Dore Schary
| Dore Schary | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Isadore Schary August 31, 1905 Newark, New Jersey, US |
| Died | July 7, 1980 (aged 74) New York City |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, playwright, film director, studio executive |
| Spouse(s) | Miriam Svet |
| Children |
Jill Schary Robinson Joy Schary Jeb Schary |
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and eventually president of the studio.
Schary had his first success as a writer when a play he wrote, Too Many Heroes, ran on Broadway for 16 performances in the fall of 1937. He worked in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and in 1938 won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story as co-writer of the screenplay for Boys Town. From 1942 to 1943, he ran MGM's "B" pictures unit. He was with RKO Pictures when in 1948 he became chief of production at MGM.
Schary and studio chief and founder Louis B. Mayer were constantly at odds over philosophy, with Mayer favoring splashy, wholesome entertainment and Schary leaning toward what Mayer derided as darker "message pictures". In the postwar period, MGM's success began to decline. MGM's parent company, Loews Incorporated in New York decided that Schary might be able to turn the tide. Schary was involved in disputes at the studio with Mayer over films such as Battleground and The Red Badge of Courage. In 1951, Mayer was ousted and Schary installed as president. He was replaced in 1956 by Benny Thau, another long-term executive.
During his term, the studio system was coming to an end as a result of United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948), the Supreme Court decision which severed the connection between film studios and the theaters which showed their films. In addition, television was causing a decrease in theater attendance.
Schary co-wrote (with Charles Palmer) the 1950 book Case History of a Movie, which extensively covered, from initial conception to screen, the production of the film The Next Voice You Hear....
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