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Lawrence Bachmann

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Lawrence Paul Bachmann[1] (December 12, 1911 – September 7, 2004) was an American film producer and executive who settled for a time in the United Kingdom. He was head of MGM's British operations in the 1960s.[2]

Biography

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Bachmann was born in New York City, where his father, J. G. Bachmann, worked at Paramount with B. P. Schulberg in the 1920s.[3] He gained employment in the motion picture industry aged 16, beginning as an assistant film editor at Universal. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from University of South Carolina (USC) and then a master's degree at Oxford University in the UK. After his period of formal education, he became an assistant to Pandro S. Berman, who was then head of production at RKO.[3] He switched to MGM to work for J.J. Cohn, head of the B-picture unit writing screenplays and becoming a producer.[3]

During World War II, Bachmann served in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was the principal overseas correspondent for Air Force magazine. After the war, he worked in Berlin as head of films for the US State Department, then lived in France and Italy.[4]

Bachmann moved to the UK where he became head of production for Paramount's British subsidiary. He then performed a similar function for MGM, joining the studio in 1959.[3] He ran MGM British for some years.[5] Among other films he supervised the four Miss Marple films featuring Margaret Rutherford in the lead role.[3] In 1962 he announced a film version of Bleak House to be written by Agatha Christie but it was not made.[2]

After becoming an independent producer, Bachmann was interviewed by The New York Times in 1982. According to Bachmann, "You don't need a huge organization" or "wastefully high budgets. All you need is a good story, the right attack, and the determination to make a movie for a reasonable price."[6]

Bachmann died at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles on September 7, 2004.[3]

Credits

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Films Made as Head of MGM British

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  • Village of the Damned
  • The Green Helmet
  • The Secret Partner
  • Invasion Quartert
  • Murder She Said
  • Cairo
  • Kill or Cure
  • Follow the Boys

References

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  1. ^ "Bachmann, Lawrence P., 1911-2004". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Metro's Prod Chief in London Sees Britain as Future Film Centre". Variety. 2 May 1962. p. 89. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Lawrence P. Bachmann, 92; Film Writer and Executive at Studios". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 2004.
  4. ^ "Lives in brief". The Times. London. September 28, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  5. ^ The Tea Break Notwithstanding, London Studios Humming Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times August 12, 1962: A7.
  6. ^ ARE THESE HOLLYWOOD'S FINEST ALJEAN HARMETZ, Special to the New York Times. New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y] January 20, 1981: C.7.
  7. ^ Cinerama Feature Inspired by Mayer: New Film Boasts Story Line; Fischer Regains Top Favor Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times August 13, 1958: 25.
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