This note considers the Mirisch Company, which during the 1960s was Hollywood's most prominent independent production company.

     the group

Walter M[ortimer] Mirisch (1921- ) was born in New York City, studying at City College of New York, the University of Wisconsin and Harvard Business School. He produced films for Monogram Pictures (eg the low-budget Little Rascals and the Bomba the Jungle Boy series) before moving to Allied Artists as executive producer in 1946. In 1957, together with brothers Harold (1907-1968) and Marvin (1918-2002), he formed an independent production house, the Mirisch Company.

Marvin and brother Irving had earlier established the Theater Candy Company as a confectionary wholesaler serving around 800 US cinemas.

Mirisch aligned itself with United Artists, signing a 12-picture deal with UA in 1957 and a further 8 picture deal in 1959. The brothers had taken some of the more prominent Allied talent when they left that studio, claiming to offer creative freedom and substantial profit participation.

A 1962 Business Week profile suggested that

unlike the majors, the Mirisches don't burden themselves with bricks and mortars. They rent space by the week and sound stages by the day. The overhead stays low

United Artists acquired the company in 1963. Marvin and Walter subsequently moved to Universal Pictures.

     major output

Features included Some Like It Hot (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Apartment (1960), The Great Escape (1963), West Side Story (1961) and In the Heat of the Night (1967).

     landmarks

1941 Irving and Marvin Mirisch found Theater Candy Company

1942 Battle of Midway

1951 Flight to Mars

1952 Flat Top

1955 The Warriors

1957 Mirisch Corporation established

1957 The Oklahoman

1958 Man of the West

1959 Some Like It Hot

1960 The Magnificent Seven

1960 The Apartment

1961 West Side Story

1962 Two for the Seesaw

1963 The Great Escape

1963 Toys in the Attic

1963 acquisition by United Artists

1964 The Pink Panther

1966 The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

1967 Fitzwilly

1967 In the Heat of the Night

1967 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

1971 The Organization

1972 Fiddler on the Roof

1973 Scorpio

1974 Mr Majestyk

1976 Midway

1978 Gray Lady Down

1978 Same Time, Next Year

1979 Dracula




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