| RKO Radio Pictures Inc. | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Corporation |
| Founded | 1929 (as Radio Pictures Inc. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business , subsidiary of Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. ) |
| Dissolved | 1959 (de facto) |
| Headquarters | 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY |
| Industry | Motion pictures |
RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" The United States of America —commonly referred to as the As Radio Pictures Inc. and then RKO Radio Pictures Inc. , it was one of the so-called Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio were brought together under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October 1928. The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of Vaudeville and motion picture theatres Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy Sr (September 6 1888 &ndash November 18 1969 was a prominent American businessman and political figure and the father of U Film Booking Offices of America (FBO was an American Film studio of the silent era, a producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 [1] RCA chief David Sarnoff engineered the merger in order to create a market for the company's sound-on-film technology, RCA Photophone. Sound-on-film refers to a class of Sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film usually but not always the same RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded By the mid-1940s, the studio was under the control of investor Floyd Odlum. Floyd Bostwick Odlum (March 30 1892 Union City Michigan – June 17 1976 Indio California) was a wealthy Lawyer and industrialist
RKO has long been celebrated for its cycle of musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the mid- to late 1930s. Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 &ndash June 22, 1987) was an American Academy Award Ginger Rogers ( July 16, 1911 &ndash April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award -winning American film and stage actress Katharine Hepburn and, later, Robert Mitchum had their first major successes at the studio. Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12 1907 – June 29 2003 was an American actress of film television and stage Robert Charles Durman Mitchum ( August 6, 1917 &ndash July 1, 1997) was an Academy Award nominated American film Cary Grant was a mainstay for years. The work of producer Val Lewton's low-budget horror unit and RKO's many ventures into the field now known as film noir have been acclaimed, largely after the fact, by film critics and historians. Val Lewton ( 7 May – 14 March) was an American Film producer and Screenwriter, who is best known for a sequence of nine brooding Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation The studio left its deepest mark with two of the most famous films in motion picture history: King Kong and Citizen Kane. King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from Citizen Kane ( 1941) is an American Dramatic film, and the first Feature film directed by Orson Welles, who also co-authored
In its later years, RKO was taken over by maverick industrialist Howard Hughes and finally by the General Tire and Rubber Company. Howard Robard Hughes Jr (December 24 1905 – April 5 1976 was an American Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer / director, Philanthropist The General Tire and Rubber Company is an American manufacturer of Tires for Motor vehicles. The original RKO Pictures ceased production in 1957 and was effectively dissolved two years later. In 1981, broadcaster RKO General, the corporate heir, revived it as a production subsidiary, RKO Pictures Inc. RKO General was the main Holding company through 1991 for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and after General Tire's reorganization in In 1989, this business with its few remaining assets, the trademarks and remake rights to many classic RKO films, was sold to new owners, who now operate the small independent company RKO Pictures LLC. A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual A " remake' " is a term used to described something that has been done again sometimes with better Quality, and usually with more features
Contents |
The birth of RKO
Shut out of the profitable sound-film conversion business driven by the success of Warner Bros.' October 1927 release The Jazz Singer, RCA bought its way into the motion picture industry to gain an outlet for the optical sound-on-film system, Photophone, recently developed by General Electric, RCA's parent company. A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American Musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized Dialogue All of the major studios and their theater divisions were in the process of signing with ERPI, a subsidiary of AT&T's Western Electric division, to handle conversion. Before proposing a merge request please see Talk and see if the merger you propose has recently been made and Western Electric Company (sometimes abbreviated WE and WECo) was an American Electrical engineering company the manufacturing arm Hoping to join in the anticipated boom in sound movies, David Sarnoff, general manager of RCA, approached Joseph Kennedy in late 1927 about using the Photophone system for Kennedy's modest-sized studio, Film Booking Offices of America (FBO). Negotiations resulted in General Electric acquiring a substantial interest in FBO, the first step in a broader plan that appears to have been largely conceived by Sarnoff. Next on the agenda was securing a string of exhibition venues like those the leading Hollywood production companies owned. Around the same time that Kennedy began investigating the possibility of such a purchase, the large Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) circuit of theaters, built around the now fading medium of live vaudeville, was attempting a transition to the movie business. Benjamin Franklin Keith (January 26 1846 &ndash March 26 1914 was an American Vaudeville theatre owner generally credited for the evolution of variety theater into Edward Franklin Albee II ( October 8, 1857 &ndash March 11, 1930) was a Vaudeville impresario and the adoptive grandfather of Orpheum Circuit Inc was a company started by Martin Beck who owned a series of Vaudeville theatres and motion picture theatres The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of Vaudeville and motion picture theatres Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s In spring 1927, the filmmaking operations of Pathé (U.S.) and Cecil B. De Mille had united under the control of the theater group. This article deals with the Pathé movie company For their music business see Pathé Records. Cecil Blount DeMille ( August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director Early in 1928, KAO general manager John J. Murdock, who had assumed the presidency of Pathé, turned to Kennedy as an advisor in consolidating the studio with De Mille's company, Producers Distributing Corporation (PDC). This was the relationship Sarnoff and Kennedy were looking for. [2]
With Murdock's support, Kennedy led a syndicate that acquired KAO on May 10, 1928. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [3] De Mille was soon bought out and Pathé took over his production facilities in Culver City. Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California. After an aborted attempt by Kennedy to bring yet another studio that had turned to him for help, First National Pictures, into the Photophone fold, RCA was ready to step back in: the company acquired Kennedy's stock in both FBO and the KAO theater business. First National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them and eventually to producing them as On October 23, 1928, RCA announced the creation of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum holding company, with Sarnoff as chairman of the board. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kennedy, who stepped aside from his executive positions in the merged companies, kept Pathé separate from RKO and under his personal control. [4] RCA owned the governing stock interest in RKO, 22 percent; in the early 1930s, RCA's share of stock in the company would rise as high as 60 percent. [5] The company's production and distribution arm, presided over by former FBO vice-president Joseph I. Schnitzer, was incorporated early in 1929 as Radio Pictures. [6] Looking to get out of the film business the following year, Kennedy arranged in late 1930 for RKO to purchase Pathé from him. On January 29, 1931, Pathé, with its contract players, well-regarded newsreel operation, and Culver City studio and backlot, was merged into RKO as Kennedy sold off the last of his stock in the company he had been instrumental in creating. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [7]
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
The early years
Declaring that it would make only all-talking films, RKO began shooting at the former FBO facility in early 1929. For other uses of Rio Rita see Rio Rita (disambiguation Rio Rita is a 1929 Radio Pictures musical comedy starring In charge of production was William LeBaron, who had held the same position at FBO. The new studio's first two releases were musicals, the melodramatic Syncopation, which premiered March 3, and the comedic Street Girl (RKO's first "official" production, following the formal incorporation of Radio Pictures), which debuted July 30. Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Street Girl is a 1929 musical comedy / drama film directed by Wesley Ruggles. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off For the lavish musical Rio Rita, RKO spared no expense, including a number of Technicolor sequences. For other uses of Rio Rita see Rio Rita (disambiguation Rio Rita is a 1929 Radio Pictures musical comedy starring Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation Opening in September to rave reviews, it was the studio's first major hit and was named one of the ten best pictures of the year by Film Daily. Encouraged by its success, RKO produced several costly musicals incorporating Technicolor sequences in 1930, among them Dixiana and Hit the Deck, both scripted and directed, like Rio Rita, by Luther Reed. Dixiana is a 1930 lavish American Musical film directed by Luther Reed produced by Radio Pictures (later known as RKO) Following the example of the other major studios, RKO planned to create its own musical revue, Radio Revels. A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. [8] Promoted as the studio's most extravagant production to date, it was to be photographed entirely in Technicolor. A second all-color musical was also planned, the first screen version of Victor Herbert's operetta Babes in Toyland, to be directed by Reed. Victor August Herbert ( February 1 1859 &ndash May 26 1924) was a Cellist, conductor and Composer best known Babes in Toyland is an Operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough (1870 - 1924 which wove together various characters [9] The projects were abandoned, however, as the public's taste for musicals temporarily subsided. From a total of more than sixty Hollywood musicals in 1929 and over eighty the following year, the number would drop to eleven in 1931. [10] RKO was left in a bind: it still had a contract with Technicolor to produce two more features with its system. Complicating matters, audiences had come to associate color with the momentarily out-of-favor musical genre due to a glut of such productions from the major Hollywood studios. Fulfilling its obligations, RKO produced two all-Technicolor pictures, The Runaround and Fanny Foley Herself (both 1931), containing no musical sequences. The Runaround ( 1931) is an All-Talking comedy drama that was photographed entirely in Technicolor. Fanny Foley Herself ( 1931) is an All-Talking comedy drama that was photographed entirely in Technicolor. Neither was a success. [11]
Even as the U. S. economy foundered, RKO had gone on a spending spree, buying up theater after theater to add to its exhibition chain. By the early 1930s, RKO was producing over forty features a year, releasing them under the names "Radio Pictures" and, for a short time after the 1931 merger, "RKO Pathé. " Cimarron (1931), produced by LeBaron himself, would become the only RKO production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture; nonetheless, having cost an astonishing $1. Cimarron ( 1931) is a film directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron. The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working 4 million to produce, Cimarron was a clear domestic money-loser on original release. [12] The most popular RKO star of this pre-Code era was Irene Dunne, who made her debut as the lead in the 1930 musical Leathernecking and was a headliner at the studio for the entire decade. Pre-Code films were created before the Motion Picture Production Code or Hays Code - censorship guidelines - took effect on 1 July 1934 in the United Irene Dunne ( December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was a five-time Academy Award -nominated American film actress and Other major performers included Joel McCrea, Ricardo Cortez, and Mary Astor. Joel Albert McCrea, (November 5 &ndashOctober 20) was an American actor and Film star whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films Ricardo Cortez ( September 19, 1899 – April 28, 1977) was a film actor who began his career during the Silent film era Mary Astor ( May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an Academy Award -winning American Actress. Richard Dix, Oscar-nominated for his lead performance in Cimarron, would serve as RKO's standby B-movie star through the early 1940s. Richard Dix ( July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American Motion picture Actor who achieved popularity Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to recognize A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double The comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, often wrangling over sweetie pie Dorothy Lee, was a bankable mainstay for years. Bert Wheeler ( 7 April 1895 in Paterson New Jersey &ndash 18 January 1968 in New York City) and Robert Woolsey Robert Rolla Woolsey (born August 14, 1888 in Carbondale IL - October 30, 1938) was an American Film Comedian Dorothy Lee ( May 23, 1911 - June 24, 1999) was an actress and comedian during the 1930s usually appearing alongside the popular Wheeler Constance Bennett, Ann Harding, and Helen Twelvetrees came over with Pathé, whose distribution deal with the Van Beuren cartoon studio was also picked up. Constance Campbell Bennett ( October 22, 1904 &ndash July 24, 1965) was an American actress. Ann Harding ( August 7, 1901 &ndash September 1, 1981) was an American Theatre, motion picture, Radio, Helen Twelvetrees ( December 25, 1908 - February 13, 1958) was an American stage and screen performer considered a top female Van Beuren Studios was an Animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons from 1928 to 1936 The Pathé acquisition, though a defensible investment in the long term for its physical facilities, was yet another major expense borne by the fledgling RKO, particularly as Pathé's stock price had been artificially inflated by some prepurchase finagling. [13] After little more than a year of semiautonomous operation within RKO, Pathé was dissolved as a feature production unit.
