company was Ron's Gone Wrong , which was released on October 22, 2021, by 20th Century Studios and was the only film to be released by the studio. Technoprops,
3340-478: A good story. So what happened? The last time I begged for a good story they gave me The Prodigal ." At the time of her contract termination, Turner's films had earned the studio more than $ 50 million. In 1956, Turner discovered she was pregnant with Barker's child, but gave birth to a stillborn baby girl seven months into the pregnancy. In July 1957, she filed for divorce from Barker after her daughter Cheryl alleged that he had regularly molested and raped her over
3507-675: A grandson of tin-plate magnate Daniel G. Reid . Topping proposed to her at the 21 Club in New York City by dropping a diamond ring into her martini, and they married shortly after in April 1948 at the Topping family mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut . Turner's wedding celebrations interfered with her filming schedule for The Three Musketeers , and she arrived to the set three days late. Studio head Louis B. Mayer threatened to suspend her contract, but Turner managed to leverage her box-office draw with MGM to negotiate an expansion of her role in
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#17327803595683674-441: A huge international cast, into release as another source of quick cash. This offended Zanuck, still 20th Century-Fox's largest shareholder, for whom The Longest Day was a labor of love that he had dearly wanted to produce for many years. After it became clear that Something's Got to Give would not be able to progress without Monroe in the lead (Martin had refused to work with anyone else), Skouras finally decided that re-signing her
3841-522: A lead role in Otto Preminger 's Anatomy of a Murder , but walked off the set over a wardrobe disagreement, effectively dropping out of the production. She was replaced by Lee Remick . Instead, Turner took a lead role as a disturbed socialite in the film noir Portrait in Black (1960) opposite Anthony Quinn and Sandra Dee , which was a box-office success despite bad reviews. Ray Duncan of
4008-409: A lead role in her second musical, Ziegfeld Girl , opposite James Stewart , Judy Garland and Hedy Lamarr . In the film, she portrayed Sheila Regan, an alcoholic aspiring actress based on Lillian Lorraine . Ziegfeld Girl marked a personal and professional shift for Turner; she claimed it as the first role that got her "interested in acting", and the studio, impressed by her performance, marketed
4175-505: A man for two kisses, and another to an elderly man for $ 50,000. Arriving to sell bonds in her hometown of Wallace, Idaho , she was greeted with a banner that read "Welcome home, Lana", followed by a large celebration during which the mayor declared a holiday in her honor. Upon completing the tour, Turner had sold $ 5.25 million in war bonds. Throughout the war, Turner continued to make regular appearances at U.S. troop events and area bases, though she confided to friends that she found visiting
4342-424: A man in love with her sister. Turner later recalled she was surprised about replacing Hepburn, saying: "I'm about the most un-Hepburnish actress on the lot. But it was just what I wanted to do." It was her first starring role that did not center on her looks. In an interview, Turner said: "I even go running around in the jungles of New Zealand in a dress that's filthy and ragged. I don't wear any make-up and my hair's
4509-477: A mess." Nevertheless, she insisted she would not give up her glamorous image. In the midst of filming Green Dolphin Street , Turner began an affair with actor Tyrone Power , whom she considered to be the love of her life. She discovered she was pregnant with Power's child in the fall of 1947, but chose to have an abortion. During this time, she also had romantic affairs with Frank Sinatra and Howard Hughes ,
4676-439: A miner from Montgomery, Alabama . Her mother had English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, while her father was of Dutch descent. She was born four days before her mother's 17th birthday. Her parents had first met while her mother was 14 and her father was 24; Mildred was the daughter of a mine inspector and was visiting Picher, Oklahoma , a trip that was taken so her father could inspect the mines there. Mildred's father objected to
4843-522: A much-publicized and lucrative recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest in 1982, with the series subsequently garnering notably high ratings. She was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1992, and died three years later at the age of 74. Julia Jean Turner was born on February 8, 1921, at Providence Hospital in Wallace, Idaho . She was the only child of Mildred Frances Cowan, who hailed from Lamar, Arkansas , and John Virgil Turner,
5010-578: A musician, and Betrayed , an espionage thriller set in the Nazi -occupied Netherlands; the latter marked Turner's fourth and final film appearance opposite Clark Gable. In The New York Times , Bosley Crowther wrote of Betrayed : "By the time this picture gets around to figuring out whether the betrayer is Miss Turner or Mr. Mature, it has taken the audience through such a lengthy and tedious amount of detail that it has not only frayed all possible tension but it has aggravated patience as well." Upon returning to
5177-485: A nun. In the mid-1930s, Turner's mother developed respiratory problems and was advised by her doctor to move to a drier climate, upon which the two moved to Los Angeles in 1936. Her hair was dark, messy, uncombed. Her hands were trembling so she could barely read the script. But she had that sexy clean quality I wanted. There was something smoldering underneath that innocent face. – Mervyn LeRoy on Turner during her first audition, December 1936 Turner's discovery
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5344-535: A popular pin-up girl , and her image appeared painted on the noses of U.S. fighter planes, bearing the nickname "Tempest Turner". In June 1942, she embarked on a 10-week war bond tour throughout the western United States with Gable. During the tour, she began promising kisses to the highest war bond buyers; while selling bonds at the Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, Oregon , she sold a $ 5,000 bond to
5511-489: A remake of The Rains Came (1939), playing the wife of an aristocrat in the British Raj opposite Richard Burton . The production was rushed to accommodate a Christmas release and was completed in only three months, but it received unfavorable reviews from critics. Meanwhile, Diane was given a test screening in late December 1955, and was met with poor response from audiences. Though an elaborate marketing campaign
5678-496: A sex symbol in the comedy Slightly Dangerous (1943), with Robert Young , Walter Brennan and Dame May Whitty , in which she portrayed a woman who moves to New York City and poses as the long-lost daughter of a millionaire. Released in the midst of Turner's pregnancy, the film was financially successful but received mixed reviews, with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times writing: "No less than four Metro writers must have racked their brains for all of five minutes to think up
5845-560: A socialite. James Agee of Time magazine was critical of co-star Robert Taylor 's performance and noted: "Turner is similarly handicapped: Metro has swathed her best assets in a toga, swears that she shall become an actress, or else. Under these adverse circumstances, stars Taylor and Turner are working under wraps." At the advent of US involvement in World War II , Turner's increasing prominence in Hollywood led to her becoming
6012-476: A stodgy, older owner of a roadside diner, who falls in love with a drifter and their desire to be together motivates them to murder her husband. The classic film noir marked a turning point in Turner's career as her first femme fatale role. Reviews of the film, including Turner's performance, were glowing, with Bosley Crowther of The New York Times writing it was "the role of her career". Life magazine named
6179-457: A struggling stage actress who makes personal sacrifices to further her career. The production was difficult for Turner given the recent events of her personal life, and she suffered a panic attack on the first day of filming. Her co-star Juanita Moore recalled that Turner cried for three days after filming a scene in which Moore's character dies. When she returned to the set, "her face was so swollen, she couldn't work", Moore said. Released in
