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, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

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 ...

'' released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

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), known professionally as Michael Wayne, was an American actor and film producer. He was best known as the eldest son of the actor John Wayne. Early life Michael Anthony Morrison w ...

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 Holly ...

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 na ...

'' (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 and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

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'', ''

Cahill U.S. Marshal ''Cahill U.S. Marshal'' is a 1973 American Western (genre), 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 supportin ...

'', ''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western (genre), 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, and Maureen O'Hara' ...

'', ''

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 Kr ...

'', '' The Green Berets'', '' Seven Men from Now'', and ''McQ''.

The "lost" Wayne films

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

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, 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 (film actor), 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'' ...

'', '' Ring of Fear'', '' Plunder of the Sun'', ''

Track of the Cat Track of the Cat may refer to: * ''Track of the Cat'' (film), a 1954 American Western film * ''Track of the Cat'' (album), a 1975 album by Dionne Warwick * ''Track of the Cat'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Nevada Barr * ''The Track of the Cat'', a 1 ...

'', ''

China Doll A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of 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 or bisque doll ...

'', '' Escort West'', and '' Gun the Man Down''. 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, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in 2005. Although now released by Paramount, the Batjac films originally distributed by Warner Bros. still retained their original "WB Shield" 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 Fleischer (or Fleisher) is a common German language, German and Yiddish language, Yiddish family name. Its literal meaning is "butcher". Other German family names with the same meaning include Metzger (disambiguation), Metzger, Mezger, Fleischman, a ...

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 established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

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