Editing Burt Lancaster (section)

===Hecht-Hill-Lancaster===
In 1955, Hill was made an equal partner in Hecht-Lancaster, with his name added to the production company. [[Hecht-Hill-Lancaster]] (HHL) released their first film ''[[Trapeze (film)|Trapeze]]'' in 1956, with Lancaster performing many of his own stunts. The film, co-starring [[Tony Curtis]] and [[Gina Lollobrigida]], went on to become the production company's top box office success, and United Artists expanded its deal with HHL.<ref>Pryor, Thomas M. (1956). "Hecht-Lancaster Plans New Films: Producing Unit Signs Deal with United Artists{{snd}}5 Features Are Listed Lancaster to Act". ''The New York Times'', April 13, 1956. p. 20.</ref>

In 1956, Lancaster and Hecht partnered with [[Loring Buzzell]] and entered the music industry with the music publishing companies [[Leigh Music]], [[Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music]], [[Calyork Music]] and [[Colby Music]] and the record labels [[Calyork Records]] and [[Maine Records]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1957/Billboard%201957-03-16.pdf | title = Buzzell Ties with Hecht & Lancaster | magazine = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | date = March 16, 1957 | page = 8}}</ref>

The HHL team impressed Hollywood with its success; as [[Life (magazine)|''Life'']] wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures, it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)."<ref name="hodgins19570610">Hodgins, Eric. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Nz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA146 "Amid Ruins of an Empire a New Hollywood Arises."] ''Life,'' June 10, 1957, p. 146. Retrieved: April 22, 2012.</ref> In late 1957, they announced they would make ten films worth $14 million in 1958.<ref>"Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Planning Record Year: Group Will Produce $14,000,000 Worth of Motion Pictures in 1958". ''Los Angeles Times'', December 16, 1957. p. B9. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/157137277/ Clipping] at [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

Lancaster made two films for Wallis to complete his eight-film commitment for that contract: ''[[The Rainmaker (1956 film)|The Rainmaker]]'' (1956) with [[Katharine Hepburn]], which earned Lancaster a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor; and ''[[Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (film)|Gunfight at the O.K. Corral]]'' (1957) with Kirk Douglas, which was a huge commercial hit directed by [[John Sturges]].

Lancaster re-teamed with [[Tony Curtis]] in 1957 for ''[[Sweet Smell of Success]]'', a co-production between Hecht-Hill-Lancaster and Curtis' own company with wife [[Janet Leigh]], Curtleigh Productions. The movie, directed by [[Alexander Mackendrick]], was a critical success but a commercial disappointment. Over the years it has come to be regarded as one of Lancaster's greatest films.<ref>Kate Buford, ''[[Burt Lancaster: An American Life]]'', Da Capo 2000 p. 183</ref>

HHL produced seven additional films in the late 1950s. Four starred Lancaster: ''[[Run Silent, Run Deep (1958 film)|Run Silent, Run Deep]]'' (1958), a [[Robert Wise]] directed war film with [[Clark Gable]], which was mildly popular; ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' (1958) a hotel-set drama with Kerr and [[Rita Hayworth]] (who married James Hill), which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Oscar awards for lead actor [[David Niven]] and supporting actress [[Wendy Hiller]], and was both a critical and commercial success; ''[[The Devil's Disciple (1959 film)|The Devil's Disciple]]'' (1959), with Douglas and [[Laurence Olivier]], which lost money (and saw Lancaster fire Mackendrick during shooting);<ref>"1959: Probable Domestic Take", ''Variety'', January 6, 1960, p. 34</ref> and the Western ''[[The Unforgiven (1960 film)|The Unforgiven]]'' (1960), with [[Audrey Hepburn]], which was a critical and commercial disappointment.<ref>pp. 151–152 Larkins, Bob & Magers, Boyd ''The Films of Audie Murphy'' McFarland, August 19, 2009</ref>

Three were made without Lancaster, all of which lost money: ''[[The Bachelor Party]]'' (1957), from another TV play by Chayefsky, and directed by Delbert Mann; ''[[Take a Giant Step]]'' (1959), about a black student; and ''[[Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959 film)|Summer of the Seventeenth Doll]]'' (1960), from an Australian play, shot on location in Australia and Britain. Lancaster was originally announced as the lead for ''Doll'' but did not appear in the final film.<ref name="natural">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=27 February 2025|access-date=27 February 2025|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/wrecking-australian-stories-summer-of-the-seventeenth-doll/?fbclid=IwY2xjawItNeFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdfjoDKKNPRwIUw_CpwHxvsx-Nwe0Ux0vs54ici1NORlcxM0tGnZAIlpIg_aem_B57Gkzk7qzqgKn0YaklBwA|title=Wrecking Australian stories: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll}}</ref>

The Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions company dissolved in 1960 after Hill ruptured his relationship with both Hecht and Lancaster. Hill went on to produce a single additional film, ''[[The Happy Thieves]]'', in a new production company, Hillworth Productions, co-owned with his wife [[Rita Hayworth]].