6346-590: A time living in Sacramento and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Following her father's death, Turner lived for a period in Modesto with a family who physically abused her and "treated her like a servant". Her mother worked 80 hours per week as a beautician to support herself and her daughter, and Turner recalled sometimes "living on crackers and milk for half a week". While baptized
6513-522: A typing class and bought a Coca-Cola at the Top Hat Malt Shop located on the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and McCadden Place. While in the shop, she was spotted by William R. Wilkerson , publisher of The Hollywood Reporter . Wilkerson was attracted by her beauty and physique, and asked her if she was interested in appearing in films, to which she responded: "I'll have to ask my mother first." With her mother's permission, Turner
6680-607: A video game based-studio 20th Century Games. Similar to its predecessors— FoxNext , Fox Interactive and 20th Century Fox Games—it acts as a distributor and has partnered with other triple-A game studios. Its first title was Aliens: Fireteam Elite . On February 8, 2022, Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story , among its seven Academy Award nominations, earned 20th Century Studios its first Best Picture nomination post-rebranding. Lana Turner Julia Jean " Lana " Turner ( / ˈ l ɑː n ə / LAH -nə ; February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995)
6847-572: A week ($ 2,119 in 2023 dollars ). The same year, she was loaned to United Artists for a minor role as a maid in The Adventures of Marco Polo . Her first starring role for MGM was scheduled to be an adaptation of The Sea-Wolf , co-starring Clark Gable , but the project was eventually shelved. Instead, she was assigned opposite teen idol Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in the Andy Hardy film Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). During
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7014-485: A year later. President Spyros Skouras brought in a series of production executives, but none had Zanuck's success. By the early 1960s, 20th Century-Fox was in trouble. A new version of Cleopatra (1963) began production in 1959 with Joan Collins in the lead. As a publicity gimmick, producer Walter Wanger offered $ 1 million to Elizabeth Taylor if she would star; she accepted and costs for Cleopatra began to escalate. Richard Burton 's on-set romance with Taylor
7181-428: Is an amendment to the original agreement between 20th Century Fox and HBO that Disney inherited after its acquisition of Fox in 2019, and as such, is not expected to be renewed. Following the end of the 20th Century-HBO deal, Disney plans to retain the 20th Century films on their own streaming platforms going forward after 2022. The first film to this new strategy was Ron's Gone Wrong . Also in 2021, Disney had launched
7348-425: Is considered a show-business legend and part of Hollywood mythology among film and popular cultural historians. One version of the story erroneously has her discovery occurring at Schwab's Pharmacy , which Turner claimed was the result of a reporting error that began circulating in articles published by columnist Sidney Skolsky . By Turner's own account, she was a junior at Hollywood High School when she skipped
7515-642: Is frequently cited as a popular culture icon due to her glamourous persona and a screen legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood . She was nominated for numerous awards . Born to working-class parents in Idaho , Turner spent her childhood there before her family relocated to California . In 1936, at the age of 15, she was discovered by a talent scout while shopping at the Top Hat malt shop in Hollywood . At
7682-544: Is presently one of five live-action film studios within the Walt Disney Studios, alongside Walt Disney Pictures , Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , and its sister speciality unit, Searchlight Pictures . 20th Century also releases animated films produced by its animation division 20th Century Animation . The most commercially successful film series from 20th Century Studios include the first six Star Wars films, X-Men , Ice Age , Avatar , and Planet of
7849-440: Is reflected neatly in her distinguished portrayal." Critics and audiences could not help noticing that the plots of Peyton Place and Imitation of Life both seemed to mirror certain parts of Turner's private life, resulting in comparisons she found painful. Both films depicted the troubled, complicated relationship between a single mother and her teenage daughter. During this time, Turner's daughter Cheryl privately came out as
8016-644: The Independent Star-News wrote that Turner "suffers prettily through it all, like a fashion model with a tight-fitting shoe". In November 1960, Turner married her fifth husband, Frederick "Fred" May, a rancher and member of the May department-store family whom she had met at a beach party in Malibu shortly after filming Imitation of Life . Turner moved in with him on his ranch in Chino, California , where
8183-776: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in which she was characterized as "the answer to 'oomph ' ". In her next film, Dancing Co-Ed (1939), Turner was given first billing portraying Patty Marlow, a professional dancer who enters a college as part of a rigged national talent contest. The film was a commercial success, and led to Turner appearing on the cover of Look magazine. In February 1940, Turner garnered significant publicity when she eloped to Las Vegas with 28-year-old bandleader Artie Shaw , her co-star in Dancing Co-Ed . Though they had only briefly known each other, Turner recalled being "stirred by his eloquence", and after their first date
8350-535: The Bollywood market, then expand to several Asian markets. In the same year, 20th Century Fox started Fox International Productions , but the division was closed in 2017. Chernin Entertainment was founded by Peter Chernin after he stepped down as president of 20th Century Fox's then-parent company News Corporation. in 2009. Chernin Entertainment's five-year first-look deal for the film and television
8517-532: The St. Petersburg Times writing: "Without Lana Turner, Mr. Imperium ... would be a better picture." During this period, Turner's personal finances were in disarray, and she was facing bankruptcy. Suffering from depression over her career and financial problems, she attempted suicide in September 1951 by slitting her wrists in a locked bathroom. She was saved by her business manager, Benton Cole, who broke down
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#17327803595688684-692: The Walt Disney Studios , the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company . It is headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, which is leased from Fox Corporation . Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by this studio in theatrical markets. For over 80 years, 20th Century has been one of
8851-499: The first film and direct its sequel in the prequel trilogy, starting in 2011. In late 2006, Fox Atomic was started up under Fox Searchlight head Peter Rice and COO John Hegeman as a sibling production division under Fox Filmed Entertainment. In early 2008, Atomic's marketing unit was transferred to Fox Searchlight and 20th Century Fox, when Hegeman moved to New Regency Productions. Debbie Liebling became president. After two middling successes and falling short with other films,
9018-611: The highly acclaimed Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical , which became a significant success at the box office and won five Academy Awards , including Best Director ( Robert Wise ) and Best Picture of the Year . 20th Century-Fox also had two big science-fiction hits in the decade: Fantastic Voyage (1966), and the original Planet of the Apes (1968), starring Charlton Heston , Kim Hunter , and Roddy McDowall . Fantastic Voyage
9185-431: The major American film studios . It was formed in 1935 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation by the merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures , and one of the original " Big Five " among eight majors of Hollywood's Golden Age . In 1985, the studio removed the hyphen in the name (becoming Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) after being acquired by Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation , which
9352-641: The "20th Century Fox" name was Underwater , which was released on January 10, 2020. After the box office failures of films like Dark Phoenix and Stuber , Disney halted development on several projects , though films such as Free Guy and the Avatar sequels managed to continue production. Fox's slate would be reduced to 10 films per year, half of them being made for the Hulu and then-upcoming Disney+ streaming services. Projects from 20th Century Fox franchises such as Star Wars , Home Alone , Cheaper by
