Pioneer Pictures, Inc. was a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

motion picture company, most noted for its early commitment to making color films. Pioneer was initially affiliated with

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

, whose production facilities in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

were used by Pioneer, and who distributed Pioneer's films. Pioneer later merged with

Selznick International Pictures Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture� ...

History

The company was formed in 1933 by investor

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the ''New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whit ...

, who wanted to get into the motion picture business, and his cousin

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...

, on the encouragement of RKO executive

Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...

, an enthusiast of the newly improved, full-color

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

Process No. 4, introduced in 1932. The process had been used thus far only in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

cartoons. Technicolor, Inc. had been operating at a loss in 1931–1933, mostly servicing old contracts for its two-component color system, and badly needed a movie studio that would move the new three-component process into

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

filmmaking. Although there was no formal connection between Technicolor and Pioneer, the Whitneys invested in stock and

stock options In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified date ...

estimated at 15 percent of Technicolor. Pioneer announced that its first color production would be ''

The Last Days of Pompeii ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting '' The Last Day of Pompeii'' by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates in ...

'', but it was eventually filmed by RKO in black and white. Other never-realized color projects were adaptations of the novels ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' and ''

Green Mansions ''Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest'' (1904) is an exotic romance by William Henry Hudson about a traveller to the Guyana jungle of southeastern Venezuela and his encounter with a forest-dwelling girl named Rima. The principa ...

''. Instead, Pioneer designated the musical short ''

La Cucaracha La Cucaracha ("The Cockroach") is a popular Mexican folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are unclear, but it dates back at least to the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The song belongs to the Mexican genre. The s ...

'' (1934) to be its Technicolor live-action showcase, and subsequently won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for it. On May 18, 1933 Pioneer Pictures Inc. signed a contract with Technicolor for the production of eight feature films in the full color process, and hired RKO's Merian C. Cooper to be its vice-president in charge of production. ''

Becky Sharp Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, later describing herself as Rebecca, Lady Crawley, is the main protagonist of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847–48 novel ''Vanity Fair''. She is presented as a cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate an ...

'' (1935), an adaptation of

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

's novel '' Vanity Fair'', became the first feature-length motion picture in full color, followed by ''

Dancing Pirate ''Dancing Pirate'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Corrigan. It is the third film shot in the three strip Technicolor process and the first musical in that format. Produced by the makers of ''Becky Sharp'', the film was ...

'' (1936).

Helen Gahagan Helen Gahagan Douglas (born Helen Mary Gahagan; November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and politician. Her career included success on Broadway, as a touring opera singer, and in Hollywood films. Her portrayal of the villain ...

became the first actor under a multi-picture contract with Pioneer Pictures, while

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

was engaged to direct several color productions, starting with ''The Life of Custer''. Neither would actually make a picture with Pioneer. The Whitneys became founding investors in the newly formed

in 1935, and Pioneer Pictures was informally merged with it the following year, after Pioneer completed its releasing obligations with RKO. Directing contracts with John Ford and

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

were transferred. Selznick International, which also used the RKO studio and Forty Acres backlot, carried out Pioneer's commitment to produce features in Technicolor. Two Selznick color productions, '' A Star Is Born'' (1937) and '' Nothing Sacred'' (1937), were in fact copyrighted to Pioneer Pictures. Selznick International Pictures was dissolved by its owners in 1940–1943. John Hay Whitney then sold ''Becky Sharp'', ''Dancing Pirate'', ''A Star Is Born'', and ''Nothing Sacred'' to the distributing company Film Classics, Inc. Film Classics was acquired by

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and ...

Corporation in 1947 — a company specializing in a two-component color process. Cinecolor resold Film Classics to Film Classics' officers in 1949."Van Johnson Gets Metro Film Lead", ''The New York Times'', June 15, 1949, p. 39.

References and notes

* "Technicolor Adventures in Cinemaland" H. T. Kalmus, reprinted from ''Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers'', December, 1938 {{Authority control Mass media companies established in 1933 Mass media companies disestablished in 1936 Defunct American film studios Defunct organizations based in Hollywood, Los Angeles 1933 establishments in California 1936 disestablishments in California 1936 mergers and acquisitions Film studios in Southern California