Warner Bros. Studios Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

“I don't see what Jack Warner can do with an Oscar - it can't say yes.”
— Al Jolson

        Three brothers from Poland - Harry & Albert & Sam Warner - began exhibiting motion pictures in towns across Pennsylvania & Ohio in 1903; in 1904, they incorporated the Duquesne Amusement & Supply Co. in Pittsburgh; by 1918, they were producing silent films and had opened a studio on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, California; Sam & youngest brother Jack produced while Harry & Albert ran the business side; formally incorporated as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. in 1923; bought New York studio & distributor Vitagraph in 1925; bought the Vitaphone sound-on-disk process from Western Electric in 1925; bought the Stanley Co. theater chain in 1928, which included a stake in First National Pictures.
        Warner merged with First National in 1930 and moved to the latter's studio lot in Burbank; Technicolor musicals thrived for a while, then gritty gangster films, then historical dramas, then Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies cartoons; Jack Warner helped organize the U.S. Army's First Motion Picture Unit during World War II; Jack (secretly) brought in bankers to buy out his brothers' interest, which poisoned family relations; the studio successfully moved into television production and launched the Warner Records division [1958]; the aging Jack sold the movie & record business in 1967 to Seven Arts, which sold in two years to the Jersey mob-connected Kinney National Co.
        New studio head Ted Ashley signed major stars – Paul Newman & Barbra Streisand [First Artists], Robert Redford, John Wayne [Batjac], and Clint Eastwood [Malpaso] – and invested in non-movie businesses such as theme parks and video-gamer Atari; a studio management joint venture formed with Columbia Pictures in 1972 {'The Burbank Studios' or T.B.S.) was phased out circa 1987.
        The surprise merger with Time, Inc. in 1989 was then the biggest merger in history; in 1995, Warner and Tribune Broadcasting of Chicago launched the W.B. Network, aimed at teens; the 2000 takeover of conglomerate Time-Warner by internet monster A.O.L. was very bumpy; in 2006, Warner and C.B.S. agreed to shut down U.P.N. & The W.B. and jointly launch the C.W. cable network. Warner announced in May 2008 that it was closing Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures. Time-Warner announced in May 2009 that it was spinning off all A.O.L. assets, which was completed in December.

"Warner Gangsters Collections"

	Volume 1 [2008]: Warner Home Video b&w DVD set [3/2008] 6 disks for $51.69 box set includes: "Angels With Dirty Faces" [1938] starring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, The Dead End Kids & Pat O'Brien; "Little Caesar" [1931] starring Edward G. Robinson & Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; "The Petrified Forest" [1936] starring Humphrey Bogart, Leslie Howard & Bette Davis; "The Public Enemy" [1931] starring James Cagney & Jean Harlow; "The Roaring Twenties" [1939] directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney & Humphrey Bogart; and "White Heat" [1949] directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney & Edmond O'Brien
	Volume 2 [2008]: Warner Home Video b&w DVD set [3/2008] 6 disks for $44.99 box set includes "A Slight Case of Murder" [1938] starring Edward G. Robinson; "Bullets or Ballots" [1936] starring Edward G. Robinson & Humphrey Bogart; "City For Conquest" [1940] starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan & Arthur Kennedy; "Each Dawn I Die" [1939] starring James Cagney & George Raft; "G Men" [1935] starring James Cagney; and "San Quentin" [1937] starring Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart & Ann Sheridan
	Volume 3 [2008]: Warner Home Video b&w DVD set [3/2008] 6 disks for $44.99 box set includes "Black Legion" [1937] starring Humphrey Bogart & Dick Foran; "Brother Orchid" [1940] starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern & Humphrey Bogart; "Lady Killer" [1933] starring James Cagney & Mae Clarke; "The Mayor of Hell" [1933] starring James Cagney & Madge Evans; "Picture Snatcher" [1933] starring James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy & Patricia Ellis; and "Smart Money" [1931] starring Edward G. Robinson & James Cagney
	Volume 4 [2008]: Warner Home Video b&w DVD set [10/2008] 6 disks for $53.99 box set includes "The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse" [1938] with Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart & Claire4 Trevor; "Invisible Stripes" [1939] with George Raft, Humphrey Bogart & William Holden; "Kid Galahad" [1937] with Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart & Bette Davis; "Larceny, Inc." [1942] with Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford & Jane Wyman; "The Little Giant" [1933] with Edward G. Robinson & Mary Astor; the feature-length documentary "Public Enemies: The Golden Age of The Gangster Film" [2008], plus vintage trailers, newsreels, shorts, cartoons & more

Warner Home Video

Founded in 1978 as a division of Warner Bros.; became an autonomous division in 1996. Agreed in May 2010 to acquire social movie site Flixster, which owns the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Home Video entry at Wikipedia

New Line Cinema [1967-2008]

Founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye & Michael Lynne, who are still co-studio heads; very successful maker of genre films and series such as "Nightmare On Elm Street", "Lord of The Rings", "Austin Powers" & "Blade"; formed a sub-division in 1972 called Fine Line Features which has since been merged into the mini-major Picturehouse; acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in 1994, which was acquired by Warner in 1996. Then in February 2008, Warner announced that New Line is being absorbed as a division of Warner Bros., releasing six movies per year. In February 2011, New Line was scaled back further, to releasing only four movies per year.

