Batjac Productions is an independent film production company co-founded by John Wayne in 1952 as a vehicle for Wayne to both produce and star in movies. The first Batjac production was '' Big Jim McLain'' 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
B ...
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 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 Anto ...
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 co ...
'', ''
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 t ...
'', ''
McLintock!
:''See also McClintock (disambiguation)''
''McLintock!'' is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kru ...
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 stud ...
, 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 ''
McLintock!
:''See also McClintock (disambiguation)''
''McLintock!'' is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kru ...
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 ...
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
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
B ...
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 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 ''