Columbia Pictures Churning Out Vast Number of Films

May 4, 1964 - Columbia Pictures has embarked on the most ambitious program in its 40 years of movie production, with 77 films produced or in preparation. The program, which includes 16 pictures that are ready for release and seven now in production, represents an investment of $228 million.

Some of the 16 films ready for release in the next 12 months multimillion dollar projects. Included among these are “Behold a Pale Horse,” directed by Fred Zinnemann in France and starring Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn; “The Long Ships” (pictured), a period adventure directed by Jack Cardiff with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier; and “Good Neighbor Sam,” starring Jack Lemmon and Romy Schneider.

Among other films ready for release are “The Pumpkin Eaters,” a drama with Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch, and James Mason; Robert Rossen’s drama, “Lilith,” with Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg; “Fail-Safe,” an atomic age drama with Henry Fonda; and “The First Men on the Moon,” an adaptation of the H.G. Wells science-fiction work.

Among the seven features now being made are Richard Brooks’ adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s “Lord Jim”; William Wyler’s production of “The Collector”; “Mickey One,” which is being made in Chicago by producer-director Arthur Penn with Warren Beatty; and “Love Has Many Faces,” a drama starring Lana Turner.

The remaining 54 productions will be filmed over the next few years. Among these are Sam Spiegel’s production of “The Chase,” with a screenplay by Lillian Hellman based on the novel by Horton Foote; “Born Free,” the book about the upbringing of a lion by Joy Adamson; “Catch-22,” which is to be made by Richard Brooks from Joseph Heller’s novel; Stanley Kramer’s production of Katherine Anne Porter’s novel, “Ship of Fools”; “Oliver,” to be produced with Peter Sellers as Fagin; and Frank Capra’s atomic age space film, “Marooned.”

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