New Line Cinema official website
New Line Cinema entry at Wikipedia

Turner Broadcasting System

Beginning with one TV station in 1970, Ted Turner built a string of stations used to launch his 'superstation' concept in 1976; the company was renamed Turner Broadcasting System in 1979; launched 24-hour news channel C.N.N. in 1980; in a roundelay of high finance in 1985, Turner bought M.G.M./U.A. from Kirk Kerkorian, sold the studio lot to Lorimar TV [1968-93], kept the film library, and sold the rest back to Kerkorian - the amazing thing is that each party made money on the deals!; purchased New Line Cinema & Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994; merged with conglomerate Time-Warner in 1996, making Ted Turner vice chairman and head of cable networks; Turner resigned his positions at Time-Warner in February 2006.

official T.B.S. website
Turner Broadcasting System entry at Wikipedia

"Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records - The First Fifty Years" 10-CD Box Set [2008]
Warner Bros. music CD set[12/2008] 10 disks for $89.98
199 tracks from GROUPS: The Association; The Beach Boys; The Black Crowes; Devo; Dire Straits; The Doobie Brothers; Everly Brothers; Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead; Green Day; Jethro Tull; Los Lobos; Metallica; Peter, Paul & Mary; Ramones; Red Hot Chili Peppers; R.E.M.; Seals and Crofts; The Staple Singers; Steely Dan; Talking Heads; The Traveling Wilburys; Van Halen; The White Stripes; and ZZ Top; and from PERFORMERS: Captain Beefheart, Edd Byrnes, Johnny Cash, Cher, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Alice Cooper, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., John Fogerty, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Don Henley, Faith Hill, Don Ho, Tab Hunter, Ice-T, Elton John, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Lehrer, Gordon Lightfoot, Madonna, Pat Metheny, Dean Martin, Steve Martin, Bob Newhart, Jack Nitzche, Tom Petty, Richard Pryor, Linda Ronstadt, Allan Sherman, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Tiny Tim, Mason Williams, and Neil Young
– plus many, many more (and a 64-page booklet)

Warner Bros. Records, The First Fifty Years book by Warren Zane

companion book [2009] by Warren Zane
(of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland)
Chronicle Books hardcover [1/2009] for $23.27

Vitaphone Sound [1926-1930]

Vitaphone was the sound-on-disc process used by Warner Bros. and its sister studio
First National from 1926 to 1930 on many features and nearly 2,000 short subjects.

The Vitaphone Website
Vitaphone entry at Wikipedia

Albert 'Abe' Warner
[b. Poland 1884; active 1903-50?; d. 1967]
IMDb listing • Wikipedia

Samuel Lewis 'Sam' Warner
[b. Poland 1887; active 1903-1927; d. 1927]
IMDb listing • Wikipedia

Mervyn Leroy [1900-87]
director 1927-65; Harry Warner's son-in-law 1934-42; WB producer 1955-65
IMDb listing • Wikipedia

Ted Ashley [1922-2002]
talent agent 1942-69; WB chairman 1969-81; vice chair Warner Communications 1981-88

	"Warner Brothers: A History of The Studio - Its Pictures, Stars & Personalities" [1975] by Charles Higham Scribner 9½x6 hardcover [1/75] out of print/used
	"Here's Looking At You, Kid: Fifty Years of Fighting, Working and Dreaming At Warner Brothers" [1976] by James R. Silke Little, Brown hardcover [9/76] out of print/used
	"Those Crazy Wonderful Years: When We Ran Warner Brothers" [1983] by Stuart Jerome Lyle Stuart 9¼x6¼ hardcover [5/83] out of print/used "The Warner Brothers" [1983] by Michael Freedland St. Martins Press hardcover [12/83] out of print/used
	"The Warner Bros. Story: The Complete History of The Great Hollywood Studio" [1987] by Clive Hirschhorn Random House Value 12½x9¼ hardcover [1/87] out of print/many used
	"The Women of Warner Brothers: The Lives and Careers of 15 Leading Ladies With Filmographies For Each" [2001] by Daniel Bubbeo The lives & careers of fifteen Warner Brothers screen legends: Joan Blondell, Nancy Coleman, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, Ruby Keeler, Andrea King, Priscilla Lane, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith & Jane Wyman McFarland & Co. 10x7 pb [10/2001] for $39.95
	"You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story" [2008] by Richard Schickel & George Perry Running Press 11½x10 bargain price hardcover [9/2008] out of print/used Running Press 11½x10 hardcover [9/2008] for $35.00 basis for the 5-part TV documentary project narrated by Clint Eastwood Warner Home Video color DVD [4/2009] 2 disks for $26.99
	"Early Warner Bros. Studios (Images of America)" [2010] by E.J. Stephens & Marc Wanamaker Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [7/2010] for $14.95

	"The Brothers Warner" [Warner Sisters Sept 2008] 90-minute family documentary about brothers Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack L. who rose from poverty in Baltimore and Ohio to become Hollywood movie moguls.Co-produced, written & directed by {granddaughter of Harry} Cass Warner Sperling Warner Home Video widescreen color DVD [3/2010] for $5.38 full credits at IMDb • official movie site • company site
	"The Brothers Warner: The Intimate Story of A Hollywood Studio Family Dynasty" [2008] by Cass Warner Sperling This book is companion to the movie {above}, and an update & reissue (7th edition) of "Hollywood Be Thy Name" [1993] {below} Warner Sisters 9x6 pb [6/2008] for $20.99
	"Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story" [1993] by Cass Warner Sperling & Cork Millner, with Jack Warner Jr. Univ Press of KY 9x6 pb [9/98] out of print/used Prima Publng 9¾x6½ hardcover [9/93] out of print/many used
	"Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul - The Epic Story of The Man Behind The Movies" [indep 1993] Produced, written & directed by {Jack's grandson} Gregory Orr; narrated by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. CustomFlix color DVD [7/2006] for $24.95 full credits from IMDb
	"My First Hundred Years In Hollywood: An Autobiography" [1964] by Jack L. Warner Random House 8¾x6 hardcover [1964] out of print/many used

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