Republic Pictures (1935-1967): Difference between revisions

===Background===

Republic Pictures Corporation (first known as "Republic Pictures Productions") was a movie production/distribution corporation with studio facilities, best known for its specialization in quality B pictures, westerns and movie serials, that was established in 1934 by Herbert J. Yates, a longtime investor in film and music properties and founder and president of Consolidated Film Industries, result of a union of six smaller Poverty Row studios (Monogram, Mascot, Liberty, Majestic, Chesterfield, and Invincible), closing its production and distribution capabilities in 1959, and continued operating in a limited capacity, including studio lot rentals, until 1967, when the lot was sold to CBS. The film library was sold to National Telefilm Associates (NTA, now "CBS Television Distribution"). On December 28, 1984, NTA was renamed Republic Pictures Corporation. After a 25-year hiatus, Republic Pictures returned to active production with a number of movies, series for television including the CBS series ''Beauty and the Beast'', and TV movies, although they did produce few independent theatrical films including ''Freeway''. In 1993, Republic won a landmark legal decision reactivating the copyright on Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (they had already owned the film's negative, music score, and the story on which it was based, "The Greatest Gift"). In 1994, Spelling Entertainment, controlled by Blockbuster, acquired Republic. Shortly thereafter, Spelling consolidated its many divisions, reducing Republic Pictures to an video distribution company and reincorporating it as "Republic Entertainment, Inc.", its last name. In 1994, Viacom bought Blockbuster. In 1998, Viacom dismantled Spelling's non-television assets, and after folding Republic Pictures Home Video, licensed the home video rights of their films to [[Artisan Entertainment]]. In 1999, Viacom acquired 100% interest in Spelling. Republic was then made an in-name-only unit of [[Paramount Pictures]], a division of Viacom. In 2015, Viacom folded Republic Pictures into Paramount Pictures and created a new holding company called "Melange Pictures, LLC" as the holder of the Republic film library. As for the TV library, most of it is currently owned by [[ViacomCBS]] through [[CBS Television Distribution]] and [[Spelling Television]] Inc., all of them controlled by National Amusements, Inc. The syndication rights to the theatrical library is controlled by Paramount, with U.S. broadcast syndication rights licensed to [[Trifecta Entertainment & Media]]. [[Olive Films]] currently distributes their films on DVD/Blu-Ray after Paramount's deal with [[Lionsgate Home Entertainment|Lionsgate]] expired.

=== 1st Logo (1935-1938) ===

'''Nickname''': "The Shield"

=== 2nd Logo (March 18?, 1938-1947) ===

'''Logo''': A city tower with a bell ringing fades in the middle of the screen behind a sunburst. Then the words "A REPUBLIC PRODUCTION" with "REPUBLIC" in an arc, fade in on the bottom as the opening credits begin.

=== 3rd Logo (September 15, 1944-1947) ===

'''Nickname''': "The City Tower II"

=== 4th Logo (1947-1950) ===

'''Nickname''': "The Bald Eagle"

=== 5th Logo (1948-1959) ===

'''Nickname''': "The Bald Eagle II" , "Murica!"

=== 6th Logo (1985?-1987) ===

'''Nicknames:''' "The Bald Eagle IV", "The Bald Eagle in the Sky II"

=== 7th Logo (1987-1990) ===

'''Nicknames''': "The Bald Eagle V", "The Restored Bald Eagle"

=== 8th Logo (1990-1994) ===

'''Nicknames''': "The Bald Eagle VI", "The Restored Bald Eagle II"

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Republic Pictures (circa 1993) 20200824 153135.png

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'''Nicknames''': "The Bald Eagle VII", "CGI Bald Eagle"

* 1995: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC."  

* 1995-2006: "A Subsidiary of Spelling Entertainment Group, Inc."  

'''Variants''':

* There is also a "60th Anniversary" variant.

* There is also a still variant.

'''FX/SFX''': The camera panning to show the Republic bald eagle.