LEVINE, JOSEPH E.

LEVINE, JOSEPH E. (1905–1987), U.S. motion picture producer. Born in Boston, Levine was a theater owner and movie distributor (1943) before becoming a producer. He started in the business by importing foreign films and distributing   them in the U.S., such as the Italian movies Open City (1945) and The Bicycle Thief (1947). After World War II he began to cater to the drive-in market, bringing to the outdoor screen such action films as Godzilla (1956), Hercules (1959), and Hercules Unchained (1960). He also distributed such films as Two Women (1961), Divorce Italian Style (1961), Bocaccio '70 (1962), Fellini's 8½ (1963), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963), and Marriage Italian Style (1964). He produced such films as Jack the Ripper (1959), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Harlow (1965), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Magic (1978), and Tattoo (1981). Levine, who was dubbed "the Boston Barnum," was also the executive producer of many successful films. Among them are Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), Boy's Night Out (1962), Sodom and Gomorrah (1962), Sands of the Kalahari (1965), Nevada Smith (1966), The Daydreamer (1966), The Graduate (1967), Woman Times Seven (1967), The Producers (1968), The Lion in Winter (1968), Don't Drink the Water (1969), The Adventurers (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Day of the Dolphin (1973). The 1962 documentary film Showman profiled Levine's career. (Jonathan Licht / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)