Astor Pictures
Encyclopedia
Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution
service in operation from 1930 to 1963, founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 - 29 April 1956). Astor, located at 130 West 46th Street in New York City
, initially acquired the rights to other motion pictures for profitable re-release.
In 1947, the motion picture periodical Boxoffice
reported that the number of reissued films for that year were four times that of the previous year. Many smaller cinemas wished to show double feature
s to attract audiences with a reissued film being the cheapest type of release.
After Savini's death, Astor and Atlantic Television were acquired by George M. Foley, Jr. and Franklin Bruder, who released European films in the USA. It is probably here the Astor name is best remembered, for in three short years they brought several cinematic classics to theaters in the early sixties. Astor's biggest success was undoubtedly Federico Fellini
's La Dolce Vita
(1960), which was a huge box-office hit for the company, and allowed it to continue to release foreign films such as Michael Powell's Peeping Tom
(1960), Francois Truffaut
's Shoot the Piano Player
(1960), Alain Resnais
' Last Year at Marienbad
(1961) and Orson Welles
' The Trial
(1962). However, despite its success with such important films, Astor went out of the distribution business in 1963.
Film distribution
The distribution of a film is the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience by a film distributor...
service in operation from 1930 to 1963, founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 - 29 April 1956). Astor, located at 130 West 46th Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, initially acquired the rights to other motion pictures for profitable re-release.
In 1947, the motion picture periodical Boxoffice
Boxoffice (magazine)
Boxoffice is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by Boxoffice Media LP. It started in 1920 as The Reel Journal, taking its current name in 1931 and still publishes today, with an intended audience of theatre owners and film professionals.Boxoffice is the...
reported that the number of reissued films for that year were four times that of the previous year. Many smaller cinemas wished to show double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
s to attract audiences with a reissued film being the cheapest type of release.
Types of Astor releases
Astor Pictures--- Acquired the film library of the defunct Grand National Pictures films after their liquidation for cinema re-release.
- Acquired the re-release rights of many films originally released by United ArtistsUnited ArtistsUnited 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....
and RKO Radio Pictures. - Re-released William S. HartWilliam S. HartWilliam Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered for having "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity."-Biography:...
's TumbleweedsTumbleweeds (1925 film)Tumbleweeds is a 1925 American Western film starring and produced by William S. Hart. It depicts the Cherokee Strip land rush of 1893. The film is said to have influenced the Oscar-winning 1931 Western Cimarron, which also depicts the land rush...
(1925) in 1939 with music and sound effects and Hart speaking a famous prologue, in his only sound appearance on film- "Oh, the thrill of it all!" - Distributed many race films but only produced one, Louis JordanLouis JordanLouis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
's Beware! (1946). - In addition to showing many of Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
's short subjectShort subjectA short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
s made for Educational PicturesEducational PicturesEducational Pictures was a film distribution company founded in 1919 by Earle Hammons . Educational primarily distributed short subjects, and today is probably best known for its series of 1930s comedies starring Buster Keaton, as well as for a series of one-reel comedies featuring Shirley...
, put several of them together and released it as a feature called The Road to HollywoodThe Road to HollywoodThe Road to Hollywood is a 1947 American film released by Astor Pictures that is a combination of several of Bing Crosby's Educational Pictures short subjects. The title was designed to exploit the Paramount Pictures Crosby, Hope and Lamour Road to.....
to compete with Paramount PicturesParamount PicturesParamount 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...
's Road to series. - Obtained the rights to many of Sam KatzmanSam KatzmanSam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Born into a poor Jewish family, Katzman went to work as a stage laborer at the age of 13 in the fledgling East Coast film industry...
's MonogramMonogramA monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
East Side KidsEast Side KidsThe East Side Kids were characters in a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The Bowery Boys....
pictures for re-release at the same time Monogram PicturesMonogram PicturesMonogram 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...
was releasing Bowery BoysBowery BoysThe Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
films - Released many of the early Hammer Films in the USA by an arrangement with Hammer's parent company Exclusive Films.
- Started a subsidiary, Atlantic Television, to distribute films to television in the early 1950s.
- Released many science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
films of dubious quality such as Cat-Women of the MoonCat-Women of the MoonCat-Women of the Moon is a 1953 Science fiction 3-D film directed by Arthur Hilton. It stars Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory and Marie Windsor. The musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein....
and its remake Missile to the MoonMissile to the MoonMissile to the Moon is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction film directed by Richard E. Cunha, and is a remake of the 1953 film Cat-Women of the Moon.-Plot:...
in the 1950s.
After Savini's death, Astor and Atlantic Television were acquired by George M. Foley, Jr. and Franklin Bruder, who released European films in the USA. It is probably here the Astor name is best remembered, for in three short years they brought several cinematic classics to theaters in the early sixties. Astor's biggest success was undoubtedly Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
(1960), which was a huge box-office hit for the company, and allowed it to continue to release foreign films such as Michael Powell's Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (film)
Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell and written by the World War II cryptographer and polymath Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur...
(1960), Francois Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
's Shoot the Piano Player
Shoot the Piano Player
Shoot the Piano Player is a 1960 French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Charles Aznavour.The film is loosely based on the novel Down There by David Goodis.- Plot summary :...
(1960), Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
' Last Year at Marienbad
Last Year at Marienbad
L'Année dernière à Marienbad is a 1961 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Alain Robbe-Grillet....
(1961) and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' The Trial
The Trial (1962 film)
The Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka...
(1962). However, despite its success with such important films, Astor went out of the distribution business in 1963.