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59-654: The Higgins Family films was Republic Pictures ' response to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's popular Andy Hardy series, as well as 20th Century Fox 's Jones Family series. Nine films were released between 1938 and 1941. In the first seven movies, James Gleason , his wife Lucile and their son Russell played Joe, Lillian, and Sydney Higgins. In contrast, Harry Davenport played Grandpa (though his name changed from William Jordan in The Higgins Family to Higgins in Should Husbands Work? to Ed Carson

118-602: A movie ranch in Encino . Republic was known for specializing in Westerns , cliffhanger serials , and B-films emphasizing action and mystery. The studio was also notable for developing the careers of such famous Western stars as Roy Rogers , Gene Autry , and John Wayne . It was also responsible for the financial management and distribution of several big-budget feature films directed by John Ford , as well as one Shakespeare motion picture directed by Orson Welles . Under

177-508: A $ 13 million loss for the year ending October 1970, and a $ 43 million loss for the year ended July 1971. The company promoted Sanford Sigoloff , who would later earn a reputation as a turnaround expert, to lead as President. Today, the studio lot is known as CBS Studio Center . In 2006, it 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 operations to

236-475: A 24% share in the newly formed Hawk Company organization. On August 27, 1986, Republic Pictures Home Video established a venture with Eagle Productions Ltd. that Eagle would produce family-oriented outdoors programming, and that Republic Pictures Home Video would handle sales, marketing, and distribution of the Eagle Productions titles, with the venture The Eagle Heritage Video Collection is aimed at

295-748: A Western shot in seven days for about $ 50,000; "Anniversary", filmed in 14–15 days for $ 175,000-$ 200,000; "Deluxe", major productions made with a budget of around $ 500,000; and "Premiere", which were usually made by top-rank directors who most often did not work for Republic, such as John Ford , Fritz Lang and Frank Borzage , and which could have budgets of $ 1,000,000 or more. Some of these "Deluxe" films were produced by independent companies and were picked up for release by Republic. Although Republic released most of its films in black and white, it occasionally produced higher-budgeted films such as The Red Pony (1949) and The Quiet Man in Technicolor . During

354-473: A Wonderful Life (under NTA, it had already acquired the film's negative, music score, and the story on which it was based, " The Greatest Gift "). On September 14, 1993, following Blockbuster's purchase of a 48.2% stake in Aaron Spelling 's Spelling Entertainment , Spelling announced that they would enter into a $ 100 million purchase and merger with Republic Pictures Corporation, which would close at

413-523: A following very quickly. Many were live-action adaptations of radio and comic-strip adventures. Dick Tracy (1937), starring Ralph Byrd as the intrepid detective, was so popular that it spawned three sequels. The Lone Ranger (1938) and its follow-up The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) were well received, and Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) reached new heights of visual effects. Serials produced after World War II were more economy-minded, with

472-542: A late rendering by Gaius Julius Hyginus ( Poetical Astronomy ii. 13), Zeus is said to have used the skin of a pet goat owned by his nurse Amalthea ( aigis "goat-skin") which suckled him in Crete , as a shield when he went forth to do battle against the Titans . The aegis appears in works of art sometimes as an animal's skin thrown over Athena's shoulders and arms, occasionally with a border of snakes, usually also bearing

531-674: A powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source. The word aegis is identified with protection by a strong force with its roots in Greek mythology and adopted by the Romans ; there are parallels in Norse mythology and in Egyptian mythology as well, where the Greek word aegis is applied by extension. The Greek αἰγίς aigis has many meanings, including: The original meaning may have been

590-570: A sound as from myriad roaring dragons ( Iliad , 4.17) and was borne by Athena in battle ... and among them went bright-eyed Athene, holding the precious aegis which is ageless and immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen." Virgil imagines the Cyclopes in Hephaestus ' forge, who "busily burnished the aegis Athena wears in her angry moods—a fearsome thing with

649-566: A subsidiary, Hollywood Television Service, in December 1950. Earl Collins, Republic's branch manager in Los Angeles, accepted the presidency of the new TV arm. Collins made two major announcements: effective June 25, 1951, much of Republic's backlog of feature films would be available to local stations; and, effective that same day, Republic's studio lot would be available for rental to independent TV producers. The Republic features, including