9519-815: The "Games of the Century" slogan, but the division failed due to the video game crash of 1983 . By 1984, Rich had become a fugitive from justice, having fled to Switzerland after being charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with tax evasion, racketeering and illegal trading with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis . Rich's assets were frozen by U.S. authorities. In 1984 Marvin Davis bought out Marc Rich 's 50% interest in 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation for an undisclosed amount, reported to be $ 116 million. Davis sold this interest to Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation for $ 250 million in March 1985. Davis later backed out of
9686-423: The "new India." Ranchipur is devastated by an earthquake, which causes a flood, which causes a cholera epidemic. Lord Esketh dies, and Lady Esketh renounces her hedonistic life in favor of helping the sick with Major Safti. She accidentally drinks from a glass that a patient has used, becomes infected, and dies, making it possible for Safti to become the ruler of a kingdom that he presumably will reform. Throughout
9853-615: The 1935 merger as its founding in recent years, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915. The company's films retained the 20th Century Pictures searchlight logo on their opening credits as well as its opening fanfare, but with the name changed to 20th Century-Fox. After the merger was completed, Zanuck signed young actors to help carry 20th Century-Fox: Tyrone Power , Linda Darnell , Carmen Miranda , Don Ameche , Henry Fonda , Gene Tierney , Sonja Henie , and Betty Grable . 20th Century-Fox also hired Alice Faye and Shirley Temple , who appeared in several major films for
10020-475: The 1946 level, 20th Century-Fox gambled on an unproven process. Noting that the two film sensations of 1952 had been Cinerama , which required three projectors to fill a giant curved screen, and "Natural Vision" 3D , which got its effects of depth by requiring the use of polarized glasses, 20th Century-Fox mortgaged its studio to buy rights to a French anamorphic projection system which gave a slight illusion of depth without glasses. President Spyros Skouras struck
10187-594: The 1950s, with Dean Martin and director George Cukor . The troubled Monroe caused delays daily, and it quickly descended into a costly debacle. As Cleopatra ' s budget passed $ 10 million, eventually costing around $ 40 million, 20th Century-Fox sold its back lot (now the site of Century City ) to Alcoa in 1961 to raise funds. After several weeks of script rewrites on the Monroe picture and very little progress, mostly due to director George Cukor's filming methods, in addition to Monroe's chronic sinusitis , Monroe
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#173278035956810354-445: The 1950s. Following the success of Ziegfeld Girl , Turner took a supporting role as an ingénue in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) – a sanitized remake of the original pre-Code film from a decade earlier – remade as a Freudian -influenced horror film, opposite Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman . MGM had initially cast Turner in the lead, but Tracy specifically requested Bergman for
10521-472: The Apes . Additionally, the studio's library includes many individual films such as The Sound of Music and Titanic , both of which won the Academy Award for Best Picture and became the highest-grossing films of all time during their initial releases. Twentieth Century Pictures ' Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck left United Artists over a stock dispute, and began merger talks with
10688-405: The April 12, 1958 inquest , described by attendees as "near-riotous". After four hours of testimony and approximately 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury deemed the killing a justifiable homicide . Cheryl remained a temporary ward of the court until April 24, when a juvenile court hearing was held, during which the judge expressed concerns over her receiving "proper parental supervision". She
10855-481: The CinemaScope process including Carousel and The King and I (both 1956). CinemaScope brought a brief upturn in attendance, but by 1956 the numbers again began to slide. That year Darryl Zanuck announced his resignation as head of production. Zanuck moved to Paris, setting up as an independent producer, seldom being in the United States for many years. Zanuck's successor, producer Buddy Adler , died
11022-508: The Dozen , Night at the Museum , Diary of a Wimpy Kid , and Ice Age were later announced for Disney+. These projects would later be fully revealed during Disney's Investor Day in December 2020 as feature films for the aforementioned streaming service. The first of these projects was Home Sweet Home Alone , which was released on November 12, 2021. On January 17, 2020, Disney renamed
11189-577: The Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, which is currently leased to Disney by 21st Century Fox's successor, Fox Corporation , for seven years. Various units were moved out from under 20th Century Fox at acquisition in months after the merger along with several rounds of layoffs. The Fox Research Library was folded into the Walt Disney Archives and Walt Disney Imagineering Archives in January 2020. The last film to use
11356-488: The Japanese branch of 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Fox Japan, was absorbed into Disney Japan; 20th Century Studios' previous involvement with Toei Company as the Japanese co-distributor and Asian distributor for Dragon Ball films ended and were later taken over by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Releasing (via Sony Pictures Releasing International ). On February 9, 2021, Disney announced that Blue Sky Studios
11523-604: The Phoenix studio. However, Fox Animation Studios in Los Angeles would be renamed to 20th Century Fox Animation between 1998 and 1999. The Phoenix studio would face financial problems, eventually with Fox laying off 300 of the nearly 380 people who worked at the Phoenix studio to "make films more efficiently". After the box-office failure of Titan A.E. , Fox Animation Studios would shut down on June 26, 2000. Their last film set to be made would have been an adaptation of Wayne Barlowe 's illustrated novel Barlowe's Inferno , and
11690-530: The United States in September 1953, Turner married actor Lex Barker , whom she had been dating since their first meeting at a party held by Marion Davies in the summer of 1952. In 1955, MGM's new studio head Dore Schary had Turner star as a pagan temptress in the Biblical epic The Prodigal (1955), her first CinemaScope feature. She was reluctant to appear in the film because of the character's scanty, "atrocious" costumes and "stupid" lines, and during
11857-548: The Waldorf , a loose remake of Grand Hotel (1932) in which she portrayed a stenographer (a role originated by Joan Crawford ). The film was a box-office hit. After the war, Turner was cast in a lead role opposite John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), a film noir based on James M. Cain 's debut novel of the same name . She portrayed Cora, an ambitious woman married to
12024-562: The Wind (1939). She was then cast in a supporting part as a "sympathetic bad girl" in Calling Dr. Kildare (1939), MGM's second entry in the Dr. Kildare series. This was followed by These Glamour Girls (1939), a comedy in which she portrayed a taxi dancer invited to attend a dance with a male coed at his elite college. Turner's onscreen sex appeal in the film was reflected by a review in
12191-496: The Wind . The Rains Came was remade in 1955 as The Rains of Ranchipur , with Richard Burton , Lana Turner and Fred MacMurray in the Power, Loy and Brent roles. The 1939 film uses the original novel's ending; the 1955 film provides different fates for Lord and Lady Esketh. 20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. , formerly 20th Century Fox , is an American film production and distribution company owned by
12358-467: The affair. Stompanato was not easily deterred, and over the course of the following year, they carried on a relationship filled with violent arguments, physical abuse and repeated reconciliations. Turner would also claim that on one occasion he drugged her and took nude photographs of her while unconscious, potentially to use as blackmail. In September 1957, Stompanato visited Turner in London, where she
