Founded: December 1945
Defunct: 1950
Successor:

• Company: Eagle-Lion Classics

• Library: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through United Artists, with some exceptions)
  Key People: J. Arthur Rank, Arthur B. Krim
  

  
  

Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two separate, though connected, companies. In 1944, British film mogul J. Arthur Rank founded an American distribution company under this name to handle his British films. In 1945, Pathé Industries, which owned the small Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) studio, formed an Eagle-Lion Films production subsidiary under a reciprocal distribution agreement with Rank. Meanwhile, Rank's American business dropped the Eagle-Lion name. PRC managed U.S. releases using its distribution network until its closure in 1948, at which point Eagle-Lion Films took over its exchanges. In 1950, Pathé merged Eagle-Lion with Film Classics, a reissues distributor, creating Eagle-Lion Classics, which was acquired by United Artists in 1951. Rank also continued to release films in the UK through Eagle-Lion Distributors Limited.

History

Pathé Industries' Eagle-Lion Films subsidiary was established in December 1945. Under the leadership of Arthur B. Krim from 1946 to 1949, the company released films from Rank, reissued David O. Selznick's films, and produced its own B-movies. Production was overseen by Bryan Foy, a former head of Warner Bros.' B-picture unit. Producers included Aubrey Schenck, Jack Schwarz, and briefly, Walter Wanger and George Pal. Notable directors included Anthony Mann, and cinematographer John Alton contributed to several productions.

Initially, Rank and Eagle-Lion planned to produce five films each annually, with budgets kept below $500,000 per film. Their first year's films were funded by $8 million in Bank of America loans, personally guaranteed by Robert R. Young. However, the company recorded a $2.2 million loss in 1947, which Krim attributed to overpaying for stars who did not guarantee box-office success. This led to a shift in strategy, moving towards financing lower-budget films by independent producers. Bryan Foy resigned as head of production to become an independent producer, and Krim became the studio chief. Other independent producers working with Eagle-Lion included Edward Small, Walter Wanger, and George Pal. The studio found success, particularly in the film noir genre.

Eagle-Lion had acquired the PRC studio facilities, which originally belonged to Grand National Pictures. PRC was dissolved in August 1947, and its productions were transferred to Eagle-Lion.

By 1947-48, Eagle-Lion had completed 14 productions, with five proving profitable: T-Men, Raw Deal, Canon City, He Walked By Night, and The Noose Hangs High. Despite this, the studio closed in November 1948 due to financial difficulties.

The company distributed several British films, most of which failed at the American box office, except for The Red Shoes, which earned $5 million in rentals and was their only release nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 1949, financial troubles intensified. Krim resigned in May, and the company ceased production by the year's end. In 1950, Eagle-Lion merged with Film Classics to form Eagle-Lion Classics.

Assistant director Reggie Callow believed the studio could have survived longer if it had focused on low-budget films rather than trying to compete with major studios.

In 1951, Krim was appointed head of United Artists, which took over Eagle-Lion's releases in April. Eagle-Lion terminated its distribution agreement with Rank and ceased film distribution, selling its studios. The film lot was sold to the Ziv Company in 1954 for television production and has since been demolished.

List of Eagle-Lion Films

This list includes films released by Pathé Industries' subsidiaries, Eagle-Lion Films (which functioned as both a producer and distributor) and Eagle-Lion Classics (acting solely as a distributor) between 1947 and 1951. The films featured a combination of British imports, primarily from the J. Arthur Rank Organization (which established the Eagle-Lion brand), and American productions, either created in-house or by independent producers.

Several of Eagle-Lion's initial releases were produced by another Pathé subsidiary, Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), which was integrated into Eagle-Lion between late 1947 and early 1948. After in-house production ended in 1950, Eagle-Lion Films merged with Film Classics, an independent reissues distributor, forming Eagle-Lion Classics. In 1951, Eagle-Lion Classics was acquired by United Artists, effectively merging the companies.

List of Eagle-Lion Films

• It's a Joke, Son! - January 15, 1947, Director: Benjamin Stoloff

• Bedelia - February 1, 1947, Director: Lance Comfort, Made in Britain

• Lost Honeymoon - March 29, 1947, Director: Leigh Jason

• I See a Dark Stranger - April 3, 1947, Director: Frank Launder, Made in Britain

