Republic Pictures
Encyclopedia
Republic Pictures was an independent film
production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns
, movie serial
s and B films emphasizing mystery and action.
The studio was also responsible for financing and distributing one Shakespeare film, Orson Welles
' Macbeth
(1948) and several of the films of John Ford
during the '40s and early '50s, and for developing the careers of John Wayne
, Gene Autry
and Roy Rogers
.
Created in 1935 by Herbert J. Yates
, a longtime investor in film and music properties and founder and president of film processing laboratory Consolidated Film Industries
, Republic was the result of a union of six smaller Poverty Row
studios.
In the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Yates' laboratory was servicing many Poverty Row studios. In 1935 Yates saw a chance to become a studio head himself. Six established Poverty Row companies (Monogram, Mascot, Liberty, Majestic, Chesterfield and Invincible) were all in debt to Yates' lab. He prevailed upon these studios to merge under his leadership (or otherwise face foreclosure on their outstanding lab bills). Yates' new company, Republic Pictures Corporation, was established as a collaborative enterprise focused on low-budget product.
The largest of Republic's components was Monogram Pictures
, run by producers Trem Carr and W. Ray Johnston, which specialized in "B" films and operated a nationwide distribution system. The most technically advanced of the studios that now comprised Republic was Nat Levine
's Mascot Pictures Corporation
, which had been making serials almost exclusively since the mid-'20s and had a first-class production facility, the former Mack Sennett
-Keystone lot in Studio City. Mascot also had just discovered Gene Autry and signed him to a contract as a singing cowboy star. Larry Darmour's Majestic Pictures had developed a following, with big-name stars and rented sets giving his humble productions a polished look. Republic took its original "Liberty Bell" logo from M. H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures (not to be confused with Frank Capra
's short-lived Liberty Films
that produced his It's a Wonderful Life
, ironically now owned by Republic), Chesterfield Pictures and Invincible Pictures, two sister companies under the same ownership, were skilled in producing low-budget melodramas and mysteries. Acquiring these six companies allowed Republic to begin life with an experienced production staff, a company of veteran B-film supporting players and at least one very promising star, a complete distribution system and a functioning and modern studio. In exchange for merging, the principals were promised independence in their productions under the Republic aegis, and higher budgets with which to improve the quality of the films.
After he had "learned the ropes" of film production and distribution from his partners, Yates began asserting more and more authority over "their" film departments, and dissension arose in the ranks. Carr and Johnston left and reactivated Monogram Pictures; Darmour resumed independent production for Columbia Pictures
; Levine left and never recovered from the loss of his studio, staff and stars, all of whom now were contracted to Republic and Yates. Freed of partners, Yates presided over what was now "his" film studio and acquiring senior production and management staff who would serve him as employees, not experienced peers with independent ideas and agendas.
Republic also acquired Brunswick Records
to record their singing cowboys Gene Autry
and Roy Rogers
and hired Cy Feuer
as head of their music department.
" company, as its primary products were B movies and serials
. Republic, however, showed more interest in, and provided larger budgets to, these films than many of the larger studios were doing, and certainly more than other independents were able to. The heart of the company was its westerns, and many western-film leads, among them John Wayne
, Gene Autry
, Rex Allen
and Roy Rogers
, became recognizable stars at Republic. However, by the mid-40s Yates was producing better-quality pictures, even mounting big-budget fare like The Quiet Man
, Sands of Iwo Jima
, Johnny Guitar
and The Maverick Queen.
In 1947 Republic incorporated animation into its Gene Autry feature film Sioux City Sue. It turned out well enough for the studio to dabble in animated cartoons. After leaving Warner Bros.
in 1947 (reportedly due to angering his peers at the studio's cartoon division for taking credit that was not really his), Bob Clampett
approached Republic and wound up directing a single cartoon, It's a Grand Old Nag, featuring the equine character Charlie Horse. Republic management, however, had second thoughts due to dwindling profits, and discontinued the series. Clampett took his direction credit under the name "Kilroy
".
From the mid-'40s Republic films often featured Vera Hruba Ralston
, a former ice-skater from Czechoslovakia who had won the heart of studio boss Yates, becoming the second Mrs. Yates in 1949. She was originally featured in musicals as Republic's answer to Sonja Henie
, but Yates tried to build her up as a dramatic star, casting her in leading roles opposite important male stars. Yates billed her as "the most beautiful woman in films," but her charms were lost on the moviegoing public and exhibitors complained that Republic was making too many Ralston pictures. Years later John Wayne admitted that the reason he left Republic in 1952 was the threat of having to make another picture--he had endured two--with Miss Ralston. Yates remained Ralston's biggest supporter, and she continued to appear in Republic features until its very last production.
