Irving Allen
Irving Allen (born Irving Applebaum; November 24, 1905 – December 17, 1987) was an Austro-Hungarian–born American theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He received an Academy Award in 1948 for producing the short movie Climbing the Matterhorn. In the early 1950s, he formed Warwick Films with partner Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and relocated to England to leverage film making against a subsidy offered by the British government.
Irving Allen
- Name
- Irving Allen
- Born
- 24 November 1905
- Birthplace
- Lemberg, Austria-Hungary
- Died
- 17 December 1987
- Place of death
- Encino, California, United States
- Awards
- Best Short Subject, Two-reel 1947 Climbing the Matterhorn
- Occupation
- Film producer
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Academy Award for Best Short Subject and Two-reel
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wikidata · Q509701 · wikipedia · Irving Allen
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Biography
Biography
Through the 1950s, they each became known as one of the best independent film producers of the day, as the two men would sometimes work in tandem, but more often than not on independent projects for their joint enterprise producing multiple projects in a given year.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Irving Allen • Born — 24 November 1905 • Birthplace — Lemberg, Austria-Hungary • Died — 17 December 1987 • Place of death — Encino, California, United States • Resting Place — Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) • Awards — Best Short Subject, Two-reel 1947 Climbing the Matterhorn • Occupation — Film producer
Documentary record
Irving Allen (24 November 1905 – 17 December 1987) is described as a writer, screenwriter, film producer and director in the authority records of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Irving Allen was born in Lemberg (24 November 1905) and died in Los Angeles- Encino, California. (17 December 1987).
Biography
Biography
Born in Lemberg (Austro-Hungary), Allen entered the film industry as an editor at Universal, Paramount and Republic in 1929. During the 1940s, he made a sequence of shorts, including the Academy Award-nominated Forty Boys and a Song (1941), which he directed. His short films often won more acclaim than his low-budget features. He later said "for two years after that Oscar I was out of work. Then I decided there was no profit in being a genius." In the late 1940s, Allen started concentrating more fully on being a producer.
Other Allen Projects
Other Allen Projects
Without Broccoli, Allen produced The Hellions (1961) in South Africa, and The Long Ships (1964) and Genghis Khan (1965) in Yugoslavia. In 1965 he announced he would make Clive of India with director Terence Young but it was not made.
Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Some years later, Allen cast about for his own spy series. He acquired the rights to Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm novels. Allen was responsible for the Matt Helm film series, The Silencers (1966), Murderers' Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1969). In July 1967, Allen said "At this stage I'm only interested in making money. I'm not interested in kudos or getting good reviews - I've had all that. I'm just concerned with getting the greatest number of people into theatres." "I've done practically everything," he said. "There's no place I haven't been in the business. The only thing I can't do is write." Allen's Helm series had one major effect on Broccoli's Bond movies (produced at the time in partnership with Harry Saltzman). To get Dean Martin on board as Matt Helm, Allen had to make the actor a partner in the enterprise. Dean Martin ended up making more money on The Silencers (1966) than Sean Connery made on Thunderball (1965). This did not go unnoticed by Connery. Other Allen films included The Desperados (1969). Allen was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood, California.
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Lviv.
Birth place
Encino.
Death place
Warwick Films
In the early 1950s, he led Warwick Films as the 'name producer', making films in both the US and England, with Albert R. Broccoli something of a junior partner. In 1957–1958, his partnership with Broccoli was strained both by Broccoli's family health crises (his second wife became terminally ill, soon after adopting one child and with a newborn) and to a lesser extent their disagreement over the film potential of the James Bond novel series. Broccoli was very interested, believing the novels could lead to a high quality series of films, and Allen was not, eschewing the potential of Broccoli's vision of Bond in favor of older established forms. The partners met with Bond author Ian Fleming separately in 1957, Cubby from New York where he'd retreated to care for his wife, but in the London meeting with Fleming arranged by Broccoli, Allen all but insulted Fleming, declaring that Fleming's novels weren't even "good enough for television". Broccoli mired in his troubles in New York, only knew that no deal had occurred until pre-production meetings with Fleming which resulted in the decision to make the Dr. No, as the first film project by Eon Productions. In 1959, captivated by the historical importance and a good script Warwick undertook the risky project of producing, funding, and distributing The Trials of Oscar Wilde, which was released in 1960. Ahead of the times, its frank unprejudiced depiction of homosexual issues ran into a ratings stone wall in the United States all but preventing any sort of advertising, and the company lost its large investment, Broccoli and Allen fell out, and the partnership became moribund, being dissolved officially in a 1961 bankruptcy liquidation. Thus the two partners each turned into solo producers in late 1960. Broccoli went on to found Danjaq, S.A. and Eon Productions with Harry Saltzman beginning the Bond films on a shoestring budget, and Allen occupied himself with other projects.
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Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Irving Allen, revision 1351209770 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Bruce Eder. Irving Allen. The New York Times. 2014.
- 2.Vagg, Stephen. The A to Z of Henry Levin. Filmink. 25 March 2026.
- 3.Vagg, Stephen. Forgotten British Film Moguls: Cubby Broccoli and Irving Allen. Filmink. 8 December 2025.
- 4.The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners. oscars.org.
- 5.Wiseman, Thomas. 'I can't afford to be a mouse in the rat race'. Evening Standard. 8. 25 March 1959.
- 6.Thomas, Kevin. Allen at Helm of Production. Los Angeles Times. e14. 6 July 1967.
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