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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It had studio facilities in

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

and a

movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

in Encino. It was best known for specializing in

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, serials, and B films emphasizing mystery and action. Republic was also notable for developing the careers of

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 ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

. It was also responsible for the financing and distribution of a few A films directed by

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 ...

during the 1940s and early 1950s and one

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

film, ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' (1948), directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Under

Herbert J. Yates Herbert John Yates (August 24, 1880 – February 3, 1966) was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, who had western stars John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers under contract. Between the years 1935 and 1959, Republic, under Yates' l ...

, Republic was considered a mini-major film studio.

Company history

Created in 1935 by

, a longtime investor in film (having invested in 20th Century Pictures at its founding in 1933) and owner of the film processing laboratory

Consolidated Film Industries Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory and film processing company and was one of the leading film laboratories in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television. The ...

, Republic was initially founded upon Yates' acquisition of six smaller

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did ...

studios. In the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Yates' laboratory was no longer serving the major studios, which had developed their own in-house laboratories for purposes of both economy and control, while the small, independent producers were going under in the face of increased competition from the majors combined with the general impact of the depressed economy. In 1935, he thus decided to create a studio of his own to insure Consolidated's stability. Six surviving small companies (

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other ...

Liberty Pictures Liberty Pictures was an American film production company of the 1930s. Part of Poverty Row, the company produced low-budget B pictures. It was one of two companies controlled by the producer M.H. Hoffman along with Allied Pictures. The company p ...

Majestic Pictures Majestic Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active during the 1930s. Under the control of Larry Darmour the company specialized in low-budget production, and was one of the more stable Poverty Row outfits during the ...

Chesterfield Pictures Chesterfield Motion Picture Corporation, generally shortened to Chesterfield Pictures, was an American film production company of the 1920s and 1930s. The company head was George R. Batcheller, and the company worked in tandem with its sister stu ...

, and Invincible Pictures) were all in debt to Yates' lab. He prevailed upon these studios to merge under his leadership or else face foreclosure on their outstanding lab bills. Yates' new company, Republic Pictures Corporation, was presented to their producer-owners as a collaborative enterprise focused on low-budget product. Monogramlogo

* The largest of Republic's components was Monogram Pictures, run by producers

Trem Carr Tremlet C. Carr (November 6, 1891– August 18, 1946) was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist pro ...

and

W. Ray Johnston W. Ray Johnston (January 2, 1892 – October 14, 1966) was an American film producer. He was associated with low-budget filmmaking, in particular with the larger Poverty Row studios Rayart Pictures and Monogram Pictures.Pitts p.131 Before foundi ...

, which specialized in "B" films and operated a nationwide distribution system. * The most technologically advanced of the studios that now comprised Republic was

Nat Levine Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Re ...

's Mascot Pictures Corporation, which had been making serials almost exclusively since the mid-1920s and had a first-class production facility, the former

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

lot in Studio City. Mascot also had just discovered

and signed him to a contract as a singing cowboy star. *

Larry Darmour Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator of Larry Darmour Productions from 1927, and a significant figure in Hollywood's Poverty Row. Career Darmour was born in Flushing, Queens. In September 1927 he released t ...

's Majestic Pictures had developed an exhibitor following with big-name stars and rented sets giving his humble productions a polished look. * Republic took its original "

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

" logo from M.H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures (not to be confused with

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

's short-lived

Liberty Films Liberty Films was an independent motion picture production company founded in California by Frank Capra and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, the Christmas classic ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), originally released b ...

that produced his ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

'', coincidentally now owned by Republic) as well as Hoffman's talents as a low-budget film producer. * Chesterfield Pictures and Invincible Pictures, two sister companies under the same ownership, were skilled in producing low-budget melodramas and mysteries. Acquiring and integrating these six companies enabled Republic to begin life with an experienced production staff, a company of veteran B-film supporting players and at least one very promising star, a complete distribution system, and a functioning and modern studio. In exchange for merging, the principals were promised independence in their productions under the Republic

aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

, and higher budgets with which to improve the quality of the films. After he had learned the basics of film production and distribution from his partners, Yates began asserting more and more authority over their film departments, and dissension arose in the ranks. Carr and Johnston left and reactivated Monogram Pictures in 1937; Darmour resumed independent production for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

; Levine left and never recovered from the loss of his studio, staff and stars, all of whom now were contracted to Republic and Yates. Meanwhile, Yates installed a staff of new, "associate" producers who were loyal to him. Freed of partners, Yates presided over what was now his film studio and acquiring senior production and management staff who served him as employees, not experienced peers with independent ideas and agendas. Republic also acquired

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

to record its singing cowboys Gene Autry and

and hired Cy Feuer as head of its music department. At the 1958 annual meeting, Yates announced the end of motion picture production.