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708-566: A surface of gold like scaly snake-skin, and the linked serpents and the Gorgon herself upon the goddess's breast—a severed head rolling its eyes", furnished with golden tassels and bearing the Gorgoneion ( Medusa 's head) in the central boss. Some of the Attic vase-painters retained an archaic tradition that the tassels had originally been serpents in their representations of the aegis. When

767-464: A thunderbolt or lightning, bearing neither a shield nor a breastplate. In some versions, Zeus watched Athena and Triton's daughter, Pallas , compete in a friendly mock battle involving spears. Not wanting his daughter to lose, Zeus flapped his aegis to distract Pallas, whom Athena accidentally impaled. Zeus apologized to Athena by giving her the aegis; Athena then named herself Pallas Athena in tribute to her late friend. Classical Greece interpreted

826-485: The Chimera , was slain and flayed by Athena , who afterwards wore its skin, the aegis, as a cuirass ( Diodorus Siculus iii. 70), or as a chlamys . The Douris cup shows that the aegis was represented exactly as the skin of the great serpent, with its scales clearly delineated. John Tzetzes says that aegis was the skin of the monstrous giant Pallas whom Athena overcame and whose name she attached to her own. In

885-534: The Gene Autry and Roy Rogers westerns, were uniformly edited to a running time of 53 minutes and 30 seconds each, in order to fit neatly into one-hour time slots. This was looked upon by TV programmers as a tremendous convenience, and Hollywood Television Service found hundreds of ready customers. Hollywood Television Service also produced television shows filmed in the same style as Republic's serials, such as The Adventures of Fu Manchu (1956). Also, in 1952,

944-687: The Production Code . Republic's leading female star was Judy Canova , who was enormously popular in Republic's customer base of small towns and rural areas. Republic produced many " hillbilly " rural musicals and comedies featuring Canova and the Weaver Brothers and Elviry . She left Republic after a salary dispute in 1943, but was wooed back into the fold in 1951. In 1946, Republic incorporated animation into its Gene Autry feature film Sioux City Sue . It turned out well enough for

1003-513: The 1940s and 50s originally released by Warner Bros. which Feiner had previously acquired. Feiner sold Republic Pictures the "rights, and interest of every kind, nature, and description throughout the Universe" to the films in 1986, but retained the license to exploit the films in major U.S. markets (New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, etc.). The plaintiff claimed that the films aired on cable several times without their knowledge. The case

1062-455: The Carnival (1955). Republic kept many of its serials in circulation; they were still playing in local movie theaters well into the 1960s. The backbone of the company was its feature-length Westerns . Many of its Western film leads — among them John Wayne , Gene Autry , Roy Rogers , Bill Elliott , Allan "Rocky" Lane , and Rex Allen — became recognizable stars at Republic. However, by

1121-592: The Gleason pictures, and produced some of the later ones. Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures . Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation , an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles , California . It had production and distribution facilities in Studio City , as well as

1180-521: The Gorgon head, the gorgoneion . In some pottery it appears as a tasselled cover over Athena's dress. It is sometimes represented on the statues of Roman emperors, heroes, and warriors, and on coins, cameos and vases. A vestige of that appears in a portrait of Alexander the Great in a fresco from Pompeii dated to the first century BC, which shows the image of the head of a woman on his armor that resembles

1239-592: The Gorgon. Herodotus thought he had identified the source of the aegis in ancient Libya , which was always a distant territory of ancient magic for the Greeks. "Athene's garments and aegis were borrowed by the Greeks from the Libyan women, who are dressed in exactly the same way, except that their leather garments are fringed with thongs, not serpents." Robert Graves in The Greek Myths (1955) asserts that

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1298-547: The Homeric aegis usually as a cover of some kind borne by Athena. It was supposed by Euripides ( Ion , 995) that the aegis borne by Athena was the skin of the slain Gorgon , yet the usual understanding is that the Gorgoneion was added to the aegis, a votive offering from a grateful Perseus . In a similar interpretation, Aex, a daughter of Helios , represented as a great fire-breathing chthonic serpent similar to