• Out of the Blue - April 21, 1947, Director: Leigh Jason

• Repeat Performance - May 22, 1947, Director: Alfred L. Werker

• Stepchild - June 7, 1947, Director: James Flood

• Green for Danger - August 7, 1947, Director: Sidney Gilliat, Made in Britain

• Red Stallion - August 16, 1947, Director: Lesley Selander

• Philo Vance's Secret Mission - August 30, 1947, Director: Reginald Le Borg

• Bury Me Dead - October 18, 1947, Director: Bernard Vorhaus

• Linda, Be Good - October 18, 1947, Director: Frank McDonald

• Black Hills - October 26, 1947, Director: Ray Taylor

• Beware of Pity - October 31, 1947, Director: Maurice Elvey, Made in Britain

• The Return of Rin Tin Tin - November 1, 1947, Director: Max Nosseck

• Love from a Stranger - November 15, 1947, Director: Richard Whorf

• Whispering City - November 20, 1947, Director: Fyodor Otsep

• Heading for Heaven - December 6, 1947, Director: Lewis D. Collins

• T-Men - December 15, 1947, Director: Anthony Mann

• The Man Within - January 31, 1948, Director: Bernard Knowles, Made in Britain

• Open Secret - January 31, 1948, Director: John Reinhardt

• Adventures of Casanova - February 7, 1948, Director: Roberto Gavaldón

• The Man from Texas - March 6, 1948, Director: Leigh Jason

• The Enchanted Valley - March 24, 1948, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey

• Close-Up - April 3, 1948, Director: Jack Donohue

• The Noose Hangs High - April 5, 1948, Director: Charles Barton

• The October Man - April 15, 1948, Director: Roy Ward Baker, Made in Britain

• Ruthless - April 16, 1948, Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

• The Cobra Strikes - April 24, 1948, Director: Charles Reisner

• Assigned to Danger - May 19, 1948, Director: Budd Boetticher

• Raw Deal - May 26, 1948, Director: Anthony Mann

• Sword of the Avenger - June 2, 1948, Director: Sidney Salkow

• Shed No Tears - June 9, 1948, Director: Jean Yarbrough

• The Tioga Kid - June 17, 1948, Director: Ray Taylor

• Mickey - June 23, 1948, Director: Ralph Murphy

• Canon City - June 30, 1948, Director: Crane Wilbur

• Northwest Stampede - July 28, 1948, Director: Albert S. Rogell

• The Amazing Mr. X - July 29, 1948, Director: Bernard Vorhaus

• Lady at Midnight - August 15, 1948, Director: Sam Newfield

• Hollow Triumph - August 18, 1948, Director: Steve Sekely

• Behind Locked Doors - September 3, 1948, Director: Budd Boetticher

• In This Corner - September 20, 1948, Director: Charles Reisner

• The Strange Mrs. Crane - October 8, 1948, Director: Sam Newfield

• The Red Shoes - October 22, 1948, Director: Michael Powell, Made in Britain

• Million Dollar Weekend - October 29, 1948, Director: Gene Raymond

• Blanche Fury - November 23, 1948, Director: Marc Allégret, Made in Britain

• He Walked by Night - November 24, 1948, Director: Alfred L. Werker

• Parole, Inc. - December 1948, Director: Alfred Zeisler

• Let's Live a Little - December 9, 1948, Director: Richard Wallace

• Adventures of Gallant Bess - December 22, 1948, Director: Lew Landers

• Waterloo Road - December 24, 1948, Director: Sidney Gilliat, Made in Britain

• Don't Take It to Heart - December 24, 1948, Director: Jeffrey Dell, Made in Britain

• Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill - January 15, 1949, Director: Lawrence Huntington, Made in Britain

• Take My Life - January 18, 1949, Director: Ronald Neame, Made in Britain

• An Old-Fashioned Girl - January 19, 1949, Director: Arthur Dreifuss

• A Canterbury Tale - January 21, 1949, Director: Michael Powell, Made in Britain

• The Woman in the Hall - January 22, 1949, Director: Jack Lee, Made in Britain

• Ride, Ryder, Ride! - February 2, 1949, Director: Lewis D. Collins

• A Place of One's Own - February 7, 1949, Director: Bernard Knowles, Made in Britain

• Shamrock Hill - February 10, 1949, Director: Arthur Dreifuss

• My Brother's Keeper - February 12, 1949, Director: Alfred Roome, Made in Britain

• Easy Money - February 12, 1949, Director: Bernard Knowles, Made in Britain

• It Always Rains on Sunday - February 13, 1949, Director: Robert Hamer, Made in Britain

• Quartet - March 28, 1949, Directors: Ken Annakin, Arthur Crabtree, Made in Britain

• Tulsa - April 13, 1949, Director: Stuart Heisler

• Sleeping Car to Trieste - April 16, 1949, Director: Lawrence Huntington, Made in Britain

• Scott of the Antarctic - April 20, 1949, Director: Charles Frend, Made in Britain

• Caravan - April 20, 1949, Director: Arthur Crabtree, Made in Britain

• Miranda - April 20, 1949, Director: Ken Annakin, Made in Britain

• Passport to Pimlico - April 28, 1949, Director: Henry Cornelius, Made in Britain