Movie studio

Notable Republic films

Types of films

In its early years, Republic was sometimes labeled a "

" company, as its primary products were

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s and serials. Republic, however, showed more interest in — and provided larger budgets to — these films than did many of the larger studios, and certainly more than did the independents. The heart of the company was its

and its many Western film leads — among them

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribut ...

, and

— became recognizable stars at Republic. However, by the mid-1940s, Yates was producing better-quality pictures, mounting big-budget fare such as ''

The Quiet Man ''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 '' Saturday ...

'' (1952), '' Sands of Iwo Jima'' (1949), ''

Johnny Guitar ''Johnny Guitar'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine and Scott Brady. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. The screen ...

'' (1954), and ''

The Maverick Queen ''The Maverick Queen'' is a 1956 American Western film in Trucolor starring Barbara Stanwyck as the title character and Barry Sullivan as an undercover Pinkerton detective out to stop outlaws Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the Wild Bunch ...

'' (1956). Another distinguishing aspect of Republic Pictures was Yates' avoidance of any controversial subject matter (

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s being a staple of B movies), in contrast to the other "Poverty Row" studios that often dodged the

Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

. In 1946, Republic incorporated animation into its Gene Autry feature film ''

Sioux City Sue "Sioux City Sue" is a 1945 song and a 1946 movie. Lyricist Ray Freedman and composer Dick Thomas wrote the song. Thomas recorded the song in February 1945 for National Records and it was a number one Country charts hit for him. The song was Thom ...

''. It turned out well enough for the studio to dabble in animated cartoons. After leaving

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 1946 (reportedly because of angering his peers at the studio's cartoon division for taking credit that was not really his),

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...

approached Republic and directed a single cartoon, ''It's a Grand Old Nag'', featuring the equine character Charlie Horse. Republic management, however, had second thoughts owing to dwindling profits and discontinued the series. Clampett took his direction credit under the name " Kilroy". Republic also produced another cartoon series in 1949 (this time without Clampett) called ''Jerky Journeys'', but only four cartoons were made. From the mid-1940s, Republic films often featured

Vera Hruba Ralston Vera Ralston (born Věra Helena Hrubá; July 12, 1919 or 1920 or 1921 or 1923 February 9, 2003) was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s. Ear ...

, a former ice skater from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

who had won the heart of Yates, marrying him in 1952. She was originally featured in musicals as Republic's answer to

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champi ...

, but Yates tried to build her up as a dramatic star, casting her in leading roles opposite important male stars. Yates billed her as "the most beautiful woman in films," but her charms were lost on the moviegoing public and exhibitors complained that Republic was producing too many Ralston pictures. Years later, John Wayne admitted that he had departed Republic in 1952 over the prospect of having to appear in another film with her. Yates remained Ralston's most ardent supporter, and she continued to appear in Republic features until its final production. Republic produced many " hillbilly"

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

musicals and comedies featuring Bob Burns, the Weaver Brothers, and

Judy Canova Judy Canova (November 20, 1913 – August 5, 1983),Although one source gives her birth date as November 20, 1916, (DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland ...

that were popular in many rural areas of the United States. By the mid-to-late-1940s, the American film industry faced an existential threat, the result of years of wartime stress on costs and the postwar exchange and trade restrictions enacted by the nations of

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

(practically closing off the market to smaller studios such as Republic), the

Paramount Case ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'', 334 U.S. 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Case, or the Paramount Decision), was a landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case that decided the f ...

(even though Republic never owned more than a handful of theaters), and the rise of television. In 1947, Yates stopped the production of short subjects, reduced the amount of serials, and organized Republic's feature output into four types of films: "Jubilee", usually a Western shot in seven days for about $50,000; "Anniversary", filmed in 14–15 days for $175,000-$200,000; "Deluxe", major productions made with a budget of around $500,000; and "Premiere", which were usually made by top-rank directors who most often did not work for Republic, such as

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

and

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...

, and which could have budgets of $1,000,000 or more. Some of these "Deluxe" films were produced by independent companies and were picked up for release by Republic. Although Republic released most of its films in black and white, it occasionally produced higher-budgeted films such as ''

The Red Pony ''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ar ...

'' (1949) and ''The Quiet Man'' in

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 ...

. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Yates utilized a low-cost

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 ...

process called

Trucolor Trucolor was a color motion picture process used and owned by the Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. It was introduced as a replacement for Consolidated's own Magnacolor process. Republic used Trucolor mostly for its We ...

in many Republic films, including ''Johnny Guitar'', '' The Last Command'' (1955), and ''

Magic Fire ''Magic Fire'' is a 1955 American biographical film about the life of composer Richard Wagner, released by Republic Pictures. Directed by William Dieterle, the film made extensive use of Wagner's music, which was arranged by Erich Wolfgang Korng ...