Success under Selznick
Exceptions like Cimarron and Rio Rita aside, RKO's product was largely regarded as mediocre, so in autumn 1931 Sarnoff hired 29-year-old David O. Selznick to replace LeBaron as production chief. David O Selznick, born David Selznick ( May 10, 1902 &ndash June 22, 1965) was one of the iconic Hollywood producers In addition to implementing rigorous cost-control measures, Selznick was a champion of the so-called unit production system that gave the producers of individual movies much greater independence than they had under the prevailing central producer system. A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Instituting unit production at RKO, he predicted substantial benefits in both "cost and quality. "[14] To make films under the new system, Selznick recruited prize behind-the-camera personnel, such as director George Cukor and producer/director Merian C. Cooper, and gave whiz kid producer Pandro S. Berman increasingly important projects. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. George Dewey Cukor ( July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director. Merian Caldwell Cooper ( October 24, 1893, Jacksonville Florida, USA &mdash April 21, 1973, San Diego California Pandro Samuel Berman ( March 28, 1905 &ndash July 13, 1996) known as Pandro S Selznick discovered and signed a young actress who would quickly become one of the studio's biggest stars, Katharine Hepburn. Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12 1907 – June 29 2003 was an American actress of film television and stage John Barrymore was also enlisted for a few memorable performances. John Sidney Blyth Barrymore ( February 15 1882 – May 29 1942) was an American Actor, frequently called the greatest From September 1932 on, print advertising for the company's features displayed the revised name "RKO Radio Pictures"; the Pathé name was used only for newsreels and documentaries. [15]
Selznick spent a mere fifteen months as RKO production chief, resigning over a dispute with new corporate president Merlin Aylesworth concerning creative control. King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from [17] One of his last acts at RKO was to approve a screen test for an aging, balding Broadway song-and-dance man named Fred Astaire. For the BBC TV series see Screen Test. A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an Actor or actress for Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 &ndash June 22, 1987) was an American Academy Award [18] Selznick's tenure was widely considered masterful: In 1931, before he arrived, the studio had produced forty-two features for $16 million in total budgets. In 1932, under Selznick, forty-one features were made for $10. 2 million, with clear improvement in quality and popularity. [19] He backed several major successes, including A Bill of Divorcement (1932), with Cukor directing Hepburn's debut, and the monumental King Kong (1933)—largely Merian Cooper's brainchild, brought to life by the astonishing special effects work of Willis O'Brien. A Bill of Divorcement is a British play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called Willis H "O'Bie" O'Brien ( March 2, 1886 - November 8, 1962) was a pioneering Still, the shaky finances and excesses that marked the company's pre-Selznick days had not left RKO in shape to withstand the Depression; the company sank into receivership in early 1933, from which it would not emerge until 1940. Administrative receivership is a procedure in the United Kingdom whereby a creditor can enforce security against a company's assets in an effort to obtain [20]
Cooper at the helm
Cooper took over as production head after Selznick's departure and oversaw the hits Little Women (1933), with Cukor again directing Hepburn, and Morning Glory (1933), for which the actress won her first Oscar. Little Women is a monochrome (b&w with sound 1933 film made by RKO and directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Sarah Y Morning Glory is a 1933 Pre-Code American Drama film which tells the story of an eager but unstable would-be actress whose good looks draw more Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to Ginger Rogers had already made several minor films for RKO when Cooper signed her to a seven-year contract and cast her in the big-budget musical Flying Down to Rio (1933). Ginger Rogers ( July 16, 1911 &ndash April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award -winning American film and stage actress Flying Down to Rio is a Musical film made by RKO and released on December 29, in 1933. [21] Rogers was paired with Astaire, making his movie debut. Billed fourth and fifth respectively, the picture turned them into major stars. Along with Columbia Pictures, RKO became one of the primary homes of the screwball comedy. }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the comedy Film genre. It has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring film genres As film historian James Harvey describes, compared to their richer competition, the two studios were "more receptive to experiment, more tolerant of chaos on the set. It was at these two lesser 'majors'. . . that nearly all the preeminent screwball directors did their important films—[Howard] Hawks and [Gregory] La Cava and [Leo] McCarey and [George] Stevens. Howard Winchester Hawks ( May 30, 1896 &ndash December 26, 1977) was an American Film director, producer and Gregory La Cava ( March 10, 1892 &ndash March 1, 1952) was an American Film director best known for his films of the 1930s Thomas Leo McCarey ( October 3, 1898 - July 5, 1969) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director George Stevens ( December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an Academy Award -winning American motion picture "[22] The relatively unheralded William A. Seiter directed the studio's first significant contribution to the genre, The Richest Girl in the World (1934). William A Seiter ( June 10, 1890 - July 26, 1964) is an American Film director. [23] Directors such as Stevens, John Cromwell, and John Ford made impressive films at the studio in this period: Cromwell's Of Human Bondage (1934) was Bette Davis's first great success. John Cromwell may refer to John Cromwell (director (1887-1979 American film director John P Of Human Bondage is a 1934 film the first film adaptation of the 1915 novel of the same name by the British author W Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5 1908 – October 6 1989 was an American actress of Film, Television and Theatre. Stevens's Alice Adams and Ford's The Informer were each nominated for the 1935 Best Picture Oscar—the Best Director statuette won by Ford was the only one ever given for an RKO production. Alice Adams, also known as Booth Tarkington's Alice Adams, is a 1935 Romantic film Remake made by RKO. The Informer is a 1935 dramatic film released by RKO. The plot concerns the underside of the Irish War of Independence set in 1922 The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing (Best Director is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to The Informer's star, Victor McLaglen, also took home an Academy Award; he would appear in thirteen movies for the studio over a span of two decades. Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen ( December 10, 1886 - November 7, 1959) was an Academy Award winning English
Lacking the financial resources of industry leaders MGM, Paramount, and Fox, RKO turned out many pictures during the era that made up for it with high style, exemplified by such Astaire–Rogers musicals as The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935). Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 Film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. For the item of clothing see Top hat. For the fictional TUGS character see Top Hat (TUGS. One of the figures most responsible for that style was another Selznick recruit: Van Nest Polglase, chief of RKO's highly regarded design department for almost a decade. Production designer is a term used in the movie and Television industries to refer to the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films Indeed, the studio's craft divisions were among the best in the industry across the board. Costumer Walter Plunkett, who worked with the company from the close of the FBO era through the end of 1939, was known as the top period wardrobist in the business. Costume design is the Design of the appearance of the characters in a Theater or cinema performance Walter Plunkett ( June 2, 1902 - March 8, 1982) was a prolific Academy Award -winning Costume designer who worked on more " Period piece " is phrase that is used to describe creative works Sidney Saunders, innovative head of the studio's paint department, was responsible for significant progress in rear projection quality. [24] On June 13, 1935, RKO premiered the first feature film shot entirely in advanced three-strip Technicolor, Becky Sharp. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation Becky Sharp is an American film released in 1935 and directed by Rouben Mamoulian. The movie was coproduced with Pioneer Pictures, founded by Cooper—who departed RKO after two years helming production—and John Hay "Jock" Whitney, who brought in his cousin Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney; Cooper had successfully encouraged the Whitneys to purchase a major share of the Technicolor business as well. John Hay Whitney ( August 27, 1904 - February 8, 1982) colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney was U Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney ( February 20 1899 - December 13 1992) was an American Businessman, Film producer [25] Though judged by critics a failure as drama, Becky Sharp was widely lauded for its visual brilliance and technical expertise. RKO also employed some of the industry's leading artists and craftsmen whose work was never seen. From the studio's earliest days through late 1935, Max Steiner, regarded by many historians as the most influential composer of the early years of sound cinema, made music for over 100 RKO films. This article is about the film composer For other persons with the same name see Max Steiner. [26] Murray Spivak, head of the studio's audio special effects department, made important advances in the use of rerecording technology first heard in King Kong. [27]
Briskin and Berman
In October 1935 the ownership team expanded, with financier Floyd Odlum leading a syndicate that bought 50 percent of RCA's stake in the company; the Rockefeller brothers, also major stockholders, increasingly became involved in the business. Floyd Bostwick Odlum (March 30 1892 Union City Michigan – June 17 1976 Indio California) was a wealthy Lawyer and industrialist The Rockefeller family, the renowned Cleveland family of John D [28] While the Astaire–Rogers team ran its course and RKO kept missing the mark in building Hepburn's career, major stars Cary Grant and Barbara Stanwyck joined the studio's roster—though Stanwyck would have little success during her few years there. Barbara Stanwyck ( July 16, &ndash January 20,) was an American actress, a star of film and television known during her 60-year career as a Grant was a trendsetter, one of the first leading men of the sound era to work extensively as a freelancer, under nonexclusive studio deals, while his star was still on the rise. [29] Ann Sothern starred in seven RKO films between 1935 and 1937, paired five times with Gene Raymond. Ann Sothern ( January 22, 1909 &ndash March 15, 2001) was an Academy Award -nominated American film and Gene Raymond ( August 13, 1908 &ndash May 2, 1998) was an American film television and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s
Soon after the appointment of a new production chief, Samuel Briskin, in late 1935, RKO dropped Van Beuren and entered into an important distribution deal with animator Walt Disney. Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter From 1936 to 1954, the studio released his features and shorts; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the highest grossing movie in the period between The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Gone with the Wind (1939). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American film based on the eponymous German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The Birth of a Nation (also known as The Clansman) a Silent film directed by D Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American dramatic - romantic - War film adapted from Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 Following the change in print branding a few years earlier, the opening and closing logos on RKO movies, other than the Pathé nonfiction line, were changed to "RKO Radio Pictures" in 1936. [30] In February 1937, Selznick, now a leading independent producer, took over RKO's Culver City studio and Forty Acres, as the backlot was known, under a long-term lease. History The property on which the backlot was located was originally intended to be a lease for Cecil B Gone with the Wind, his coproduction with MGM, was largely shot there. [31] In addition to its central Hollywood studio, RKO production now revolved around its Encino backlot. While the Disney association was beneficial, RKO's own product was widely seen as declining in quality and Briskin was gone by the end of the year.
Pandro Berman—who had filled in on three previous occasions—accepted the position of production chief on a noninterim basis. As it turned out, he would leave the job before the decade's turn, but his brief tenure resulted in some of the most notable films in studio history, including Gunga Din, with Grant and McLaglen; Love Affair, starring Dunne and Charles Boyer; and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (all 1939). Gunga Din is a 1939 RKO Adventure film loosely based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, combined with elements of his novel Charles Boyer (28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978 was a four-time Academy Award -nominated French Actor who starred in a number of classic Hollywood The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American Monochrome Motion picture. Charles Laughton, who gave a now fabled performance as Quasimodo in the latter, returned periodically to the studio, headlining six more RKO features. Charles Laughton ( 1 July, 1899 &ndash 15 December, 1962) was an English Academy Award -winning stage and Quasimodo is a central character from French author Victor Hugo 's 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris. For Maureen O'Hara, who made her American screen debut in the film, it was the first of ten pictures she would make for RKO through 1952. Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons on 17 August 1920 in Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish film actress
The studio's B Western star of the period was George O'Brien, who made eighteen RKO pictures, sixteen between 1938 and 1940. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. George O'Brien ( April 19, 1899 &ndash September 4, 1985) was an American Actor, popular The Saint in New York (1938) successfully launched a B detective series featuring the character Simon Templar that would run through 1943. The Saint in New York, released in 1938 by RKO Pictures was a crime thriller that marked the first screen appearance of sleuth Simon Templar, Overview Simon Templar is known as the Saint because of his initials (ST and also because of his heroic exploits that fly in the face of an otherwise nefarious reputation The Wheeler and Woolsey comedy series ended in 1937 when Woolsey became ill (he died the following year). RKO filled the void by releasing independently produced features such as the Dr. Christian series and the Laurel and Hardy comedy The Flying Deuces. Laurel and Hardy were the popular American -based comedy team of thin British-born Stan Laurel (1890-1965 and heavy American-born Oliver Hardy (1892-1957 The Flying Deuces, also known as Flying Aces, is a Comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. The studio soon had its own new B comedy star in Lupe Vélez: The Girl from Mexico (1939) was followed by seven frantic installments of the Mexican Spitfire series, all featuring Leon Errol, between 1940 and 1943. Lupe Vélez ( July 18, 1908 &ndash December 13, 1944) was a Mexican actress Leon Errol ( July 3, 1881 - October 12, 1951) was an Australian born comedian and actor in the United States, popular The studio's technical departments maintained their reputation as industry leaders; Vernon Walker's special effects unit became famous for its sophisticated use of the optical printer and lifelike matte work, an art that would reach its apex with 1941's Citizen Kane. An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film Projectors mechanically linked to a Movie camera. For the technique of creating backgrounds see Matte painting. Citizen Kane ( 1941) is an American Dramatic film, and the first Feature film directed by Orson Welles, who also co-authored [32]
Kane and Schaefer's troubles
Pan Berman had received his first screen credit in 1925 as a nineteen-year-old assistant director on FBO's Midnight Molly. Citizen Kane ( 1941) is an American Dramatic film, and the first Feature film directed by Orson Welles, who also co-authored An assistant director (AD is a person who helps the director in the making of a Movie or Television show He departed RKO in December 1939 after policy clashes with studio president George J. Schaefer, handpicked the previous year by the Rockefellers and backed by Sarnoff. George Schaefer ( November 5, 1888 &ndash August 8, 1981) was a movie producer and once the president of RKO in 1941 when Orson With Berman gone, Schaefer became in effect production chief, though other men—including the former head of the industry censorship board, Joseph I. For the television broadcasting term please see Production code number. Breen—nominally filled the role. [33] Schaefer, announcing his philosophy with a new studio slogan, "Quality Pictures at a Premium Price", was keen on signing up independent producers whose films RKO would distribute. [34] In 1941, the studio landed one of the most prestigious independents in Hollywood when it arranged to handle Samuel Goldwyn's productions. Samuel Goldwyn ( ca. July 1879 &ndash 31 January 1974) was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award -winning producer The first two Goldwyn pictures released by the studio were highly successful: The Little Foxes, directed by William Wyler, is seen as one of Bette Davis's finest films, while the Howard Hawks–directed Ball Of Fire at last brought Barbara Stanwyck a hit under the RKO banner. The Little Foxes is a 1941 American Drama film directed by William Wyler. William Wyler ( July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a four-time Academy Award -winning motion picture director Barbara Stanwyck ( July 16, &ndash January 20,) was an American actress, a star of film and television known during her 60-year career as a However, Schaefer agreed to terms so favorable to Goldwyn that it was next to impossible for the studio to make money off his films. [35] David O. Selznick loaned out his leading director under contract for two RKO pictures in 1941: Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a modest success and Suspicion a more substantial one, with an Oscar-winning turn by Joan Fontaine. For other uses see Mr & Mrs Smith Mr & Mrs Smith is a 1941 Screwball comedy film directed by Alfred Suspicion ( 1941) is a romantic Psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is an Academy Award -winning British Actress in American films [36]
That May, RKO released Citizen Kane, coproducing with director Orson Welles's Mercury Productions. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television While it opened to strong reviews and would go on to be hailed as one of the greatest movies ever made, it lost money at the time and brought down the wrath of the Hearst newspaper chain on RKO. For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash The next year saw the commercial failure of Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons—like Kane, critically lauded and overbudget—and the expensive embarrassment of his aborted documentary It's All True. The Magnificent Ambersons is a American Drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. It's All True was the title of an unfinished Orson Welles documentary about South America shot in 1942. The three Mercury productions combined to drain $2 million from the RKO coffers, major money for a corporation that had reported an overall deficit of $1 million in 1940 and a profit (perhaps "creative") of a bit more than $500,000 in 1941. [37] Many of RKO's other artistically ambitious pictures were also dying at the box office and it was losing its last exclusive deal with a major star as well. Rogers, after winning an Oscar in 1941 for her performance in the previous year's Kitty Foyle, held out for a freelance contract like Grant's; after 1943, she would appear in just one more RKO production, thirteen years later. Kitty Foyle, subtitled The Natural History of a Woman, is a film starring Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, [38] On June 17, 1942, Schaefer tendered his resignation. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [39] He departed a weakened and troubled studio, but RKO was about to turn the corner. Propelled by the box-office boom of World War II and guided by new management, RKO would make a strong comeback over the next half-decade.
