This Day in Indie History: United Artists

Breaking outside of the pressures and restrictions of the studio system, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith established United Artists in 1919. Without the assistance of studio intermediaries between the creative and business aspects of moviemaking, UA failed to stay afloat. In 1951, company control was turned over to a forward-thinking pair of lawyer-producers named Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin. Under their guidance, UA found success in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the rights to the James Bond and Pink Panther franchises, and later supported newbie directors including Brian De Palma, Woody Allen and the late Robert Altman.

Film Star Factoid: After the infamous couch-jumping incident and the 2006 Vanity Fair cover revealing his famous new offspring, Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner took over United Artists (today a division of MGM). Previously the partners had made hits out of Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, War of the Worlds and The Others.