fbpx
Wikipedia

Julius Hagen

December 13, 2023

Julius Hagen (1884–1940) was a German-born British film producer who produced more than a hundred films in Britain.

Julius Hagen
Born
Julius Jacob Kleimenhagen

1884
Hamburg, German Empire
Died1940
London, England
Years active1913–1937

Hagen originally worked as a salesman for Ruffels Pictures. He then worked his way up to become a production manager in the British silent film industry before becoming an independent producer in 1927. From 1928, he took control of Twickenham Studios and became one of the most prolific and successful producers of Quota quickies. He later switched to making more prestigious films, but in 1937 he was forced into bankruptcy and lost control of Twickenham.

Hagen also directed a film, the 1928 adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel The Passing of Mr. Quinn.

Early life edit

Hagen was born in Hamburg but emigrated to Britain when he was still a child. He began his entertainment career as a stage actor, but in 1913 moved into the film industry and worked for several years as a film salesman. By 1917, he was a partner in a film distribution company, but this went bankrupt in 1919.[1]

For the next few years, Hagen returned to selling films around the country and built up a reputation as an effective salesmen, enjoying success with films that were considered difficult to sell. He was then given a job as production manager with Stoll Pictures, one of the leading British Studios, whose main studio was based in Cricklewood. Following the Slump of 1924, the number of films produced rapidly declined and, in 1926, Hagen lost his job.[2] He then moved to the rival company Astra-National where he co-produced The Flag Lieutenant, one of the biggest hits of 1926, starring Henry Edwards.

Independent producer edit

In 1927, Hagen and Edwards formed a separate production company, and created a sequel The Further Adventures of the Flag Lieutenant, which also proved popular with British audiences. The film was made at Twickenham Studios in Middlesex, and Hagen used it as his primary base of operations thereafter. Hagen followed this with The Fake (1927). He tried to secure financial backing for further films from the City of London, but after a brief boom in the late 1920s it was increasingly difficult to secure backing there for film production.

Twickenham Studios edit

Quota Quickies edit

In 1927, following the Slump of 1924 and the rapid drop in British film production, the British Parliament passed the Cinematograph Films Act which was designed to protect British filmmaking from foreign competition. It imposed a quota for distributors and exhibitors, who had to show a fixed minimum percentage of British films each year. It meant that cinemas now required an urgent increase in the availability of British films. Hagen moved to try and exploit this sudden demand and began by producing The Passing of Mr. Quin, an Agatha Christie adaptation, which he directed himself.

Hagen gradually began to gain commissions from British distributors who needed cheap films to help them comply with the quota. In December 1928, he secured the lease on Twickenham Studios. Working from Twickenham, Hagen soon established a stock company of actors and technicians to work on his films. He kept an eye to the international market, and imported overseas stars such as Margot Landa to appear in his films.[3] He also arranged for co-productions including the Anglo-French At the Villa Rose.[4] The sudden arrival of sound created an increased demand for double bills and it soon became established that the low-budget films would be screened as a prelude to the more expensive main features produced by major studios. They were commonly labelled "Quota Quickies", and can be considered equivalent to the B movie.[5]

Hagen employed former silent directors such as George Pearson, Henry Edwards and Maurice Elvey. Other directors, such as George A. Cooper and Bernard Vorhaus, made several films at Twickenham. Leslie S. Hiscott was one of the most prolific directors, and also played a part in production and the overall running of the studio.

Boom edit

Hagen steadily built his business up during the early years of sound. His major breakthrough as a producer came in 1929 when he secured a contract with one of the Hollywood Majors, Warner Brothers, to provide them with a supply of British 'quota quickies'[6] which they needed in order to meet the requirements of the Cinematograph Films Act 1927 in order to exhibit their American-made films in Britain – their most important foreign market at the time. Despite their relatively low budgets, Hagen's films were disproportionately well received by audiences, and regularly gained many rental bookings. Although generally designed as supporting features, many Twickenham films were instead screened as main attractions. While Hagen's business model depended on the money he received to produce Quota Quickies, he was also more ambitious and oversaw film series dedicated to Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

In the wake of the success of his films for Warner Brothers, Hagen began receiving contracts from other Hollywood Studios Fox Film Corporation, MGM, RKO and United Artists and by 1933 Twickenham's output had reached 20 films a year.[7] Hagen introduced a policy of round the clock filming, which meant that separate crews worked in the day and night on different films. In 1930, one of the extras working on Spanish Eyes, a night-time production, died in strange circumstances, which drew attention to the studio's activities. The subsequent Inquest exonerated the studio of any blame.[8] During these years Hagen managed to perfect efficient mass production of films despite the limitations of only having one shooting stage. Hagen eventually tried to remedy the lack of space by rebuilding Twickenham, and by purchasing additional studios in Merton Park and Elstree.