12525-410: The age of 16, she was signed to a personal contract by Warner Bros. director Mervyn LeRoy , who took her with him when he transferred to MGM in 1938. She soon attracted attention by playing a murder victim in her screen debut, LeRoy's film They Won't Forget (1937), and she later moved into supporting roles that often cast her as an ingénue . During the early 1940s, Turner established herself as
12692-647: The airport, where he boarded a plane back to the U.S. On the evening of March 26, 1958, Turner attended the Academy Awards to observe her nomination for Peyton Place and present the award for Best Supporting Actor . Stompanato, angered that he did not attend with her, awaited her return home that evening, whereupon he physically assaulted her. Around 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, Stompanato arrived at Turner's rented home at 730 North Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills. The two began arguing heatedly in
12859-528: The bathroom door and called emergency medical services. The following year, she began filming her second musical, The Merry Widow . During the shoot, Turner began an affair with her co-star Fernando Lamas , which ended after Lamas physically assaulted her; the incident also caused Lamas to lose his MGM contract upon the production's completion. The Merry Widow proved more commercially successful than Turner's previous musical, Mr. Imperium , despite receiving unfavorable critical reviews. Turner's next project
13026-403: The bedroom, during which Stompanato threatened to kill Turner, her daughter Cheryl and her mother. Fearing that her mother's life was in danger, Cheryl – who had been watching television in an adjacent room – grabbed a kitchen knife and ran to Turner's defense. According to testimony provided by Turner, Stompanato died at the scene when Cheryl, who had been listening to the couple's fight behind
13193-535: The best performance of your career." After the Second World War and her appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives , her image changed yet again to that of the ideal mother. The special effects that produced the earthquakes and floods won the first Oscar issued in that category (see below). However, Variety praised the human drama: "The simple heroics following the quake are more effective than
13360-495: The box-office for the first two CinemaScope features, The Robe and How to Marry a Millionaire (also 1953), Warner Bros., MGM, RKO, Universal-International , Columbia , UA, Allied Artists , and Disney quickly adopted the process. In 1956, 20th Century-Fox engaged Robert Lippert to establish a subsidiary company, Regal Pictures , later Associated Producers Incorporated to film B pictures in CinemaScope (but "branded" RegalScope). 20th Century-Fox produced new musicals using
13527-577: The chairman & CEO and Vice Chairman of 20th Century Fox. The family division would develop films that appeal to younger moviegoers and their parents both animated films and films with live-action elements. Also, the division would oversee the studio's family animated television business, which produces holiday television specials based on existing film properties, and oversee feature film adaptation of its TV shows. To replace Morrison at Fox Animation, Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird were named co-presidents of 20th Century Fox Animation. 20th Century Fox issued
13694-473: The character animation of MTV Films' first film Joe's Apartment . Following the studio's expansion, Blue Sky produced character animation for the films Alien Resurrection , A Simple Wish , Mouse Hunt , Star Trek: Insurrection and Fight Club . VIFX was later sold to another VFX studio Rhythm and Hues Studios in March 1999. According to Blue Sky founder Chris Wedge , Fox considered selling Blue Sky as well by 2000 due to financial difficulties in
13861-448: The closed door, stabbed Stompanato in the stomach when Turner attempted to usher him out of the bedroom. Turner testified that she initially believed Cheryl had punched him, but realized Stompanato had been stabbed when he collapsed and she saw blood on his shirt. Because of Turner's fame and the fact that the killing involved her teenage daughter, the case quickly became a media sensation. More than 100 reporters and journalists attended
14028-640: The corner of Minnesota and Mariposa Streets, on the edge of San Francisco's Potrero Hill and the Dogpatch District , with his left shoe and sock missing. His robbery and homicide were never solved, and his death had a profound effect on Turner. She later said, "I know that my father's sweetness and gaiety, his warmth and his tragedy, have never been far from me. That, and a sense of loss and of growing up too fast." Turner sometimes lived with family friends or acquaintances so that her impoverished mother could save money. They also frequently moved, for
14195-405: The course of their marriage. According to Cheryl, Turner confronted Barker before forcing him out of their home at gunpoint. Weeks after her divorce, Turner began filming 20th Century-Fox's Peyton Place , in which she had been cast in the lead role of Constance MacKenzie , a New England mother struggling to maintain a relationship with her teenage daughter. The film, directed by Mark Robson ,
14362-636: The courtship, but she and John eloped and moved west before settling in Idaho. The family lived in Burke, Idaho , at the time of Turner's birth, and relocated to nearby Wallace in 1925, where her father opened a dry cleaning service and worked in the local silver mines. As a child, Turner was known to family and friends as Judy. She expressed interest in performance at a young age, performing short dance routines at her father's Elks chapter in Wallace. When she
14529-410: The death of Gable's wife, Carole Lombard , in a plane crash. Meanwhile, the press continued to fuel rumors that Turner and Gable were romantic offscreen, which Turner vehemently denied. "I adored Mr. Gable, but we were [just] friends", she later recalled. "When six o'clock came, he went his way and I went mine." Her next project was Johnny Eager (1941), a violent mobster film in which she portrayed
14696-519: The divorce. Her next film project was Latin Lovers (1953), a romantic musical in which Lamas had originally been cast. He was replaced by Ricardo Montalbán . In the spring of 1953, Turner relocated to Europe for 18 months to make two films under a tax credit for American productions shot abroad. The films were Flame and the Flesh , in which she portrayed a manipulative woman who takes advantage of
14863-507: The earth-rending sequences themselves." TCM.com reports some of cinematographer Arthur Miller 's recollections about The Rains Came , including his "obsession" with the rain. Original prints of the film were tinted sepia. It was nominated for five Academy Awards , winning in the category of Special Effects , for the earthquake and flood sequences. It became the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Special Effects , edging other nominees, including The Wizard of Oz and Gone with
15030-549: The female lead in the World War II-set romantic drama Homecoming (1948), in which she was again paired with Clark Gable, portraying a female army lieutenant who falls in love with an American surgeon (Gable). She was the studio's first choice for the role, but it was reluctant to offer her the part, considering her overbooked schedule. Homecoming was well received by audiences, and Turner and Gable were nicknamed "the team that generates steam". By this period, Turner
15197-437: The film as featuring her in "the best role of the biggest picture to be released by the industry's biggest company". The film's high box-office returns elevated Turner's profitability, and MGM gave her a weekly salary raise to $ 1,500 as well as a personal makeup artist and trailer ($ 32,622 in 2023 dollars ). After completing the film, Turner and co-star Garland remained lifelong friends, and lived in houses next to one another in
15364-671: The film its "Movie of the Week" in April 1946, and noted that both Turner and Garfield were "aptly cast" and "take over the screen, [creating] more fireworks than the Fourth of July". Turner commented on her decision to take the role: I finally got tired of making movies where all I did was walk across the screen and look pretty. I got a big chance to do some real acting in The Postman Always Rings Twice , and I'm not going to slip back if I can help it. I tried to persuade
15531-466: The film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), a role which established her as a serious dramatic actress. Her popularity continued through the 1950s in dramas such as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), the latter for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress . In 1958, intense media scrutiny surrounded Turner when her lover Johnny Stompanato
