Seven Arts Productions

The company was established in December 1957. It originated from Associated Artists Productions (AAP), managed by Ray Stark and Eliot Hyman, which specialised in acquiring older films and reselling them to television. Stark and Hyman sought to enter film production; however, AAP's principal stockholder, Louis Chesler, did not share this interest, which led to the creation of Seven Arts.

According to Stark, the company aimed to remake older Warner Bros. films or adapt previously filmed stories into stage plays. Hyman served as a private partner while continuing as president of AAP. His son, Kenneth Hyman, acted as liaison between Seven Arts and AAP. David Stillman was appointed president of Seven Arts.

Canadian takeover

Maxwell Goldhar, Kenneth Kelman, and George R. Gardiner took over Donnell & Mudge Ltd. and turned it from a tanning business into a holding and investment company. George Gardiner, president of PRM, became Donnell & Mudge's president. These connections led to Donnell & Mudge becoming a subsidiary of Associated Artists Productions. Donnell & Mudge was renamed to United Telefilms Ltd. on June 6, 1958. United Artists acquired AAP in October 1958, sold its stake in United Telefilms to a Toronto broker syndicate in April 1959, and was renamed to Creative Telefilms & Artists Ltd. on December 23, 1959. Creative Telefilm later acquired Stark and Hyman's Seven Arts Productions studio and on August 12, 1960, renamed itself to Seven Arts Productions Ltd. A U.S. television distribution subsidiary, Seven Arts Associated Corp., was formed in Delaware around the time of the rename.

Howell and Hummell – based on Richard Rovere's 1947 biography about two lawyers; book by Joseph Heller, music by Saul Chaplin, produced by Diane Krasny (unproduced)

The Legendary Mizeners – about the Mizener brothers, by S. N. Behrman, produced by Diane Krasny (unproduced)

Wind It Up and It Breaks, by Cy Howard (unproduced)

Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris — not staged, though the novel was later adapted into a 1992 TV film and a 2022 film

In November 1966, Seven Arts Productions acquired a controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures from Jack L. Warner for US$32 million. The companies merged on July 15, 1967 as Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, which was later rebranded as Warner Bros. Inc. following its acquisition by Kinney National Company in 1969.

In his final year as head of production, Ray Stark remarked that he "hated ten" of the eleven films he produced, with the exception of Arrivederci Baby. He stated that his favourite productions at Seven Arts were The World of Suzie Wong, The Night of the Iguana, and Reflections in a Golden Eye, all of which, he noted, were made independently of Eliot Hyman. Stark nonetheless described Hyman as "the smartest TV man in the business—and a financial wizard". Reflecting on his role at Seven Arts, Stark commented that "what I have really been is a deal maker. When you turn out a lot of film I guess there's a certain security." He later expressed his wish to focus more on producing.