RKO Pictures: Difference between revisions
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[[File:RKO Logo.jpg|thumb|right|250px|RKO's current logo]]'''RKO Pictures LLC''', formerly known as '''RKO Radio Pictures Inc.''', is an American film production company. In the past, it was one of the biggest and most powerful Hollywood studios. RKO produced the original ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' in [[1933]] | [[File:RKO Logo.jpg|thumb|right|250px|RKO's current logo]]'''RKO Pictures LLC''', formerly known as '''RKO Radio Pictures Inc.''', is an American film production company. In the past, it was one of the biggest and most powerful Hollywood studios. RKO produced the original ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' in [[1933]]{{sfn|Kalat|1997|pp=10-12}} and the initial Americanization of ''[[The Mysterians]]'', which was eventually released in the [[United States]] in [[1959]] by MGM.{{sfn|Warren|1986|p=325}} | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
RKO Pictures was founded in 1928 when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio merged under Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The company was very successful throughout the first half of the 20th century, producing such iconic films as ''Citizen Kane'' and ''King Kong''. In 1948, Howard Hughes purchased RKO Pictures, and the company began a steady decline. RKO ceased production in 1957 and closed its doors in 1959. | RKO Pictures was founded in 1928 when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio merged under Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The company was very successful throughout the first half of the 20th century, producing such iconic films as ''Citizen Kane'' and ''King Kong''. In 1948, Howard Hughes purchased RKO Pictures, and the company began a steady decline. RKO ceased production in 1957 and closed its doors in 1959. | ||
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*''[[Son of Kong]]'' (1933) - Production company, distributor | *''[[Son of Kong]]'' (1933) - Production company, distributor | ||
*''[[Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'' (1949) - Distributor | *''[[Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'' (1949) - Distributor | ||
*''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' ( | *''[[Godzilla (1954 film)#U.S. release|Godzilla, King of the Monsters!]]'' (1956) - Television (1958-59){{sfn|''Boxoffice''|1958|p=8}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=58}} | ||
*[[Rodan (film)|''Rodan'']] (1957) - Foreign distributor<ref name="Variety">''Variety'', p. 24, October 2, 1957.[[File:Rodan 1957-10-02 Variety (Clips from Film Row - Los Angeles) p24.png]]</ref> | *[[Rodan (film)#U.S. release|''Rodan'']] (1957) - Foreign distributor<ref name="Variety">''Variety'', p. 24, October 2, 1957.[[File:Rodan 1957-10-02 Variety (Clips from Film Row - Los Angeles) p24.png]]</ref> | ||
*''[[The Mysterians]]'' (1959) - Planned distributor | *''[[The Mysterians#U.S. release|The Mysterians]]'' (1959) - Planned distributor{{sfn|Warren|1986|p=325}} | ||
*''[[Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'' (1998) - Production company | *''[[Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'' (1998) - Production company | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
===Bibliography=== | |||
*{{cite magazine|title=Abundance of 'New' Features Available for TV This Fall|magazine=Boxoffice|date=23 June 1958|publisher=Boxoffice Media LP|ref={{harvid|''Boxoffice''|1958}}}} | |||
*{{cite book|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla® Series|author=David Kalat|date=1997|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |isbn=0786403004}} | |||
*{{cite book|last=Ryfle|first=Steve|authorlink=Steve Ryfle|title=[[Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G"]]|publisher=ECW Press|date=1 April 1998|isbn=1550223488}} | |||
*{{cite book|title=Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties. Volume II: 1958-1962 |author=Bill Warren |date=1986 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|isbn=0786404795}} | |||
{{Comments}} | {{Comments}} | ||
{{Era|REL|RKO}} | {{Era|REL|RKO}} | ||
Revision as of 02:44, 3 November 2021
RKO Pictures LLC, formerly known as RKO Radio Pictures Inc., is an American film production company. In the past, it was one of the biggest and most powerful Hollywood studios. RKO produced the original King Kong in 1933[1] and the initial Americanization of The Mysterians, which was eventually released in the United States in 1959 by MGM.[2]
History
RKO Pictures was founded in 1928 when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio merged under Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The company was very successful throughout the first half of the 20th century, producing such iconic films as Citizen Kane and King Kong. In 1948, Howard Hughes purchased RKO Pictures, and the company began a steady decline. RKO ceased production in 1957 and closed its doors in 1959.
Despite no longer producing films, RKO continued to own and administer the rights to King Kong, and in 1962 licensed the rights to Kong to Toho, who produced King Kong vs. Godzilla and later King Kong Escapes. In the 1970s, RKO sold the film rights to King Kong to Paramount Pictures, causing Universal Pictures, who previously held King Kong's film rights in the United States, to sue RKO. In 1976, a federal judge found that RKO did not own the rights to the character King Kong, only the 1933 film and its sequel, and that the character's rights rightfully belonged to the estate of Merian C. Cooper, Kong's original creator. The rights reverted to Cooper's son, Richard, who promptly sold them to Universal.
RKO began operating as a production subsidiary in 1981, and it and all of its remaining assets were sold to new owners in 1989. RKO continues operating as a small independent film company under these owners to this day.
Selected filmography
- King Kong (1933) - Production company, distributor
- Son of Kong (1933) - Production company, distributor
- Mighty Joe Young (1949) - Distributor
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) - Television (1958-59)[3][4]
- Rodan (1957) - Foreign distributor[5]
- The Mysterians (1959) - Planned distributor[2]
- Mighty Joe Young (1998) - Production company
References
This is a list of references for RKO Pictures. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- "Abundance of 'New' Features Available for TV This Fall". Boxoffice. Boxoffice Media LP. 23 June 1958.
- David Kalat (1997). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla® Series. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0786403004.
- Ryfle, Steve (1 April 1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.
- Bill Warren (1986). Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties. Volume II: 1958-1962. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0786404795.
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