Rebound under Koerner
By the end of June 1942, Floyd Odlum had taken over a controlling interest in the company via his Atlas Corporation, edging aside the Rockefellers and Sarnoff. Charles Koerner, former head of the RKO theater chain and allied with Odlum, had assumed the title of production chief some time prior to Schaefer's departure. With Schaefer gone, Koerner could actually do the job; announcing a policy of "entertainment, not genius" (a snipe at Schaefer's artistic ambitions in general and his sponsorship of Welles in particular), he brought the studio much-needed stability until his death in February 1946. [40] The change in RKO's fortunes was virtually immediate: corporate profits rose from $736,241 in 1942 (the theatrical division compensating for the studio's $2. 34 million deficit) to $6. 96 million the following year. [41] The Rockefellers sold off their stock and, early in 1943, RCA dispensed with the last of its holdings in the company as well, cutting David Sarnoff's ties to the studio that was largely his conception. [42]
With RKO on increasingly secure ground, Koerner sought to increase its output of handsomely budgeted, star-driven features. However, the studio's only remaining major star under anything like an extended contract was Grant, whose services were shared with Columbia Pictures. Lacking in-house stars, Koerner and his successors under Odlum made deals with the other studios to loan out their biggest names for top-drawer RKO productions. Thus RKO pictures of the mid- and late forties offered Bing Crosby, Henry Fonda, and others who were out of the studio's price range for extended contracts. Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby ( May 3, 1903 &ndash October 14, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American Popular Henry Jaynes Fonda ( May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American Academy Award -winning Film and John Wayne appeared in 1943's A Lady Takes a Chance on loan from Republic Pictures; he was soon working regularly with RKO, making nine more movies for the studio. John Wayne ( May 26, 1907 &ndash June 11, 1979) was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award -winning American Republic Pictures (also known as Republic Entertainment Inc) is an independent film television and video distribution company that was originally a movie production-distribution Gary Cooper appeared in RKO releases produced by Goldwyn and, later, the startup International Pictures, and Claudette Colbert starred in a number of RKO coproductions. Frank James “Gary” Cooper (May 7 &ndashMay 13) was an American film actor and iconic star Claudette Colbert ( IPA: /koʊlˈbɛɹ/ ( September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was a French -born American stage Ingrid Bergman appeared under a variety of hats for RKO—on loan out from Selznick in The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), in the coproductions Notorious (1946) and Stromboli (1950), and in the independently produced Joan of Arc (1948). (ˈbærjman in Swedish but usually ˈbɝgmən in English (August 29 1915 &ndash August 29 1982 was a Swedish three-time Academy Award -winning and two-time Emmy The Bells of St Mary's is a 1945 film which tells the story of a priest and a nun at a school who set out despite their good-natured rivalry to save the school Notorious ( 1946) is a thriller directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as Stromboli (also known as Stromboli terra di dio) ( 1950) is an Italian and American film directed by Roberto Rossellini Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war Freelancing Randolph Scott appeared in one major RKO release annually from 1943 through 1948. Randolph Scott ( January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 In similar fashion, many leading directors made one or more films at RKO during this era—most notably, Alfred Hitchcock once more, with Notorious, and Jean Renoir, with This Land Is Mine (1943), reuniting Laughton and O'Hara, and The Woman on the Beach (1947). Jean Renoir (French ʁəˈnwaʁ ( September 15, 1894 – February 12, 1979) born in the Montmartre district of Paris This Land Is Mine is a 1943 war drama set in Nazi -occupied France and directed by Jean Renoir. John Ford's The Fugitive (1947) and Fort Apache (1948), which appeared right before studio ownership changed hands again, were followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Wagon Master (1950); all four were co-productions between RKO and Argosy, the company run by Ford and RKO alumnus Merian C. The Fugitive is a 1947 American - Mexican Drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on Fort Apache is a 1948 western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. For the 2007 Porter Wagoner album see Wagonmaster Wagon Master is a 1950 Western film Cooper. The best-known director under contract to RKO for much of the 1940s was Edward Dmytryk, who first came to notice with the remarkably profitable Hitler's Children (1943); shot on a budget placing it in the bottom 25 percent of Big Five studio productions, it was one of the ten biggest Hollywood hits of the year. Edward Dmytryk ( September 4, 1908 &ndash July 1, 1999) was an American Film director who was amongst the Hollywood [43]
Focus on B movies
Much more than the other Big Five studios, RKO relied on B pictures to fill up its schedule. Of the thirty-one features released by RKO in 1944, for instance, ten were budgeted below $200,000, twelve were in the $200,000 to $500,000 range, and only nine cost more. In contrast, a clear majority of the features put out by each of the other Big Five were budgeted at over a half a million dollars. [44] A focus on B pictures limited the studio's financial risk; while it also limited the potential for reward (Dmytryk's extraordinary coup aside), RKO had a history of making better profits with its run-of-the-mill and low-cost product than with its A movies. [45] The studio's low-budget films were also training opportunities for new directors, among them Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise, Mark Robson, and Anthony Mann. Jacques Tourneur ( November 12, 1904 &ndash December 19, 1977) was a French - American Film director. Robert Wise ( September 10, 1914 &ndash September 14, 2005) was an American sound effects editor film editor and Academy Mark Robson ( December 4, 1913 – June 20, 1978) was a Canadian -born Film editor, Film director and Anthony Mann ( June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American actor and film director A number of RKO B's are highly regarded today, notably the movies created by producer Val Lewton's horror unit, such as Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), and The Body Snatcher (1945). Val Lewton ( 7 May – 14 March) was an American Film producer and Screenwriter, who is best known for a sequence of nine brooding Cat People is a Horror film produced by Val Lewton and directed by Jacques Tourneur. I Walked with a Zombie is a Horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. The Body Snatcher ( is a Horror film directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson Richard Dix concluded his lengthy RKO career with the 1943 Lewton production The Ghost Ship. The Ghost Ship ( is a Black-and-white film starring Richard Dix. Tim Holt was RKO's B Western star of the era, appearing in over fifty movies for the studio. Tim Holt ( February 5, 1919 &ndash February 15, 1973) was an American film actor In 1940, Chester Lauck and Norris Goff brought their famous comic characters Lum and Abner from radio to RKO for a six-film run. Chester "Chet" Lauck, ( 9 February 1902 - 21 February 1980) played the character of Lum Edwards on the classic American Norris Goff ( May 30, 1906 &ndash June 7, 1978) was an American comedian in radio and Film best known for his Lum and Abner, an American Radio Comedy which aired as a network program from 1932 to 1954 became an American institution in its The Falcon detective series began in 1941; the Saint and the Falcon were so similar that Saint creator Leslie Charteris sued RKO. Tom Conway in Grand Central Murder trailer headcropjpg|thumb|right|150px| Leslie Charteris ( May 12, 1907, Singapore &ndash April 15, 1993) born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half- Chinese [46] The Falcon was first played by George Sanders, who had appeared five times as the Saint. George Henry Sanders (July 3 &ndashApril 25) was an Academy Award -winning English film and television Actor. He bowed out after four Falcon films and was replaced by his brother, Tom Conway. Tom Conway ( September 15, &ndash April 22,) was a British film and radio actor and the brother of actor George Sanders. Conway had a nine-film run in the part before the series ended in 1946. Johnny Weissmuller starred in six Tarzan pictures for RKO between 1943 and 1948. Johnny Weissmuller (June 2 1904 &ndash January 20 1984 was an American swimmer and Actor who was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s winning Tarzan is a Fictional character, an archetypal Feral child raised in the African jungle by Apes who later returns to civilization only to
Film noir, to which lower budgets lent themselves, became something of a house style at the studio; indeed, the RKO B Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) is widely seen as initiating noir's classic period. Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation Stranger on the Third Floor ( 1940) is a Film noir thriller featuring Peter Lorre, co-written by Nathaniel West, and released by Its cinematographer, Nicholas Musuraca, who began at FBO in the 1920s and stayed with RKO through 1954, is a central figure in creating the look of classic noir. See also Filmmaking Cinematography (from Greek: kinesis κινησις (movement and grapho γραφω (to record is the discipline Nicholas Musuraca ( Riace Italy October 25, 1892 - Los Angeles September 3, 1975) was a Motion-picture Albert D'Agostino—another long-termer who took over as head of the design department from Polglase in 1941—and his team, including art directors Jack Okey and Walter Keller and set decorator Darrell Silvera, are similarly credited. The term art director is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in Advertising, Publishing, film and Television, the Internet A set decorator is in charge of the set dressing on a Film set, which includes the Furnishings wallpaper lighting fixtures and many of the other objects that will The studio's 1940s list of contract players reads like a noir who's-who: Robert Mitchum (who would graduate to major star status) and Robert Ryan each made no fewer than ten film noirs for RKO. Robert Charles Durman Mitchum ( August 6, 1917 &ndash July 1, 1997) was an Academy Award nominated American film Gloria Grahame, Jane Greer, Lawrence Tierney, and George Raft were also notable studio players in the genre. Gloria Grahame ( November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981) was an Academy Award -winning American Film Jane Greer ( September 9, 1924 &ndash August 24, 2001) was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as Femme Lawrence Tierney ( March 15, 1919 &ndash February 26, 2002) was an American actor George Raft ( 26 September 1895 – 24 November 1980) was an American Film Actor most closely identified Tourneur, Musuraca, Mitchum, and Greer, along with D'Agostino's design group, would join to make Out of the Past (1947), now considered one of the greatest of all film noirs. Out of the Past (originally released in Britain as Build My Gallows High) ( 1947) is a Film noir directed by Jacques Nicholas Ray began his directing career with the RKO noir They Live by Night (1948), the first of a number of well-received films he made for the studio. Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle) ( August 7, 1911 &ndash June 16, 1979) was an American Film director They Live by Night is a Film noir released in 1949. The Film was directed by Nicholas Ray (his first feature film and starred
HUAC and Howard Hughes
RKO (and the movie industry as a whole) had its most profitable year ever in 1946, and Floyd Odlum cashed in by selling off about 40 percent of his shares in the company to a group of investment firms. [47] After Koerner's death, Radio-Keith-Orpheum president N. Peter Rathvon and RKO Radio Pictures president Ned Depinet had exchanged positions, with Depinet moving to the corporate offices in New York and Rathvon relocating to Hollywood and doubling as production chief while a permanent replacement was sought for Koerner. On the first day of 1947, the talented screenwriter/producer Dore Schary took over the role. Isidore 'Dore' Schary ( August 31, 1905, Newark New Jersey - July 7, 1980, New York City) was an American motion picture [48]
RKO appeared in good shape to build on its recent successes, but the year brought a number of unpleasant harbingers for all of Hollywood. The British government, followed by others, imposed limits on how much capital American movie companies could withdraw annually, curtailing one of the studios' primary sources of earnings. The postwar attendance boom peaked sooner than expected and television emerged as a competitor for audience interest. Across the board, profits fell—a 27 percent drop for the Hollywood studios from 1946 to 1947. [49] The phenomenon that would become known as McCarthyism was building up steam, and in October, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began hearings into Communism in the motion picture industry. McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s The House Committee on Un-American Activities ( HUAC or HCUA 1938–1975 was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. Two of RKO's top talents, Dmytryk and producer Adrian Scott, refused to cooperate; blacklisted as members of the so-called Hollywood Ten, they were fired by RKO per the terms of the Waldorf Statement, the industry's "antisubversive" declaration. Robert Adrian Scott ( February 6, 1912 &ndash December 25, 1973) was an American "Hollywood Ten" redirects here For the 1950 short documentary film see The Hollywood Ten. "Hollywood Ten" redirects here For the 1950 short documentary film see The Hollywood Ten. The Waldorf Statement was a two-page press release issued on December 3, 1947, by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America [50] Ironically, the studio's major success of the year was Crossfire, a Scott–Dmytryk film. Crossfire ( 1947) is a Film noir Drama film which deals with the theme of anti-Semitism, as did that year's Academy Award for Odlum concluded it was time to exit the film business, and he put his remaining RKO shares—approximately 25 percent of the outstanding stock—on the market. [51] Before the turn of the year, the Pathé-branded newsreel was sold to Warner Bros. [52] For her performance in The Farmer's Daughter (1947), a coproduction with Selznick's Vanguard Films, Loretta Young won the Best Actress Oscar the following March. The Farmer's Daughter is a 1947 movie that tells the story of a farmgirl who ends up working as a maid for a Congressman and his politically-powerful Loretta Young ( January 6, 1913 &ndash August 12, 2000) was an American actress It would turn out to be the last major Academy Award for an RKO picture.
