United Artists

Did You Know?

• A majority of UA's post-1952 library is owned by MGM, while pre-1952 films were largely sold to National Telefilm Associates or are in the public domain.
• The MGM titles that UA distributed from 1973 to 1982 are now owned by Turner Entertainment Co., part of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
• United Artists was acquired by MGM in 1981 for a reported $350 million.

History

In 1918, Charlie Chaplin, despite being a top earner for First National Pictures, couldn't get them to raise his production budget. Around the same time, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks faced uncertain futures as their contracts with First National and Famous Players–Lasky were ending. Charlie's brother and business manager, Sydney Chaplin, sensed something was off and reached out to Pickford and Fairbanks. They hired a private detective, who found a scheme to merge all production companies and force exhibition companies into five-year deals. To fight back, Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists as a joint venture on February 5, 1919. Each owned 25% of the preferred shares and 20% of the common shares, with the remaining 20% of common shares going to lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo. The idea had first come up a year earlier among Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart, but Hart dropped out before things became official. When Metro Pictures head Richard A. Rowland heard about it, he supposedly said, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." Hiram Abrams became the first managing director, and the company set up shop at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original plan had each star making five films a year, but by the time United Artists started operating in 1921, movies had grown more expensive and longer, typically running about ninety minutes, so that goal was scrapped.

UA films on video

United Artists initially leased home video rights to Magnetic Video, the first home video company. Despite MGM's ownership of UA, the licensing deal with CBS/Fox remained in effect, though MGM/UA Home Video began releasing some UA product. Before MGM's purchase, UA had licensed foreign video rights to Warner Bros. through Warner Home Video, a deal set to expire in 1991. In 1986, after Ted Turner's short-lived ownership of MGM/UA, CBS/Fox lost home video rights to pre-1950 Warner Bros. films to MGM/UA Home Video, which licensed them from Turner. When the CBS/Fox deal expired in 1989, UA films were released through MGM/UA Home Video. Prior to 1980, UA had exclusive rental contracts with VidAmerica in the US and Intervision Video in the UK for 20 titles from the UA library.

United Artists Broadcasting

United Artists Broadcasting included two TV stations: WUAB in Cleveland (licensed to Lorain, Ohio), which began operations in 1968, and WRIK-TV in San Juan, Puerto Rico, acquired in 1969. The company also had a construction permit for a Houston station. In 1970, it bought Philadelphia radio station WWSH. The company began leaving broadcasting in 1977, selling WUAB to Gaylord Broadcasting and WWSH to Cox Enterprises. WRIK-TV was sold to Tommy Muñiz in 1979.

United Artists Releasing

United Artists Releasing, LLC was a local film distribution joint venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures, founded on October 31, 2017, by former MGM CEO Gary Barber and Annapurna founder Megan Ellison. It was rebranded as United Artists Releasing on February 5, 2019, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of United Artists. The venture operated from offices in West Hollywood and Los Angeles, California, releasing 10–14 films annually. Amazon folded UAR into MGM on March 4, 2023, following the box-office success of Creed III.