15698-451: The film, as well as a salary increase amounting to $ 5,000 per week ($ 68,227 in 2023 dollars ). The Three Musketeers went on to become a box-office success, earning $ 4.5 million ($ 61,403,875 in 2023 dollars ), but Turner's contract was put on temporary suspension by Mayer after production finished. After the release of The Three Musketeers , Turner discovered she was pregnant; in early 1949, she went into premature labor and gave birth to
15865-602: The film, she recalled being profoundly embarrassed and "squirming lower and lower" into her seat. She stated that she had "never seen myself walking before… [It was] the first time [I was] conscious of my body." Several years after the film's release, Modern Screen journalist Nancy Squire wrote that Turner "made a sweater look like something Cleopatra was saving for the next visiting Caesar ". Shortly after completing They Won't Forget , she made an appearance in James Whale 's historical comedy The Great Garrick (1937),
16032-469: The films produced by 20th Century and Searchlight in home media under the 20th Century Home Entertainment label. The first film released by Disney under the studio's new name was The Call of the Wild , which was released on February 21, 2020. That same year, Ford vs. Ferrari (2019), among its four Academy Award nominations, earned the studio its first Best Picture nomination post-Disney acquisition. In
16199-533: The hospital wards of injured soldiers emotionally difficult. During World War II, the Royal Canadian Air Force 427 Lion Squadron had been "adopted" by MGM. Many of the aircraft had dedications or nose art honoring MGM's stars. A Handley-Page Halifax bomber "London's Revenge" DK186 ZL L carried the name of Lana Turner into battle over Germany. In July 1942, Turner met her second husband, actor-turned-restaurateur Joseph Stephen "Steve" Crane , at
16366-533: The late 1930s, such as the comedy Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938) in which she played the sister of a poor woman romanced by a wealthy man, and Dramatic School (1938), in which she portrayed Mado, a troubled drama student. In the former, she was billed as the "Kissing Bug from the Andy Hardy film". Upon completing Dramatic School , Turner screen-tested unsuccessfully for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with
16533-428: The latter of which lasted for 12 weeks in late 1946. Turner's next film was the romantic drama Cass Timberlane , in which she played a young woman in love with an older judge, a role for which Jennifer Jones , Vivien Leigh and Virginia Grey had also been considered. As of early 1946, Turner was set for the role, but schedules with Green Dolphin Street almost prohibited her from taking it, and by late 1946, she
16700-479: The management of financially struggling Fox Film , under President Sidney Kent. Spyros Skouras , then manager of the Fox West Coast Theaters , helped make it happen (and later became president of the new company). The company had been struggling since founder William Fox lost control of the company in 1930. Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures merged in 1935. Initially, it
16867-551: The midst of her marriage to Shaw, she starred in We Who Are Young , a drama in which she played a woman who, against their employer's policy, marries her coworker. In 1940, Turner appeared in her first musical film, Two Girls on Broadway , in which she received top billing over established co-stars Joan Blondell and George Murphy . A remake of The Broadway Melody , the film was marketed as featuring Turner's "hottest, most daring role". The following year, she had
17034-519: The new $ 100 million animation studio. Fox 2000 Pictures was formed to specialize in mid-budget-ranging films targeted towards underserved groups of audiences, with Laura Ziskin brought on as president. In August 1997, Fox's Los Angeles-based visual effects company, VIFX, acquired majority interest in Blue Sky Studios to form a new visual effects and animation company, temporarily renamed "Blue Sky/VIFX". Blue Sky had previously did
17201-511: The new studio. It was soon given its name with Rothman as its founding president. Fox Family Films was tasked with producing films geared towards families, under John Matoian . Fox Animation Studios was established on August 9, 1994, designed to compete with Walt Disney Feature Animation , whom had found success in the Disney Renaissance . Don Bluth and Gary Goldman of the failing Sullivan Bluth Studios were appointed to head
17368-407: The part. The studio recast Turner in the smaller role, though she was still given top billing. While the film was financially successful at the box office, Time magazine panned it, calling it "a pretentious resurrection of Robert Louis Stevenson 's ghoulish classic ... As for Lana Turner, fully clad for a change, and the rest of the cast ... they are as wooden as their roles." Turner
17535-407: The plan and showed up on the set with a gun, threatening her and Connery. Connery answered by grabbing the gun out of Stompanato's hand and twisting his wrist, causing him to run off the set. Turner and Armstrong later returned with two Scotland Yard detectives to the rented house where she and Stompanato were staying. The detectives advised Stompanato to leave and escorted him out of the house and to
17702-409: The poor reception for A Life of Her Own , MGM attempted to rebrand Turner by casting her in musicals. The first, Mr. Imperium , released in March 1951, was a box-office flop , and had Turner starring as an American woman who is wooed by a European prince. "The script was stupid," she recalled. "I fought against doing the picture, but I lost." It earned her unfavorable reviews, with one critic from
17869-514: The profits to acquire resort properties, soft-drink bottlers, Australian theaters and other properties in an attempt to diversify enough to offset the boom-or-bust cycle of picture-making. Foreshadowing a pattern of film production still yet to come, in late 1973 20th Century-Fox joined forces with Warner Bros. to co-produce The Towering Inferno (1974), an all-star action blockbuster from producer Irwin Allen . Both studios found themselves owning
18036-485: The rags-to-riches fable ... Indeed, there is cause for suspicion that they didn't even bother to think." Critic Anita Loos praised Turner's performance in the film, writing: "Lana Turner typifies modern allure. She is the vamp of today as Theda Bara was of yesterday. However, she doesn't look like a vamp. She is far more deadly because she lets her audience relax." In August 1944, Turner divorced Crane, citing his gambling and unemployment as primary reasons. Turner
18203-399: The redemption of Lady Edwina Esketh. Tom Ransome is an artist who leads a rather dissolute and socially active life in the fictional Hindu Princely State of Ranchipur, India. His routine is shattered with the arrival of Lady Edwina Esketh, his former lover, who has married the elderly Lord Esketh. Lady Edwina first tries to seduce but gradually falls in love with Major Rama Safti, who represents
18370-399: The release of Another Time, Another Place , and the film was met with poor box-office receipts and a lackluster critical response. Stompanato's family sought a wrongful death suit of $ 750,000 in damages against both Turner and her ex-husband, Steve Crane. In the suit, Stompanato's son alleged that Turner had been responsible for his death, and that her daughter had taken the blame. The suit
18537-479: The rights to books about burning skyscrapers. Allen insisted on a meeting with the heads of both studios and announced that as 20th Century-Fox was already in the lead with their property it would be career suicide to have competing movies. Thus the first joint-venture studio deal was struck. In hindsight, while it may be commonplace now, back in the 1970s, it was a risky, but revolutionary, idea that paid off handsomely at both domestic and international box offices around
18704-871: The same year, held-over production president Emma Watts left the company. On March 12, 2020, Steve Asbell was named president, production of 20th Century Studios, while Morrison was named president, streaming, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production to oversee live-action development and production of Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Studios for Disney+ . Philip Steuer will now lead physical and post-production and VFX, as president of production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production. Randi Hiller will now lead casting as executive VP casting, overseeing both Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Studios. Steuer has served as executive VP of physical production for Walt Disney Studios since 2015, and Hiller has led casting for Walt Disney Studios since 2011. Both will dual-report to Asbell and Sean Bailey . On September 1, 2020,
18871-440: The set from mobster Johnny Stompanato , using the name "John Steele". Stompanato had close ties to the Los Angeles underworld and gangster Mickey Cohen , which he feared would dissuade her from dating him. He pursued Turner aggressively, sending her various gifts. Turner was "thoroughly intrigued" and began casually dating him. After a friend informed her of who Stompanato actually was, she confronted him and tried to break off
19038-475: The shoot struggled to get along with co-star Edmund Purdom , whom she later described as "a young man with a remarkably high opinion of himself". Variety deemed the film "a big-scale spectacle ...End result of all this flamboyant polish, however, is only fair entertainment." Turner was next cast in John Farrow 's The Sea Chase (1955), an adventure film starring John Wayne , in which she portrayed
19205-471: The shoot, Turner completed her studies with an educational social worker, allowing her to graduate high school that year. The film was a box-office success, and her appearance in it as a flirtatious high school student convinced studio head Louis B. Mayer that Turner could be the next Jean Harlow , a sex symbol who had died six months before Turner's arrival at MGM. Mayer helped further Turner's career by giving her roles in several youth-oriented films in
19372-556: The spring of 1959, Imitation of Life was among the year's biggest successes, and the biggest of Turner's career; by opting to receive 50% of the film's earnings rather than receiving a salary, she earned more than two million dollars. Imitation of Life made more than $ 50 million in box office receipts. Reviews were mixed, although Variety praised her performance, writing: "Turner plays a character of changing moods, and her changes are remarkably effective, as she blends love and understanding, sincerity and ambition. The growth of maturity
19539-476: The stand in the final (with Keir Dullea ) courtroom scene, her face resembling a dust bowl victory garden, it's the most devastating denouement since Barbara Fritchie poked her head out the window." Kaspar Monahan of the Pittsburgh Press lauded her performance, writing: "Her performance, I think, is far and away her very best, even rating Oscar consideration in next year's Academy Award race, unless
19706-514: The stations of the long-dissolved DuMont network, Murdoch had to become a U.S. citizen. He did so in 1985, and in 1986 the new Fox Broadcasting Company took to the air. Over the next 20-odd years the network and owned-stations group expanded to become extremely profitable for News Corporation. Then in 1993, 20th Century Fox bought the superhero rights to the X-Men , while the Fantastic Four
19873-415: The story, Fern Simon, a missionary's daughter, and Ransome also fall in love. The casting apparently was a lengthy process. Loy and Brown were lent to 20th Century Fox from MGM (as part of a deal wherein Power was loaned by Fox to MGM for Marie Antoinette ). Brent was also on loan from his home studio of Warner Bros. The only cast member who was chosen for the role he or she played was Ouspenskaya, who
20040-453: The studio in the 1930s. Higher attendance during World War II helped 20th Century-Fox overtake RKO and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to become the third most profitable film studio. In 1941, Zanuck was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Signal Corps and assigned to supervise the production of U.S. Army training films. His partner, William Goetz , filled in at 20th Century-Fox. In 1942, Spyros Skouras succeeded Kent as president of
20207-536: The studio to "20th Century Studios", which served to help avoid brand confusion with Fox Corporation. Similar to other Disney film units, distribution of 20th Century Studios films is now handled in North America by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and internationally by their sub-division Buena Vista International , while Searchlight Pictures operates their own autonomous distribution and marketing unit. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment distributes
20374-405: The studio to give me something different. But every time I went into my argument about how bad a picture was, they'd say, "well, it's making a fortune". That licked me. The Postman Always Rings Twice became a major box office success, which prompted the studio to take more risks on Turner, casting her outside of the glamorous sex-symbol roles for which she had come to be known. In August 1946, it
20541-410: The studio, laid off the entire staff to save money, axed the long-running Movietone Newsreel (the archives of which are now owned by Fox News ), and made a series of cheap, popular pictures that restored 20th Century-Fox as a major studio. The saving grace for the studio's fortunes came from the tremendous success of The Sound of Music (1965), an expensive and handsomely produced film adaptation of
20708-433: The studio. During the next few years, with pictures like Wilson (1944), The Razor's Edge (1946), Boomerang , Gentleman's Agreement (both 1947), The Snake Pit (1948), and Pinky (1949), Zanuck established a reputation for provocative, adult films. 20th Century-Fox also specialized in adaptations of best-selling books such as Ben Ames Williams ' Leave Her to Heaven (1945), starring Gene Tierney , which
20875-433: The trail of film stardom" on August 6, 1935, when they each received a six-month contract with 20th Century-Fox after spending 18 months in the school. The contracts included a studio option for renewal for as long as seven years. For many years, 20th Century Fox identified themselves as having been founded in 1915, the year Fox Film was founded. For instance, it marked 1945 as its 30th anniversary. However, it has considered
21042-511: The two spontaneously decided to get married. Their marriage only lasted four months, but was highly publicized, and led MGM executives to grow concerned over Turner's "impulsive behavior". In the spring of 1940, after the two had divorced, Turner discovered she was pregnant and had an abortion . In contemporaneous press, it was noted she had been hospitalized for "exhaustion". She would later recall that Shaw treated her "like an untutored blonde savage, and took no pains to conceal his opinion". In
21209-675: The two took care of horses and other animals. The following year, she made her final film at MGM with Bob Hope in Bachelor in Paradise (1961), a romantic comedy about an investigative writer (Hope) working on a book about the wives of a lavish California community; the film received a mostly positive critical reception. Upon completing filming, Turner collected the remaining $ 92,000 from her pension fund with MGM. The same year, she starred in By Love Possessed (1961), based on
21376-410: The unit was shut down in April 2009. The remaining films under its Atomic label in production and post-productions were transferred to 20th Century Fox and Fox Spotlight with Liebling overseeing them. In 2008, 20th Century Fox announced an Asian subsidiary, Fox STAR Studios , a joint venture with STAR TV , also owned by News Corporation. It was reported that Fox STAR would start by producing films for
21543-405: The visual effects industry in general. In February 1998, following the success of Fox Animation Studios' first film Anastasia , Fox Family Films changed its name to Fox Animation Studios and dropped its live action production. which would be picked up by other production units. The actual Fox Animation Studios would become a division of the formerly-named Fox Family Films, being referred to as
21710-473: The world. 20th Century-Fox's success reached new heights by backing the most profitable film made up to that time, Star Wars (1977). Substantial financial gains were realized as a result of the film's unprecedented success: from a low of $ 6 in June 1976, stock prices more than quadrupled to almost $ 27 after Star Wars release; 1976 revenues of $ 195 million rose to $ 301 million in 1977. With financial stability came new owners, when 20th Century-Fox
21877-424: Was adapted from Grace Metalious ' best-selling novel of the same name. Released in December 1957, Peyton Place was a major blockbuster success, which worked in Turner's favor as she had agreed to take a percentage of the film's overall earnings instead of a salary. She also received critical acclaim, with Variety noting that "Turner looks elegant" and "registers strongly", and, for the first and only time, she