In May 1948, eccentric multimillionaire and occasional movie producer Howard Hughes gained control of the company, beating out British film magnate J. Arthur Rank as the buyer of Odlum's interest. Howard Robard Hughes Jr (December 24 1905 – April 5 1976 was an American Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer / director, Philanthropist Joseph Arthur Rank 1st Baron Rank ( December 22 1888 &ndash March 29 1972) was a British industrialist and Film producer [53] During Hughes's tenure, RKO suffered its worst years since the early 1930s, as his capricious management style took a heavy toll. Production chief Schary quit almost immediately due to his new boss's interference and Rathvon soon followed. Within weeks of taking over, Hughes had dismissed three-fourths of the work force; production was virtually shut down for six months as Hughes ordered investigations into the politics of all remaining studio employees. Completed pictures would be sent back for reshooting if the stars, especially female, weren't presented to his liking, or if a film's anticommunist sentiments weren't sufficiently blatant. All of the Big Five saw their profits dwindle in 1948—from Fox, down 11 percent, to Loew's/MGM, down 62 percent—but at RKO they virtually vanished: from $5. 1 million in 1947 to $0. 5 million, a drop of 90 percent. [54] The production-distribution end of the RKO business, now deep in the red, would never make a profit again.
Offscreen, Robert Mitchum's arrest and conviction for marijuana possession—he would serve two months in jail—was widely assumed to mean career death for RKO's most promising young star, but Hughes surprised the industry by announcing that his contract was not endangered. [55] Of much broader significance, Hughes decided to get the jump on his Big Five competitors by being the first to settle the federal government's antitrust suit against the major studios. United States v Paramount Pictures, Inc, 334 US 131 ( 1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Under the consent decree he signed, Hughes agreed to dissolve the old parent company, Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. A consent decree (also referred to as a consent order) is a judicial Decree expressing a voluntary agreement between parties to a suit, especially , and split RKO's production-distribution business and its exhibition chain into two entirely separate corporations—RKO Pictures Corp. and RKO Theatres Corp. —with the obligation to promptly sell off one or the other. While Hughes delayed the divorcement procedure until December 1950 and didn't actually sell his stock in the theater company until November 1953, his decision to acquiesce was one of the crucial steps in the collapse of classical Hollywood's studio system. The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s [56]
Hughes's mismanagement
While Hughes's time at RKO was marked by dwindling production and a slew of expensive flops (as well as further witch hunts for suspected Reds), the studio continued to turn out some good films under production chiefs Sid Rogell and Sam Bischoff, each of whom became fed up with Hughes's meddling and quit after less than two years. "Witch trial" redirects here For the song by Rush, see Fear series. (Bischoff would be the last man to hold the job under Hughes. [57]) There were B noirs such as The Set-Up and The Window (both 1949), whose reputation has only grown over the decades, and The Thing (1951), a science-fiction drama coproduced with Howard Hawks's Winchester Pictures. The Set-Up ( 1949) is an American Film noir boxing drama directed by Robert Wise and featuring Robert Ryan (a boxing champion For an article about the Arthur Sullivan song cycle see The Window (song cycle The Window ( 1949) is a The Thing from Another World, often referred to as The Thing before 1982 is a 1951 Science fiction film which tells the story of In 1952, RKO put out two films directed by Fritz Lang, Rancho Notorious and Clash by Night. Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang ( December 5, 1890 &ndash August 2, 1976) was an Austrian German - American Rancho Notorious is a 1952 Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Marlene Dietrich as the matron of a criminal hideout called Clash by Night ( 1952) is a Black-and-white Film noir Drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck The latter was a project of the renowned Jerry Wald–Norman Krasna production team, lured by Hughes from Warner Bros. Jerry Wald ( September 16 1911 &ndash July 13 1962) was an Academy Award -winning American producer and Norman Krasna ( November 7, 1909 &ndash November 1, 1984) was an Academy Award winning American Screenwriter with great fanfare in August 1950. The company also began a close working relationship with Ida Lupino. Ida Lupino (4 February &ndash 3 August) was an English film actress, director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers She would star in two memorable suspense films with Robert Ryan—Nicholas Ray's On Dangerous Ground (1952, though shooting had been completed two years earlier) and Beware, My Lovely (1952), a coproduction between RKO and Lupino's company, The Filmakers. For the 1986 film known as On Dangerous Ground in the UK see Choke Canyon. Beware My Lovely ( 1952) is a suspense film produced by Collier Young / Ida Lupino 's production company The Filmakers. Of more historic note, Lupino was Hollywood's only female director during the period; of the five pictures The Filmakers made with RKO, Lupino directed three, including her now celebrated The Hitch-Hiker (1953). The Hitch-Hiker ( is a Film noir directed by Ida Lupino about two hunting buddies who pick up a mysterious hitchhiker. Exposing many moviegoers to Asian cinema for the first time, RKO distributed Akira Kurosawa's epochal Rashomon in the United States, sixteen months after its original 1950 Japanese release. is a 1950 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with Cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa.
In September 1952, Hughes and his corporate president, Ned E. Depinet, sold their RKO studio stock to a Chicago-based syndicate with no experience in the movie business; the syndicate's chaotic reign lasted until February 1953, when the stock and control were reacquired by Hughes. [58] During the turmoil, Samuel Goldwyn ended his 11-year-long distribution deal with RKO. Wald and Krasna escaped their contracts and the studio as well. The deal that brought the team to RKO had called for them to produce sixty features over five years; in just shy of half that time, they succeeded in making four. [59] Nineteen fifty-two had been disastrous for the studio financially, and production had again virtually ground to a halt over the winter. The Encino backlot shut down permanently in 1953 and the property was sold off. [60] Hughes soon found himself the target of no less than five separate lawsuits filed by minority shareholders in RKO, accusing him of malfeasance in his dealings with the Chicago group and a wide array of acts of mismanagement. "RKO's contract list is down to three actors and 127 lawyers", quipped Dick Powell. Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell ( November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American Singer, Actor, [61]
Looking to forestall the impending legal imbroglio, in early 1954 Hughes offered to buy out all of RKO's other stockholders. Convinced that the studio was sinking, Walt Disney ended his arrangement with RKO and set up his own distribution firm, Buena Vista Pictures. Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Inc (formerly known as Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group) is a corporation which develops scripts and oversees theatrical film production By the end of the year, at a cost of $23. 5 million, Hughes had gained near-total control of RKO Pictures, becoming the first virtual sole owner of a studio since Hollywood's pioneer days. Virtual, but not quite actual. Floyd Odlum reemerged to block Hughes from acquiring the 95 percent ownership of RKO stock he needed to write off the company's losses against his earnings elsewhere. Hughes had reneged on his promise to give Odlum first option on buying the RKO theater chain when he divested it and was now paying the price. [62] With negotiations between the two at a stalemate, in July 1955, Hughes turned around and sold RKO to the General Tire and Rubber Company for $25 million. The General Tire and Rubber Company is an American manufacturer of Tires for Motor vehicles. Hughes retained the rights to pictures he had personally produced, including those made at RKO; he also kept the contract of his discovery Jane Russell. Jane Russell (born June 21) is an American film actress and Sex symbol. For Hughes, this was the effective end of a quarter-century's involvement in the movie business. Historian Betty Lasky describes Hughes's relationship with RKO as a "systematic seven-year rape. "[63]
General Tire and the end of RKO Pictures
In taking control of the studio, General Tire restored RKO's links to broadcasting. General Tire had bought the Yankee Network, a New England regional radio network based around WNAC (AM) in Boston, in 1943. The Yankee Network was an American Radio network. It was founded in 1930 by John Shepard III; in 1943 a controlling interest in the network was purchased by WRKO (680 AM) is a Radio station based in Boston Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. In 1950, it purchased the West Coast regional Don Lee Broadcasting System, and two years later, the Bamberger Broadcasting Service, owner of the WOR TV and radio stations in New York City. General Tire then merged its broadcasting interests into a new division, General Teleradio. Thomas O'Neil, son of General Tire's founder William O'Neil and chairman of the broadcasting group, saw that the company's new television stations, indeed all TV outlets, were in need of programming. In 1953, O'Neil had approached Hughes about buying RKO's film library; with the 1955 purchase of the studio that library was his, and rights to the approximately 740 RKO films the studio retained clear title to were quickly put up for sale. C&C Television Corp. , a subsidiary of beverage maker Cantrell & Cochrane, won the bidding and was soon offering the films to independent stations with the RKO trademarks replaced by "C&C Films" or "MovieTime USA" logos. C&C Group plc (known prior to its floatation as Cantrell & Cochrane Limited),,, is a manufacturer marketer and distributor of beverages in Ireland which has an increasing RKO Teleradio Pictures—the new company created from the merger of General Teleradio and the RKO studio—retained the broadcast rights for the cities where it owned TV stations. By 1956, RKO's classic movies were playing widely on television, allowing many to see such films as Citizen Kane for the first time. The $15. 2 million RKO made on the deal convinced the other major studios that their libraries held profit potential—a turning point in the way Hollywood did business. [64]
The new owners of RKO made a half-hearted effort to run the studio, hiring veteran producer William Dozier to head production. William Dozier (13 February 1908 &ndash 23 April 1991 was a Television producer and Actor, most famous as the producer and Narrator of the ''Batman'' RKO Teleradio Pictures released Fritz Lang's final two American films, While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (both 1956), but years of mismanagement had driven away many directors, producers, and stars. While the City Sleeps is a 1956 Film noir directed by Fritz Lang. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a 1956 Film noir directed by Fritz Lang and written by Douglas Morrow. The studio was also saddled with the last of the lumbering, inflated B movies such as Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) and The Conqueror (1956) that enchanted Hughes. The Conqueror is a 1956 Epic film produced by Howard Hughes and starring John Wayne as the Mongol conqueror Genghis After a year and a half without a notable success, General Tire shut down production at RKO for good at the end of January 1957. The Hollywood and Culver City facilities were sold later that year for $6. 15 million to Desilu Productions, owned by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who had been an RKO contract player from 1935 to 1942. Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles California based company jointly owned by American actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Desi Arnaz (born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III) ( March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban American Lucille Ball (August 6 1911 – April 26 1989 was an American comedienne, film television stage and radio Actress, model, film [65] Desilu would be acquired by Gulf and Western Industries in 1967 and merged into G+W's other production company, Paramount Pictures; the former RKO Hollywood studio became home to Paramount Television (now CBS Paramount Television), which it remains to this day. Gulf and Western Industries Inc, for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was an American conglomerate. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. CBS Paramount Television (formerly Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, among other companies is an American Television production The renovated Culver City studio is now owned and operated as an independent production facility. Forty Acres, the Culver City backlot, was razed in the mid-1970s. [66]
With the closing down of production, RKO also shut its distribution exchanges; from 1957 forward, remaining pictures were released through other companies, primarily Universal-International. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American The final RKO film, Verboten!, a coproduction with director Samuel Fuller's Globe Enterprises, was released by Columbia Pictures in March 1959. See Samuel Fuller (Mayflower physician for the Mayflower doctor }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company That same year, "Pictures" was stripped from the corporate identity; the holding company for General Tire's broadcasting operation and the few remaining motion picture assets was renamed RKO General. [67] In the words of scholar Richard B. Jewell, "The supreme irony of RKO's existence is that the studio earned a position of lasting importance in cinema history largely because of its extraordinarily unstable history. Since it was the weakling of Hollywood's 'majors,' RKO welcomed a diverse group of individualistic creators and provided them. . . with an extraordinary degree of freedom to express their artistic idiosyncrasies. . . . [I]t never became predictable and it never became a factory. "[68]
The Astaire–Rogers RKO films
The initial team-up
- Flying Down to Rio (1933) d. Ginger Rogers ( July 16, 1911 &ndash April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award -winning American film and stage actress Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 &ndash June 22, 1987) was an American Academy Award Flying Down to Rio is a Musical film made by RKO and released on December 29, in 1933. Thornton Freeland, starring Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond, featuring Eric Blore
The classic cycle
- The Gay Divorcee (1934) d. Dolores del Río ( August 3, 1905 &ndash April 11, 1983) was a Mexican Film actress. Gene Raymond ( August 13, 1908 &ndash May 2, 1998) was an American film television and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s Eric Blore ( December 23, 1887 - March 2, 1959) was an English comic Actor. The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 Film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Mark Sandrich, w/Alice Brady, featuring Edward Everett Horton, Blore
- Roberta (1935) d. Mark Sandrich (born August 26, 1900 in New York City, New York &ndash died March 4, 1945 in Hollywood, Alice Brady ( November 2, 1892 - October 28,) was an Academy Award -winning American actress who began her career in the Silent Edward Everett Horton ( March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American Character actor with a long career including Roberta is a 1935 Musical film by RKO starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott William A. Seiter, w/Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott
- Top Hat (1935) d. William A Seiter ( June 10, 1890 - July 26, 1964) is an American Film director. Irene Dunne ( December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was a five-time Academy Award -nominated American film actress and Randolph Scott ( January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 For the item of clothing see Top hat. For the fictional TUGS character see Top Hat (TUGS. Mark Sandrich, featuring Horton, Blore
- Follow the Fleet (1936) d. Follow the Fleet ( RKO) is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy Film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Mark Sandrich, w/Randolph Scott
- Swing Time (1936) d. George Stevens, featuring Blore
- Shall We Dance (1937) d. George Stevens ( December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an Academy Award -winning American motion picture Shall We Dance is the seventh of the ten Astaire - Rogers Musical comedy Films. Mark Sandrich, featuring Horton, Blore
- Carefree (1938) d. Carefree is a Musical film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Mark Sandrich, w/Ralph Bellamy
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) d. Ralph Rexford Bellamy ( June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American Actor with a career spanning sixty-two The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is an American biographical Musical comedy, released in 1939 and directed by H H. C. Potter
Hepburn and Grant at RKO
As costars
- Sylvia Scarlett (1935) d. Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 Romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on a novel by George Cukor
- Bringing Up Baby (1938) d. George Dewey Cukor ( July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director. Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 Screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Howard Hawks
Other Katharine Hepburn RKOs
- A Bill of Divorcement (1932) d. A Bill of Divorcement is a British play written by Clemence Dane that debuted in 1921 in London. George Cukor, w/John Barrymore
- Christopher Strong (1933) d. John Sidney Blyth Barrymore ( February 15 1882 – May 29 1942) was an American Actor, frequently called the greatest Christopher Strong is a 1933 RKO film directed by Dorothy Arzner and starring Katharine Hepburn in her second screen role Dorothy Arzner, w/Colin Clive
- Morning Glory (1933), d. Dorothy Arzner ( January 3, 1897 &ndash October 1, 1979) was a pioneering American Film director. Colin Clive ( 20 January 1900 &ndash 25 June 1937) was a British stage and screen Actor best remembered for his portrayal Morning Glory is a 1933 Pre-Code American Drama film which tells the story of an eager but unstable would-be actress whose good looks draw more Lowell Sherman, w/Adolphe Menjou, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Little Women (1933) d. Lowell Sherman ( October 11, 1885 San Francisco - December 28, 1934 Hollywood California) was an American actor Adolphe Jean Menjou ( February 18, 1890 &ndash October 29, 1963) was an American actor Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr, KBE, DSC ( December 9, 1909 &ndash May 7, 2000) was an American Actor Little Women is a monochrome (b&w with sound 1933 film made by RKO and directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Sarah Y George Cukor, w/Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, Jean Parker
- Spitfire (1934) d. Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27 &ndashDecember 7) was an Emmy -nominated American stage film and television actress Frances Marion Dee ( November 26 1909 &ndash March 6 2004) was an American Actress. Jean Parker ( August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American movie actress Spitfire is a 1934 Drama film based on the play Trigger by Lula Vollmer. John Cromwell, w/Robert Young
- The Little Minister (1934) d. John Cromwell may refer to John Cromwell (director (1887-1979 American film director John P Bob or Rob(ert Young may refer to many people Bob Young, Canadian founder and CEO of Red Hat Bob Young (American football (1942&ndash1995 The Little Minister is a 1934 American Drama film directed by Richard Wallace. Richard Wallace, w/John Beal
- Break of Hearts (1935) d. Richard Wallace may refer to Sir Richard Wallace 1st Baronet (1818–1890 English art collector Richard Wallace (director (1894–1951 John Beal may refer to John Beal (actor John Beal (composer See also John Beall Break of Hearts is a 1935 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn and Charles Boyer. Philip Moeller, w/Charles Boyer, John Beal
- Alice Adams (1935) d. Charles Boyer (28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978 was a four-time Academy Award -nominated French Actor who starred in a number of classic Hollywood George Stevens, w/Fred MacMurray
- Mary of Scotland (1936) d. George Stevens ( December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an Academy Award -winning American motion picture Frederick Martin MacMurray ( August 30, 1908 &ndash November 5, 1991) was an American Actor who appeared in over one Mary of Scotland is a 1936 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th century ruler Mary I of Scotland. John Ford, w/Fredric March, Florence Eldridge
- A Woman Rebels (1936) d. Fredric March ( August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American two-time Academy Award and Tony Award -winning Florence Eldridge ( September 5, 1901 - August 1, 1988) was an American actress. A Woman Rebels is a 1936 RKO film adapted from the novel Portrait of a Rebel by Netta Syrett and starring Katharine Mark Sandrich, w/Herbert Marshall
- Quality Street (1937) d. Mark Sandrich (born August 26, 1900 in New York City, New York &ndash died March 4, 1945 in Hollywood, Herbert Marshall, born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, in London, England, ( May 23, 1890 - January 22, 1966 Quality Street is a 1937 Hollywood movie made by RKO, directed by George Stevens and produced by Pandro S George Stevens, w/Franchot Tone
- Stage Door (1937) d. Franchot Tone ( February 27, 1905 &ndash September 18, 1968) was an American Actor. Stage Door ( 1937) is a RKO film adapted from the play by the same name that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding Gregory La Cava, w/Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou
Other Cary Grant RKOs
- The Toast of New York (1937) d. Gregory La Cava ( March 10, 1892 &ndash March 1, 1952) was an American Film director best known for his films of the 1930s The Toast of New York is a 1937 American biopic that starred Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, and Frances Farmer Rowland V. Lee w/Edward Arnold, Frances Farmer
- Gunga Din (1939) d. Rowland V Lee ( September 6, 1891 in Findlay Ohio - December 21, 1975 in Palm Desert, California) was an actor Edward Arnold ( February 18, 1890 – April 26, 1956) was an American Actor. Frances Elena Farmer ( September 19, 1913 &ndash August 1, 1970) was an American film television and theater actress Gunga Din ( 1892) is one of Rudyard Kipling 's most famous Poems perhaps best known for its often-quoted last stanza "Tho' I've belted you George Stevens, w/Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen ( December 10, 1886 - November 7, 1959) was an Academy Award winning English
- In Name Only (1939) d. In Name Only is a 1939 Romantic film starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and Kay Francis. John Cromwell, w/Carole Lombard
- My Favorite Wife (1940) d. Carole Lombard ( October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne Indiana, was an Oscar-nominated My Favorite Wife (released in the UK as My Favourite Wife) is a 1940 Screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne Garson Kanin, w/Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott
- Suspicion (1941) d. Garson Kanin ( November 24 1912 &ndash March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films Irene Dunne ( December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was a five-time Academy Award -nominated American film actress and Randolph Scott ( January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 Suspicion ( 1941) is a romantic Psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock, w/Joan Fontaine
- Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) d. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is an Academy Award -winning British Actress in American films Once Upon a Honeymoon ( 1942) is a Romantic film starring Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant and Walter Slezak, directed by Leo McCarey, w/Ginger Rogers
- Mr. Lucky (1943) d. Thomas Leo McCarey ( October 3, 1898 - July 5, 1969) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director Mr Lucky is a 1943 Film directed by HC Potter, starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day. H. C. Potter, w/Laraine Day
- None But the Lonely Heart (1944) d. Henry Codman Potter ( November 13, 1904 - August 31, 1977) was an American theatrical producer/director and a motion picture director Laraine Day ( October 13 1920 &ndash November 10 2007) was an American actress. None but the Lonely Heart is a 1944 film which tells the story of a Cockney lad who returns home with no ambitions but finds that his family needs him Clifford Odets, w/Ethel Barrymore
- Notorious (1946) d. Clifford Odets ( July 18, 1906 - August 18, 1963) was an American Playwright, Screenwriter, Socialist Ethel Barrymore ( August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an Academy Award -winning American actress and a member of Notorious ( 1946) is a thriller directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as Alfred Hitchcock, w/Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
- The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) d. (ˈbærjman in Swedish but usually ˈbɝgmən in English (August 29 1915 &ndash August 29 1982 was a Swedish three-time Academy Award -winning and two-time Emmy William Claude Rains (10 November &ndash30 May) was an English award-winning Actor and Film star whose career spanned 47 years The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 Screwball comedy film starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. Irving Reis, w/Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple
- The Bishop's Wife (1947; a Samuel Goldwyn Company prod. Irving Reis (b May 7, 1906 in New York, New York - d July 3, 1953 in Woodland Hills Los Angeles California Myrna Loy ( August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American Motion picture Actress. Shirley Jane Temple (born April 23, 1928) is an Academy Award -winning Actress and Tap dancer, most famous for being an iconic The Bishop's Wife ( 1947) is an RKO romantic comedy Feature film starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and ) d. Henry Koster, w/Loretta Young, David Niven
- Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) d. Henry Koster ( May 1, 1905 &ndash September 21, 1988) was born Herman Kosterlitz in Berlin, Germany. Loretta Young ( January 6, 1913 &ndash August 12, 2000) was an American actress James David Graham Niven (1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983 was an English Academy Award -winning Actor probably best known for his role as the punctuality-obsessed Every Girl Should Be Married is a 1948 Romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake. Don Hartman, w/Betsy Drake
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) d. Betsy Drake (born September 11, 1923) is an American Actress and Writer, best remembered as the third wife of actor Cary Grant Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House is a 1948 American Comedy film directed by H H. C. Potter, w/Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas
Robert Mitchum at RKO
- Nevada (1944) d. Nevada is a 1944 western movie based on a Zane Grey novel and starring a 27-year-old Robert Mitchum, with Anne Jeffreys Edward Killy, w/Anne Jeffreys
- Girl Rush (1944) d. Anne Jeffreys (born Anne Carmichael on January 26, 1923 in Goldsboro North Carolina) is an American actress and Gordon Douglas, starring Wally Brown, Alan Carney
- West of the Pecos (1945) d. Gordon Douglas (Gordon Douglas Brickner ( December 15, 1907 – September 29, 1993) was an American Film director, who Wally Brown ( October 9, 1904 - November 13, 1961) was an actor comedian and long-time partner of Alan Carney. Alan Carney (born David Boughal) ( December 22, 1909, Brooklyn New York &ndash May 2, 1973, Van Nuys California Edward Killy, w/Barbara Hale
- The Locket (1946) d. Barbara Hale (born April 18, 1922) is an Emmy Award -winning American actress known for her roles as the loyal secretary of Perry Mason The Locket ( 1946) is a suspense film directed by John Brahm, starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, and John Brahm, starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne
- Till the End of Time (1946) d. John Brahm ( August 17, 1893 - October 12, 1982) was a film and television director possibly best known today for directing a dozen of the original Laraine Day ( October 13 1920 &ndash November 10 2007) was an American actress. Brian Aherne ( May 2, 1902 – February 10, 1986) was an Oscar -nominated English Actor of both stage and screen Till the End of Time is a 1946 Drama film starring Dorothy McGuire, Guy Madison and Robert Mitchum. Edward Dmytryk, starring Dorothy McGuire, Guy Madison
- Crossfire (1947) d. Edward Dmytryk ( September 4, 1908 &ndash July 1, 1999) was an American Film director who was amongst the Hollywood Dorothy Hackett McGuire ( June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an Academy Award -nominated American actress Guy Madison ( January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American Film and Television Actor. Crossfire ( 1947) is a Film noir Drama film which deals with the theme of anti-Semitism, as did that year's Academy Award for Edward Dmytryk, w/Robert Young, Robert Ryan
- Out of the Past (1947) d. Bob or Rob(ert Young may refer to many people Bob Young, Canadian founder and CEO of Red Hat Bob Young (American football (1942&ndash1995 Out of the Past (originally released in Britain as Build My Gallows High) ( 1947) is a Film noir directed by Jacques Jacques Tourneur, w/Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
- Rachel and the Stranger (1948) d. Jacques Tourneur ( November 12, 1904 &ndash December 19, 1977) was a French - American Film director. Jane Greer ( September 9, 1924 &ndash August 24, 2001) was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as Femme Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, Rachel and the Stranger was a Black-and-white 1948 western film starring Loretta Young, William Holden, and Robert Norman Foster, starring Loretta Young, William Holden
- Blood on the Moon (1948) d. Norman Foster ( December 13, 1900 - July 7, 1976) was a American Film director and movie Actor. Loretta Young ( January 6, 1913 &ndash August 12, 2000) was an American actress William Holden ( April 17, 1918 &ndash November 12, 1981) was an Academy Award -winning American film Actor Blood on the Moon ( 1948) is an RKO Black-and-white "psychological" western directed by Robert Wise with Robert Wise, w/Barbara Bel Geddes
- The Big Steal (1949) d. Robert Wise ( September 10, 1914 &ndash September 14, 2005) was an American sound effects editor film editor and Academy Barbara Bel Geddes ( October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an Oscar -nominated American Actress, Artist The Big Steal is also a 1990 Australian film starring Ben Mendelsohn and Claudia Karvan. Don Siegel, w/Jane Greer
- Holiday Affair (1949) d. Donald Siegel ( October 26, 1912 - April 20, 1991) was an influential American Film director and producer Holiday Affair is a Black-and-white 1949 light Romantic comedy film starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. Don Hartman, w/Janet Leigh
- Where Danger Lives (1950) d. Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress. Where Danger Lives is a 1950 thriller directed by John Farrow. John Farrow, w/Faith Domergue, Claude Rains
- His Kind of Woman (1951) d. John Farrow ( February 10, 1904 – January 28, 1963) was an award-winning film director producer and screenwriter Faith Domergue ( June 16, 1924 - April 4, 1999) was a film actress William Claude Rains (10 November &ndash30 May) was an English award-winning Actor and Film star whose career spanned 47 years His Kind of Woman is a Black-and-white 1951 Comedy drama Film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell John Farrow, w/Jane Russell
- My Forbidden Past (1951) d. Jane Russell (born June 21) is an American film actress and Sex symbol. Robert Stevenson, w/Ava Gardner
- The Racket (1951) d. Robert Stevenson ( March 31 1905 &ndash April 30 1986) was an English film writer and director Ava Lavinia Gardner ( December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated American actress The Racket ( 1951) is a remake of the 1928 film of the same name. John Cromwell, w/Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott
- Angel Face (1952) d. John Cromwell may refer to John Cromwell (director (1887-1979 American film director John P Lizabeth Scott (born September 29, 1922) is an American actress who achieved much success within the Film noir genre as well as other Angel Face ( 1952) is a Black-and-white Film noir directed by Otto Preminger. Otto Preminger, w/Jean Simmons
- The Lusty Men (1952) d. Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood Jean Merilyn Simmons OBE (born January 31 1929 is an Oscar -nominated English actress The Lusty Men is a 1952 western Film made by Wald-Krasna productions and RKO Radio Pictures. Nicholas Ray, w/Susan Hayward, Arthur Kennedy
- Macao (1952) d. Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle) ( August 7, 1911 &ndash June 16, 1979) was an American Film director Susan Hayward ( June 30, 1917 &ndash March 14, 1975) was an Academy Award -winning American Actress. Arthur Kennedy may be Arthur Kennedy (actor Arthur Edward Kennedy, British colonial administrator Macao ( 1952) is a Black-and-white Film noir adventure film directed by Josef von Sternberg and Nicholas Ray. Josef von Sternberg and Nicholas Ray, w/Jane Russell
- One Minute to Zero (1952) d. Josef von Sternberg aka Jonas Sternberg ( 29 May 1894, Vienna, Austria &ndash 22 December 1969, Los One Minute to Zero is a 1952 romantic War film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth set during the Korean War Tay Garnett, w/Ann Blyth
- Second Chance (1953) d. Tay Garnett ( 13 June 1894 – 3 October 1977) was an American Film director and writer Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an Oscar-nominated American actress and Singer, often cast in Hollywood Second Chance is an American color Film noir, directed by Rudolph Maté and released in 1953. Rudolph Maté, w/Linda Darnell, Jack Palance
- She Couldn't Say No (1954) d. Rudolph Maté ( 21 January 1898 – 27 October 1964) born Rudolf Matheh or Mayer, was an accomplished Cinematographer Linda Darnell ( October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American film actress. Jack Palance (born Volodymyr Palahniuk; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an Oscar -winning American She Couldn't Say No is a 1954 film starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. Lloyd Bacon, w/Jean Simmons
RKO studios and buildings
- RKO Hollywood Studios – 780 Gower St. Lloyd Francis Bacon ( December 4, 1889 - November 15, 1955) was a screen stage and Vaudeville actor and Film director Jean Merilyn Simmons OBE (born January 31 1929 is an Oscar -nominated English actress , Hollywood, Los Angeles/established by Robertson–Cole in 1921; now owned by CBS Paramount Television
- RKO-Pathé Culver City Studios – 9336 Washington Blvd. Film Booking Offices of America (FBO was an American Film studio of the silent era, a producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films CBS Paramount Television (formerly Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, among other companies is an American Television production , Culver City/established by Thomas H. Ince in 1919; now owned by PCCP Studio City Los Angeles
- RKO Forty Acres (backlot) – Culver City/established by Ince in 1919; razed in 1976
- RKO Encino Ranch (backlot) – Encino, Los Angeles/established by RKO in 1929; razed in 1954
- Estudios Churubusco – Churubusco, Mexico City/established by RKO and Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta in 1945; now owned by Mexican government[69]
- RKO Building (corporate headquarters) – 1270 Sixth Ave. Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California. Thomas Harper Ince ( November 6, 1882 – November 19, 1924) was an American Silent film Actor, director A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a Movie studio with space to build or with permanent exterior sets for outdoor scenes in motion picture and/or Estudios Churubusco is one of the oldest and largest Movie studios in Latin America located in the Churubusco neighborhood of Mexico City. Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta or Emilio Azcárraga Sr ( March 2 1895, Tampico Tamaulipas &ndash 1973 Mexico City) was , New York/Art Deco skyscraper in Rockefeller Center, built in 1931–32; now known as the Amax Building
RKO General
One of North America's major radio and television broadcasters from the 1950s through the late 1980s, RKO General traces its roots to the 1943 purchase of the Yankee Network by General Tire. Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. RKO General was the main Holding company through 1991 for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and after General Tire's reorganization in The Yankee Network was an American Radio network. It was founded in 1930 by John Shepard III; in 1943 a controlling interest in the network was purchased by The General Tire and Rubber Company is an American manufacturer of Tires for Motor vehicles. In 1952, the company united its newly expanded broadcasting interests into a division dubbed General Teleradio. With the tire manufacturer's acquisition of the RKO film studio in 1955, its media businesses were brought together under the rubric of RKO Teleradio Pictures. In 1959, following the breakup of the movie studio, the media division was given the name it would operate under for the next three decades, RKO General. In addition to its broadcasting activities, RKO General was also the holding company for many of General Tire's (and, after its parent company's reorganization, GenCorp's) other noncore businesses, including soft-drink bottling, hotel enterprises, and, for seventeen years, the original Frontier Airlines. GenCorp is an American Technology -based Manufacturer based in Sacramento California. Frontier Airlines was formed by a merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Airlines on June 1 1950, with headquarters
The RKO General radio lineup included some of the highest rated, most influential popular music stations in North America. In May 1965, KHJ (AM) in Los Angeles introduced the Boss Radio variation of the top 40 format. KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. Boss Radio was the name chosen to promote two new radio programming formats which were both launched in May 1965 on both KHJ-AM broadcasting from Los Angeles and on The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. The restrictive programming style was soon adopted by many of RKO's other stations and imitated by non-RKO broadcasters around the country. RKO's FM station in New York pioneered numerous formats under a variety of call letters, including WOR and WXLO ("99X"); in 1983, as WRKS ("98. WRKS (987 MHz better known as 987 Kiss FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Communications WRKS (987 MHz better known as 987 Kiss FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Communications WRKS (987 MHz better known as 987 Kiss FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Communications 7 Kiss FM"), it became one of the first major stations to regularly program rap music. Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with
The company's television stations, for the most part non–network affiliated, were known for showing classic films (both RKO productions and many others) under the banner of Million Dollar Movie, launched by New York's WOR-TV in 1954. WWOR-TV, channel 9 is a MyNetworkTV -affiliated television station licensed to Secaucus New Jersey, and serving the New York City metropolitan area [70] In summer 1962, RKO General and Zenith Electronics initiated what became the first extended venture into subscription television service: through early 1969, Hartford, Connecticut's WHCT-TV aired movies, sports, classical and pop music concerts, and other live performances without commercials, generating income from descrambler installation and weekly rental fees as well as individual program charges. Zenith Electronics Corporation is a former American manufacturer of Televisions headquartered in Lincolnshire Illinois WUVN is the Connecticut affiliate for the Spanish language Univision Television network. However, RKO General's most notable legacy is what may be the longest licensing dispute in television history. It began in 1965, when General Tire was accused of obliging vendors to buy advertising with one of its stations if they wanted to keep their contracts. More than two decades' worth of legal actions ensued, eventually forcing GenCorp (the parent company since 1983 of both General Tire and RKO General) to sell off its broadcast holdings under FCC pressure. RKO General exited the media business permanently in 1991.
The new RKO Pictures
Beginning with 1981's Carbon Copy, RKO General became involved in the coproduction of a number of feature films (and one TV movie) through a newly created subsidiary, RKO Pictures Inc. Carbon Copy is a 1981 Comedy film, directed by Michael Schultz and starring George Segal and Denzel Washington Collaborating on an average of about two pictures per year, RKO frequently worked with major names—including Jack Nicholson (The Border [1982]) and Meryl Streep (Plenty [1985])—but met with little success. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals The Border is a 1982 Film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jack Nicholson as Charlie Smith Warren Oates as Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an award-winning American Actress who has worked in Theatre, For the original David Hare play see Plenty Plenty is a 1985 Drama film directed by Fred Schepisi In 1986, Half Moon Street became the first RKO solo production in almost three decades; more solo ventures, including the Vietnam War drama Hamburger Hill, appeared the next year, but production ended as GenCorp underwent a massive reorganization following an attempted hostile takeover. Hamburger Hill is a 1987 American War film about the actual assault of the U The company's flagship tire division was sold to Germany's Continental Tire. Continental AG ( internally often called Conti for short is a worldwide leading manufacturer of Tires Brake systems Vehicle stability With RKO General dismantling its broadcast business, RKO Pictures Inc. , along with the original RKO studio's trademark, remake rights, and other remaining assets, was spun off and put up for sale. A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual A " remake' " is a term used to described something that has been done again sometimes with better Quality, and usually with more features After a bid by RKO Pictures' own managers failed, it was acquired in 1987 by Wesray Capital—under the control of former U. S. Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon and Ray Chambers—and linked with their Six Flags amusement parks to form RKO/Six Flags Entertainment Inc. William Edward Simon ( November 27 1927 &ndash June 3 2000) was a businessman a Secretary of Treasury of the U Six Flags Inc (commonly Six Flags) is one of the world's largest chains of Amusement parks and Theme parks, based on quantity of properties [71]
In 1989, RKO Pictures was spun off yet again and a majority interest in it was acquired by its present owners: actress and Post Cereals heiress Dina Merrill and her husband, producer Ted Hartley, who merged it with their Pavilion Communications to form the present RKO Pictures LLC. Post Cereals (formerly Postum Cereals) was founded by C W Post. Dina Merrill (born December 9, 1925) is an American Actress and Socialite. Ted Hartley (Born November 6, 1935) has been a US Navy Fighter pilot, an Investment banker, an actor producer and is currently CEO [72] Hartley and Merrill announced that the new RKO Pictures, which had ceased producing films while under Wesray control, would return to moviemaking full-time. With the inaugural RKO production under their leadership, False Identity (1990), the company also stepped into the distribution business. In 1992, the new RKO made its first significant contribution to cinema, distributing the well-regarded independent production Laws of Gravity, directed by Nick Gomez. Nick Gomez (b April 13, 1963) is an American Film director and Actor born in Somerville Massachusetts. For the next five years, however, the company neither produced nor distributed a single film as Hartley and Merrill sorted out the ownership rights of RKO's vast library. RKO Pictures reemerged in 1998 with Mighty Joe Young, a remake of a 1949 RKO movie that was itself something of a King Kong redux. Mighty Joe Young is a 1998 Disney family film starring Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron and directed by Ron Underwood. Mighty Joe Young is an RKO Radio Pictures Film made in 1949 by the same creative team responsible for King Kong. During the current decade, the company has been involved as a coproducer on TV movies and modestly budgeted features at the rate of about one annually. In 2002, RKO produced a stage version of the 1936 Astaire–Rogers vehicle Swing Time, under the title Never Gonna Dance.
| RKO Pictures LLC | |
|---|---|
Logo of the new RKO Pictures
|
|
| Type | Limited liability company (LLC) |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | L. A limited liability company (abbreviated LLC or LLC) in the law of the vast majority of the United States is a legal form of business Company Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) A. Office: 1875 Century Park East, Suite 2140, Los Angeles, CA 90067 N. Y. Office: 3 East 54th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10022 |
| Key people | Ted Hartley (Chairman and CEO) Dina Merrill (Vice Chairman) Aaron Ray (Chief Strategy Officer) Kevin Cornish (VP of Development) |
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Website | www.rko.com |
In 2003, RKO Pictures entered into a legal battle with Wall Street Financial Associates (WSFA) concerning a Short Form Acquisition Agreement dated that March 3. 54th Street is a two-mile-long one-way Street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. Ted Hartley (Born November 6, 1935) has been a US Navy Fighter pilot, an Investment banker, an actor producer and is currently CEO Dina Merrill (born December 9, 1925) is an American Actress and Socialite. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Hartley and Merrill, the majority interest holders in RKO, claimed that the owners of WSFA fraudulently induced them into signing an acquisition agreement by concealing their "cynical and rapacious" plans to acquire RKO Pictures with the intention only of dismantling it. WSFA sought a preliminary injunction prohibiting RKO's majority owners from selling their interests in the company to any third parties. [73] The WSFA motion was denied in July 2003, freeing RKO to deal with another potential purchaser, InternetStudios. com. In 2004, that planned sale fell through when InternetStudios. com apparently folded. [74] At present, the company's minimal involvement in new film production continues to focus on its remake rights: Are We Done Yet?, based on Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), was released in April 2007. Are We Done Yet? is a 2007 Family film sequel to "Are We There Yet?" starring Ice Cube. Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House is a 1948 American Comedy film directed by H Later in the year, RKO launched a horror division, Roseblood Movie Company, announcing that it would concentrate on "youth driven, moderately budgeted" films. [75] Remakes of RKO's classic Val Lewton–produced pictures are apparently under consideration. [76]
The RKO library
Today, RKO Pictures LLC is the owner of all the trademarks and logos connected with RKO Radio Pictures Inc. grc-Latn Logos (ˈloʊːgɒs ( Greek, logos) is an important term in Philosophy, Analytical psychology, Rhetoric and Religion , as well as the rights concerning stories, screenplays (including 800 to 900 unproduced scripts), remakes, sequels, and prequels connected with the RKO library. See also Pre-production Screenwriting A screenplay or script is a written plan authored by a Screenwriter, for a Film or Television A sequel is a work in Literature, Film, or other media that portrays events following those of a previous work A prequel is a work that portrays events and/or aspects of a previously completed narrative but is set prior to the existing narrative [77] The television, video, and theatrical distribution rights, however, are in other hands: The U. S. and Canadian TV—and, consequently, video—rights to the bulk of the RKO film library were sold at auction in 1971 after the holders, TransBeacon (a corporate descendant of C&C Television), went bankrupt. The auctioned rights were split between United Artists and Marian B. This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group. Inc. (MBI). In 1984, MBI created a subsidiary, Marian Pictures Inc. (MBP), to which it transferred its share of the RKO rights. Two years later GenCorp's subsidiaries, RKO General and RKO Pictures, repurchased the rights then controlled by MBP. [78] In the meantime, United Artists had been acquired by MGM. In 1986, MGM/UA's considerable library, including its RKO rights, was bought by Turner Broadcasting for its new Turner Entertainment division. Turner Broadcasting System Inc (often abbreviated TBS Networks or TBS Inc Turner Entertainment Company Inc is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. During RKO Pictures' brief Wesray episode, Turner acquired many of the distribution rights that had returned to RKO via MBP, as well as both the theatrical rights and the TV rights originally held back from C&C for the cities where RKO owned stations. In 1995, Turner Broadcasting was merged into Time Warner, which controls and distributes the bulk of the RKO library today, though RKO Pictures retains the copyright. Time Warner Inc ( is the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered in New York City. [79]
Ownership of the major European TV and video distribution rights to RKO's library is divided on a virtual country-by-country basis: In the UK, many of the RKO rights are currently held by Universal Studios. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American [80] The German rights were acquired in 1969 by KirchGruppe on behalf of its KirchMedia division. When KirchMedia went bankrupt in 2002, two proposed sales of its assets—first to publisher Heinrich Bauer Verlag, then to American media mogul Haim Saban—both fell through. Haim Saban (Hebrew חיים סבן born 15 October 1944 in Alexandria, Egypt Personal life Haim Saban was born in Alexandria Saban finally took control of Kirch's broadcast arm, ProSiebenSat. 1, in August 2003, arranging a deal to buy majority ownership the following year. ProSiebenSat. 1 presently leases the German broadcast rights to KirchMedia's former library holdings (including the RKO films) from two concerns: EOS Entertainment's Beta Film, which purchased many of the rights in 2004, and Kineos, a joint venture created in 2005 by Beta Film and KirchMedia, now run by its creditors. [81] In 1981, RAI, the public broadcasting service, acquired the Italian rights to the RKO library, which it now shares with Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest. Rai - Radiotelevisione Italiana, known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian public service broadcaster, and is considered (born 29 September 1936 is an Italian politician, Entrepreneur, Real estate and Insurance Tycoon, Bank and Media proprietor Fininvest is a financial Holding company controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family [82] In France, the rights are held by Ariès. [83] As for RKO's primary release deals, the Disney pictures originally distributed by the studio are controlled by the Walt Disney Company. Rights to the Goldwyn features released by RKO, which had been held by the Samuel Goldwyn Company, are now controlled by Sony Pictures, via MGM. The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an Independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc ( SPE) is the television and Film production/distribution unit of Japanese Media conglomerate Sony
The RKO logo
All Radio Pictures Inc. and RKO Radio Pictures Inc. films produced between 1929 and 1957 have an opening logo displaying the studio's famous trademark, the spinning globe and radio tower, nicknamed "The Transmitter. " Orson Welles called it, "My favorite among the old logos, not just because it was so often a reliable portent. . . . [I]t reminds us to listen. "[84] Instead of the Transmitter, many Disney films released by the studio originally appeared with colorful versions of the RKO closing logo as part of the main title sequence. For decades, re-releases of these films had Disney/Buena Vista logos plastered over the RKO insignia, but the originals have been restored in many recent DVD editions. Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Inc (formerly known as Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group) is a corporation which develops scripts and oversees theatrical film production [85] The Hartley–Merrill RKO Pictures has created a new version of the Transmitter, which was first used theatrically for the 1998 Mighty Joe Young remake. The original closing logo, revived in 2001 for Ritual, the remake of I Walked with a Zombie, is also a well-known trademark, a triangle enclosing a thunderbolt. Tales From the Crypt Presents Ritual is the third film spin-off from the HBO television series Tales from the Crypt, the first being
Notes
- ^ The current online edition of Encyclopædia Britannica erroneously claims that RKO resulted "from the merger of the Radio Corporation of America, the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre chain, and the American Pathé production firm. The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc " See RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. entry. Retrieved 11/24/06. Many other online sources make the same demonstrably false claim or similar ones (e. g. , that the RCA Photophone business was made part of RKO).
Note also the following:- Many sources incorrectly describe Keith-Albee-Orpheum as the union of three theater chains; in fact the name describes the union of just two chains, B. F. Keith Corp. (doing business as Keith-Albee) and Orpheum Circuit Inc. Edward F. Albee was Benjamin F. Keith's right-hand man; he took over the company after its founder's death in 1914.
- Many sources incorrectly give FBO's full name as "Film Booking Office of America"; the proper name is Film Booking Offices of America, which may be confirmed by examining its official logo.
- FBO's full name was not "Film Booking Office. "
- RCA Photophone was not "amalgamated" with FBO and KAO under the Radio-Keith-Orpheum holding company (see, e. g. , Lasky [1989], p. 120).
- The company did not "contain" anything close to "three hundred theaters" (see note 2, below).
- The company did not "contain. . . four studios" in either standard meaning of the term—production company or permanent production facility. After its purchase of Pathé (U. S. ) in January 1931, RKO could be said to "contain" two studios in the former sense; as for the latter sense, after the purchase, RKO possessed the former FBO studio in Hollywood, a backlot it had established in Encino in 1929, and the Pathé studio/backlot in Culver City—three "studios" by even a generous count. A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a Movie studio with space to build or with permanent exterior sets for outdoor scenes in motion picture and/or Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County California. And note that Balio does not mention the Pathé purchase.
- ^ Goodwin (1987), pp. 375–379; Jewell (1982), pp. 9–10; Lasky (1989), pp. 25–27; Gomery (1985), pp. 63–65; Crafton (1997), pp. 136–139, 193–194; "Cinemerger", Time, May 2, 1927 (available online). Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Note that Jewell's reference to "the 700 K-A-O Theatres in the US and Canada" (p. 10) is wildly inaccurate. The Time article indicates that as of May 1927, Keith-Albee (legally the B. F. Keith Corp. ) had 50 theaters and Orpheum had 47. Crafton claims KAO had "200 theaters" at the time of RKO's founding (p. 141), though he references no contemporary source. He does cite Film Daily in a description of RKO as controlling 250 theaters in 1930, following a "buying binge" (p. 256). Schatz (1998) describes an "RKO chain of 161 theaters" around the time David O. Selznick became production chief in October 1931 (p. 128). Schatz (1999) writes that as of 1940, RKO had "slightly more than 100 theaters" (p. 17). He explains that "the figures on studio-affiliated theaters very considerably, owing to the number of houses in which the studios held only partial interest—as little as 5 percent in some cases" (p. 484, n. 24).
- ^ Goodwin (1987), p. 376.
- ^ Goodwin (1987), pp. 375–379; Jewell (1982), p. 10; Lasky (1989), pp. 27–29, 33–34; Gomery (1985), pp. 63–65; Crafton (1997), pp. 136–139, 193–194.
- ^ Crafton (1997), p. 210.
- ^ "New Incorporations", New York Times, April 11, 1929. Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Goodwin (1987), pp. 422–423; Jewell (1982), p. 32; Crafton (1997), pp. 208, 210.
- ^ Bradley (1996), p. 260; "R. -K. -O. Signs More Noted Names", Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1929; "Studios Plan Huge Programs", Los Angeles Times, July 21, 1929. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1930, p. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A9.
- ^ Bradley (1996), p. 279.
- ^ Jewell (1982), pp. 38, 41. For Technicolor contracts during this era, see "Technicolor Adventures in Cinemaland" address by company founder Herbert Kalmus, October 28, 1938; part of the Widescreen Museum website. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved 3/24/07.
- ^ Crafton (1997), p. 552; Lasky (1989), p. 55. Only one previous sound film had cost more than $1 million, and just barely: Noah's Ark (1929), from Warner Bros. (Crafton [1997], p. 549).
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 58–59.
- ^ Bordwell et al. (1985), pp. 320–321.
- ^ For the switch to the RKO Radio Pictures brand at the beginning of the 1932–33 exhibition season for U. S. print advertising, see, e. g. , this original poster for The Most Dangerous Game, which premiered September 9, 1932. The Most Dangerous Game is a adaptation of the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell, the first film version of that story Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Online claims that the original U. S. posters had the older "Radio Pictures" logo are false. For conclusive evidence to the contrary see, e. g. , King (2003), p. 15.
- ^ Schatz (1998), pp. 131–133.
- ^ Schatz (1998), p. 133.
- ^ Schatz (1998), pp. 131.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 81–82.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 98–99.
- ^ Harvey (1998), p. 290.
- ^ See, e. g. , Di Battista (2001), p. 90.
- ^ Morton (2005), p. 43; Cotta Vaz and Barron (2002), p. 59.
- ^ "What? Color in the Movies Again?" Fortune, October 1934 (available online); Morton (2005), pp. 111–112; Lasky (1989), p. 104.
- ^ Finler (1988), p. 184.
- ^ Brunelle (1996); Morton (2005), pp. 75–77, 108–109.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 118–119; Jewell (1982), p. 19.
- ^ For Grant's unusual contract situation, see McCann (1998), pp. 79–80, 144. Among still-ascendant male stars, Grant was preceded by the more established Fredric March as a freelancer. Fredric March ( August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American two-time Academy Award and Tony Award -winning For other freelance Hollywood performers of the mid-1930s, see Balio (1995), p. 155.