• Red Stallion in the Rockies - May 2, 1949, Director: Ralph Murphy

• The Big Cat - May 19, 1949, Director: Phil Karlson

• Broken Journey - May 25, 1949, Director: Ken Annakin, Made in Britain

• All Over the Town - May 25, 1949, Director: Derek N. Twist, Made in Britain

• Alimony - June 11, 1949, Director: Alfred Zeisler

• Saraband for Dead Lovers - June 11, 1949, Director: Basil Dearden, Made in Britain

• Against the Wind - June 25, 1949, Director: Charles Crichton, Made in Britain

• The Weaker Sex - July 9, 1949, Director: Roy Ward Baker, Made in Britain

• Once Upon a Dream - July 14, 1949, Director: Ralph Thomas, Made in Britain

• Roll, Thunder, Roll! - August 27, 1949, Director: Lewis D. Collins

• Spring in Park Lane - September 20, 1949, Director: Herbert Wilcox, Made in Britain

• Zamba - September 29, 1949, Director: William Berke

• Trapped - October 1, 1949, Director: Richard Fleischer

• The Fighting Redhead - October 5, 1949, Director: Lewis D. Collins

  Reign of Terror - October 15, 1949, Director: Anthony Mann

• Port of New York - November 28, 1949, Director: László Benedek

• Cowboy and the Prizefighter - December 15, 1949, Director: Lewis D. Collins

• The Chiltern Hundreds - December 1949, Director: John Paddy Carstairs, Made in Britain

• Obsession - January 8, 1950, Director: Edward Dmytryk, Made in Britain

• Sarumba - January 1950, Director: Marion Gering

• Never Fear - January 1950, Director: Ida Lupino

• The Sundowners - February 2, 1950, Director: George Templeton

• Guilty of Treason - February 20, 1950, Director: Felix E. Feist

• The Boy from Indiana - March 1, 1950, Director: John Rawlins

• The Great Rupert - March 1, 1950, Director: Irving Pichel

• Forbidden Jungle - March 2, 1950, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey

• The Winslow Boy - March 20, 1950, Director: Anthony Asquith, Made in Britain

• The Golden Gloves Story - March 22, 1950, Director: Felix E. Feist

• The Fighting Stallion - March 23, 1950, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey

• Kill or Be Killed - April 1950, Director: Max Nosseck

• The Perfect Woman - April 1950, Director: Bernard Knowles, Made in Britain

• The Jackie Robinson Story - May 16, 1950, Director: Alfred E. Green

• The Glass Mountain - May 17, 1950, Director: Henry Cass, Made in Britain

• The Torch - June 2, 1950, Director: Emilio Fernández

• Timber Fury - June 2, 1950, Director: Bernard B. Ray

• Kind Hearts and Coronets - June 14, 1950, Director: Robert Hamer, Made in Britain

• Federal Man - June 21, 1950, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey

• It's a Small World - June 24, 1950, Director: William Castle

• Destination Moon - June 27, 1950, Director: Irving Pichel

• Good-Time Girl - May 11, 1950, Director: David MacDonald, Made in Britain

• The Blue Lamp - June 1, 1950, Director: Basil Dearden, Made in Britain

• I Killed Geronimo - August 8, 1950, Director: John Hoffman

• Your Witness - August 26, 1950, Director: Robert Montgomery, Made in Britain

• High Lonesome - September 1, 1950, Director: Alan Le May

• The Kangaroo Kid - October 22, 1950, Director: Lesley Selander, Made in Australia

• Prehistoric Women - November 1, 1950, Director: Gregg C. Tallas

• The Sun Sets at Dawn - November 1, 1950, Director: Paul Sloane

• Border Outlaws - November 2, 1950, Director: Richard Talmadge

• The Second Face - December 1, 1950, Director: Jack Bernhard

• Two Lost Worlds - January 5, 1951, Director: Norman Dawn

• Mister Universe - January 10, 1951, Director: Joseph Lerner

• Korea Patrol - January 15, 1951, Director: Max Nosseck

• So Long at the Fair - January 20, 1951, Director: Terence Fisher, Made in Britain

• Rogue River - February 15, 1951, Director: John Rawlins

• Golden Salamander - March 23, 1951, Director: Ronald Neame, Made in Britain

• Badman's Gold - April 3, 1951, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey

• Trottie True - April 14, 1951, Director: Brian Desmond Hurst, Made in Britain

• Circle of Danger - April 17, 1951, Director: Jacques Tourneur, Made in Britain

• When I Grow Up - April 20, 1951, Director: Michael Kanin, Released by United Artists

• Two Gals and a Guy - June 24, 1951, Director: Alfred E. Green, Released by United Artists

• The Hoodlum - July 5, 1951, Director: Max Nosseck, Released by United Artists

• My Outlaw Brother - August 22, 1951, Director: Elliott Nugent

• Cattle Queen - November 15, 1951, Director: Robert Emmett Tansey