'' (1956). In 1956, the studio devised its own

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

film process,

Naturama Naturama was a widescreen movie technique used by Republic Pictures, during the 1950s. Films produced in ''Naturama'' format *'' The Maverick Queen'' (1956) *''Juvenile Jungle'' (1956) *''Lisbon'' (1956) *''Accused of Murder'' (1956) *''Thunder ...

, and ''The Maverick Queen'' was the first film made in that process.

Television era

Republic was one of the first Hollywood studios to offer its film library to television. In 1951, Republic established a subsidiary, Hollywood Television Service, to sell screening rights in its vintage westerns and

action-thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s. Many of these films, especially the westerns, were edited to fit in a one-hour television slot. Hollywood Television Service also produced television shows filmed in the same style as Republic's serials, such as ''

The Adventures of Fu Manchu ''The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu'' is a syndicated American television series that aired in 1956. The show was produced by Hollywood Television Service, a subsidiary of Republic Pictures. Cast and characters * Glen Gordon as Dr. Fu Manchu * ...

'' (1956). Also, in 1952, the Republic studio lot became the first home of MCA's series factory, Revue Productions. While it appeared that Republic was well suited for television series production, it did not have the finances or vision to do so. Yet by the mid-1950s, thanks to its sale of old features and leasing of studio space to MCA, television was the prop supporting Republic. During this period, the studio produced '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe''; unsuccessful as a theater release, the 12-part serial was later sold to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

for television distribution.

Talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sport ...

MCA exerted influence at the studio, bringing in some high-paid clients for occasional features, and it was rumored at various times that either MCA or deposed

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

head

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

would buy the studio outright. As the demand and market for motion pictures declined with the increasing popularity of television, Republic began to cut back on its films, slowing production from 40 features annually in the early 1950s to 18 in 1957 (in 1956—the year the company had recorded a profit of $919,000—it temporarily ceased production of features.) Perhaps inspired by the success of

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

catering to teenaged audiences, Republic dispensed with its old "no exploitation" rule and released several films in the late 1950s about

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

, such as '' The Wayward Girl'' (1957), ''

Juvenile Jungle , also known as ''Juvenile Jungle'', is a 1956 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Kō Nakahira. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara, the older brother of cast member Yujiro Ishihara,Marc Moha"Crazed Fruit: Th ...

'' (1958), and '' Young and Wild'' (1958). A tearful Yates informed shareholders at the 1958 annual meeting that feature film production was ending; the distribution offices were shut down the following year.

Serials

Republic Corporations

On July 1, 1958, Victor M. Carter, a Los Angeles businessman and turnaround specialist, acquired controlling interest in the company for nearly $6 million, becoming its president. He turned Republic into a diversified business that included

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

s and appliances in addition to its film and studio rentals and Consolidated Film Industries, renaming the company Republic Corporations. Having used the studio for series production for years, Republic began leasing its backlot to other firms, including

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, in 1963. In 1967, Republic's studio was purchased outright by CBS and, having more than quadrupled the stock price for shareholders, Carter sold his controlling interest. Other than producing a 1966 package of 26 Century 66 100-minute

made-for-TV movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

edited from some of the studio's serials to cash in on the popularity of the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' television series, Republic Pictures' role in Hollywood ended with the sale of the studio lot. Republic sold its library of films to

National Telefilm Associates National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was an audio-visual marketing company primarily concerned with the syndication of American film libraries to television, including the Republic Pictures film library. It was successful enough on cable television ...

(NTA). Today, the studio lot is known as CBS Studio Center. In 2006, it became home to the network's Los Angeles stations

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...

and KCAL-TV. In 2008, the CBS network relocated from its Hollywood

Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and C ...

operations to the Radford lot, and its executives are based from the site.

Re-establishment

During the early 1980s, NTA resyndicated most of the Republic film library for use by then-emerging

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

and found itself so successful with these product lines that on December 28, 1984, the company acquired rights to the logos and the name "Republic Pictures Corporation", and renamed itself as such. A television production unit was set up under the Republic name and offered, among other things, off-network repeats of the CBS series ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' and game show ''

Press Your Luck ''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on CBS daytime on September 19, 1983, and ended on September 26, 1986. The format is a retooling of an earlier Carruthers productio ...

'' in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

. There were also a few theatrical films, including ''

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

'', ''

Ruby in Paradise ''Ruby in Paradise'' is a 1993 film written and directed by Victor Nunez, starring Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, and Dorothy Lyman. An homage to ''Northanger Abbey'' by Jane Austen, the film is a character study about a ...

'', ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

'', ''

Live Nude Girls ''Live Nude Girls'' is a 1995 American comedy film featuring Dana Delany, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Stevenson, Laila Robins, Lora Zane and Olivia d'Abo. The film writer and director Julianna Lavin (in her directing debut) plays the role of a mi ...

