Republic Pictures (1935-1967)

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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 expired.

1st Logo (1935-1938) Republic Pictures (1936)Republic Pictures PresentRepublic Pictures (1936, The End)

Nickname: "The Shield"

Logo: We see a black WB-like shield on a white background with a black stripe. The words:

REPUBLIC ICTURES

with the stem of the "P" extended appears on a gray stripe behind the shield. Sometimes, "PRESENT" appears below. At the end of the movie, we see the words "The End", in script, over the shield.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening and closing themes of the movie.

Availability: Extremely rare. Can be seen on John Wayne movies produced by this company on Turner Classic Movies.

2nd Logo (March 18?, 1938-1947) Republic Pictures (1930's, C)Republic Productions (1939)Republic Pictures Corporation (1947)

Nickname: "The City Tower"

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.

Variants:

In later years, a different version with a different tower design and font was sometimes used. The logo was still, and only had the text "A REPUBLIC PRODUCTION" on romantic lettering fading in. There is also a variation, where instead of "A REPUBLIC PRODUCTION" it says "A REPUBLIC RELEASE". This version appeared on "Hell's Outpost" (1954).

FX/SFX: The zooming effects. The fade-in for the later variant.

Music/Sounds: A bell chiming followed by a fanfare. In other cases, it uses the opening theme.

Availability: Preserved on their movies whenever somebody decides to air them. It can be seen on King of the Newsboys, Heroes of the Hills, South of the Border, as well as many other films from the late 1930s and early 40s.

3rd Logo (September 15, 1944-1947) Republic Production (1947)Republic Pictures (1945, with the British Lion byline)

Nickname: "The City Tower II"

Logo: We see a steeple (presumably that of Independence Hall in Philadelphia) positioned towards the left of the screen, and "A REPUBLIC PRODUCTION", in a white serif font, is moved to the middle-right, slightly slanted. Meanwhile, the sunburst is replaced with clouds and a different sunburst.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The beginning of the movie's theme song.

Availability: Seen on some Republic movies like Atlantic City, Tell It To A Star and Affairs of Geraldine.

4th Logo (1947-1950) Republic Productions (1947)A Republic Serial

Nickname: "The Bald Eagle"

Logo: On a cloudy background, 3 rows of words, "A", "REPUBLIC", and "PRODUCTION", are written on a wall at the bottom of the screen in a blocky font. Above is a bald eagle with its wings spread out, facing right, standing on it. A bright glare is shown at the top-right of the screen.

Variants:

A color version is also available as well. If serials are shown, the text "A REPUBLIC SERIAL" was used instead.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Appears on their movies from the era including Angel and the Badman (which is colorized when seen on the Hallmark Channel).

5th Logo (1948-1959) Republic Productions (1941)Republic Pictures (1948)Republic SerialRepublic ProductionA Republic Production (1948)Republic Serial "Eagle" (1950s) Herbert J. Yates PresentsRepublic Pictures Corporation (with British Lion Film Corporation byline, 1950)Republic Pictures Corporation (1956)Republic ProductionRepublic Production (1954)Republic Serial (Colorized) Republic PresentationRepublic PresentationRepublic Pictures (1956)Republic (1956)Republic Pictures (1957)Republic Pictures (Widescreen, 1958)Republic Productions (1954, The End)Republic (1956)Republic Pictures (1957)Republic Pictures UK (1956)Republic Pictures UK (1956)

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

Logo: On a background with dark red clouds, we see the bald eagle standing on what appears to be a mountain, facing the right. The words:

A REPUBLIC PRODUCTION

in a blocky font with small "grooves" cut across them, are seen underneath.

Variants:

If serials are shown, the text "A REPUBLIC SERIAL" was used instead. "(A) REPUBLIC PRESENTATION" and "A REPUBLIC PICTURE" were used as well. Later films used the text "REPUBLIC PICTURES PRESENTS" Later closing logos had a still of the eagle swooping over a blue sash with golden edges on a cloud background. Inside the sash read "THE END" with the text "(A) REPUBLIC PRODUCTION" or "REPUBLIC PRESENTATION" dissolving in a few seconds later. This appeared most notably on Johnny Guitar. At least one British film (Zanzabuku, 1955) had the text "REPUBLIC PRODUCTIONS (GREAT BRITAIN) LTD. PRESENT" below the eagle. One British export print featured the standard logo, but the text below the eagle fades out and is replaced by "DISTRIBUTED BY REPUBLIC PICTURES INTERNATIONAL, INC. (GREAT BRITAIN) BRITISH FILM DIVISION." Click on this link to view the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: There are two versions; one is a very patriotic, drum driven fanfare. Another one is a triumphant horn sounder. On exceptional cases, it used the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Is still retained on Republic movies from this period, including The Quiet Man, Rio Grande, and Johnny Guitar.