Prestige films edit

From 1933, Hagen began making a greater number of quality films including I Lived with You with Ivor Novello, a leading 1920s film star, and The Wandering Jew with the German actor Conrad Veidt and This Week of Grace, a comedy starring the British comedian Gracie Fields. His interest in more expensive films was spurred by the global success of The Private Life of Henry VIII, produced by Alexander Korda. Hagen, along with other British producers, attempted to copy Korda's success with their own interternationally-minded productions.[9]

In April 1935, Hagen made his last quota film Inside the Room for Universal and ended his relationship with the Hollywood Studios.[10] He created his own distribution company in an attempt to gain more control over his product's access to cinemas.

In 1936, Hagen's output fell to eleven films because he had decided to switch to a programme of making quality over quantity. His strategy involved employing British stage and music hall stars, as well as employing leading American or European directors and actors to work on his films. In 1935, Hagen brought over D.W. Griffith to London to remake Broken Blossoms, although Griffith's alcoholism eventually led to him being replaced as director by John Brahm. Actors including Lupe Vélez, Edward Everett Horton, Cedric Hardwicke and Boris Karloff appeared in Twickenham films during the Hagen era.[11]

Collapse edit

On 8 January 1937, Hagen's Twickenham companies went into receivership. The announcement generally caught the film world and financial markets by surprise as Hagen's empire had appeared to be doing well. Hagen attempted to persuade his creditors to allow him to go into Voluntary liquidation, but a group led by the Westminster Bank refused to accept the proposal. This ended Hagen's plan of setting up a new company at Twickenham to continue making films.[12]

The collapse of Twickenham Studios are generally blamed on the failure of Hagen to secure adequate distribution for his films. Hagen's new business plan relied on his films getting wide circulation in the lucrative American market. However, the major Hollywood Studios used a variety of techniques to deny him access.[13] By this point, Hagen had given up the Quota films which had been his main supply of revenue. His break with the Hollywood Studios also removed their previous support for his films being distributed in Britain and his own distribution company had been unable to achieve this. He was unable to secure the sort of reliable bookings from the domestic market which the larger British studios such as Gaumont British and British International Pictures enjoyed. Without free access to either the British or American market, some of Hagen's expensive productions had barely been able to gain a return on their costs.[14]

Hagen's collapse was part of a wider deterioration in the film industry in 1937 as other producers, including Alexander Korda, encountered similar problems and the number of films produced fell dramatically. Hagen effectively retired from the industry with the collapse of his control of Twickenham Studios. He died in February 1940.

Selected filmography edit

Producer

References edit

  1. ^ Richards, p. 138
  2. ^ Richards, p. 138–139
  3. ^ Richards, p. 40
  4. ^ Richards, p. 41–42
  5. ^ Chibnall, p. 6–9
  6. ^ McFarlane, Brian, ed. (2003). The Encyclopedia of British Film. London: Methuen/BFI. p. 279.
  7. ^ Richards, p. 42
  8. ^ Sweet. p. 96–100
  9. ^ Richards, p. 44–45
  10. ^ Richards, p. 48
  11. ^ Richards, p. 49
  12. ^ Richards, p. 50–51
  13. ^ Richards, p. 53
  14. ^ Richards, p. 53

Bibliography edit

  • Chibnall, Steve. Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' film. British Film Institute, 2007.
  • Richards, Jeffrey (ed.). The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929–1939. I.B. Tauris & Co, 1998.
  • Sweet, Matthew. Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema. Faber and Faber, 2005.

