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IMDbPro

Carl Laemmle Jr.(1908-1979)

  • Producer
  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Carl Laemmle Jr. in King of the Campus (1929)
Carl Laemmle Jr. was an American film producer and studio executive from Chicago, Illinois. He was the son and the intended heir of the film producer Carl Laemmle (1867-1939), co-founder and studio head of Universal Pictures (1912-). Carl Junior served as Universal's head of production from 1928 to 1936. He either personally produced or greenlit the production of several hit films of the early sound era.

Carl Junior is primarily remembered for producing the war film "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930), and the horror films "Dracula" (1931), "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932), "The Old Dark House" (1932), "The Invisible Man" (1933), and "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). In an effort to modernize the studio, Carl Junior invested in "state of the art" technology for sound films, and high-quality production values. He also produced some of the studio's early color films, most of them being musicals. In several cases, the money invested in a film's production exceeded the revenue from its release and distribution. By the mid-1930s, the studio was cash-strapped.

The final film Carl Junior produced was the ill-fated romantic musical "Show Boat" (1936), based on the 1927 musical of the same name by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The film was intended to be a prestigious "big-budget" production for Universal, but the company did not have sufficient funds at the time. At the insistence of company shareholders, the Laemmles (father and son) took a production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation. They pledged the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. When the production of the film went over budget, Standard called in the loan before the film's completion and release. The Laemmle family was unable to pay, and Standard ceased control of Universal in April 1936.

Carl Junior fully retired from the film industry in 1936, at the age of 28. The new studio head at Universal was the financier John Cheever Cowdin (1889-1960), who soon instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Part of the new regime at Universal were the British film distributors Charles Moss Woolf (1879-1942) and Joseph Arthur Rank (1888-1972), who bought a significant stake in the studio.

Carl Junior spend the rest of his life in relative obscurity. In September 1979, he died from a stroke. He was 71-years-old at the time of his death. He was buried in the Chapel Mausoleum at Home of Peace Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles. His father had been buried in the same cemetery. Carl Junior is fondly recalled by horror fans for producing some of the earliest hits in the genre, but his historical reputation is otherwise overshadowed by more influential studio executives of the sound era.
BornApril 28, 1908
DiedSeptember 24, 1979(71)
BornApril 28, 1908
DiedSeptember 24, 1979(71)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins total

Known for

À l'Ouest rien de nouveau (1930)
À l'Ouest rien de nouveau
8.1
  • Producer
  • 1930
Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (1931)
Frankenstein
7.7
  • Producer
  • 1931
Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester in La Fiancée de Frankenstein (1935)
La Fiancée de Frankenstein
7.8
  • Producer
  • 1935
L'Homme invisible (1933)
L'Homme invisible
7.6
  • Producer(produced by)
  • 1933

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Producer



  • Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Helen Morgan, and Charles Winninger in Show Boat (1936)
    Show Boat
    7.4
    • producer
    • 1936
  • Robert Young, Robert Armstrong, Edward Arnold, Constance Cummings, Reginald Denny, Sally Eilers, Louise Henry, George Meeker, and Gregory Ratoff in Remember Last Night? (1935)
    Remember Last Night?
    6.6
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1935
  • Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester in La Fiancée de Frankenstein (1935)
    La Fiancée de Frankenstein
    7.8
    • producer
    • 1935
  • Frederick Burton, Frances Drake, Edward Ellis, Douglas Fowley, Henry Hull, Gene Raymond, Willard Robertson, and Phillip Trent in Transient Lady (1935)
    Transient Lady
    5.4
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1935
  • Night Life of the Gods (1935)
    Night Life of the Gods
    5.9
    • producer
    • 1935
  • Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
    Mystery of Edwin Drood
    6.4
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1935
  • Margaret Sullavan in The Good Fairy (1935)
    The Good Fairy
    7.5
    • producer
    • 1935
  • Claude Rains in The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934)
    The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
    6.8
    • producer
    • 1934
  • L'unique mensonge (1934)
    L'unique mensonge
    6.6
    • producer
    • 1934
  • Claudette Colbert and Warren William in Images de la vie (1934)
    Images de la vie
    7.5
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1934
  • Phillips Holmes and Jane Wyatt in Great Expectations (1934)
    Great Expectations
    6.2
    • executive producer (uncredited)
    • 1934
  • Gift of Gab (1934)
    Gift of Gab
    4.9
    • producer
    • 1934
  • Walter Woolf King, Chester Morris, and Marian Nixon in Embarrassing Moments (1934)
    Embarrassing Moments
    • producer
    • 1934
  • Colin Clive, Reginald Denny, Frank Lawton, Jane Wyatt, and Diana Wynyard in One More River (1934)
    One More River
    6.8
    • producer
    • 1934
  • Gloria Stuart and Nils Asther in The Love Captive (1934)
    The Love Captive
    • producer
    • 1934

Writer



  • Cross Country Run
    5.0
    Short
    • story
    • 1929
  • Carl Laemmle Jr. in King of the Campus (1929)
    King of the Campus
    Short
    • story
    • 1929
  • Dorothy Gulliver, George J. Lewis, Eddie Phillips, and Hayden Stevenson in Farewell (1929)
    Farewell
    Short
    • story
    • 1929
  • Speeding Youth
    Short
    • story
    • 1929
  • George J. Lewis, Eddie Phillips, and Hayden Stevenson in The Bookworm Hero (1928)
    The Bookworm Hero
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Dorothy Gulliver and George J. Lewis in Calford on Horseback (1928)
    Calford on Horseback
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Dear Old Calford
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Fighting for Victory
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Paddling Co-Eds
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Calford in the Movies
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Kicking Through
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Calford vs. Redskins
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Dorothy Gulliver, Alice Howell, Yvonne Howell, George J. Lewis, Eddie Phillips, and Hayden Stevenson in The Junior Year (1928)
    The Junior Year
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • Sliding Home (1928)
    Sliding Home
    Short
    • story
    • 1928
  • The Winning Goal
    Short
    • story
    • 1928

Additional Crew



  • Conrad Veidt in Erik le mystérieux (1929)
    Erik le mystérieux
    6.6
    • supervisor
    • 1929
  • George J. Lewis and Churchill Ross in The Winning Point (1929)
    The Winning Point
    Short
    • presenter
    • 1929
  • John Boles, George J. Lewis, Edward Martindel, Eddie Phillips, George Sidney, and Michael Visaroff in L'âme d'une nation (1928)
    L'âme d'une nation
    • supervisor
    • 1928
  • The Irresistible Lover (1927)
    The Irresistible Lover
    • supervisor
    • 1927

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • April 28, 1908
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Died
    • September 24, 1979
    • Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(stroke)
  • Relatives
      Catherine Wyler(Niece or Nephew)
  • Publicity listings
    • 10 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Son of Carl Laemmle (founder of Universal Pictures), cousin of Robert Wyler and William Wyler, uncle of Judy Wyler and Catherine Wyler.
  • Quotes
    [on why Boris Karloff was cast as the creature in "Frankenstein"] His eyes mirrored the suffering we needed.
  • Nickname
    • Baby Laemmle

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