In 1926, Universal also opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced 3–4 movies per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With movies being able to have sound (those movies were called "talkies"), these productions were made in the German language or, sometimes, Hungarian or Polish. In the USA, Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's movies, but at least some of them were exhibited through other, independent, foreign-language movie distributors based in New York, without benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this part of the company.
Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a movie company in the depths of the Great Depression was risky, and for a time Universal slipped into receivership. The theater chain was scrapped, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio and production operations.
The end for the Laemmles came with a remake of "Show Boat", featuring many famous people from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935. However, Carl, Jr.'s spending habits surprised company stockholders, especially after the costly failure of "Sutter's Gold" earlier in the year.
They would not allow production to start on "Show Boat" unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time in Universal's 26-year history that it had borrowed money for a production. Production problems resulted in a $300,000 overrun. When Standard called the loan in, a cash-strapped Universal could not pay.
"Show Boat" was released in 1936 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest movie musicals of all time. However, it was not enough to save the Laemmles, who were removed from the company they had founded.
By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was in trouble. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television caused the mass audience to stop visiting theaters, probably forever. The Music Corporation of America (better known as MCA), mainly a talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Studios subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its (by now) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, it was increasingly influential on Universal's product. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, and Cary Grant were signed to Universal Pictures contracts.
Though Universal's movie unit did produce occasional movies, among them "Airport", "The Sting", "American Graffiti", and a movie that restored the company's fortunes, "Jaws", Universal in the 1970s was primarily a television studio. Weekly series production was the workhorse of the company. There would be other movies like "", "Back to the Future", and "Jurassic Park", but overall the movie business was still hit-and-miss. In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount Pictures to form Cinema International Corporation, which distributed movies by Paramount and Universal worldwide. It was replaced by United International Pictures in 1991, when Walt Disney Pictures joined the fold.
Universal, like any other major movie studio, owns a huge library.
The company owns the libraries of USA Films, October Films, and the 1996-1999 movies by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (MGM owns most of the pre-1996 PolyGram library, though Universal owns a few movies from that time as well) and its subsidiaries, as well as (through parent NBC Universal) much of the post-1973 NBC library of shows and made-for-TV movies.
It also owns several movies made by others, including some pre-1952 United Artists material, an Alfred Hitchcock feature originally released by Warner Bros. - "Rope", and the UK rights to most of the RKO Pictures library.
In the early years of Universal, the company absorbed an amount of small firms. Among those early film-production studios (and their proprietors) were:
For several years some of these junior partners carried considerable weight within Universal; inevitably factions and rivalries were the rule. At least one version of corporate history claims that the twenty-year-old Irving Thalberg rose so quickly because he told subordinates that he alone spoke for Carl Laemmle in making production decisions, while the others were more concerned with battling among themselves.
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War was a war led by Hannibal for Carthage and Scipio Africanus for Rome. They fought in 218 BC-202 BC. Hannibal scared the Romans by invading them over the mountains from Hispania with war elephants. He won the Battle of the Trebia and kept winning battles by being a good general. In the Battle of Cannae he destroyed the biggest army the Romans had ever used. After that, the Romans avoided fighting Hannibal, and concentrated on defeating his allies. This became known as the Fabian strategy. Each side had many allies, but most of Rome's allies were loyal whilst Carthage's allies switched sides.
Hannibal, even though he was doing well, eventually had to leave and go back to defend Carthage. In North Africa Scipio won the Battle of Zama, which was fought near the city of Carthage.
The Second Punic War finished the power of Carthage. Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin for the next 600 years.
Battle of Zama
Zama was a battle in Carthage around 19 October 202 BC. There were elephants as well as ground infantry. Scipio Africanus won. Hannibal lost. It was the last battle in the Second Punic War.
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures (also known as Touchstone Films in its early years) is one of several alternate movie labels of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1984. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that gets released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Touchstone Pictures is merely a brand and does not exist as a separate company: the two de facto companies behind it are Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group and Walt Disney Pictures (formerly "Walt Disney Pictures and Television").
Walt Disney Productions' "The Black Hole" (1979) was the first Disney movie to get a PG rating. Over the next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, such as the 1981 movie "Condorman", 1982's "Tron" and 1983's "Never Cry Wolf" and "Trenchcoat".
Started by then Disney CEO Ron W. Miller in 1984, Touchstone's first release was "Splash". "Splash" included brief nudity on the part of star Daryl Hannah and occasional language, earning a PG-rating. Yet another Disney film label was started in 1990, Hollywood Pictures, with the release of "Arachnophobia".
Many movies from the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group have during the course of their prior release dates been shifting between the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures names before finally settling for one. Examples include; "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Dick Tracy", "The Rocketeer", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "The Santa Clause", "Remember the Titans", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Bringing Down the House", "National Treasure", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "".