Among the emigres who found work at Universal were James Whale, Paul Leni, Paul Fejos, Karl Freund, Ivan Mozžuchin, Conrad Veidt, Edgar G. Much of that output came with a distinctly European flavor, a consequence of Universal’s dependency on European exports for a substantial share of its revenue. This program, however, concentrates on lesser-known work, on the social dramas, domestic melodramas, gangster films and sophisticated (and unsophisticated) comedies that made up the vast majority of the studio’s output. Junior sustained his ambitious policy for seven years but eventually lost his bet, when cost overruns on the 1936 Show Boat forced the studio into the hands of its creditors, and the Laemmle era came to an end.īrief as it was, that era yielded an extraordinary number of important films, including the famous horror films – such as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy – that continue today to draw a passionate cult following. Known condescendingly as ‘Junior’ Laemmle and the butt of endless Hollywood jokes (“the son also rises”) the younger Laemmle was in fact a sophisticated, ambitious, risk-taking producer, who moved Universal away from its long standing product line of westerns, serials and short comedies toward a series of expensive, audacious and often challenging ‘prestige’ projects, such as the epic anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front. This series focuses on one segment of the studio’s rich history – the period from 1928 to 1936, which includes the years in which studio’s head of production was the founder’s son, Carl Laemmle, Jr., who ascended to the position on his 21st birthday.

Founded in 1912 by Bavarian immigrant Carl Laemmle, Universal Pictures remains among the powerhouses of the American entertainment industry.

Cine universal studios