Leigh, J.

...In 1948, he acquired the struggling RKO film studios and theater chain for $9 million, took full control of the company, and implemented some puzzling policies. He forced the resignation of the staff that had supported the company, including production manager Dori Schaly, who was known for turning out high-quality works at low cost, and turned RKO, which had once been a major Hollywood company, into a wasteland. He made films such as the color 3-D film French Route (1954) and the first CinemaScope maritime action film, The Gold of the Deep Sea (1955), in order to further expand the appeal of Jane Russell, and the anti-Communist film Jet Pilot, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring John Wayne, in order to promote another actress, Janet Leigh (1927-), (completed in 1950, but released in 1957 after Hughes shot additional footage and re-edited it). These films incurred mounting losses, and in 1955 he sold RKO to General Teleradio (from which Hughes is said to have made a profit of $10 million), and severed his ties with the film industry. In 1946, Hughes was seriously injured during a test flight of an aerial photography and reconnaissance plane that he had designed. After that, he became a completely different person and began to "self-isolate" from society. He obtained a government loan of $18 million and spent five years designing and building a large wooden flying boat, which he completed in 1947, but it was unusable. His last public appearance was when he appeared as a witness before a Senate investigative committee on the matter.

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Leigh, J." is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…48年に，経営難のRKO（アールケーオー）映画の撮影所と劇場チェーンを900万ドルで手にいれて全権を握り，不可解な政策を強行。低コストで良質の作品を世に送ったことで知られる製作部長ドーリ･シャリー以下，会社を支えてきたスタッフを辞任させ，かつてはハリウッドの〈メジャー〉であったRKOを〈不毛地帯〉にし，ジェーン･ラッセルの魅力をさらに〈拡大〉するためにカラー･3D(立体)映画《フランス航路》(1954)，シネマスコープ最初の海洋活劇《海底の黄金》(1955)を，さらにもう1人の女優，ジャネット･リーJanet Leigh(1927‐　)を売り出すためにジョゼフ･フォン･スタンバーグ監督，ジョン･ウェイン主演による反共映画《ジェット･パイロット》(1950年に完成したが，ヒューズが追加撮影して再編集したため公開は57年になった)などが赤字をかさね，55年にはRKOをゼネラル･テレラジオ社に売却(これによってヒューズは1000万ドルの利益を得たといわれる)，映画界とのつながりを絶った。　ヒューズは，46年，自分で設計した空中撮影偵察飛行機のテスト飛行で重傷を負ってから人が変わって世間から〈自己隔離〉をはじめ，1800万ドルの政府融資を取りつけ，5年の歳月を費やして設計建造した大型木造飛行艇が47年に完成したが使いものにならず，その件で上院の調査委員会に証人として出席したのが公に姿を見せた最後であるといわれる。…

※「Leigh，J.」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報