Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions was an American

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

company based in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The principals,

Jules V. Levy Jules Victor Levy (February 12, 1923 – May 24, 2003) was an American television and film producer. Levy's television series include ''The Rifleman'', '' The Detectives'', and '' The Big Valley''. Early years Jules Levy was the son of Joseph ...

, Arthur Gardner, and Arnold Laven, met while serving in the Air Force's First Motion Picture Unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While serving, they decided to form their own production company after the war ended. The three men formed Levy-Gardner-Laven in 1951.

Production

Levy-Gardner-Laven's first production was the 1952 low-budget crime thriller film '' Without Warning!''. Laven

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

both films and television shows, and he directed many popular American television shows, including episodes of '' The A-Team'', '' CHiPs'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'', ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour e ...

'', '' The Greatest American Hero'' and '' Hill Street Blues''. Gardner was an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

prior to World War II, but chose to produce after the company was formed. Along with Levy, who was a script supervisor prior to the war, Gardner wrote the story for a 1982 movie called ''Safari 3000''. Levy-Gardner-Laven also produced classic T.V. series for

Four Star Productions Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was insp ...

such as ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show wa ...

'', ''

'', and '' The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor'', all for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Levy-Gardner-Laven maintains an office in Beverly Hills, but their last production credit was in 1982. Arnold Laven died in 2009, Arthur Gardner in 2014.

Selected filmography

Feature films

* '' Without Warning!'' (1952) * ''

Down Three Dark Streets ''Down Three Dark Streets'' is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman. The screenplay was written by Gordon Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel ''Case File FBI''. ...

'' (1954) * ''

The Monster That Challenged the World ''The Monster That Challenged the World'' (original working titles: ''The Jagged Edge'' and ''The Kraken'') is a 1957 black-and-white science-fiction monster film from Gramercy Pictures, produced by Arthur Gardner, Jules V. Levy, and Arnold Lav ...

'' (1957) * ''

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

'' (1962) * ''

The Glory Guys ''The Glory Guys'' is a 1965 American Western film directed by Arnold Laven and written by Sam Peckinpah, based on the 1956 novel ''The Dice of God'' by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom T ...

'' (1965) * ''

Clambake The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the ingredients ...

'' (1967) * ''

The Scalphunters ''The Scalphunters'' is a 1968 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis and Telly Savalas. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack, with the score written by Elmer Bernstein. Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Su ...

'' (1968) * ''

Sam Whiskey ''Sam Whiskey'' is a 1969 American Western comedy film directed in DeLuxe Color by Arnold Laven and starring Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, Clint Walker and Ossie Davis. "Way ahead of its time," said Reynolds of the film. "I was playing light ...

'' (1969) * ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

'' (1970) * '' The McKenzie Break'' (1970) * '' The Hunting Party'' (1971) * ''

Kansas City Bomber ''Kansas City Bomber'' is a 1972 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Jerrold Freedman and starring Raquel Welch. It also marks one of the earliest film appearances of Jodie Foster. Plot The film is an ins ...

'' (1972) * '' White Lightning'' (1973) * '' McQ'' (1974) * '' Brannigan'' (1975) * ''

Gator Gator is a slang word for alligator. Gator may also refer to: People nicknamed Gator *Mike Greenwell (born 1963), American Major League Baseball player nicknamed "The Gator" *Ron Guidry (born 1950), former Major League Baseball pitcher *Gator H ...

'' (1976) * ''

Safari 3000 ''Safari 3000'' is a 1982 American action-adventure comedy film directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring David Carradine, Stockard Channing, and Christopher Lee. The film was shot on location in Africa. Plot Daredevil stunt driver Eddie Miles h ...

'' (1982)

Television

* ''

'' (1958-1963) * '' Law of the Plainsman'' (1959-1960) * ''

The Detectives A detective is a professional investigator. Detective(s) or The Detective(s) may also refer to: Films (Chronological) * ''Detectives'' (1928 film), an American silent comedy film by MGM, directed by Chester Franklin * ''Detective'' (1954 film) ...

'' (1959-1962) * ''

'' (1965-1969)

References

External links

* * * Film production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Entertainment companies established in 1951 1951 establishments in California {{US-film-company-stub