1357-524: The Olympian deities overtook the older deities of Greece and she was born of Metis (inside Zeus who had swallowed the goddess) and "re-born" through the head of Zeus fully clothed, Athena already wore her typical garments. When the Olympian shakes the aegis, Mount Ida is wrapped in clouds, the thunder rolls and men are struck down with fear. "Aegis-bearing Zeus", as he is in the Iliad , sometimes lends

1416-525: The Radford lot, and its executives are based from the site. Following the immense success of their syndication of the Republic Pictures catalogue to cable television , National Telefilm Associates announced on December 28, 1984, that they had acquired the logos, copyrights, and trademarks of Republic Pictures Corporation and effectively renamed themselves as such. A television production unit

1475-453: The Republic aegis , and higher budgets with which to improve the quality of the films. After he had learned the basics 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 in 1937; Darmour resumed independent production for Columbia Pictures ; Levine left and never recovered from

1534-472: The Republic Pictures brand and logo. Overseas, Spelling licensed out the library to distributors such as PolyGram Video / Universal Pictures Video in the United Kingdom. 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 Pictures . Artisan (later sold to Lionsgate Home Entertainment ) continued to use

1593-415: The Republic Pictures brand, with the intention of it serving as the company's acquisitions label, releasing titles acquired by Paramount Global Content Distribution , similar to the distribution model of, amongst other companies, Stage 6 Films or American International Pictures . Aegis The modern concept of doing something "under someone's aegis " means doing something under the protection of

1652-487: 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) and inherited properties from NTA and Aaron Spelling. In 2012, Richard Feiner & Co. sued Paramount for the unauthorized exploitation of 17 films from

1711-437: The Republic studio lot became the first home of MCA 's series factory, Revue Productions . While it appeared that Republic was well suited for television series production, it did not have the finances or vision to do so. Yet by the mid-1950s, thanks to its sale of old features and leasing of studio space to MCA, television was the prop supporting Republic. During this period, the studio produced Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of

1770-419: 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. As the demand and market for motion pictures declined with

1829-470: The aegis in its Libyan sense had been a shamanic pouch containing various ritual objects, bearing the device of a monstrous serpent-haired visage with tusk-like teeth and a protruding tongue which was meant to frighten away the uninitiated. In this context, Graves identifies the aegis as clearly belonging first to Athena. One current interpretation is that the Hittite sacral hieratic hunting bag ( kursas ),

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1888-439: The company for nearly $ 6 million, becoming its president. He turned Republic into a diversified business that included plastics and appliances in addition to its film and studio rentals and Consolidated Film Industries, renaming the company Republic Corporations. In 1963, having used the studio for series production for years, Republic began leasing its backlot to other firms, including CBS . In February 1967, Republic's studio

1947-893: The depths of the Great Depression , Yates' laboratory was no longer serving the major studios, which had developed their own in-house laboratories for purposes of both economy and control, while the small, independent producers were going under in the face of increased competition from the majors combined with the general impact of the depressed economy. In 1935, he thus decided to create a studio of his own to insure Consolidated's stability. Six surviving small companies ( Monogram Pictures , Mascot Pictures , Liberty Pictures , Majestic Pictures , Chesterfield Pictures , and Invincible Pictures Corporation ) were all in debt to Yates' lab. He prevailed upon these studios to merge under his leadership or else face foreclosure on their outstanding lab bills. Yates' new company, Republic Pictures Corporation,

2006-449: The end of January 1994. The deal was closed on April 27, 1994, with Republic Pictures Corporation becoming a fully owned subsidiary of Spelling Entertainment and was renamed Republic Entertainment Inc. Following Blockbuster Entertainment's merger with Viacom on September 29, 1994, Blockbuster by then owned 67% of Spelling Entertainment and Republic. At the end of the year, Spelling's existing home video division, Worldvision Home Video ,

2065-533: The fearsome aegis to Athena . In the Iliad when Zeus sends Apollo to revive the wounded Hector , Apollo, holding the aegis, charges the Achaeans, pushing them back to their ships drawn up on the shore. According to Edith Hamilton 's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes , the Aegis is the breastplate of Zeus , and was "awful to behold". However, Zeus is normally portrayed in classical sculpture holding

2124-400: The first, and Ζεὺς Αἰγίοχος Zeus Aigiokhos = "Zeus who holds the aegis" may have originally meant "Sky/Heaven, who holds the thunderstorm". The transition to the meaning "shield" or "goatskin" may have come by folk etymology among a people familiar with draping an animal skin over the left arm as a shield. The aegis of Athena is referred to in several places in the Iliad . "It produced

2183-452: The former to expand to the children's video market; however, videos tied to the CTW's flagship series Sesame Street were not included due to a preexisting deal with Random House Home Video that eventually expired two years later. Later on in the year, the company used the landmark legal decision Stewart v. Abend in order to reactivate the copyright on Frank Capra 's 1946 RKO film It's

2242-438: The heart of Yates, marrying him in 1952. 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 while her noticeable Czech accent limited her range, and soon exhibitors complained that Republic

2301-457: The increasing popularity of television, Republic began to cut back on its films, slowing production from 40 features annually in the early 1950s to 18 in 1957 (in 1956—the year the company had recorded a profit of $ 919,000—it temporarily ceased production of features. ) Perhaps inspired by the success of American International Pictures catering to teenaged audiences, Republic dispensed with its old "no exploitation" rule and released several films in

2360-534: The interest of hunting, fishing and other "non-consumptive" uses of the outdoors. In 1987, Republic Pictures decided to expand onto its television production activities, in association with Jaffe/Lansing Productions , on a television movie for ABC , which is When the Time Comes , plus two prospective projects for CBS , which are Indiscreet , and Mistress , which was part of a three-picture deal between Jaffe/Lansing and Republic Pictures. That year, Chuck Larsen

2419-574: The late 1940s and 1950s, Yates utilized a low-cost, two-color process called Trucolor (similar to Cinecolor , favoring blues and oranges) in many Republic films, including Johnny Guitar , The Last Command (1955), and Magic Fire (1956). In 1956, the studio devised its own widescreen film process, Naturama , and The Maverick Queen was the first film made in that process. Shut out of their attempts to acquire television broadcasting licenses, most studios resisted making their film libraries available to local stations. Republic, however, established

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2478-434: The late 1950s about juvenile delinquency , such as The Wayward Girl (1957), Juvenile Jungle (1958), and Young and Wild (1958). 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. On July 1, 1958, Victor M. Carter, a Los Angeles businessman and turnaround specialist, acquired controlling interest in

2537-542: The loss of his studio, staff and stars, all of whom now were contracted to Republic and Yates. Meanwhile, Yates installed a staff of new, "associate" producers who were loyal to him. Freed of partners, Yates presided over what was now his film studio and acquiring senior production and management staff who served him as employees, not experienced peers with independent ideas and agendas. Republic also acquired Brunswick Records for recording sessions with singing cowboys Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. They hired Cy Feuer as head of

2596-433: The mid-1940s, Yates was producing better-quality pictures, mounting big-budget fare such as The Quiet Man (1952), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Johnny Guitar (1954), and The Maverick Queen (1956). Another distinguishing aspect of Republic Pictures was Yates' avoidance of any controversial subject matter ( exploitation films being a staple of B movies), in contrast to the other "Poverty Row" studios that often dodged

2655-450: The original Republic film library. In 1985, the company bought out Blackhawk Films , and eventually, Republic decided to close Blackhawk in 1987. Also that year, Republic Pictures Home Video, the home video division of Republic Pictures, had signed an agreement with Hawk Company, headed by Robert Clouse , in order to gain access to 31 projects that were developed by Hawk, for home video release, and that Republic Pictures Home Video received

2714-412: The rest of the time). In the last two, they were all replaced, by Roscoe Karns , Ruth Donnelly , George Ernest and Spencer Charters , respectively. Tommy Ryan played Tommy in the second through sixth movies. Betty was played by Mary Beth Hughes in the fourth and Lois Ranson in the last five. Lynne Roberts played Marian in the first, then Jean for the second and third. Gus Meins directed all of

2773-568: The result of years of wartime stress on costs and the postwar exchange and trade restrictions enacted by the nations of Continental Europe (practically closing off the market to smaller studios such as Republic), the Paramount Case (even though Republic never owned more than a handful of theaters), and the rise of television. In 1947, Yates stopped the production of short subjects, reduced the amount of serials, and organized Republic's feature output into four types of films: "Jubilee", usually

2832-422: The running times slashed from 20 minutes per episode to 13 minutes, and with the cliffhanger endings borrowed from older Republic serials and features. The studio also stopped licensing expensive comic-strip and radio properties, and instead created generic cops-and-robbers stories and science-fiction adventures. Despite the obvious economies, the Republic serials still found an audience, the last film being King of

2891-437: The series. Clampett took his direction credit under the name " Kilroy ". Republic also released another cartoon series in 1949 (this time without Clampett): a free-wheeling series of animated travelogues called Jerky Journeys , written and produced by Leonard Levinson , but only four cartoons were made. From the mid-1940s, Republic films often featured Vera Hruba Ralston , a former ice skater from Czechoslovakia who had won

2950-428: The studio to dabble in animated cartoons. After leaving Warner Bros. in 1946 (reportedly because of angering his peers at the studio's cartoon division for taking credit that was not really his), Bob Clampett approached Republic and directed a single cartoon, It's a Grand Old Nag , featuring the equine character Charlie Horse. Republic management, however, had second thoughts owing to dwindling profits and discontinued

3009-451: The studio's music department. At the 1958 annual meeting, Yates announced the end of motion picture production. In its early years, Republic was sometimes labeled a " Poverty Row " company, as its primary products were B movies and serials . Most of the technical staff had been with Mascot, a serial specialist, and thus was already geared to the steady production of weekly chapter plays. Republic's own serials began in 1936 and developed

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3068-469: The supervising leadership of Herbert J. Yates , Republic was considered a mini-major film studio, producing almost 1,000 motion pictures. Created in 1935 by Herbert J. Yates , a longtime investor in film (having invested in 20th Century Pictures at its founding in 1933) and owner of the film processing laboratory Consolidated Film Industries , Republic was initially founded upon Yates' acquisition of six smaller independent Poverty Row studios. In

3127-493: Was hired by Republic Pictures as president of domestic television distribution, and will select the two from a number of series we have in development. In January 1993, Blockbuster Entertainment announced they would purchase a 35% stake in Republic, In June 1993, the company's home video division signed a deal with the Children's Television Workshop for the release of several of the company's properties on VHS in order for

3186-609: Was later settled, with Feiner now sharing in the royalties. Republic Entertainment Inc. has since been folded by Paramount, who later formed a holding company called Melange Pictures for the Republic library, logos and brand. After Lionsgate's domestic deal with Paramount expired, Paramount signed new deals with Olive Films and Kino Lorber to distribute the Republic Library. As before, the Republic brand and logo continue to be used by both companies under license. On March 24, 2023, Paramount Global announced it would revive

3245-533: Was merged with Republic Pictures Home Video and took the latter name. In 1996, Republic shut down its film production unit. In September 1997, Republic's video rental operations were taken over by Paramount Home Video ; although its sell-through operations remained. In September 1998, Spelling announced that they would license the American and Canadian video rights to the Republic Pictures library to Artisan Entertainment , and would continue to be released with

3304-465: Was presented to their producer-owners as a collaborative enterprise focused on low-budget product. Acquiring and integrating these six companies enabled 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

3363-476: Was producing too many Ralston pictures. Years later, John Wayne admitted that he had departed Republic in 1952 over the prospect of having to appear in yet another film with her. Yates remained Ralston's most ardent supporter, and she continued to appear in Republic features until its final production, Spoilers of the Forest (1957). By the mid-to-late-1940s, the American film industry faced an existential threat,

3422-801: Was purchased outright by CBS and, having more than quadrupled the stock price for shareholders, Carter sold his controlling interest. 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. Republic sold its library of films to National Telefilm Associates (NTA). Non-entertainment acquisitions included Mansbach Metal Company and Kentucky Electric Steel Company, both acquired in September 1968. Republic reported

3481-542: Was set up under the Republic name and offered, among other things, off-network repeats of the CBS series Beauty and the Beast and game show Press Your Luck in syndication . There were also a few theatrical films, including Freeway , Ruby in Paradise , Dark Horse , Live Nude Girls , and Bound . At the same time, subsidiary NTA Home Entertainment was renamed Republic Pictures Home Video and began remarketing

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