56 Facts About Edward Small

Edward Small is best known for the movies The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Corsican Brothers, Brewster's Millions, Raw Deal, Black Magic, Witness for the Prosecution and Solomon and Sheba.

Edward Small's mother was born in Prussia and his father was born in Austria; he had three sisters and two brothers.

Edward Small began his career as a talent agent in New York City.

Edward Small helped William Goetz begin his career in the industry by recommending him for a job at Corinne Griffith.

Edward Small began producing films in the 1920s, when it became his full-time occupation.

Edward Small formed the firm Asher, Small and Rogers, as a partner with Charles Rogers and E M Asher.

Edward Small produced My Man with Fanny Brice, and Companionate Marriage.

Edward Small then worked for a time at Columbia Pictures, making Song of Love with Belle Baker.

Edward Small sent an expedition to the Arctic and they made the documentary Igloo.

In 1932, Small formed Reliance Pictures together with partner Harry M Goetz.

Edward Small said he was motivated to do this move in order to make larger budgeted movies, including Robber Barons, Son of Monte Cristo, Gunga Din and a series of Jack Oakie comedies.

However Edward Small did sell the studio his rights to Gunga Din which he had purchased from the Rudyard Kipling estate in 1936 and became a big hit later on.

Plans for some of these were delayed due to the war in Europe but he made most of them, starting with The Duke of West Point, which starred Louis Hayward who Edward Small put under a long-term contract.

Edward Small returned to swashbucklers with another adaptation of a Dumas novel, The Man in the Iron Mask, starring Hayward; this was one of Edward Small's most popular films.

Edward Small put Heyward into another swashbuckler, The Son of Monte Cristo, a sequel to his 1934 hit, co-starring Joan Bennett.

Edward Small borrowed Jon Hall to star in two films: South of Pago Pago, a South Sea island movie, with Victor McLaglen and Frances Farmer, and Kit Carson, a Western.

In 1940, Edward Small stopped making movies for six months as he renegotiated his deal with United Artists.

Edward Small spoke out against rising costs and the impact of the double bill on filmmakers.

Edward Small recommenced production in early 1941 with another popular swashbuckler, an adaptation of The Corsican Brothers, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

In March 1942 Edward Small threatened to strike again due to unhappiness with his deal.

Edward Small and United Artists managed to come to terms and he produced a fresh series, including a series of farces directed by Allan Dwan and starring Dennis O'Keefe: Up in Mabel's Room, based on a stage farce; Abroad with Two Yanks, a wartime story set in Australia with William Bendix; Brewster's Millions, based on the often-filmed novel; and Getting Gertie's Garter, based on the stage play.

In 1944, Binnie Barnes sued Edward Small Productions claiming they had breached a promise to build her up into a star.

Edward Small made his next film for Universal-International, Temptation, starring Merle Oberon and George Brent.

Edward Small produced The Return of Monte Cristo for Columbia, with Hayward; then in mid-1946 signed another deal with United Artists.

However Edward Small fell out with the studio over billing on T Men and withdrew from his planned participation in the film Twelve Against the Underworld.

Edward Small later argued that the company could not guarantee funding for a three-year schedule.

In 1948, Edward Small said he had personally made $2 million in profit from ten films over the past 18 months.

Edward Small made a series of films for Columbia: The Black Arrow, a swashbuckler based on a classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel with Hayward; The Fuller Brush Man, a comedy with Red Skelton who Small borrowed from MGM; Walk a Crooked Mile, a crime noir with O'Keefe and Hayward.

In 1949, Edward Small signed a two-year contract with Columbia Pictures, which specifically excluded Edward Small's long-gestating film about Rudolph Valentino, Valentino.

Edward Small ended up making eleven films for the studio over seven years where Columbia allowed him profit sharing after Columbia made up their investment in the film.

Edward Small returned to United Artists to make two Westerns with actor George Montgomery, Davy Crockett, Indian Scout, using footage from Kit Carson, and The Iroquois Trail, based on the novel Last of the Mohicans.

Valentino, which Edward Small had developed since 1938, was released through Columbia.

Edward Small made some Westerns with George Montgomery, The Texas Rangers, Indian Uprising and Cripple Creek.

Edward Small produced two films directed by Karlson: Scandal Sheet from a novel by Sam Fuller; and The Brigand, a swashbuckler starring Valentinos Anthony Dexter.

Edward Small then signed a contract to make thirteen more movies for that company, ten within the first year, starting with Kansas City Confidential.

Edward Small would assign his films to other producers such as Aubrey Wisberg; in 1953 he had a six-picture deal with the team of Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse which later became a 12-picture deal.

Edward Small remade The Corsican Brothers as The Bandits of Corsica, with Richard Greene, and helped finance two swashbucklers with Dexter, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas and Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl.

Edward Small helped make Dragon's Gold and The Neanderthal Man.

Edward Small made Westerns with Montgomery, Gun Belt, with Tab Hunter, The Lone Gun, Gun Duel in Durango and Toughest Gun in Tombstone.

Edward Small did Westerns with Jock Mahoney, Rod Cameron, Sterling Hayden, and Buster Crabbe, Jim Davis, Bill Williams and James Brown.

Edward Small made a children's Western, A Dog's Best Friend.

Edward Small was reunited with Karlson and Payne for 99 River Street and he put Payne in a swashbuckler, Raiders of the Seven Seas.

Edward Small helped finance some war films, Sabre Jet and The Steel Lady, and the noir Wicked Woman.

Edward Small did Khyber Patrol with Richard Egan and Return to Treasure Island with Hunter.

Edward Small made some noirs with Broderick Crawford, Down Three Dark Streets and New York Confidential, and did a noir with Farley Granger, The Naked Street.

Edward Small made some war films: Timbuktu, a tale of the Foreign Legion that he took his name off and Operation Bottleneck.

Edward Small made some movies for younger children: Beauty and the Beast, The Clown and the Kid, and Jack the Giant Killer, and a drama, Saintly Sinners.

In 1964 Edward Small provided funding for and was a silent partner in Grant Whytock's Admiral Pictures that produced Audie Murphy westerns for Columbia.

Edward Small occasionally made large budgeted films, usually in partnership with other producers.

In 1950, Edward Small sold a package of 26 films he produced to show on American television through his Peerless Television Productions.

Edward Small made several low-budget comedies and horror films, including several directed by Sidney J Furie: Doctor Blood's Coffin, The Snake Woman and Three on a Spree.

Edward Small did three horror films with Vincent Price, Tower of London with Roger Corman; Diary of a Madman ; and Twice-Told Tales.

Edward Small made Frankie and Johnny with Elvis Presley and the comedy The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz with Elke Sommer.

In 1970, Edward Small announced he had two television series and four films ready for production but only one was made, The Christine Jorgensen Story, which was Edward Small's final movie.

Edward Small has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television work located at 1501 Vine Street.

Edward Small's mausoleum is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.