'', and ''

Bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...

''. At the same time, subsidiary NTA Home Entertainment was renamed Republic Pictures Home Video and began remarketing the original Republic film library. In 1985, the company bought out

Blackhawk Films Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

, and eventually Republic decided to close Blackhawk in 1987. Also that year, Republic Pictures Home Video, the home video division of the Republic Pictures, had inked an agreement with Hawk Company, headed by

Robert Clouse Robert Clouse (March 6, 1928 – February 4, 1997) was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997, in Oregon of kidney failure. Clouse di ...

, in order to gain access to 31 projects that were developed by Hawk, for home video release, and that Republic Pictures Home Video received a 24% share in the newly formed Hawk Company organization. On August 27, 1986, Republic Pictures Home Video had established a venture with Eagle Productions Ltd. that Eagle would produce family-oriented outdoors programming, and that Republic Pictures Home Video would handle sales, marketing and distribution of the Eagle Productions titles, with the venture The Eagle Heritage Video Collection is aimed at the interest of hunting, fishing and other "non-consumptive" uses of the outdoors. In 1987, Republic Pictures decided to expand onto its television production activities, in association with Jaffe/Lansing Productions, on a television movie for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, which is ''When the Time Comes'', plus two prospective projects for

, which are ''Indiscreet'', and ''Mistress'', which was part of a three-picture deal between Jaffe/Lansing and Republic Pictures. That year, Chuck Larsen was hired by Republic Pictures as president of domestic television distribution, and will select the two from a number of series we have in development. In 1993, this new Republic won a landmark legal decision reactivating the copyright on

's 1946

RKO 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-Orpheu ...

film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (under NTA, it had already acquired the film's negative, music score, and the story on which it was based, "

The Greatest Gift "The Greatest Gift" is a 1943 short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern, loosely based on the Charles Dickens 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'', which became the basis for the film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946). It was self-published a ...

"). In June 1993, the company's home video division signed a deal with the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

for the release of several of the company's properties on VHS in order for the former to expand to the children's video market. On April 27, 1994,

Spelling Entertainment Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...

, headed by

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

and controlled by

Blockbuster Entertainment Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming, ...

, acquired the Republic Pictures library; soon after, Blockbuster's established home video unit, Worldvision Home Video, merged with Republic's and took the latter's name. Later that year, Blockbuster merged with

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

. In 1996, Republic shut down its film production unit. In September 1997, Republic's video rental operations were taken over by Paramount Entertainment; its sell-through operations remained. In September 1998, Spelling licensed the American and Canadian video rights to its library to

Artisan Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

, while the library itself continued to be released under the Republic name and logo. By the end of the decade, Viacom bought the portion of Spelling it did not own previously; thus, Republic became a wholly owned division of

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Artisan (later sold to

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

) continued to use the Republic name, logo, and library under license from Paramount. Republic Pictures' holdings consist of a catalog of 3,000 films and TV series, including the original Republic library (except for the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry catalogs, owned by their respective estates) and inherited properties from NTA and Aaron Spelling. In 2012, Richard Feiner & Co. sued Paramount for the unauthorized exploitation of 17 films from the 1940s and 50s originally released by

which Feiner had previously acquired. Feiner sold Republic Pictures the "rights, and interest of every kind, nature, and description throughout the Universe" to the films in 1986, but retained the license to exploit the films in major U.S. markets (New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, etc.). The plaintiff claimed that the films aired on cable several times without their knowledge. The case was later settled, with Feiner now sharing in the royalties.Gardner, Eriq
Paramount Gets Mixed Rulings in Legal Cases Over 'La Dolce Vita,' 'Johnny Come Lately.'
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' (April 24, 2012) Republic has since folded and currently is part of Melange Pictures, LLC, established by Viacom as a holding company for the Republic library. The video rights, in turn, shifted from Lionsgate to Olive Films and

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

(under license from Paramount). However, both the Republic name and its logo are still being used on its in-house reissues on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

through Olive and Kino, as they remain licensed trademarks of

Paramount Global Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

References

Sources

* Mathis, Jack, ''Republic Confidential – Volume One: The Studio'' and ''Republic Confidential – Volume Two: The Players'' (1992), Empire Publishing Company.

External links

Republic Pictures: Celebrating 75 Years
* {{ViacomCBS Mass media companies established in 1935 Mass media companies disestablished in 1967 Mass media companies established in 1985 Mass media companies disestablished in 1996 Film studios in Southern California Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct American film studios Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Entertainment companies based in California Film production companies of the United States History of the San Fernando Valley 1935 establishments in California 1964 disestablishments in California Predecessors of CBS Studios CBS Media Ventures Paramount Global subsidiaries Re-established companies Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners