Allied Artists International
Encyclopedia
Allied Artists International, Inc. is an entertainment company which works on movies, television, music, games, and other media products. The company is the successor to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
(formerly known as Monogram Pictures Corporation). In 1971, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation formed subsidiary Allied Artists Records. Embroiled in a contentious bankruptcy, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation transferred its interest in the Allied Artists trademarks to Allied Artists Records on June 17, 1983 to enable production and distribution to continue. On October 6, 2000, Allied Artists Records filed for a newly designed mark, which became registered on December 25, 2001. On April 1, 2001, Allied Artists Records changed its name to Allied Artists International, Inc. and assigned its trademarks to reflect the corporate name change. After the assignment of intellectual property between the original Allied Artists Pictures Corporation and Allied Artists International, 445 titles were released under the Allied Artists brand through the year 2009, with additional titles in production and scheduled for release in years to come.
began at Monogram Pictures
after World War II as assistant to studio head Samuel "Steve" Broidy. He convinced Broidy that the days of low-budget films were ending, and in 1946, Monogram created a new unit, Allied Artists Productions, to make costlier films.
At a time when the average Hollywood picture cost about $800,000 (and the average Monogram picture cost about $90,000), Allied Artists' first release, It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), cost more than $1,200,000. Subsequent Allied Artists releases were more economical but did have enhanced production values; many of them were filmed in color.
The studio's new policy permitted what Mirisch called "B-plus" pictures, which were released along with Monogram's established line of B fare. Mirisch's prediction about the end of the low-budget film had come true thanks to television, and in September 1952, Monogram announced that henceforth it would only produce films bearing the Allied Artists name. The studio ceased making movies under the Monogram brand name in 1953 (but was later reactivated by Allied Artists International). The parent company became Allied Artists, with Monogram Pictures becoming an operating division.
action series (through 1953), its B-Westerns (through 1954), its Bomba, the Jungle Boy
adventures (through 1955), and especially its breadwinning comedy series with The Bowery Boys
(through 1957 with Clements replacing Leo Gorcey). For the most part, however, Allied Artists was heading in new, ambitious directions under Mirisch.
For a time in the mid-1950s the Mirisch family had great influence at Allied Artists, with Walter as executive producer, his brother Marvin as head of sales, and brother Harold as corporate treasurer. They pushed the studio into big-budget filmmaking, signing contracts with William Wyler
, John Huston
, Billy Wilder
and Gary Cooper
. But when their first big-name productions, Wyler's Friendly Persuasion
and Wilder's Love in the Afternoon
were box-office flops in 1956–57, studio-head Broidy retreated into the kind of pictures Monogram had always favored: low-budget action and thrillers. Mirisch Productions then had success releasing their films through United Artists
.
Allied Artists ceased production in 1966 and became a distributor of foreign films, but restarted production with the 1972 release of Cabaret
and followed it the next year with Papillon
. Both were critical and commercial successes, but high production and financing costs meant they were not big money makers for Allied. In 1975 Allied distributed the French import film version of Story of O
but spent much of its earnings defending itself from obscenity charges.
Monogram/Allied Artists survived by finding a niche and serving it well. Probably the best-known tribute paid to Monogram came from French New Wave
pioneer Jean-Luc Godard
, who dedicated his 1960 film Breathless to Monogram, citing the studio's films as a major influence.
The company lasted until 1979, when runaway inflation and high production costs pushed it into bankruptcy. The post-1936 Monogram/Allied Artists library was bought by television producer Lorimar; today a majority of this library belongs to Warner Bros.
Entertainment. The pre-1936 Monogram library became incorporated into that of Republic, today a part of Viacom
-owned Paramount Pictures
.
, Lawrence Welk
, Bob Seger
, and Ted Nugent
. Allied Artists Records (now Allied Artists Music Group)'s roster includes Coolio, David Hasselhoff and Renegade. In 2000, it was announced that Allied Artists Records would issue a Spanish Language recording by actor David Hasselhoff
. In 2007, given the length of time Allied Artists International, Inc. had exercised control over the name, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Allied Artists International, Inc. (Allied Artists Records' successor) a Notice of Acceptance under Section 8 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1058(a)(1) and Section 15 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1065, which deems Allied Artists International, Inc's right to the federal trademarks for "Allied Artists" incontestable.
Today, Monogram Pictures is a division of Allied Artists International, somewhat ironic given the fact that Allied Artists originally sprang from Monogram Pictures. However, as Allied Artists emerged as the predominant brand, Monogram Pictures took a backseat and was dormant for many years. Allied Artists has recently renewed the Monogram Pictures trademarks and announced new productions under the Monogram banner.
Allied Artists Pictures, the flagship film group division of Allied Artists International, Inc., is ranked within the top one thousand film production and distribution companies worldwide, out of more than two hundred and fifty thousand studios listed by the Internet Movie Database
.
Music and film executive Robert Fitzpatrick joined Allied Artists in 1999, and died in October 2010. Following Fitzpatrick’s death, Kim Richards took over as president and CEO. Richards was a young television soundtrack engineer in the 1970’s, and Fitzpatrick helped him earn his first gold record.
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
(formerly known as Monogram Pictures Corporation). In 1971, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation formed subsidiary Allied Artists Records. Embroiled in a contentious bankruptcy, Allied Artists Pictures Corporation transferred its interest in the Allied Artists trademarks to Allied Artists Records on June 17, 1983 to enable production and distribution to continue. On October 6, 2000, Allied Artists Records filed for a newly designed mark, which became registered on December 25, 2001. On April 1, 2001, Allied Artists Records changed its name to Allied Artists International, Inc. and assigned its trademarks to reflect the corporate name change. After the assignment of intellectual property between the original Allied Artists Pictures Corporation and Allied Artists International, 445 titles were released under the Allied Artists brand through the year 2009, with additional titles in production and scheduled for release in years to come.
Monogram Pictures
Producer Walter MirischWalter Mirisch
Walter Mortimer Mirisch is an American film producer. In his long and successful motion picture career, Walter Mirisch has produced some of the industry’s finest and most memorable films...
began at Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
after World War II as assistant to studio head Samuel "Steve" Broidy. He convinced Broidy that the days of low-budget films were ending, and in 1946, Monogram created a new unit, Allied Artists Productions, to make costlier films.
At a time when the average Hollywood picture cost about $800,000 (and the average Monogram picture cost about $90,000), Allied Artists' first release, It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), cost more than $1,200,000. Subsequent Allied Artists releases were more economical but did have enhanced production values; many of them were filmed in color.
The studio's new policy permitted what Mirisch called "B-plus" pictures, which were released along with Monogram's established line of B fare. Mirisch's prediction about the end of the low-budget film had come true thanks to television, and in September 1952, Monogram announced that henceforth it would only produce films bearing the Allied Artists name. The studio ceased making movies under the Monogram brand name in 1953 (but was later reactivated by Allied Artists International). The parent company became Allied Artists, with Monogram Pictures becoming an operating division.
Allied Artists Pictures
Allied Artists did retain a few vestiges of its Monogram identity, continuing its popular Stanley ClementsStanley Clements
Stanley Clements was an American actor and comedian.Stanley Clements was born Stanislaw Klimowicz in Long Island, New York. Young Stan realized that he wanted a show-business career while he was in grammar school, and when he graduated from college he toured in vaudeville for two years...
action series (through 1953), its B-Westerns (through 1954), its Bomba, the Jungle Boy
Bomba, the Jungle Boy
Bomba the Jungle Boy was a series of American boy's adventure books produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood and published by Cupples & Leon in the first half of the 20th century in imitation of the successful Tarzan series....
adventures (through 1955), and especially its breadwinning comedy series with The Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were fictional New York City characters who were the subject of feature films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958....
(through 1957 with Clements replacing Leo Gorcey). For the most part, however, Allied Artists was heading in new, ambitious directions under Mirisch.
For a time in the mid-1950s the Mirisch family had great influence at Allied Artists, with Walter as executive producer, his brother Marvin as head of sales, and brother Harold as corporate treasurer. They pushed the studio into big-budget filmmaking, signing contracts with William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
, John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
and Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
. But when their first big-name productions, Wyler's Friendly Persuasion
Friendly Persuasion (film)
Friendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler...
and Wilder's Love in the Afternoon
Love in the Afternoon (1957 film)
Love in the Afternoon is a 1957 American romantic comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the Claude Anet novel Ariane, jeune fille russe , which previously was filmed as Scampolo in 1928 and Scampolo, ein Kind der Strasse in...
were box-office flops in 1956–57, studio-head Broidy retreated into the kind of pictures Monogram had always favored: low-budget action and thrillers. Mirisch Productions then had success releasing their films through United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
.
Allied Artists ceased production in 1966 and became a distributor of foreign films, but restarted production with the 1972 release of Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
and followed it the next year with Papillon
Papillon (film)
Papillon is a 1973 film based on the best-selling novel by the French convict Henri Charrière.This motion picture was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière , and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega...
. Both were critical and commercial successes, but high production and financing costs meant they were not big money makers for Allied. In 1975 Allied distributed the French import film version of Story of O
Story of O
Story of O is an erotic novel published in 1954 about love, dominance and submission by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage.Desclos did not reveal herself as the author for forty years after the initial publication...
but spent much of its earnings defending itself from obscenity charges.
Monogram/Allied Artists survived by finding a niche and serving it well. Probably the best-known tribute paid to Monogram came from French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
pioneer Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, who dedicated his 1960 film Breathless to Monogram, citing the studio's films as a major influence.
The company lasted until 1979, when runaway inflation and high production costs pushed it into bankruptcy. The post-1936 Monogram/Allied Artists library was bought by television producer Lorimar; today a majority of this library belongs to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Entertainment. The pre-1936 Monogram library became incorporated into that of Republic, today a part of Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
-owned Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Allied Artists Records
Following the 1980 bankruptcy and dissolution of Allied Artists Pictures Corporation, Allied Artists Records sought to expand its trademark and service mark rights to include all forms of entertainment, including those previously held by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Allied Artists Records ultimately filed for and received federal trademark protection for "Production and distribution of entertainment services, namely, phonograph records, motion picture films, video tapes, DVDs, and radio and television programs" in International Class 041. By 1988, Allied Artists Records claimed recording artists such as Lionel RichieLionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
, Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
, and Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
. Allied Artists Records (now Allied Artists Music Group)'s roster includes Coolio, David Hasselhoff and Renegade. In 2000, it was announced that Allied Artists Records would issue a Spanish Language recording by actor David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
. In 2007, given the length of time Allied Artists International, Inc. had exercised control over the name, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Allied Artists International, Inc. (Allied Artists Records' successor) a Notice of Acceptance under Section 8 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1058(a)(1) and Section 15 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1065, which deems Allied Artists International, Inc's right to the federal trademarks for "Allied Artists" incontestable.
Allied Artists International
Allied Artists Records, which was a separate entity at the time of the Allied Artists Pictures Corporation bankruptcy, was left standing with the only remaining rights to the "Allied Artists" name, although those rights had up to that point been limited to motion picture soundtracks, records and music publishing.Allied Artists today
Allied Artists International, Inc. produces and distributes entertainment products including motion pictures, television productions, DVDs, music CD's, entertainment software, music publishing and other entertainment-related media.Today, Monogram Pictures is a division of Allied Artists International, somewhat ironic given the fact that Allied Artists originally sprang from Monogram Pictures. However, as Allied Artists emerged as the predominant brand, Monogram Pictures took a backseat and was dormant for many years. Allied Artists has recently renewed the Monogram Pictures trademarks and announced new productions under the Monogram banner.
Allied Artists Pictures, the flagship film group division of Allied Artists International, Inc., is ranked within the top one thousand film production and distribution companies worldwide, out of more than two hundred and fifty thousand studios listed by the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
.
Executives
- This section should be integrated into the narrative.
Music and film executive Robert Fitzpatrick joined Allied Artists in 1999, and died in October 2010. Following Fitzpatrick’s death, Kim Richards took over as president and CEO. Richards was a young television soundtrack engineer in the 1970’s, and Fitzpatrick helped him earn his first gold record.