Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American film studio corporation which originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California. It had production and distribution facilities in Studio City, as well as a movie ranch in Encino. Republic was best 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 the supervising leadership of Herbert J. Yates, Republic was considered a mini-major film studio, producing almost 1,000 motion pictures. Company history 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 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) 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, was presented to their producer-owners as a collaborative enterprise focused on low-budget product.