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RKO Pictures
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Foundation date 23 october 1928
RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures (also known as RKO Productions, Radio Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, RKO Teleradio Pictures, &, for a short time, RKO Pathé) is an American film production and distribution company. It was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) vaudeville theater circuit and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio were brought together under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October 1928. RCA chief David Sarnoff engineered the merger to create a market for the company's sound-on-film technology, RCA Photophone. By the mid-1940s, the studio was under the control of investor Floyd Odlum.
RKO has long been celebrated for its series of musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the mid-to-late 1930s. Actors Katharine Hepburn and, later, Robert Mitchum had their first major successes at the studio. Cary Grant was a mainstay for years. The work of producer Val Lewton's low-budget horror unit and RKO's many ventures into the field now known as film noir have been acclaimed, largely after the fact, by film critics and historians. The studio produced two of the most famous films in motion picture history: King Kong and Citizen Kane.
Maverick industrialist Howard Hughes took over RKO in 1948. After years of decline under his control, the studio was acquired by the General Tire and Rubber Company in 1955. The original RKO Pictures ceased production in 1957 and was effectively dissolved two years later. In 1981, broadcaster RKO General, the corporate heir, revived it as a production subsidiary, RKO Pictures Inc. In 1989, this business with its few remaining assets, the trademarks and remake rights to many classic RKO films, was sold to new owners, who now operate the small independent company RKO Pictures LLC.
Best films
(1942)
(1950)
(1938)
(1940)
(1954)
(1953)Filmography of RKO Pictures (1392 films)
Distribution
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St. Louis Blues (1929)
, 16minutesDirected by Dudley Murphy
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical
Themes Musical films
Street Girl (1929)
, 1h27Directed by Wesley Ruggles
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Musical films
Actors Betty Compson, John Harron, Ivan Lebedeff, Jack Oakie, Ned Sparks, Joseph Cawthorn
The Four Seasons are a very good jazz quartet, but they perform in a New York City cafe for only $100 a week, forcing them to share a small, rundown apartment. The quartet consists of Joe Spring on clarinet, Pete Summer on accordion and guitar, Mike Fall on piano and trumpet, and an ever-pessimistic Happy Winter on violin.
Syncopation (1929)
, 1h23Directed by Bert Glennon
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Musical
Themes Musical films
Actors Barbara Bennett, Ian Hunter, Osgood Perkins, Mackenzie Ward, Verree Teasdale, Dorothy Lee
Benny and Flo are a husband and wife dance team, Sloane and Darrel, traveling around the country as part of a revue. The revue gets picked up and taken to New York City, to be on Broadway. However, it quickly folds, and the two are forced to look for other employment. They eventually find work in a nightclub, becoming famous.
The Vagabond Lover (1929)
, 1h5Directed by Marshall Neilan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Comedy-drama, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Rudy Vallée, Sally Blane, Marie Dressler, Charles Sellon, Edward J. Nugent, Nella Walker
Rudy Bronson is a senior in a small college in the Midwest. While in school, he completes a correspondence course in the saxophone, given by the nationally known Ted Grant. Bronson and his friends form a band, but have difficulty finding work. Believing that Grant will help them land professional jobs, the band heads to the Long Island, New York home of Grant. Once there, they pester Grant for an interview, to the point where Grant leaves his home, along with his manager, to stay in New York City, until Bronson gives up and goes home.
Mickey's Explorers (1929)
, 18minutesDirected by Albert Herman
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Mickey Rooney, Billy Barty, Jimmy Robinson, Kendall McComas, Marvin Stephens
Mickey and the Gang espire to be like Christopher Columbus and explore new worlds. Mickey competes against Stinkie Davis in order to borrow Mary Ann's father's boat for the exploring. When Mickey loses, he and the Gang use their own boat. Later, the kids travel to a 'new world' (actually a small area close to home) and find themselves up against Native Americans, skeletons, and a real-live bear.