22044-690: Was among 250 film notables listed by the Hollywood Democratic Committee as supporting the re-election of Democratic Party incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1944 presidential election. In 1945, she co-starred with Laraine Day and Susan Peters in Keep Your Powder Dry , a war drama about three disparate women who join the Women's Army Corps . She was then cast as the female lead in Week-End at
22211-421: Was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid American actresses and one of MGM 's biggest stars, with her films earning approximately one billion dollars in 2024 currency for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Turner
22378-409: Was announced she would replace Katharine Hepburn in the big-budget historical drama Green Dolphin Street (1947), a role for which she darkened her hair and lost 15 pounds. The film was produced by Carey Wilson , who insisted on casting Turner based on her performance in The Postman Always Rings Twice . In the film, she portrayed the daughter of a wealthy patriarch who pursues a relationship with
22545-507: Was at the zenith of her film career, and was not only MGM's most popular star, but also one of the ten highest-paid women in the United States, with annual earnings of $ 226,000. In late 1947, Turner was cast as Lady de Winter in The Three Musketeers , her first Technicolor film. Around this time, she began dating Henry J. "Bob" Topping Jr., a millionaire socialite and brother of New York Yankees owner Dan Topping , and
22712-523: Was bought in 1998. Then Bryan Singer directed the first film and the second film , while Brett Ratner was hired to direct the third film of the original trilogy. In 1994, 20th Century Fox would establish four new divisions: Fox Searchlight Pictures , Fox Family Films , Fox Animation Studios , and Fox 2000 Pictures . Fox Searchlight would specialize in the specialty and indie film market, with Thomas Rothman , then president of production at The Samuel Goldwyn Company , being brought on to head up
22879-773: Was cancelled as a result of its closure. The studio's film library and intellectual properties are retained by Disney. Although Disney did not give an exact date as to when the studio would be closing down initially, former animator Rick Fournier confirmed on April 10 it was their last day of operation, three days after founder Chris Wedge released a farewell letter on social media. Nimona would be picked up by Annapurna Pictures in early 2022 for release on Netflix in 2023. On November 22, 2021, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and WarnerMedia reached an agreement to allow select 20th Century Studios films be shared between Disney+ , Hulu , and HBO Max through late 2022. The new agreement negotiated by Gerard Devan and John Gelke
23046-423: Was crafted to promote the film, it was a box-office flop, and MGM announced in February 1956 that it was opting not to renew Turner's contract. Turner gleefully told a reporter at the time that she was "walking around in a daze. I've been sprung. After 18 years at MGM, I'm a free agent ...I used to go on a bended knee to the front office and say, please give me a decent story. I'll work for nothing, just give me
23213-428: Was filming Another Time, Another Place , co-starring Sean Connery . Their meeting was initially happy, but they soon began fighting. Stompanato became suspicious when Turner would not allow him to visit the set and, during one fight, he violently choked her. To avoid further confrontation, Turner and her makeup artist, Del Armstrong, called Scotland Yard in order to have Stompanato deported. Stompanato got wind of
23380-684: Was fired from Something's Got to Give and two months later she was found dead. According to 20th Century-Fox files, she was rehired within weeks for a two-picture deal totaling $ 1 million, $ 500,000 to finish Something's Got to Give (plus a bonus at completion), and another $ 500,000 for What a Way to Go . Elizabeth Taylor's disruptive reign on the Cleopatra set continued unchallenged from 1960 into 1962, though three 20th Century-Fox executives went to Rome in June 1962 to fire her. They learned that director Joseph L. Mankiewicz had filmed out of sequence and had only done interiors, so 20th Century-Fox
23547-471: Was formed in June 2013. In August, the same year, 20th Century Fox started a theatrical joint venture with a trio of producers, both film and theater, Kevin McCollum , John Davis and Tom McGrath. On September 20, 2017, Locksmith Animation formed a multi-year production deal with 20th Century Fox, who would distribute Locksmith's films under 20th Century Fox Animation , with Locksmith aiming to release
23714-593: Was last on the screen, in The Three Musketeers . I don't think it's healthy to stay off the screen that long." Although unenthusiastic about the screenplay, Turner agreed to appear in the film after executives promised her suspension would be lifted upon doing so. A Life of Her Own was among the least successful of Cukor's films, receiving unfavorable reviews and low box-office sales. On May 24, 1950, Turner left her handprints and footprints in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre . In response to
23881-476: Was lovingly and carefully produced under Zanuck's supervision. It was finally released at a length of three hours and was well received. At the next board meeting, Zanuck spoke for eight hours, convincing directors that Skouras was mismanaging the company and that he was the only possible successor. Zanuck was installed as chairman, and then named his son Richard Zanuck as president. This new management group seized Cleopatra and rushed it to completion, shut down
24048-858: Was memorable as the Maharani. She later claimed that she learned all she needed to know about impersonating Indian royalty from her acquaintance with the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia . Nigel Bruce is cast against what had become his established type. The budget was $ 2.5 million ($ 55 million in 2023). In later years, Loy recalled that her belief in director Clarence Brown made her willing to try his suggestion for her death scene: "'people don't die with their eyes closed...Why don't you try dying with your eyes open? You've just got to hold your breath.' I held my breath, staring at some fixed object until I began to see stars and everything started to blur and run together. I
24215-571: Was nearly recast. Production of Cass Timberlane was exhausting for Turner, because it was shot in between retakes of Green Dolphin Street . Cass Timberlane earned Turner favorable reviews, with Variety noting: "Turner is the surprise of the picture via her top performance thespically. In a role that allows her the gamut from tomboy to the pangs of childbirth and from being another man's woman to remorseful wife, she seldom fails to acquit herself creditably." In August 1947, immediately upon completion of Cass Timberlane , Turner agreed to appear as
24382-402: Was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress . Though grateful for the nomination, Turner would later state that she felt it was not "one of my better roles". In January 1958, Paramount Pictures released The Lady Takes a Flyer , a romantic comedy in which Turner portrayed a female pilot. While shooting the film the previous spring, she had begun receiving phone calls and flowers on
24549-582: Was opposite Kirk Douglas in Vincente Minnelli 's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), a drama focusing on the rise and fall of a Hollywood film mogul, in which Turner portrayed an alcoholic movie star. The Bad and the Beautiful was both a critical and commercial success, and earned her favorable reviews. A little over a week before the film's release in December 1952, Turner divorced her third husband, Bob Topping. She later claimed Topping's drinking problem and excessive gambling as her impetus for
24716-543: Was referred by Wilkerson to the actor/comedian/talent agent Zeppo Marx . In December 1936, Marx introduced Turner to film director Mervyn LeRoy , who signed her to a $ 50 weekly contract with Warner Bros. on February 22, 1937 ($ 1,060 in 2023 dollars ). She soon became a protégée of LeRoy, who suggested that she take the stage name Lana Turner, a name she would come to legally adopt several years later. Turner made her feature film debut in LeRoy's They Won't Forget (1937),