Republic produced many "hillbilly
" and rural musicals and comedies featuring Bob Burns, The Weaver Brothers and Judy Canova
that were popular in many rural areas of the United States.
With production costs increasing, Yates organised Republic's output into four types of films: "Jubilee", usually a western shot in seven days for about $50,000; "Anniversary", filmed in 14 to 15 days for $175,000 to $200,000; "Deluxe", major productions made with a budget of around $500,000; and "Premiere", which were usually made by top-rank directors who did not usually work for Republic, such as John Ford
, Fritz Lang
and Frank Borzage
, and which could have a budget of $1,000,00 or more. Some of these "Deluxe" films were from independent production companies that were picked up for release by Republic.
Although Republic made most of its films in black and white, it occasionally would produce a higher-budgeted film, such as The Red Pony
(1949) and The Quiet Man
(1952), in Technicolor
. During the late '40s and '50s Yates utilized a low-cost Cinecolor
process called Trucolor
in many of his films, notably Johnny Guitar
(1954), The Last Command
and Magic Fire
(1956).
In 1956 Republic came up with its own widescreen
film process, Naturama
, with The Maverick Queen the first film made in that process.
(1956). Also, in 1952 the Republic studio lot became the first home of MCA
's series factory, Revue Productions. While it would appear that Republic was well suited for television-series production, it did not have the finances or vision to do so. Yet by the mid-'50s, thanks to its sale of old features and leasing of studio space to MCA, television was the prop holding up Republic Pictures. During this period Republic produced Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
; unsuccessful as a theater release, the 12-part serial was later sold to NBC for television distribution. Talent-agent MCA exerted influence at the studio, bringing in some high-paid clients for occasional features, and it was rumored at various times that either MCA or deposed MGM
head Louis B. Mayer
would buy the studio outright. From 1953-1954 Republic produced The Pride of the Family
, a situation comedy
on ABC
starring Paul Hartman
, Fay Wray
and Natalie Wood
. From 1954-1955 the studio produced Stories of the Century
, starring and narrated by Jim Davis
. The syndicated
series was the first western
to win an Emmy Award
.
As the demand and market for B-pictures declined, Republic began to cut back, slowing production from 40 features annually in the early '50s to 18 in 1957. A tearful Yates informed shareholders at the 1958 annual meeting that feature-film production was ending; the distribution offices were shut down the following year. In 1959 Republic sold its library of films to National Telefilm Associates
(NTA). Having used the studio for series production for years, CBS
bought Republic's studio lot; today it is known as CBS Studio Center
, and in 2006 became home to the network's Los Angeles stations KCBS-TV
and KCAL-TV
. In 2008 the CBS Network relocated from its Hollywood Television City location to the Radford lot. All network executives now reside on the lot.
The studio's parent company, Republic Corporation, survived for some years on Yates' other interests, among them Consolidated Film Laboratories and a company that manufactured household appliances. Other than producing a 1966 package of 26 "Century 66" 100-minute made-for-TV movies edited from some of the studio's serials to cash in on the popularity of the Batman
television series, Republic Pictures' role in Hollywood ended with the sale of the studio lot.
(the rights to the latter series have since acquired by FremantleMedia
). There were also a few theatrical films, including Freeway, Ruby in Paradise
, Dark Horse
and Bound
. The "new" Republic also began marketing the original's serial library on videotape.
In 1993 Republic won a landmark legal decision reactivating the copyright on Frank Capra
's 1946 RKO film It's a Wonderful Life (under NTA, they had already acquired the film's negative, music score, and the story on which it was based, "The Greatest Gift").
On April 27, 1994, Spelling Entertainment
(headed by Aaron Spelling
) acquired Republic Pictures. Soon after, Spelling consolidated its many divisions, reducing Republic Pictures to a marketing brand-name. Republic's video division shut down in 1995, allowing the video rights to the Republic library to be leased to Artisan Entertainment
, while the library itself continued to be released under the Republic name and logo. By the end of the decade, Viacom
bought the portion of Spelling it did not own previously; thus Republic became a wholly owned division of Paramount
. Artisan (later sold to Lions Gate Home Entertainment) continued to use the Republic name, logo and library under license from Paramount.
Republic Pictures' holdings consist of a catalog of 3,000 films and TV series, including:
Today, as a result of the Viacom/CBS corporate split of 2006, Republic's holdings are divided. CBS Television Studios owns most ancillary rights to Republic's television output (while sharing the copyrights with Republic itself), while the theatrical side is owned outright by Viacom's Paramount Pictures. As of 2009, television distribution of the Republic theatrical films is by Trifecta Entertainment & Media
(under license from Paramount).