External links edit

  • Julius Hagen at IMDb

December 13, 2023
julius, hagen, 1884, 1940, german, born, british, film, producer, produced, more, than, hundred, films, britain, bornjulius, jacob, kleimenhagen1884hamburg, german, empiredied1940london, englandyears, active1913, 1937hagen, originally, worked, salesman, ruffel. Julius Hagen 1884 1940 was a German born British film producer who produced more than a hundred films in Britain Julius HagenBornJulius Jacob Kleimenhagen1884Hamburg German EmpireDied1940London EnglandYears active1913 1937Hagen originally worked as a salesman for Ruffels Pictures He then worked his way up to become a production manager in the British silent film industry before becoming an independent producer in 1927 From 1928 he took control of Twickenham Studios and became one of the most prolific and successful producers of Quota quickies He later switched to making more prestigious films but in 1937 he was forced into bankruptcy and lost control of Twickenham Hagen also directed a film the 1928 adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel The Passing of Mr Quinn Contents 1 Early life 2 Independent producer 3 Twickenham Studios 3 1 Quota Quickies 3 2 Boom 3 3 Prestige films 3 4 Collapse 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksEarly life editHagen was born in Hamburg but emigrated to Britain when he was still a child He began his entertainment career as a stage actor but in 1913 moved into the film industry and worked for several years as a film salesman By 1917 he was a partner in a film distribution company but this went bankrupt in 1919 1 For the next few years Hagen returned to selling films around the country and built up a reputation as an effective salesmen enjoying success with films that were considered difficult to sell He was then given a job as production manager with Stoll Pictures one of the leading British Studios whose main studio was based in Cricklewood Following the Slump of 1924 the number of films produced rapidly declined and in 1926 Hagen lost his job 2 He then moved to the rival company Astra National where he co produced The Flag Lieutenant one of the biggest hits of 1926 starring Henry Edwards Independent producer editIn 1927 Hagen and Edwards formed a separate production company and created a sequel The Further Adventures of the Flag Lieutenant which also proved popular with British audiences The film was made at Twickenham Studios in Middlesex and Hagen used it as his primary base of operations thereafter Hagen followed this with The Fake 1927 He tried to secure financial backing for further films from the City of London but after a brief boom in the late 1920s it was increasingly difficult to secure backing there for film production Twickenham Studios editQuota Quickies edit In 1927 following the Slump of 1924 and the rapid drop in British film production the British Parliament passed the Cinematograph Films Act which was designed to protect British filmmaking from foreign competition It imposed a quota for distributors and exhibitors who had to show a fixed minimum percentage of British films each year It meant that cinemas now required an urgent increase in the availability of British films Hagen moved to try and exploit this sudden demand and began by producing The Passing of Mr Quin an Agatha Christie adaptation which he directed himself Hagen gradually began to gain commissions from British distributors who needed cheap films to help them comply with the quota In December 1928 he secured the lease on Twickenham Studios Working from Twickenham Hagen soon established a stock company of actors and technicians to work on his films He kept an eye to the international market and imported overseas stars such as Margot Landa to appear in his films 3 He also arranged for co productions including the Anglo French At the Villa Rose 4 The sudden arrival of sound created an increased demand for double bills and it soon became established that the low budget films would be screened as a prelude to the more expensive main features produced by major studios They were commonly labelled Quota Quickies and can be considered equivalent to the B movie 5 Hagen employed former silent directors such as George Pearson Henry Edwards and Maurice Elvey Other directors such as George A Cooper and Bernard Vorhaus made several films at Twickenham Leslie S Hiscott was one of the most prolific directors and also played a part in production and the overall running of the studio Boom edit Hagen steadily built his business up during the early years of sound His major breakthrough as a producer came in 1929 when he secured a contract with one of the Hollywood Majors Warner Brothers to provide them with a supply of British quota quickies 6 which they needed in order to meet the requirements of the Cinematograph Films Act 1927 in order to exhibit their American made films in Britain their most important foreign market at the time Despite their relatively low budgets Hagen s films were disproportionately well received by audiences and regularly gained many rental bookings Although generally designed as supporting features many Twickenham films were instead screened as main attractions While Hagen s business model depended on the money he received to produce Quota Quickies he was also more ambitious and oversaw film series dedicated to Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot In the wake of the success of his films for Warner Brothers Hagen began receiving contracts from other Hollywood Studios Fox Film Corporation MGM RKO and United Artists and by 1933 Twickenham s output had reached 20 films a year 7 Hagen introduced a policy of round the clock filming which meant that separate crews worked in the day and night on different films In 1930 one of the extras working on Spanish Eyes a night time production died in strange circumstances which drew attention to the studio s activities The subsequent Inquest