He is best known for the movies The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), The Corsican Brothers (1941), Brewster's Millions (1945), Raw Deal (1948), Black Magic (1949), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Solomon and Sheba (1959).
[6][7] The partnerships early films were all based on plays: The Sporting Lover (1926), The Cohens and Kellys (1926) (which led to a lawsuit with the author of Abie's Irish Rose), The Gorilla (1927), McFadden's Flats (1927), and Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath (1928).
[12] William Phipps then stepped in to provide financing in Schenck's place and Reliance made five more movies for United Artists over two years: Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934), a musical comedy; Let 'Em Have It (1935); a gangster movie; Red Salute (1935), a screwball comedy with an anti-Communist slant starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Young; The Melody Lingers On (1935), a melodrama; and Last of the Mohicans (1936), based on the classic novel, starring Randolph Scott and co-written by Dunne.
After making The Last of the Mohicans, Small left United Artists and established himself as an associate producer at RKO in January 1936;[14] the studio bought out Reliance.
[15][16] Small said he was motivated to do this move in order to make larger budgeted movies, including Robber Barons (which became The Toast of New York), Son of Monte Cristo, Gunga Din and a series of Jack Oakie comedies.
[17]Small's time at RKO resulted in six pictures: The Bride Walks Out (1936), a romantic comedy with Stanwyck and Young from Red Channels; We Who Are About to Die (1937), based on a true story about a man unjustly sent to prison; Sea Devils (1937), a military drama with Victor McLaglen; New Faces of 1937 (1937), a musical revue designed to introduce new talent such as Milton Berle; Super-Sleuth (1937) with Jack Oakie; and The Toast of New York (1937), a biopic of James Fisk starring Edward Arnold, Cary Grant and Frances Farmer.
Some of these performed well, notably The Bride Walks Out but others were less successful, particularly New Faces of 1937 and the expensive The Toast of New York, which was RKO's biggest money losing picture of 1937.
[18] However 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.
[20][21] At that time Small lived in Palm Springs, California,[22] The following year he announced plans to make seven films worth $5 million over the next 12 months.
[23] Plans for some of these were delayed due to the war in Europe[24] but he made most of them, starting with The Duke of West Point (1938), which starred Louis Hayward who Small put under a long-term contract.
[25] He recommenced production in early 1941 with another popular swashbuckler, an adaptation of The Corsican Brothers, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.[26] He made five more movies for United Artists – International Lady (1941), a war time spy movie with George Brent; A Gentleman After Dark (1942), a crime drama with Brian Donlevy; Twin Beds (1942), a comedy based on an often-filmed stage play with Brent and Bennett; Friendly Enemies (1942), a wartime drama; and Miss Annie Rooney (1942), a film notable for featuring the first screen kiss of Shirley Temple but a big flop.
In June 1945, he announced a plan to make ten films worth $10 million but he could not come to terms with United Artists and ended up leaving the studio that year.
In the late 1940s, Small moved over to Eagle-Lion where he made the popular film noirs T-Men (1947), and Raw Deal (1948), both starring Dennis O'Keefe and directed by Anthony Mann.
[40] In 1947, Reliance Pictures, headed by Small's son Bernard and Ben Pivar, signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox to release six films starting with Strange Penalty, based on the story Lady from Shanghai, starring Alan Curtis and directed by Jean Yarbrough.
[45][46] Small returned to United Artists to make two Westerns with actor George Montgomery, Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950), using footage from Kit Carson, and The Iroquois Trail (1950), based on the novel Last of the Mohicans.
His other Columbia films included Lorna Doone (1951), another swashbuckler based on a classic novel, directed by Phil Karlson and starring Richard Greene.
Small also produced two films directed by Karlson: Scandal Sheet (1952) from a novel by Sam Fuller; and The Brigand (1952), a swashbuckler starring Valentinos Anthony Dexter.
He then signed a contract to make thirteen more movies for that company, ten within the first year, starting with Kansas City Confidential.
[48] David Picker, head of the production for UA, later wrote that "I counted 76 films that Eddie made for the company simply because he was there to start it all.
"[49] Most of Small's UA movies were budgeted between $100,000 and $300,000, and were not expected to make large profits on theatrical release but stood to earn considerable money being sold to television.
Small helped finance some war films, Sabre Jet (1954) and The Steel Lady (1954) (with Hunter), and the noir Wicked Woman (1953).
His other crime films included Chicago Confidential (1957), 5 Steps to Danger (1957), Hong Kong Confidential (1958), Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959), Inside the Mafia (1959), Pier 5, Havana (1959), Riot in Juvenile Prison (1960), Vice Raid (1960), Cage of Evil (1960), The Music Box Kid (1960), Three Came to Kill (1960), The Walking Target (1960), Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961), and The Cat Burglar (1961), The Police Dog Story (1961), Secret of Deep Harbor (1961, a remake of I Cover the Waterfront), When the Clock Strikes (1961), You Have to Run Fast (1961), Deadly Duo (1962), Incident in an Alley (1962) Small also financed some science fiction and horror films: UFO (1956), Curse of the Faceless Man (1957), It!
Small also made some movies for younger children: Beauty and the Beast (1962), The Clown and the Kid (1961), and Jack the Giant Killer (1962), and a drama, Saintly Sinners (1962).
In 1964 Small provided funding for and was a silent partner in Grant Whytock's Admiral Pictures that produced Audie Murphy westerns for Columbia.
[58] Small later served as chairman of the board of the TV distribution company Television Programs of America whose shows include Private Secretary, Fury, 'Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, Halls of Ivy and 'Ramar of the Jungle.
He made several low-budget comedies and horror films, including several directed by Sidney J. Furie: Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961), The Snake Woman (1961) and Three on a Spree (1961, a remake of Brewster's Millions).
Small did three horror films with Vincent Price, Tower of London (1962) with Roger Corman; Diary of a Madman (1963); and Twice-Told Tales (1963).
In the mid to late 1960s, Small cut back on his output and concentrated on making comedies with Bob Hope, such as I'll Take Sweden (1965) and Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!