The Mirisch Company was an American film

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

owned by

Walter Mirisch Walter Mortimer Mirisch (born November 8, 1921) is an American film producer. He is president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company, which he formed in 1957 with his brother Marvin ...

and his brothers, Marvin and

Harold Mirisch Harold Mirisch (March 4, 1907 – December 5, 1968) was an American film production company executive. Early life He was born on May 4, 1907 to a Jewish family in New York, New York, one of two sons born to Flora (née Glasshut) and Max Mirisch ...

. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Mirisch Films, and The Mirisch Corporation.

History

began to work as a producer at

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

beginning with ''

Fall Guy Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party. Origin The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...

'' (1947), the profitable ''

Bomba the Jungle Boy ''Bomba the Jungle Boy'' is a series of American boys' adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood. and published by Cupples and Leon in the first half of the 20th century, in imitation of the successful ...

'' series, '' Wichita'' (1955), and '' The First Texan'' (1956), by which time the company was known as Allied Artists. Walter Mirisch was in charge of production at the studio when it made '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956) and '' Love in the Afternoon'' (1957). The Mirisch Company was founded in 1957 at which time it signed a 12-picture deal with

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

(UA) that was extended to 20 films two years later. UA acquired the company on March 1, 1963, but the Mirisch brothers continued to produce for their distribution, under other corporate names, in rented space at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. It produced many successful motion pictures for

, beginning with '' Fort Massacre'' (1958) but later including ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

'' (1959), '' The Horse Soldiers'' (1959), '' The Apartment'' (1960), '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' (1961), '' Follow That Dream'' (1962 with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

), '' The Great Escape'' (1963), '' The Pink Panther'' (1963), ''

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

'' (1966), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968), ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' (1971), and many others. In 1964 Mirisch Films Ltd, or Mirisch Films GB was formed in the United Kingdom for the production of '' 633 Squadron'', '' A Shot in the Dark'' and several other films. ''The Pink Panther'' featured an animated

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pink ...

that soon became a star of a series of cinema cartoons made by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises that were released by Mirisch/UA. Mirisch first entered television in 1959 with the series, ''

Wichita Town ''Wichita Town'' is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960. Joel McCrea played Marshal Mike Dunbar, in charge of ...

'' for NBC. It also co-produced live-action television shows such as '' The Rat Patrol'', '' Hey Landlord'' and '' The Magnificent Seven'' television series, as well as a number of television movies and cartoon shows of '' The Super 6'' and '' The Pink Panther Show''. The company forged long-term associations with directors such as

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

, Blake Edwards, Robert Wise, George Roy Hill,

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of O ...

, J. Lee Thompson, John Sturges, and Norman Jewison, who directed three consecutive successes for it: ''

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming ''The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed and produced by Norman Jewison for the United Artists. It is based on the 1961 Nathaniel Benchley novel ''The Off-Islanders'', and was adapted for the s ...

'' (1966), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), and '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968).

Films and series

The following were from Mirisch Films: * '' The Apartment'' (1960) * '' The Party'' (1968) * '' The Pink Panther'' (1963) * '' 633 Squadron'' (1964) * '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964) * ''

Submarine X-1 ''Submarine X-1'' is a 1968 British war film loosely based on the Operation ''Source'' attack on the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' in 1943. In the film, James Caan stars as Lt. Commander Richard Bolton, a Canadian, who must lead a group of m ...

'' (1968) * '' Inspector Clouseau'' (1968) * ''

Attack on the Iron Coast ''Attack on the Iron Coast'' is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Anglo-American Oakmont Productions international co-production war film directed by Paul Wendkos in the first of his five-picture contract with Mirisch Productions, and starring Lloyd Bridges, ...

'' (1968) * ''

Hell Boats ''Hell Boats'' is a 1970 Technicolor British war film directed by Paul Wendkos that was filmed in Malta. It stars James Franciscus, Elizabeth Shepherd, and Ronald Allen in a story about British Motor Torpedo Boats in the Mediterranean in World W ...

'' (1970) * Various '' DePatie–Freleng'' and ''

animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

s ** '' The Pink Panther'' ** '' The Inspector'' ** ''

Roland and Rattfink ''Roland and Rattfink'' is a series of animated shorts produced and released from 1967 to 1972. The main characters also made several guest appearances on ''The Pink Panther'' animated series. The series was produced by David H. DePatie and Friz F ...

'' ** ''

The Ant and the Aardvark ''The Ant and the Aardvark'' is a series of 17 theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, originally released by United Artists and currently distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1969 to 1971. Plot The cartoon se ...

'' ** ''

Tijuana Toads ''Tijuana Toads'' is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie–Freleng and released through United Artists. Plot The series was about two toads, El Toro and Pancho, who live in the Mexican city of Tijuana. Throughout the carto ...

/Texas Toads'' ** '' The Blue Racer'' ** ''

Hoot Kloot ''Hoot Kloot'' is an American series of 17 theatrical cartoon shorts produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises from 1973 to 1974. Plot Sheriff Hoot Kloot is a diminutive, short-tempered lawman who tries to maintain order in a remote western town ...

'' ** ''

The Dogfather The Dogfather was a series of 17 cartoons produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released between 1974 and 1976. It is the final theatrical cartoon series made by DePatie–Freleng. This cartoon ''The Dogfather'' is the same most of next '' ...

'' ** ''

Misterjaw ''Misterjaw'' is a 34-episode cartoon television series, produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1976 for '' The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show'' television series on NBC. Reruns continued on the Think Pink Panther Show o ...

'' ** '' Crazylegs Crane'' * ''

Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother ''Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother'' is a 1981 animated TV movie. It was produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. It is based on Hank Ketcham's 1951 comic strip. This was the first time ''Dennis the Menace'' was animated. The storyline was ...

'' (1981)

References

Mass media companies established in 1957 Film production companies of the United States Former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer subsidiaries Mirisch family 1957 establishments in California {{US-film-company-stub