Black and Tan (1929)
, 19minutesDirected by Dudley Murphy
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Jazz films, Musical films
Actors Fredi Washington
The film begins with a scene showing Duke Ellington struggling to get bookings for his band. His finances are so tight that he can't make payments on his piano and apartment. Two men arrive to take possession of Duke's piano.
The Very Idea (1929)
, 1h5Directed by Frank Craven, Richard Rosson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Sally Blane, Frank Craven, Hugh Trevor, Olive Tell, Doris Eaton Travis, Theodore von Eltz
Alan Camp has written a book on eugenics, and is looking to prove his theories. His sister, Edith Goodhue, and her husband, Gilbert have been frustrated for years with their inability to have children. Alan convinces them to let him to create a child through eugenics for them to adopt. Chosen to be the parents of this eugenic child are Joe Garvin, who happens to be Alan's chauffeur, and Nora, the Goodhue's maid. The two are offered $15,000 each if they conceive and deliver a child within twelve months, to which they agree.
Half Marriage (1929)
, 1h8Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Olive Borden, Morgan Farley, Ken Murray, Anderson Lawler, Sally Blane, Hedda Hopper
Judy Page is a young society girl who falls in love with an architect who works in her father's architectural firm, Dick Carroll. She lives in Greenwich Village in New York City, and one night after a party at her apartment, she runs off with Dick to get married. They are intercepted by Judy's mother at the apartment, who, not realizing they have already been married, insists that Judy return with her to their estate in the country. Dick remains behind in Judy's apartment.
Night Parade (1929)
, 1h11Directed by Malcolm St. Clair
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Films based on plays
Actors Aileen Pringle, Robert Ellis, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Gulliver, Ann Pennington, Lloyd Ingraham
Bobby Murray is the middleweight champion, managed by his father, Tom. He is expected to lose an upcoming fight in defense of his title. A local sportswriter, Sid Durham, also thinks he will lose, but he has high regard for Tom. A gangster, John Zelli, also feels that Murray will lose, but wants to ensure that fact. Zelli enlists the talents of sultry Paula Vernoff to seduce Bobby, and get him to agree to throw the fight.
Tanned Legs (1929)
, 1h11Directed by Marshall Neilan
Genres Comedy
Themes Musical films
Actors Ann Pennington, Arthur Lake, June Clyde, Dorothy Revier, Sally Blane, Albert Gran
Peggy is the daughter of Mr. Reynolds and his wife Sophie. Although married, both of the elder Reynolds are having romantic interludes with younger people, Mrs. Lyons-King and Roger Fleming, respectively. In addition, Peggy's sister, Janet, is infatuated with Clinton Darrow, a ne'er-do-well, who is only interested in the Reynolds' money, not in Janet. Peggy is in the only normal relationship, with her boyfriend, Bill.
Jazz Heaven (1929)
, 1h8Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy
Actors John Mack Brown, Sally O'Neil, Joseph Cawthorn, Clyde Wilfred Cook, Blanche Friderici, Albert Conti
A poor songwriter from the south, Barry Holmes, travels to New York City to be a success, bringing with him his prize possession: his piano. While he is trying to break into Tin Pan Alley, he stays at a boardinghouse run by Mrs. Langley, who insists that her house always be run with the highest propriety. A young woman, Ruth Morgan, lives in the room next to Holmes. One night, he annoys the entire boarding house as he is trying to complete a song he has been working on, “Someone”. He is stuck on the ending, until he hears Ruth humming how she thinks it should go. Stunned, he goes to her room, and invites her back to his to finish the song. Unfortunately, Mrs. Langley discovers the two unmarried people in his room, and summarily kicks him out, intending to keep his piano as payment for back rent.
Dance Hall (1929)
, 1h5Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Musical films
Actors Olive Borden, Arthur Lake, Margaret Seddon, Joseph Cawthorn, Lee Moran, Dorothy Granger
A shipping clerk, Tommy Flynn, engages a young female taxi dancer, Gracie Nolan, and the two gain some success in dance halls, winning several dance contests. As they do, he becomes infatuated with her, but she only has eyes for a pilot, Ted Smith, who wants her as a trophy of his own.