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The Southern Israelite
The Phe no men a / Rise
of Carl Laemmle, Jr.
By GRACE JAFFE
M-n-cn usually tells extravagant tales—the dashing youth in a shining
racing to easy success and a happy ending. Reel life and real life differ
; t l»ly: this is a commonplace that needs no elaboration. But sometimes
- outdo the screen. Just think of the Trotzky career, the Lindbergh
recent dramatic coup d’etat of King Carol of Rumania. These have
glamor of fantastic romance and surpass the achievements of screen
Cut if 1 were to tell you that a twenty-one-year-old youth, who in this
. is supposed to he one of the rah-rah boys and hip-flask artists, has
! a business position which in responsibility rivals that of a cabinet
you might feel tempted to laugh it off and retort: “Tell me another!"
ail Laemmle, Jr., is that very man; at the age of twenty-one he is the
studio manager and associate producer
Universal Picture Corporation.
\inerican motion picture industry is a
1m t and grim business. Some of the best
in American business are directing its
Ihspite European opposition it has actu-
Mit n d the world film market. Jewish abil-
s commonly known, has played a most
■ lit part in this continually mounting suc-
I be Loews, Foxes, Zukors, Laemmles have
a a >t ii ui picture history. They have developed
i rt n from its nickelodeon stage to a top-
' nit rtaiument. All that is well known, the
movie dynasty having been written up a
of times. Only recently, when John
’•\uter, the eminent biographer, decided to
tbr epic of the movie art, he selected the
ui Laemmle—the father of the hero of this
o the personality that best symbolizes the
Shadowland.
' as I said before, this tale concerns Carl
mle, lr., known to his friends and business
- a> "Junior". Junior never attended a
although at one time he was preparing to
'lie University of Pennsylvania. As a high
lad lie never amazed his teachers with his
brilliance; his achievements belonged to
'ah tic field. He was a first-class basketball
and i|uite a decent baseball pitcher. He
1 d all around. As the son of the Laemmle
• i d some rather embarrassing prominence,
a llow he managed to make his pals forget
was the son of a rich and famous father,
movies always attracted him. And small
It is said that the inside workings of the
duction companies are more thrilling than
■reen products. At the age of ten, I am
ni'*r wrote, acted in, cut and subtitled a
'<1 picture. His father did not pay much
" to the hoy’s movie production, but
'"hied at his young son’s earnestness. One
"de s intimates, however, called attention
r n one-reel film and said: “Junior already
"-re about the movies than several of our
thousand-a-year men. The boy made his
cording to a planned schedule, and it isn’t any worse than some of our
releases.” The most interesting thing about Juniors first picture was
ad not tried to imitate other films. It was all his own.
r > Jewishness did not cause him any difficulties. He was, apparently, a
• merican youth who just happened to be born of Jewish parentage. Oik
r i"tic, however, set him apart from other boys: he was always on the
s 'de and fighting for the underdog. Besides, he showed a remarkable
practical things and an uncanny faculty for organization. Whenever
!lts °f his preparatory school wanted to put over a show or some other
:i "g. Junior was put in charge. The easy-going schoolboy then suddenly
himself a stern executive, a very good listener, and an untiring worker.
Just as he was about to enter upon his collegiate career his father fell almost
fatally ill. < hi the spur of the moment the eighteen-year-old youth packed his
trunks and rushed to Hollywood. "I’m going to help you, dad," he said, very
seriously. 1 he sick father smiled wanly and advised him to return to college.
But the young Laemmle meant business.
(hi the very tirst day he told the executive hoard of Universal Pictures:
I want you to forget that I am my father’s son. I don’t want you to ’yes’ me
just because my father is the president of the firm." And Junior immediately
plunged into work. He looked around the lot, watched some of the current
productions, held conferences with the various technical experts, and announced
that he was going to produce a series of twelve pictures. Here again the young
Jewish lad was wary of following in the footsteps
of his seniors and of attempting to work on ma
terial unfamiliar to him. lie had seen little of real
life. All he knew was the campus life of the
( lark School and, of course, the collegiate atmos
phere. His idea was a series of pictures on col
legiate life, which he called "The Collegians.” He
wrote the stories, selected the cast, supervised
the production, edited the films, and actually suc
ceeded in transplanting the campus atmosphere
onto the screen. It was Junior’s "Collegians" that
started the tremendous vogue of pictures on col
legiate life. At the age of eighteen he had opened
a new chapter in movie production. "The Colle
gians" was a tremendous box office success, the
cost being comparatively low.
Other successes followed. After "We Ameri
cans”, "Lonesome”, and "The Last Warning"
Laemmle, Sr., who had miraculously recuperated,
appointed his son associate producer. Junior hail
just celebrated his nineteenth birthday.
When Junior, in collaboration with Paul Fejot,
produced "Broadway”, one of Universal’s most
ambitious and successful productions, his father
told him: "Your apprenticeship is ended. Go
ahead, and don’t let your youth stop you. Follow
your impulse." And young Laemmle surely did
follow his impulse, frightening the executive board
of Universal to such an extent that they wanted
to stop him, for they believed that "Junior had
gone wild.”
It happened about a year ago. Remarque’s
novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front,” was
setting the literary world agog. Published in
almost every civilized language—including Hebrew
—it had shattered all records with a sale of more
than two and a half million copies. The moving
picture producers set out on the trail of Remarque
Junior acquired the screen rights to "All Quiet
on the Western Front.” The trade merely
shrugged its shoulders and whispered: "That boy
is riding for a heavy fall. There is no plot or box
office interest in the book unless it is put there."
As for the executives of Universal—they were
badly scared, and for once agreed with their
competitors. Junior, however, said nothing and set to w’ork, investing millions
in his venture.
The rest is history. “All Quiet on the Western Front” was produced, Carl
Laemmle, Jr., adhering strictly to Remarque’s condition that the story must not
be changed. And—youth triumphed. The film became the biggest success of the
year. Carl Laemmle, the twenty-one-year-old movie producer, had demonstrated
that the American public was sick and tired of box office formulas and wanted
real life for a change.
Today Junior is virtually the head of one of the largest business organizations
in the United States. Believe it or not, Carl Laemmle, Sr., is boasting these days
that he is the father of Carl Laemmle, Jr. (Copyright, 1*^30, by S.A.F.S.)
(JARL LAtMMLtt dRj.
J v •
Miss Jaffe here tells of a Jewish youth
of twenty-one who today is acknowledged
one of the master minds of the American
motion picture industry. I he story of
Carl Laemmle, Jr., producer of the out
standing success of 19"SO, “All Quiet on
the Western Front,” reads like one of
those fantastic scenarios one enjoys with
out believing.—The EDITOR.
^ —r