exonerated the studio of any blame 8 During these years Hagen managed to perfect efficient mass production of films despite the limitations of only having one shooting stage Hagen eventually tried to remedy the lack of space by rebuilding Twickenham and by purchasing additional studios in Merton Park and Elstree Prestige films edit From 1933 Hagen began making a greater number of quality films including I Lived with You with Ivor Novello a leading 1920s film star and The Wandering Jew with the German actor Conrad Veidt and This Week of Grace a comedy starring the British comedian Gracie Fields His interest in more expensive films was spurred by the global success of The Private Life of Henry VIII produced by Alexander Korda Hagen along with other British producers attempted to copy Korda s success with their own interternationally minded productions 9 In April 1935 Hagen made his last quota film Inside the Room for Universal and ended his relationship with the Hollywood Studios 10 He created his own distribution company in an attempt to gain more control over his product s access to cinemas In 1936 Hagen s output fell to eleven films because he had decided to switch to a programme of making quality over quantity His strategy involved employing British stage and music hall stars as well as employing leading American or European directors and actors to work on his films In 1935 Hagen brought over D W Griffith to London to remake Broken Blossoms although Griffith s alcoholism eventually led to him being replaced as director by John Brahm Actors including Lupe Velez Edward Everett Horton Cedric Hardwicke and Boris Karloff appeared in Twickenham films during the Hagen era 11 Collapse edit On 8 January 1937 Hagen s Twickenham companies went into receivership The announcement generally caught the film world and financial markets by surprise as Hagen s empire had appeared to be doing well Hagen attempted to persuade his creditors to allow him to go into Voluntary liquidation but a group led by the Westminster Bank refused to accept the proposal This ended Hagen s plan of setting up a new company at Twickenham to continue making films 12 The collapse of Twickenham Studios are generally blamed on the failure of Hagen to secure adequate distribution for his films Hagen s new business plan relied on his films getting wide circulation in the lucrative American market However the major Hollywood Studios used a variety of techniques to deny him access 13 By this point Hagen had given up the Quota films which had been his main supply of revenue His break with the Hollywood Studios also removed their previous support for his films being distributed in Britain and his own distribution company had been unable to achieve this He was unable to secure the sort of reliable bookings from the domestic market which the larger British studios such as Gaumont British and British International Pictures enjoyed Without free access to either the British or American market some of Hagen s expensive productions had barely been able to gain a return on their costs 14 Hagen s collapse was part of a wider deterioration in the film industry in 1937 as other producers including Alexander Korda encountered similar problems and the number of films produced fell dramatically Hagen effectively retired from the industry with the collapse of his control of Twickenham Studios He died in February 1940 Selected filmography editProducer The Passing of Mr Quin 1928 The Feather 1929 To What Red Hell 1929 At the Villa Rose 1930 Rodney Steps In 1931 Chin Chin Chinaman 1931 Bill s Legacy 1931 The Sleeping Cardinal 1931 Splinters in the Navy 1931 Brown Sugar 1931 A Tight Corner 1932 Frail Women 1932 The Marriage Bond 1932 In a Monastery Garden 1932 A Safe Proposition 1932 The Face at the Window 1932 The Crooked Lady 1932 Double Dealing 1932 Murder at Covent Garden 1932 Once Bitten 1932 The Umbrella 1933 The Roof 1933 The Medicine Man 1933 The Man Outside 1933 The Iron Stair 1933 The Ghost Camera 1933 Hundred to One 1933 Home Sweet Home 1933 Called Back 1933 The Shadow 1933 Excess Baggage 1933 The Lost Chord 1933 I Lived with You 1933 His Grace Gives Notice 1933 This Week of Grace 1933 The Wandering Jew 1933 A Shot in the Dark 1933 Mannequin 1933 Flood Tide 1934 The Admiral s Secret 1934 The Man Who Changed His Name 1934 Tangled Evidence 1934 Bella Donna 1934 The Broken Melody 1934 Blind Justice 1934 The Night Club Queen 1934 Music Hall 1934 Kentucky Minstrels 1934 The Black Abbot 1934 Lily of Killarney 1934 Whispering Tongues 1934 Say It with Flowers 1934 The Lad 1935 She Shall Have Music 1935 Annie Leave the Room 1935 That s My Uncle 1935 The Rocks of Valpre 1935 D Ye Ken John Peel 1935 Squibs 1935 Three Witnesses 1935 The Ace of Spades 1935 Inside the Room 1935 Death on the Set 1935 Anything Might Happen 1935 Street Song 1935 Department Store 1935 Vintage Wine 1935 The Last Journey 1936 In the Soup 1936 Broken Blossoms 1936 Juggernaut 1936 Spy of Napoleon 1936 Dusty Ermine 1936 The Man in the Mirror 1936 The Vicar of Bray 1937 Death Croons the Blues 1937 Clothes and the Woman 1937 Underneath the Arches 1937 Beauty and the Barge 1937 Make It Three 1938 References edit Richards p 138 Richards p 138 139 Richards p 40 Richards p 41 42 Chibnall p 6 9 McFarlane Brian ed 2003 The Encyclopedia of British Film London Methuen BFI p 279 Richards p 42 Sweet p 96 100 Richards p 44 45 Richards p 48 Richards p 49 Richards p 50 51 Richards p 53 Richards p 53Bibliography editChibnall Steve Quota Quickies The Birth of the British B film British Film Institute 2007 Richards Jeffrey ed The Unknown 1930s An Alternative History of the British Cinema 1929 1939 I B Tauris amp Co 1998 Sweet Matthew Shepperton Babylon The Lost Worlds of British Cinema Faber and Faber 2005 External links editJulius Hagen at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Julius Hagen amp oldid 1125748782, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.