- ^ It has not yet been possible to determine exactly when the studio business's name officially changed from Radio Pictures Inc. to RKO Radio Pictures Inc. , in part due to the many references to RKO-Radio Pictures Inc. (i. e. , Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. subsidiary Radio Pictures Inc. ) Early on, before the official name change, the hyphen was sometimes informally dropped; later, after the official name change had definitely taken place, the hyphen was sometimes mistakenly used. The latest official document so far located that strongly suggests Radio Pictures was still the official name of the studio subsidiary is "Anti 'Block-booking' and 'Blind Selling' in the Leasing of Motion-picture Films: Hearings Before a Subcommittee" (U. S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce, 1939), p. 460. The earliest official document so far located that unambiguously refers to RKO Radio Pictures Inc. as a subsidiary of Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. is "Propaganda in Motion Pictures: Hearings Before a Subcommittee. . . on S. Res. 152. . . Sept. 9 to 26, 1941" (U. S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce, 1941), p. 26.
- ^ "News of the Screen," New York Times, February 16, 1937; Schatz (1998), p. 181. By August 1940, the lease was no longer exclusive—see "Screen News Here and in Hollywood," New York Times, August 28, 1940. By mid-1949, Selznick had left the studio entirely—see two articles by Thomas F. Brady: "Republic to Make Film on Baseball," New York Times, April 8, 1949; and "Hollywood Buys More Stories," New York Times, May 1, 1949.
- ^ Bordwell et al. (1985), p. 349. For Walker's earlier work on King Kong, see Morton (2005), pp. 30, 43, 52.
- ^ For Breen's position, see Jeff and Simmons (2001), pp. 119, 122–125.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 140.
- ^ Schatz (1999), p. 57; Jewell (1982), p. 142.
- ^ Schatz's (1999) brief description of Mr. and Mrs. Smith as a "critical and commercial failure" (p. 89) is evidently incorrect. According to historian Leonard Leff, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a happy ending: good reviews and modest box office success" (Leff [1999], p. 92). Ed Sikov agrees, calling it a "solid commercial hit" (Sikov [1996], p. 152). Donald Spoto's report on its release lends further support to this position (Spoto [1983], p. 250).
- ^ Citizen Kane lost $150,000–$160,000 on original release (the production cost was precisely $805,527. 53); The Magnificent Ambersons lost $624,000 (production cost $1. 125 million); and the unreleased It's All True cost the studio an estimated $1. 2 million. See Brady (1990), pp. 288, 311 (Kane), 346 (It's All True); Jewell, 164 (Kane), 173 (Ambersons). Corporate deficit and profit: Jewell (1982), pp. 144, 156. Note that the studio operation itself was almost certainly a bigger money-loser than these figures suggest, with profits coming from the corporation's theatrical division. See Jewell (1982), p. 168.
- ^ For ambitious box office failures: Jewell (1982), pp. 144, 146 (Abe Lincoln in Illinois), 152 (They Knew What They Wanted), 156, 166 (All That Money Can Buy); Lasky (1989), p. 165; Schatz (1999), p. 57. For Rogers: Jewell (1982), p. 156; Schatz (1999), p. 57.
- ^ "Ned Depinet Heads RKO Pictures Unit; Ex-Vice President in Charge of Distribution Is Elected to Succeed G. J. Schaefer", New York Times, June 26, 1942. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Quoted in Server (2002), p. 78.
- ^ Jewell (1982), pp. 168, 178.
- ^ Lasky (1989), p. 187.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 181; Lasky (1989), pp. 184–185. The film cost $205,000 to make. See Schatz (1999), p. 173, table 6. 3, for budgets of Big Five releases the following year. Jewell states that it "attracted $3,355,000 in film rentals"; Lasky refers to a Hollywood Reporter article on the film, published seven months after its premiere, predicting it "would do better than $3 million in the U. The Hollywood Reporter is a major trade publication of the Film industry in the United States. S. alone. " It is not listed in Schatz's appendix of annual top box-office films of the 1940s (p. 466), based on a 1992 Variety reckoning, perhaps because of its unusual production history—$3 million alone would have tied it for eleventh place, a very impressive feat for a movie with a B budget and star (Tim Holt). Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman Assuming Jewell's figure is accurate, and the Schatz/Variety list is otherwise accurate and complete, Hitler's Children was the ninth biggest earner of 1943.
- ^ Analysis based on Schatz (1999), p. 173, table 6. 3.
- ^ Crafton (1997), p. 210.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 164.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 203–204.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 192–193, 195.
- ^ Schatz (1999), pp. 290–291.
- ^ See, e. g. , Friedrich (1997), pp. 333–336.
- ^ Brown and Broeske (2004), p. 281.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 216.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 204–205.
- ^ Analysis based on Schatz (1999), p. 330, table 10. 2. See Jewell (1982), pp. 216, 226, for confirmation of RKO figures.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 226.
- ^ Lasky (1989), pp. 218–220, 223, 227; The Independent Producers and the Paramount Case, 1938–1949: Part 6 "The Supreme Court Verdict That Brought an End to the Hollywood Studio System, 1948" (see "The First Studio Is Dissolved" and "The Mighty Paramount Is Broken"); part of the Society Of Independent Motion Picture Producers research archive. Retrieved 7/22/06.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 254.
- ^ "An Old Flame Returns", Time, February 23, 1953 (available online). Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Jewell (1982), pp. 246, 262; Lasky (1989), pp. 221, 223, 225.
- ^ Timeline of Valley History The Valley Observed. Retrieved 9/24/07.
- ^ Quoted in Lasky (1989), p. 226.
- ^ Jewell (1982), pp. 244–245; Lasky (1989), pp. 218–219, 223, 227–228.
- ^ Lasky (1989), p. 229.
- ^ Segrave (1999), pp. 40–41; Hilmes (1990), pp. 160–161; Boddy (1990), p. 138.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 245; Lasky (1989), p. 3.
- ^ "Initial Plans for Movie Studio Backlot Approved", Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1975. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For more on the lot, see 40 Acres part of RetroWeb.
- ^ O'Neill (1966), p. 180. Many online information sites give RKO General's year of inception as 1958, without sourcing; O'Neill's 1959 dating is supported by the fact that there is no mention of RKO General in either the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times before February 1960.
- ^ Jewell (1982), p. 15.
- ^ See Fein, Seth, "Transcultured Anticommunism: Cold War Hollywood in Postwar Mexico", in Visible Nations: Latin American Cinema and Video, ed. Chon A. Noriega (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000), 82–111.
- ^ For the early history of Million Dollar Movie and WOR's film programming, see Segrave (1999), pp. 40, 48; "News of TV and Radio; 'Studio One' Returns for the Winter Season", New York Times, September 19, 1954 (excerpted online); "WOR-TV Acquires 10 Selznick Films; It Pays Record $198,000 for 'Package'—Will Be Shown on 'Million Dollar Movie' Discord Theme of Show", New York Times, February 25, 1956; "2 Feature Films Bought By WOR-TV; Station Adds 'Champion' and 'Home of the Brave' to its 'Million Dollar Movie,'" New York Times, June 16, 1956. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ "Wesray in Deal for RKO Studio", New York Times, September 18, 1987 (available online); EDGAR Online—Playboy Enterprises International Inc. Proxy Statement SEC form DEF 14A filing dated September 27, 1995. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Retrieved 8/13/06.
- ^ "Pavilion Buys Stake in RKO", New York Times, September 1, 1989 (available online); "Ted Hartley...and the Rebirth of RKO Studios" detailed 1999 article by Joseph DiSante based on interview with Hartley. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Retrieved 7/26/06. Note that while the article refers to Hartley–Merrill's "RKO Pictures Inc. ", SEC filings establish that the company is, at least currently, structured as an LLC. A limited liability company (abbreviated LLC or LLC) in the law of the vast majority of the United States is a legal form of business Company
- ^ Entertainment Law Digest summary of "New Filing—RKO Acquisition": RKO Pictures v. Wall Street Financial Associates, LLC; L. A. Superior Court SC077345. Complete filing available at ELD, July 2003. Retrieved 8/8/06.
- ^ Internetstudios Com Inc 10QSB SEC small business quarterly report filing dated June 30, 2004. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " For more on InternetStudios. com see StockLemon Report on InternetStudios. Both retrieved 7/22/06.
- ^ RKO Today RKO Pictures LLC official website. Retrieved 12/3/07.
- ^ RKO Pictures: Reader/Intern EntertainmentCareers. net, September 18, 2007. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Retrieved 12/4/07.
- ^ "Dina Merrill on Mrs. Johnson" 2002 A&E interview with Merrill. Retrieved 8/14/06; Ted Hartley ’46 U. S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation biographical essay. Retrieved 8/17/06.
- ^ FindLaw—U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, Saltzman v CIR ruling in docket nos. 96-4195, 96-4203—argued October 3, 1997; decided December 11, 1997. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Retrieved 8/10/06. Note that the association of the corporate name "Marian Pictures Incorporated" with the acronym "MBP" is per this legal document.
- ^ See Turner Broadcasting System Inc DEFM14A SEC merger/acquisition proxy solicitation filing dated September 17, 1996. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Retrieved 8/17/06.
- ^ "The Val Lewton Horror Collection: Introduction" essay on new digital video release, December 12, 2005 (see "The DVDs"); part of the DVD Times website. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved 8/17/06.
- ^ TaurusHolding GmbH & Co. KG—Company History detailed history of KirchGruppe under the name it adopted in 2002; part of the Funding Universe website; "German Film and TV Giant KirchMedia Collapses" interview with media journalist Julie Rigg, October 4, 2002; part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation—Radio National/Night Club website; "KirchMedia: Opportunity Lost" BusinessWeek Online, July 28, 2003; "Saban's Lands KirchMedia at Last" Advanced-Television. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. com, August 6, 2003; ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG Interim Report quarterly financial statement dated September 30, 2003 (see p. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 6); "Saban Takes Majority Stake in Restructured ProSiebenSat.1" Advanced-Television. com, September 21, 2004; "DLA Piper Advises KirchMedia GmbH & Co. KGaA in the Sale of the National Film Library" DLA Piper press release dated May 13, 2005; Jan Mojto CV of EOS Entertainment chief dated May 21–24, 2005; part of the 18th medienforum. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. nrw website. All retrieved 8/18/06.
- ^ L'Universale—La Grande Enciclopedia Tematica, vol. 2 (Milan: [Garzanti] Libri S. p. A. , 2003–4), p. 986; "Un satellite per la cultura" 2002 statement by Luigi Mattucci, president of RAISat; part of the Emilia-Romagna IBC website. Retrieved 8/18/06.
- ^ "Interview: Dans la tête des Editions Montparnasse" interview with Renaud Delourme, head of company handling French RKO DVD releases, November 22, 2000; part of the DVDFr website; "DVD RKO: Interview des Editions Montparnasse" 2001 interview with two EM professionals; part of the DVDrama website; "La gazette du doublage: Laurence Sabatier, Responsable technique des Editions Montparnasse" 2002 interview with EM professional; part of the Objectif Cinéma website. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. All retrieved 8/18/06.
- ^ Quoted in Thomson (1997), p. 170.
- ^ Culhane (1999), passim; The RKO Logo essay by Rick Mitchell; part of Hollywood: Lost and Found website. Retrieved 10/22/06.
Note: The standard history and reference guide to the studio's films, The RKO Story, by Richard B. Jewell, with Vernon Harbin (New York: Arlington House/Crown, 1982)—and not IMDb.com—is used as the final arbiter of whether specific films made between 1929 and 1957 were RKO solo productions, coproductions, or completely independent productions. Official year of release is also per The RKO Story, not IMDb.
Sources
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External links
RKO Radio Pictures history
- The Early Sound Films of Radio Pictures comprehensive listing of RKO (and FBO sound) features through 1935, with stars and release dates—see also The Early Sound Films of Pathé for the RKO-Pathé films of 1931–32; both part of Vitaphone Video Early Talkies website
- RKO Theater Chain list of classic movie houses belonging to RKO chain; part of Cinema Treasures website
RKO Pictures LLC
- RKO Pictures the Hartley–Merrill company's website
- RKO Distribution RKO Distribution
- Ted Hartley personal website of RKO Pictures LLC's chairman and CEO
- "Flight of Fancy" Hartley interviewed by Darrell Satzman, Los Angeles Business Journal, July 8, 2002
- "Newman Helms Doc" article by Michael Fleming on planned Hartley documentary, Variety. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. com, September 11, 2003
RKO library and logos
- C&C RKO 16 mm Prints extensive discussion of RKO preservation and rights issues, by David Chierichetti; part of eFilmCenter website
- The RKO Logo essay by Rick Mitchell; part of Hollywood: Lost and Found website
- RKO Pictures Logos detailed, quirky descriptions by Nicholas Aczel and Sean Beard
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