Editor's Note: Nice concept for an identity. The Eagle perched on the mountain encompasses the romantic masculinity of United States imagery.

6th Logo (1985?-1987) Republic Pictures PresentsRepublic Pictures (1986)Republic Pictures PresentsRepublic Pictures (1985)

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

Logo: Same as the previous logo, but this time, the logo is computerized, with some clouds appearing to move, and the text "REPUBLIC PICTURES" flys in from the bottom of the screen.

Variants:

On some movies, the word "Presents" would fade in below the logo, in a script font. There is also a black and white variant. There are videotaped and filmed variants. There is also a variant with the text "REPUBLIC PICTURES" simply fading in. The text is in the same font, but is less-detailed.

FX/SFX: The clouds moving, and the company name flying up or fading in.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie, or none.

Availability: Extremely rare. It's seen on some Republic Pictures movies. The "Presents" version appears on Gun Battle at Monterey on Starz Encore Westerns. The variant with the text fading in appears at the end of a 1995 VHS of It's a Wonderful Life.

Editor's Note: The "retroness" of the logo as well as the computer effects make this logo look outdated. Also, the "filmed" version is just a kinescope of the videotaped version, which explains why it looks blurry.

7th Logo (1987-1990)

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

Republic Pictures (1987)Logo: On a sky background, we see the bald eagle from the previous logos (not including the Castle Republic Pictures logos). The words REPUBLIC PICTURES fly up.

FX/SFX: The company name flying up.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare. Appears on some Republic Pictures videos from the late '80s.

Editor's Note: Not much effort here. Very boring logo.

8th Logo (1990-1994) Republic Pictures (1992)Republic (1993)

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

Logo: On a blue sky background, we see the bald eagle standing on a mountain with the words "REPUBLIC PICTURES" below. White clouds are also shown at the bottom.

FX/SFX: The company name fading in or none.

Music/Sounds: The patriotic fanfare from the '50s. In most cases, the opening theme of the movie, or none.

Availability: Very rare. Appears on some Republic Pictures movies from the early '90s.

Editor's Note: Again, not much effort here. The scope variant looks pretty good, actually.

9th Logo (1993-2010) Republic Pictures (Bylineless): 1995Republic Pictures (1994, rare)Republic Pictures (1995, with rare Spelling byline)Republic Pictures (1995)

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

Logo: We start with a white cloud background. Then the sky and the clouds disperse, revealing the old view of the Republic Pictures bald eagle, redone in CGI. At the bottom-right is the rock. "REPUBLIC PICTURES", in white fades-in underneath and until 2006, the respective company byline appears below the company name.

Bylines:

1993-1994, 2006-2010: Bylineless 1994-1995:"A Unit of Spelling Entertainment, Inc." 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.

Music/Sounds: A wind blowing effect, followed by a dramatic string tune. The still variant uses the second half of the jingle.

Music/Sounds Variant: This logo plastered the Paramount logo on some 1990s-era prints of the Fleischer Brothers' animated Gulliver's Travels. On said prints, the beginning of the opening credits music played over this logo.

Availability: Uncommon. It appears on the VHS edition of The Tin Soldier and the remastered version of It's a Wonderful Life. The bylineless variant was seen on the mini-series The Stand, as well as the DVDs of Freeway and Bound. You can also find this logo on Two-Bits & Pepper. It could also be seen on video/DVD releases of their material through Artisan Entertainment, as well as releases through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The 1995 byline variant can be found on the VHS release of A Lady Takes a Chance. Also appeared on the Roku Channel's print of Highlander II: The Quickening, which was clearly derived from a pan-and-scan master from the '90s.

Editor's Note:

It looks as if they didn't put any effort into this. They make a bald eagle perched on top of a mountain seem boring more than anything else. Seems to be a recurring theme for this company's logos. Even though Spelling Entertainment dissolved in 1999, the byline on the logo remained on the logo for years afterward, indicating a lack of interest from Paramount to update the logo. (Republic officially shut down in 1998, relegating the name and logo as mere brands.)