Editing United Artists (section)

===Krim and Benjamin===
Needing a turnaround, Pickford and Chaplin hired [[Paul V. McNutt]] in 1950,<ref name=UA40/> a former governor of Indiana, as chairman and [[Frank L. McNamee]] as president. McNutt did not have the skill to solve UA's financial problems and the pair was replaced after only a few months.<ref name="fu"/>

On February 15, 1951, lawyers-turned-producers [[Arthur B. Krim]] (of [[Eagle-Lion Films]]), [[Robert Benjamin]] and Matty Fox<ref name=UA40/> approached Pickford and Chaplin with an idea: let them take over United Artists for ten years. If UA was profitable in one of the next three years, they would have the option to acquire half the company by the end of the ten years and take full control.<ref name=UA40>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|last=Mayer|first=Arthur L|author-link=Arthur Mayer|date=June 24, 1959|title=UA at 40|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety215-1959-06#page/n251/mode/1up|page=42|access-date=August 31, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> 20th Century-Fox president [[Spyros Skouras]] extended United Artists a $3&nbsp;million loan through Krim and Benjamin's efforts.<ref name="fu"/><ref name="vt0">{{cite news |last1=Plunkett |first1=Paul |title=United Artists Looks Back on 100 Years of Groundbreaking Films |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/spotlight/rocky-high-noon-west-side-story-1203358522/ |access-date=October 4, 2019 |work=Variety |date=October 4, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004185121/https://variety.com/2019/film/spotlight/rocky-high-noon-west-side-story-1203358522/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In taking over UA, Krim and Benjamin created the first studio without an actual "studio". Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio but did not own a studio lot. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production staff at other studios.

Among their first clients were [[Sam Spiegel]] and [[John Huston]], whose Horizon Productions gave UA one major hit, ''[[The African Queen (film)|The African Queen]]'' (1951) and a substantial success, ''[[Moulin Rouge (1952 film)|Moulin Rouge]]'' (1952). Besides ''The African Queen'' UA also had success with ''[[High Noon]]'' in their first year, earning a profit of $313,000 compared to a loss of $871,000 the previous year.<ref name=UA40/><ref name="fu"/>  Other clients followed, among them [[Stanley Kramer]], [[Otto Preminger]], [[Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions]], and actors newly freed from studio contracts and seeking to produce or direct their own films.

With the instability in the film industry due to theater divestment, the business was considered risky. In 1955, movie attendance reached its lowest level since 1923. Chaplin sold his 25% share during this crisis to Krim and Benjamin for $1.1&nbsp;million, followed a year later by Pickford who sold her share for $3&nbsp;million.<ref name="fu"/>

In the late 1950s, United Artists produced two modest films that became financial and critical successes for the company. The company made ''[[Marty (film)|Marty]]'' which won 1955's Palme d'Or and Best Picture Oscar, and ''[[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|12 Angry Men]]'' (1957), which according to Krim before home video, was being seen on television 24 hours a day, 365 days a year some place in the world.<ref name="vt0"/> By 1958, UA was making annual profits of $3&nbsp;million a year.<ref name=UA40/>