Lions Gate Home Entertainment's home video rights initially expired in late 2005, but have since regained video rights to Republic's theatrical film library (except It's a Wonderful Life--the video rights to that and several other films, as well as Republic's TV library now are with Paramount Home Entertainment, with the TV shows released through the CBS DVD label). Paramount handles internet distribution of the Republic films via iTunes and Epix.
Outside the US, video rights to the Republic film and television library are divided. For example, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
owns the UK rights (they also own UK DVD rights to the TV series Twin Peaks
, despite other Spelling/Republic shows being distributed by Paramount there), and Paramount itself handles distribution in Australia
and New Zealand
.
As of 2011, Republic remains an in-name-only distribution company under Paramount Motion Pictures Group
, a division of Viacom
.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, movie serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
s and B films emphasizing mystery and action.
The studio was also responsible for financing and distributing one Shakespeare film, 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...
' Macbeth
Macbeth (1948 film)
Macbeth is a 1948 American film adaptation by Orson Welles of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth.-Pre-production:In 1947, Orson Welles began promoting the notion of bringing a Shakespeare drama to the motion picture screen. He initially attempted to pique investors’ interest in an adaptation of...
(1948) and several of the films of John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
during the '40s and early '50s, and for developing the careers of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
and Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
.
Corporate history
Herbert Yates
Herbert John Yates was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers...
, a longtime investor in film and music properties and founder and president of film processing laboratory Consolidated Film Industries
Consolidated Film Industries
Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory, and film processing company, and was the leading film laboratory in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television...
, Republic was the result of a union of six smaller Poverty Row
Poverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
studios.
In the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Yates' laboratory was servicing many Poverty Row studios. In 1935 Yates saw a chance to become a studio head himself. Six established Poverty Row companies (Monogram, Mascot, Liberty, Majestic, Chesterfield and Invincible) were all in debt to Yates' lab. He prevailed upon these studios to merge under his leadership (or otherwise face foreclosure on their outstanding lab bills). Yates' new company, Republic Pictures Corporation, was established as a collaborative enterprise focused on low-budget product.
The largest of Republic's components was 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...
, run by producers Trem Carr and W. Ray Johnston, which specialized in "B" films and operated a nationwide distribution system. The most technically advanced of the studios that now comprised Republic was Nat Levine
Nat Levine
Nat Levine , was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Republic Pictures in 1935.He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles,...
's Mascot Pictures Corporation
Mascot Pictures Corporation
Mascot Pictures Corporation was a minor film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot's serial The King of the Kongo was the first serial to include sound, beating Universal Studios by several months.Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat...
, which had been making serials almost exclusively since the mid-'20s and had a first-class production facility, the former Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
-Keystone lot in Studio City. Mascot also had just discovered Gene Autry and signed him to a contract as a singing cowboy star. Larry Darmour's Majestic Pictures had developed a following, with big-name stars and rented sets giving his humble productions a polished look. Republic took its original "Liberty Bell" logo from M. H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures (not to be confused with Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
's short-lived Liberty Films
Liberty Films
Liberty Films was an independent motion picture production company founded in California by Frank Capra and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, It's a Wonderful Life , originally released by RKO Radio Pictures, and the film version of the hit play State of the Union ,...
that produced his It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, ironically now owned by Republic), Chesterfield Pictures and Invincible Pictures, two sister companies under the same ownership, were skilled in producing low-budget melodramas and mysteries. Acquiring these six companies allowed Republic to begin life with an experienced production staff, a company of veteran B-film supporting players and at least one very promising star, a complete distribution system and a functioning and modern studio. In exchange for merging, the principals were promised independence in their productions under the Republic aegis, and higher budgets with which to improve the quality of the films.
After he had "learned the ropes" of film production and distribution from his partners, Yates began asserting more and more authority over "their" film departments, and dissension arose in the ranks. Carr and Johnston left and reactivated Monogram Pictures; Darmour resumed independent production for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
; Levine left and never recovered from the loss of his studio, staff and stars, all of whom now were contracted to Republic and Yates. Freed of partners, Yates presided over what was now "his" film studio and acquiring senior production and management staff who would serve him as employees, not experienced peers with independent ideas and agendas.
Republic also acquired Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
to record their singing cowboys Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
and Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
and hired Cy Feuer
Cy Feuer
Cy Feuer was an American theatre producer, director, composer, and musician.Born Seymour Arnold Feuerman in Brooklyn, New York,he studied trumpet privately with Max Schlossberg, he became a professional trumpeter at the age of fifteen, working at clubs on weekends to help support his family while...
as head of their music department.
