In early 1949 Norma Productions made a three-picture deal with Warner Brothers Pictures, all to be produced by Hecht and to star Lancaster. The inaugural picture was "The Flame and the Arrow", a Technicolor swashbuckler directed by Jacques Tourneur. The big-budget film featured some of the biggest names from the Warner Brothers lot at the time, including Virginia Mayo (fresh from "White Heat") as the leading lady and Max Steiner (famous for "Casablanca" and "Gone with the Wind") who was hired to compose the soundtrack. "The Flame and the Arrow" was released in the summer of 1950 and became one of the year's top grossers, earning two nominations at the 23rd Academy Awards ceremony in March 1951; one for Best Dramatic or Comedy Score (Max Steiner), another for Best Color Cinematography (Ernest Haller).