Batjac Productions is an independent film production company co-founded by

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

in 1952 as a vehicle for Wayne to both produce and star in movies. The first Batjac production was ''

Big Jim McLain ''Big Jim McLain'' is a 1952 American film noir political thriller film starring John Wayne and James Arness as HUAC investigators hunting down communists in the postwar Hawaii organized-labor scene. Edward Ludwig directed. This was the first f ...

'' released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in 1952, and its final film was ''

McQ ''McQ'' is a 1974 American Panavision neo-noir crime action film directed by John Sturges and starring John Wayne. It costars Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and Al Lettieri, and features Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager, David Huddleston, Julian Chri ...

'', in 1974, also distributed by Warner Bros. After John Wayne's death in 1979, his son

Michael Wayne Michael Anthony Morrison (November 23, 1934 – April 2, 2003), better known by his stage name Michael Wayne, was an American film producer and actor. He was the eldest son of actor John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Saenz. Biography Bo ...

owned and managed the company until his own death in 2003, when his wife Gretchen assumed ownership.

About the company

Wayne and producer

Robert Fellows Robert Fellows or Robert M. Fellows (August 23, 1903 in Los Angeles – May 11, 1969 in Los Angeles) was an American film producer who was once a production partner with John Wayne and later with Mickey Spillane. Biography Fellows entered Ho ...

founded Batjac in 1952 as ''Wayne/Fellows Productions''. When Fellows left the company several years later, Wayne renamed the corporation after a fictitious trading company mentioned in the film ''

Wake of the Red Witch ''Wake of the Red Witch'' is a 1948 American adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig, produced by Edmund Grainger and starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Gig Young, Adele Mara and Luther Adler. It is based upon the 1946 novel of the same name wri ...

'' (1948). The company name in ''Wake of the Red Witch'' was spelled Batjak, but Wayne's secretary misspelled it as Batjac on the corporation papers, and Wayne let it stand. Having his own company was intended to give Wayne artistic control over the films he made. The best known of all Batjac's films is Wayne's version of '' The Alamo'' (1960), a project he had planned for several years. It was an account of the

battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

during the Texas Revolution of 1836. A labor of love for Wayne, ''The Alamo'' cost Wayne much of his personal fortune. Among Batjac's other productions are ''

Hondo Hondo may refer to: Places * Rio Hondo (disambiguation), the name of several locations, derived from the Spanish word for "deep" Canada * Hondo, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Hondo, New Mexico, an unincorporated com ...

'', ''

Cahill U.S. Marshal ''Cahill U.S. Marshal'' is a 1973 American Western film in Technicolor starring John Wayne as a driven lawman in a black hat. The film was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and filmed on location in Durango, Mexico. The supporting cast features G ...

'', ''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years. It grossed $7.5 million in the ...

'', ''

McLintock! :''See also McClintock (disambiguation)'' ''McLintock!'' is a 1963 American Western (genre), Western comedy film, comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, ...

'', ''

The Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

'', '' Seven Men from Now'', and ''McQ''.

The "lost" Wayne films

Because of a production/distribution deal with Warner Bros. and

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

, Batjac was allowed to retain all rights to four Wayne films — '' The High and the Mighty'', ''Hondo'', '' Island in the Sky'', distributed by Warner Bros.; and ''

'', distributed by United Artists. It also held full copyright ownership in several non-Wayne movies, '' Seven Men from Now'', ''

Man in the Vault ''Man in the Vault'' is a 1956 film noir about a locksmith, played by William Campbell, who is forced to help gangsters commit a robbery. The screenplay by Burt Kennedy was based on the novel ''The Lock and the Key'' by Frank Gruber. The film wa ...

'', '' Ring of Fear'', ''

Plunder of the Sun ''Plunder of the Sun'' is a 1949 novel written by David F. Dodge about a hunt for ancient Peruvian treasure. It was adapted for the November 8, 1949 episode of the radio series ''Escape'' and later into the 1953 film noir of the same title, star ...

'', ''

Track of the Cat ''Track of the Cat'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright and Diana Lynn. The film is based on a 1949 adventure novel of the same name by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. This was Wel ...

'', ''

China Doll A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of Ceramic glaze, glazed porcelain. The name comes from ''china'' being used to refer to the material porcelain. Colloquially the term ''china doll'' is sometimes used to refer to any porcelain o ...

'', ''

Escort West ''Escort West'' is a 1959 American Western film directed by Francis D. Lyon, and starring Victor Mature, Faith Domergue, and Elaine Stewart. The movie is set after the U.S. Civil War, when a former Confederate officer, played by Victor Mature, a ...

'', and ''

Gun the Man Down ''Gun the Man Down'' is a 1956 Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring James Arness and Angie Dickinson in her first leading role. The film was produced by Robert E. Morrison for his brother John Wayne's company Batjac Producti ...

''. After Wayne's death in 1979, his son

gained full ownership and managed the company until he died in 2003. He meticulously managed the release pattern of his father's films and restored ''Hondo'' and ''McLintock!'' in the early 1990s for release on VHS and television. His passion was to restore the other two films, but water damage to the original elements made it impossible during his lifetime. Taking advantage of the new digital restoration processes, Michael's widow Gretchen restored these films in 2004 and released them through a distribution deal with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in 2005. Although now released by Paramount, the Batjac films originally distributed by Warner Bros. still retained their original "WB Sheild" logos, as part of a cross-licensing deal between the two companies- which also permitted the use of the original Paramount Pictures logos on the Warner-owned Fleischer/

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

on the following films, prior to the founding of Wayne-Fellows/Batjac Productions in 1952. {{Authority control Film production companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Mass media companies established in 1952 1952 establishments in California John Wayne American independent film studios