24883-432: Was renamed 21st Century Fox in 2013 after it spun off its publishing assets . Disney purchased most of 21st Century Fox's assets , which included 20th Century Fox, on March 20, 2019. The studio adopted its current name on January 17, 2020, in order to avoid confusion with Fox Corporation, and subsequently started to use it for the copyright of 20th Century and Searchlight Pictures productions on December 4. 20th Century
25050-403: Was set to be done entirely with computer animation . Another film they would have made was The Little Beauty King , an adult animated film directed by Steve Oedekerk , which would have been a satire of the films from the Disney Renaissance . It would predate Shrek (2001). Chris Wedge, film producer Lori Forte, and Fox Animation executive Chris Meledandri presented Fox with a script for
25217-510: Was settled out of court for a reported $ 20,000 in May 1962. A 1962 novel by Harold Robbins entitled Where Love Has Gone and its subsequent film adaptation were inspired by the event. In the wake of negative publicity related to Stompanato's death, Turner accepted the lead role in Ross Hunter 's remake of Imitation of Life (1959) under the direction of Douglas Sirk . She portrayed
25384-434: Was shut down in April 2021, and was succeeded by 20th Century Animation . A spokesperson for the company explained that in light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic 's continued economic impact on all of its businesses, it was no longer sustainable for them to run a third feature animation studio. In addition, production on a film adaptation of the webcomic Nimona , originally scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022,
25551-512: Was signed with 20th Century Fox and 20th Century Fox TV in 2009. On June 28, 2012, Rupert Murdoch announced that News Corporation would be split into two publishing and media-oriented companies: a new News Corporation and 21st Century Fox , which operated the Fox Entertainment Group and 20th Century Fox. Murdoch considered the name of the new company a way to maintain the 20th Century Fox heritage. Fox Stage Productions
25718-543: Was sold for $ 720 million on June 8, 1981, to investors Marc Rich and Marvin Davis . 20th Century-Fox's assets included Pebble Beach Golf Links , the Aspen Skiing Company and a Century City property upon which Davis built and twice sold Fox Plaza . In 1982, the company decided to try on capitalizing the video game industry by forming the company's first video game division, Fox Video Games, in order to sell cartridges for consoles and computers, under
25885-531: Was speculated in The New York Times that the newly merged company would be named "Fox-Twentieth Century". The new company, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, began trading on May 31, 1935. Kent remained at the company, joining Schenck and Zanuck. Zanuck replaced Winfield Sheehan as the company's production chief. The company established a special training school. Lynn Bari , Patricia Farr and Anne Nagel were among 14 young women "launched on
26052-481: Was stabbed to death by her teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane , during a domestic struggle in their home. Her next film, Imitation of Life (1959), proved to be one of the greatest commercial successes of her career and her starring role in Madame X (1966) earned her a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress. She spent most of the 1970s in semi-retirement, making her final film appearance in 1980. She accepted
26219-544: Was surrounding the media. However, Skouras' selfish preferences and inexperienced micromanagement on the film's production did nothing to speed up production on Cleopatra . Meanwhile, another remake—of the Cary Grant hit My Favorite Wife (1940)—was rushed into production in an attempt to turn over a quick profit to help keep 20th Century-Fox afloat. The romantic comedy entitled Something's Got to Give paired Marilyn Monroe , 20th Century-Fox's most bankable star of
26386-584: Was ten years her junior, through business associates. The two married in June of that year at his family's home in Arlington County, Virginia . In 1966, Turner had her last major starring role in the courtroom drama film Madame X , based on the 1904 play by Alexandre Bisson , in which Turner portrayed a lower-class woman who marries into a wealthy family. A review in the Chicago Tribune praised her performance, noting: "when she takes
26553-557: Was the highest-grossing 20th Century-Fox film of the 1940s. The studio also produced film versions of Broadway musicals, including the Rodgers and Hammerstein films, beginning with the musical version of State Fair (1945), the only work that the partnership wrote specially for films. After the war, audiences slowly drifted away. 20th Century-Fox held on to its theaters until a court-mandated "divorce"; they were spun off as Fox National Theaters in 1953. That year, with attendance at half
26720-666: Was the international distributor for MGM / UA releases. In the 1980s, 20th Century Fox – through a joint venture with CBS called CBS/Fox Video – had distributed certain UA films on video; thus UA has come full circle by switching to 20th Century Fox for video distribution. 20th Century Fox also makes money distributing films for small independent film companies. In 2006, 20th Century Fox terminated its production with Bad Hat Harry Productions for 5 years, because Bryan Singer left X-Men: The Last Stand to direct Superman Returns (2006) for Warner Bros. Pictures , then he returned to produce
26887-680: Was the last film made in CinemaScope ; the studio had held on to the format while Panavision lenses were being used elsewhere. Zanuck stayed on as chairman until 1971, but there were several expensive flops in his last years, resulting in 20th Century-Fox posting losses from 1969 to 1971. Following his removal and replacement by Dennis Stanfill as chairman, and after an uncertain period, new management brought 20th Century-Fox back to health. Under president Gordon T. Stulberg and production head Alan Ladd, Jr. , 20th Century-Fox films connected with modern audiences. Board chairman Dennis Stanfill used
27054-475: Was then cast in the Western Honky Tonk (1941), the first of four films in which she would star opposite Clark Gable . The Turner-Gable films' successes were often heightened by gossip-column rumors about a relationship between the two. In January 1942, she began shooting her second picture with Gable, titled Somewhere I'll Find You ; however, the production was halted for several weeks after
27221-459: Was then forced to allow Taylor several more weeks of filming. In the meantime during that summer of 1962 Fox released nearly all of its contract stars to offset burgeoning costs, including Jayne Mansfield . With few pictures on the schedule, Skouras wanted to rush Zanuck's big-budget war epic The Longest Day (1962), an accurate account of the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, with
27388-425: Was three, she performed an impromptu dance routine at a charity fashion show in which her mother was modeling. The Turner family struggled financially and relocated to San Francisco when she was six years old, after which her parents separated. On December 14, 1930, her father won some money at a traveling craps game; he stuffed his winnings in his sock and headed home, but was later found bludgeoned to death on
27555-481: Was turning a little blue when he finally called 'Cut!' When you trust a director, you'll do anything for him." Loy's stylish bad girl role harks back to the vamps, villainesses and dramatic leads she was known for until her success in The Thin Man established her comedic talent. After a series of romantic comedies, Loy wanted a good dramatic role. According to Loy, Louis Bromfield told her "I think you're giving
27722-500: Was ultimately released to the care of her grandmother, and was ordered to regularly visit a psychiatrist alongside her parents. Though Turner and her daughter were exonerated of any wrongdoing, public opinion on the event was varied, with numerous publications intimating that Turner's testimony at the inquest was a performance; Life magazine published a photo of Turner testifying in court along with stills of her in courtroom scenes from three of her films. The scandal also coincided with
27889-421: Was unavoidable. But days before filming was due to resume, she was found dead at her Los Angeles home and the picture resumed filming as Move Over, Darling , with Doris Day and James Garner in the leads. Released in 1963, the film was a hit. The unfinished scenes from Something's Got to Give were shelved for nearly 40 years. Rather than being rushed into release as if it were a B-picture, The Longest Day
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