Types of films
In its early years Republic was itself sometimes labelled a "poverty rowPoverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
" company, as its primary products were B movies and serials
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
. Republic, however, showed more interest in, and provided larger budgets to, these films than many of the larger studios were doing, and certainly more than other independents were able to. The heart of the company was its westerns, and many western-film leads, among them John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
, Rex Allen
Rex Allen
Rex Elvie Allen was an American film actor, singer and songwriter, known as the Arizona Cowboy, particularly known as the narrator in many Disney nature and Western film productions. For contributions to the recording industry, Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Family...
and Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, became recognizable stars at Republic. However, by the mid-40s Yates was producing better-quality pictures, even mounting big-budget fare like The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
, Sands of Iwo Jima
Sands of Iwo Jima
Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It stars John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker. The movie was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant and directed by Allan Dwan...
, Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
and The Maverick Queen.
In 1947 Republic incorporated animation into its Gene Autry feature film Sioux City Sue. It turned out well enough for the studio to dabble in animated cartoons. After leaving 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,...
in 1947 (reportedly due to angering his peers at the studio's cartoon division for taking credit that was not really his), Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
approached Republic and wound up directing a single cartoon, It's a Grand Old Nag, featuring the equine character Charlie Horse. Republic management, however, had second thoughts due to dwindling profits, and discontinued the series. Clampett took his direction credit under the name "Kilroy
Kilroy was here
Kilroy was here is an American popular culture expression, often seen in graffiti. Its origins are debated, but the phrase and the distinctive accompanying doodle—a bald-headed man with a prominent nose peeking over a wall with the fingers of each hand clutching the wall—is widely known among U.S...
".
From the mid-'40s Republic films often featured Vera Hruba Ralston
Vera Ralston
Vera Ralston was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
, a former ice-skater from Czechoslovakia who had won the heart of studio boss Yates, becoming the second Mrs. Yates in 1949. She was originally featured in musicals as Republic's answer to Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
, but Yates tried to build her up as a dramatic star, casting her in leading roles opposite important male stars. Yates billed her as "the most beautiful woman in films," but her charms were lost on the moviegoing public and exhibitors complained that Republic was making too many Ralston pictures. Years later John Wayne admitted that the reason he left Republic in 1952 was the threat of having to make another picture--he had endured two--with Miss Ralston. Yates remained Ralston's biggest supporter, and she continued to appear in Republic features until its very last production.
Republic produced many "hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
" and rural musicals and comedies featuring Bob Burns, The Weaver Brothers and Judy Canova
Judy Canova
Judy Canova , born Juliette Canova, was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality. She appeared on Broadway and in films...
that were popular in many rural areas of the United States.
With production costs increasing, Yates organised Republic's output into four types of films: "Jubilee", usually a western shot in seven days for about $50,000; "Anniversary", filmed in 14 to 15 days for $175,000 to $200,000; "Deluxe", major productions made with a budget of around $500,000; and "Premiere", which were usually made by top-rank directors who did not usually work for Republic, such as John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
, Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
and Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage was an American film director and actor.-Biography:Frank Borzage's father, Luigi Borzaga, was born in Ronzone, in 1859. As a stonemason, he sometimes worked in Switzerland; he met his future wife, Maria Ruegg , where she worked in a silk factory...
, and which could have a budget of $1,000,00 or more. Some of these "Deluxe" films were from independent production companies that were picked up for release by Republic.
Although Republic made most of its films in black and white, it occasionally would produce a higher-budgeted film, such as The Red Pony
The Red Pony
The Red Pony is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933–1936, and the full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book are tales of a boy named Jody Tiflin. The book has four...
(1949) and The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
(1952), in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. During the late '40s and '50s Yates utilized a low-cost Cinecolor
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
process called Trucolor
Trucolor
Trucolor was a process used and owned by Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. Trucolor was originally a two-strip process based on the earlier work of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma color process. It later became a three-color process.Republic used Trucolor mostly for its...
in many of his films, notably Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
(1954), The Last Command
The Last Command (1955 film)
The Last Command is a 1955 Trucolor film about Jim Bowie and the fall of the Alamo during the Texas War of Independence. Filmed by Republic Pictures, it was an unusually expensive undertaking for the low-budget studio.-Production:...
and Magic Fire
Magic Fire
Magic Fire is a biographical film about the life of composer Richard Wagner, released in the United States on March 29, 1956 by Republic Pictures. It had been released in the United Kingdom on July 15, 1955...
(1956).
In 1956 Republic came up with its own widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
film process, Naturama
Naturama
-Films produced in Naturama format:*Maverick Queen *Lisbon *Accused of Murder *Affair in Reno *Duel at Apache Wells *Hell's Crossroads...
, with The Maverick Queen the first film made in that process.
In the television era
Republic was one of the first Hollywood studios to offer its film library to television. In 1951 Republic established a subsidiary, Hollywood Television Service, to sell screening rights in its vintage westerns and action thrillers. Many of these films, especially the westerns, were edited to fit in a one-hour television slot. Hollywood Television Service also produced television shows filmed in the same style as Republic's serials, such as The Adventures of Fu ManchuThe Adventures of Fu Manchu
The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu is a syndicated American television series that aired in 1956. The show was produced by Hollywood Television Service, a subsidiary of Republic Pictures.-Background:...
(1956). Also, in 1952 the Republic studio lot became the first home of MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
's series factory, Revue Productions. While it would appear that Republic was well suited for television-series production, it did not have the finances or vision to do so. Yet by the mid-'50s, thanks to its sale of old features and leasing of studio space to MCA, television was the prop holding up Republic Pictures. During this period Republic produced Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is a science fiction television series or serial. It consists of twelve 25-minute episodes. The series was filmed and intended to be broadcast as a television limited series but, due to contract restrictions, it was originally released in theaters as a...
; unsuccessful as a theater release, the 12-part serial was later sold to NBC for television distribution. Talent-agent MCA exerted influence at the studio, bringing in some high-paid clients for occasional features, and it was rumored at various times that either MCA or deposed MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
head Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
would buy the studio outright. From 1953-1954 Republic produced The Pride of the Family
The Pride of the Family
The Pride of the Family was a half-hour situation comedy starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood, and Robert Hyatt, which aired for forty episodes on ABC in the 1953–1954 season....
, a situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
starring Paul Hartman
Paul Hartman
Paul Hartman was an American dancer, stage performer and television character actor.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, Hartman, like Fred Astaire, began performing as a dancer with his sister...
, Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
and Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. From 1954-1955 the studio produced Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
, starring and narrated by Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
. The syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series was the first western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
to win an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.
As the demand and market for B-pictures declined, Republic began to cut back, slowing production from 40 features annually in the early '50s to 18 in 1957. A tearful Yates informed shareholders at the 1958 annual meeting that feature-film production was ending; the distribution offices were shut down the following year. In 1959 Republic sold its library of films to National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates was an independent distribution company that handled reissues of American film libraries, including much of Paramount Pictures' animated and short-subjects library.-History:...
(NTA). Having used the studio for series production for years, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
bought Republic's studio lot; today it is known as CBS Studio Center
CBS Studio Center
CBS Studio Center is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It is located at 4024 Radford Avenue and takes up a triangular piece of land, with the Los Angeles River bisecting the site...
, and in 2006 became home to the network's Los Angeles stations KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
and KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
. In 2008 the CBS Network relocated from its Hollywood Television City location to the Radford lot. All network executives now reside on the lot.
The studio's parent company, Republic Corporation, survived for some years on Yates' other interests, among them Consolidated Film Laboratories and a company that manufactured household appliances. Other than producing a 1966 package of 26 "Century 66" 100-minute made-for-TV movies edited from some of the studio's serials to cash in on the popularity of the Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
television series, Republic Pictures' role in Hollywood ended with the sale of the studio lot.
Aftermath
During the early '80s NTA re-syndicated most of the Republic film library for use by then-emerging cable television, and by 1986 found itself so successful with these product lines that it bought the Republic Pictures name and logo. A television-production unit was set up under the Republic name, and offered, among other things, the CBS series Beauty and the Beast and game show Press Your LuckPress Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
(the rights to the latter series have since acquired by FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
). There were also a few theatrical films, including Freeway, Ruby in Paradise
Ruby in Paradise
Ruby in Paradise is a 1993 film written, directed, and edited by Victor Nuñez, and starring Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, and Dorothy Lyman. It is an homage to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.-Synopsis:...
, Dark Horse
Dark Horse (1992 film)
Dark Horse is a 1992 American drama film directed by David Hemmings. The screenplay by Janet Maclean was adapted from an original story by Tab Hunter.-Plot:...
and Bound
Bound (film)
Bound is a 1996 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by the Wachowski brothers. Violet , who longs to escape her relationship with her mafioso boyfriend Caesar , enters into a clandestine affair with alluring ex-con Corky , and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of mafia money.Bound...
. The "new" Republic also began marketing the original's serial library on videotape.
In 1993 Republic won a landmark legal decision reactivating the copyright on Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
's 1946 RKO film It's a Wonderful Life (under NTA, they had already acquired the film's negative, music score, and the story on which it was based, "The Greatest Gift").
On April 27, 1994, Spelling Entertainment
Spelling Television
Spelling Television Inc. was a television production company that produced popular shows such as Charmed, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Dynasty and Melrose Place. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling in 1969...
(headed by Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
) acquired Republic Pictures. Soon after, Spelling consolidated its many divisions, reducing Republic Pictures to a marketing brand-name. Republic's video division shut down in 1995, allowing the video rights to the Republic library to be leased to Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
, while the library itself continued to be released under the Republic name and logo. By the end of the decade, 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...
bought the portion of Spelling it did not own previously; thus Republic became a wholly owned division of Paramount
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...
. Artisan (later sold to Lions Gate Home Entertainment) continued to use the Republic name, logo and library under license from Paramount.
Republic Pictures' holdings consist of a catalog of 3,000 films and TV series, including:
- The original Republic library (except for the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry catalogs, owned by their respective estates)
- Inherited properties from NTA
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Several Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
movies, some independently produced by his company but released by other studios (Indiscreet, Operation PetticoatOperation PetticoatOperation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role...
, The Grass is GreenerThe Grass Is GreenerThe Grass Is Greener is a 1960 comedy film featuring an ensemble cast consisting of screen veterans Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons,directed by Stanley Donen...
, That Touch of MinkThat Touch of MinkThat Touch of Mink is a 1962 romantic comedy starring Cary Grant and Doris Day. The film co-stars Gig Young, John Astin, Audrey Meadows, and Dick Sargent. In addition, baseball stars Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra make cameo appearances....
, and Father GooseFather Goose (film)Father Goose is a 1964 romantic comedy film set in World War II, starring Cary Grant, Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard. The title derives from "Mother Goose", the codename assigned to Grant's character...
). Also included in the package is Penny SerenadePenny SerenadePenny Serenade is a 1941 film melodrama starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan. It was directed by George Stevens and written by Martha Cheavens and Morrie Ryskind. It depicts the story of a loving couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child...
, a film Grant starred in but did not finance (the film itself is in the public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, but Republic created a colorized versionFilm colorizationFilm colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
of the film, which it owns). - Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's Travels (1939 film)Gulliver's Travels is a 1939 American cel-animated Technicolor feature film, directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Max Fleischer for Fleischer Studios. The film was released on Friday, December 22, 1939 by Paramount Pictures, who had the feature produced as an answer to the success of Walt...
and Mister Bug Goes to TownMister Bug Goes to TownMr. Bug Goes to Town, also known as Hoppity Goes to Town and Bugville, is an animated feature produced by Fleischer Studios and released to theaters by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941...
, both produced by Fleischer StudiosFleischer StudiosFleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
. - Almost all pre-October 1950 Paramount short subjects (including PuppetoonsPuppetoonsGeorge Pal's Puppetoons were a series of animated puppet films made in Europe in the 1930s and in the U.S. in the 1940s. They are memorable for their use of "replacement" animation: using a series of different hand-carved wooden puppets for each frame in which the puppet moves or changes...
and cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and Famous StudiosFamous StudiosFamous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
)- These do not include the PopeyePopeyePopeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
and SupermanSuperman (1940s cartoons)The Fleischer & Famous Superman cartoons are a series of seventeen animated Technicolor short films released by Paramount Pictures and based upon the comic book character Superman....
cartoons, which were sold to different entities and are now held by the various divisions of Time WarnerTime WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
- These do not include the Popeye
- The pre-1973 NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
catalog, including- BonanzaBonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
- I Married JoanI Married JoanI Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...
- Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
(TV rights only)
- Bonanza
- Most pre-1952 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....
feature films, including- High NoonHigh NoonHigh Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
- Copacabana
- High Noon
- Leo McCareyLeo McCareyThomas Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. During his lifetime he was involved in nearly 200 movies, especially comedies...
's Rainbow Productions (The Bells of St. Mary'sThe Bells of St. Mary'sThe Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American 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 from being shut down. It stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman...
, Good SamGood SamGood Sam is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Gary Cooper as a Good Samaritan who is helpful to others at the expense of his own family. The film was directed by Leo McCarey and produced by McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions.-Cast:*Gary Cooper as Samuel R....
) - The Enterprise Studios catalog (Body and SoulBody and Soul (1947 film)Body and Soul is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of a boxer who becomes involved with crooked promoters. It stars John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere and William Conrad....
, Arch of TriumphArch of Triumph (1948 film)Arch of Triumph is a 1948 American war romance film made by Enterprise Productions. The film was directed by Lewis Milestone and adapted from the 1945 Erich Maria Remarque novel Arch of Triumph....
, Force of EvilForce of EvilForce of Evil is a 1948 film noir directed by Abraham Polonsky who had already achieved a name for himself as a scriptwriter, most notably for the gritty boxing film Body and Soul . Like Body and Soul, the film starred John Garfield...
, Caught, etc.) - A number of reissued films from Budd Rogers Releasing Corporation (The Dark Mirror, Magic TownMagic TownMagic Town is a comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, starring James Stewart and Jane Wyman. It is one of the first films about the then-new science of public opinion polling...
, A Double LifeA Double LifeA Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
, Secret Beyond the Door and Mr. Peabody and the MermaidMr. Peabody and the MermaidMr. Peabody and the Mermaid is a 1948 fantasy film starring William Powell and Ann Blyth in the title roles. Irene Hervey played Mr. Peabody's wife.- Plot :...
) - The pre-1960 United States PicturesUnited States PicturesUnited States Pictures was the name of the motion picture production company belonging to Milton Sperling who was Harry Warner's son-in-law....
catalog - The Lost MomentThe Lost MomentThe Lost Moment is a 1947 drama film made by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Martin Gabel and produced by Walter Wanger, from a screenplay by Leonardo Bercovici based on the novel The Aspern Papers by Henry James...
- a 1947 film released by Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire... - Select films financed by Ely LandauEly LandauEly Abraham Landau was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series....
(Long Day's Journey into NightLong Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Ely Landau with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was by Eugene O'Neill, the music score by André Previn and the...
, The PawnbrokerThe Pawnbroker (film)The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
, etc.) - Most films from NTA sub-division Commonwealth United Entertainment
- The holdings of Aaron SpellingAaron SpellingAaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
- All of the TV series produced by Spelling TelevisionSpelling TelevisionSpelling Television Inc. was a television production company that produced popular shows such as Charmed, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Dynasty and Melrose Place. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling in 1969...
- The Laurel Entertainment television library, including Tales from the DarksideTales from the DarksideTales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot...
- Television series distributed by Worldvision Enterprises
- Television rights to Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the PrairieLittle House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
- Most of the Quinn MartinQuinn MartinQuinn Martin was one of the most successful American television producers. He had at least one television series running in prime time for 21 straight years , an industry record.-Early life:...
library, including- The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
- The Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
- The Fugitive
- The international rights to the 1982 horror anthology CreepshowCreepshowCreepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(owned domestically by 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,...
)
- Television rights to Little House on the Prairie
- Not included are most of the libraries of Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
and Ruby-Spears ProductionsRuby-Spears ProductionsRuby-Spears Productions is a Burbank, California-based entertainment production company that specializes in animation...
, which were sold off to Turner Broadcasting SystemTurner Broadcasting SystemTurner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
in 1991 (along with the H-B studio itself); these are also owned by Time Warner
- All of the TV series produced by Spelling Television
Today, as a result of the Viacom/CBS corporate split of 2006, Republic's holdings are divided. CBS Television Studios owns most ancillary rights to Republic's television output (while sharing the copyrights with Republic itself), while the theatrical side is owned outright by Viacom's Paramount Pictures. As of 2009, television distribution of the Republic theatrical films is by Trifecta Entertainment & Media
Trifecta Entertainment & Media
Trifecta Entertainment & Media is an American entertainment company founded in 2006. The company's founders previously held jobs as executives at MGM Television. Trifecta is primarily a distribution company and also handles advertising sales in exchange for syndication deals with local television...
(under license from Paramount).
Lions Gate Home Entertainment's home video rights initially expired in late 2005, but have since regained video rights to Republic's theatrical film library (except It's a Wonderful Life--the video rights to that and several other films, as well as Republic's TV library now are with Paramount Home Entertainment, with the TV shows released through the CBS DVD label). Paramount handles internet distribution of the Republic films via iTunes and Epix.
Outside the US, video rights to the Republic film and television library are divided. For example, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
owns the UK rights (they also own UK DVD rights to the TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, despite other Spelling/Republic shows being distributed by Paramount there), and Paramount itself handles distribution in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
As of 2011, Republic remains an in-name-only distribution company under Paramount Motion Pictures Group
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...
, a division 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...
.
1930s and 1940s
- The Crime of Dr. CrespiThe Crime of Dr. CrespiThe Crime of Dr. Crespi is a horror film starring Erich von Stroheim, Harriet Russell, Paul Guilfoyle, Jean Brooks , John Bohn, and Dwight Frye, and released by Republic Pictures....
(1935) - Under Western StarsUnder Western StarsUnder Western Stars is an American Western film starring Roy Rogers and Smiley Burnette. This was the first starring role for Rogers, made under contract to Republic Pictures....
(1938) - Melody RanchMelody RanchMelody Ranch is a 1940 Western film which tells the story of a singing cowboy who returns to his hometown to restore order when his former childhood enemies take over the frontier town.-Movie:...
(1939) - Dark CommandDark CommandDark Command is a 1940 western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders in the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W.R...
(1940) - Ice CapadesIce CapadesThe Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
(1941), featuring the debut of Vera HrubáVera RalstonVera Ralston was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:... - The Yellow Rose of TexasThe Yellow Rose of Texas (film)- Cast :*Roy Rogers as Roy Rogers*Trigger as Trigger Smartest Horse in the Movies*Dale Evans as Betty Weston*Grant Withers as Express Agent Lucas*Harry Shannon as Sam Weston*George Cleveland as Captain "Cap" Joe*William Haade as Buster, Roy's Sidekick...
(1944) - Man from FriscoMan from FriscoMan from Frisco is a United States feature length spy and war film by Republic Pictures directed by Robert Florey and starring Michael O'Shea and Anne Shirley....
(1944) - Flame of Barbary CoastFlame of Barbary CoastFlame of Barbary Coast is a 1945 western film starring John Wayne, Ann Dvorak, Joseph Schildkraut, William Frawley, and Virginia Grey. The movie was scripted by Borden Chase and directed by Joseph Kane.-Plot:...
(1945) - The Great FlamarionThe Great FlamarionThe Great Flamarion is a 1945 American black-and-white film noir directed by Anthony Mann. The film, like many films noir, is shot in flashback. The film was produced by Republic Pictures.-Synopsis:...
(1945) - Angel and the BadmanAngel and the BadmanAngel and the Badman is a 1947 black-and-white Western film, starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey and Bruce Cabot which examines the ability of a gunman to renounce violence. This film, which was the first one Wayne produced as well as starred in, was a departure for this genre at the...
(1947) - Macbeth (1948), directed by and starring Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge 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...
- MoonriseMoonrise (film)-Plot:Dane Clark plays Danny Hawkins, the son of a murderer who was hanged for his crimes. Haunted by his father's past, the young man is tormented by the young people of the small southern town in which he lives. Hawkins' only friend is Gilly Johnson , a girl who is quickly falling in love with...
(1948) - Wake of the Red WitchWake of the Red WitchWake of the Red Witch is a 1948 drama film from Republic Pictures starring John Wayne and Gail Russell, produced by Edmund Grainger, and based upon the novel by Garland Roark...
(1948) - The Fighting KentuckianThe Fighting KentuckianThe Fighting Kentuckian American comedy action film starring John Wayne and Oliver Hardy. The movie was written and directed by George Waggner and made by Republic Pictures...
(1949) - Sands of Iwo JimaSands of Iwo JimaSands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It stars John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker. The movie was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant and directed by Allan Dwan...
(1949) - The Red PonyThe Red PonyThe Red Pony is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933–1936, and the full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book are tales of a boy named Jody Tiflin. The book has four...
(1949)
1950s
- Rio GrandeRio Grande (film)Rio Grande is a 1950 Western film. It is the third installment of John Ford's "cavalry trilogy," following two RKO Pictures releases: Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ....
(1950) - The Bullfighter and the LadyThe Bullfighter and the LadyBullfighter and the Lady is a 1951 drama film directed and written by Budd Boetticher. Filmed on location in Mexico, the film focused on the realities of the dangerous sport of bullfighting. During production, one stunt man died...
(1951) - The Wild Blue YonderThe Wild Blue YonderThe Wild Blue Yonder is a science fiction film by the German director Werner Herzog, released in 2005. It has been presented at the 62nd Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize. It went on to screen in competition at the Mar del Plata Film Festival and the Sitges Film...
(1951) - I Dream of Jeanie (1952)
- The Quiet ManThe Quiet ManThe Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
(1952) - The OutcastThe Outcast (1954 film)The Outcast is a 1954 western film directed by William Witney and starring John Derek and Joan Evans. The film was shot in Trucolor and is also known as The Fortune Hunter.-Plot synopsis:...
(1954) - Johnny GuitarJohnny GuitarJohnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
(1954) - The Last CommandThe Last Command (1955 film)The Last Command is a 1955 Trucolor film about Jim Bowie and the fall of the Alamo during the Texas War of Independence. Filmed by Republic Pictures, it was an unusually expensive undertaking for the low-budget studio.-Production:...
(1955) - Track the Man DownTrack the Man DownTrack the Man Down is a 1955 British drama film written by Paul Erickson and directed by R.G. Springsteen.The melodramatic crime caper centers on a robbery at a greyhound racetrack that results in the unintentional murder of a guard...
(1955) - The Maverick Queen (1956)