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After Savini's death, Astor and
Atlantic Television were acquired by George F. Foley, Jr. and Franklin Bruder, who released European films in the US. It is probably here the Astor name is best remembered, for in three years they brought several cinematic classics to theaters in the early 1960s.
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magazine article of 8 Jun 1946 stated Astor had 26 branch offices in the United States. In the 1950s, Astor created a subsidiary, Atlantic
Television Corporation, for TV syndication of much of its earlier product, while continuing to engage in making new pictures, such as
275:. In 1939, Savini acquired the rights to other companies' motion pictures for profitable national re-release and put these out under the Astor name and logo. Among the first titles were revised sound versions of "
271:, primarily invested in other companies' films to acquire capital, and became parent company to Savini's first business, Atlantic Pictures, a film distribution exchange system located throughout the
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but could not overcome the financial realities of the
American motion picture industry at that time, nor its reputation for only marketing lesser films. By 1963, Astor was out of business.
302:, and co-financing other films produced by others, including some British B-mysteries, along with continued select reissues. The company focused on distribution to rural, small-town, and
236:(29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently made productions, including some of its own films made during the 1950s.
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Savini had worked in the film industry, including his own Savini Films in
Atlanta, Georgia, that his brother took over. He worked in film exhibition for
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studios as well as producing their own films. In
October 1933 Savini left the position of sales manager with Amity to start Astor Pictures.
611:(1960), which was a huge box-office hit for the company, and allowed it to continue to release foreign films such as Michael Powell's
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483:(1925) in 1939, with music and sound effects added and Hart speaking a prologue (his only sound appearance on film).
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In the late 1950s, however, Astor's fortunes began to fail, along with those of other companies like
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647:(1962). However, despite its success with such important films, Astor went bankrupt in 1963.
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Subsequently, Astor began limited production of a variety of B-films, including a few
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Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold: Horror Films and the
American Movie Business 1953–1968
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Oscar
Micheaux The Great and Only: The Life of America's First Black Filmmaker
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in the US by an arrangement with Hammer's parent company
Exclusive Films.
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Astor
Pictures: A Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965
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edited by John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh
Scarecrow Press, 12 Aug 2010
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features for re-release at the same time Monogram was releasing its
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Acquired the re-release rights of many films originally released by
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During its first decade, Astor, located at 130 West 46th Street in
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company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by
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Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise 1930–1939
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film, added new sequences, and released it as the feature
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films for movie theater re-release after GNP's liquidation.
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in May 1933 that released films by Tiffany and other
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797:Film production companies of the United States
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787:Mass media companies disestablished in 1963
767:1963 disestablishments in New York (state)
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777:American companies disestablished in 1963
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
782:Mass media companies established in 1930
601:Astor's biggest success was undoubtedly
291:westerns of the 1930s, and a number of
802:Film distributors of the United States
772:American companies established in 1930
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720:"The Astounding B Monster | Cult"
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450:(1944), and four EP shorts starring
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679:University of California Press 1996
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385:Acquired the re-release rights of
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295:' non-western product.
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369:Grand National Pictures
358:Types of Astor releases
293:Grand National Pictures
634:Last Year at Marienbad
624:Shoot the Piano Player
580:Started a subsidiary,
564:and its later remake,
273:Southern United States
561:Cat-Women of the Moon
434:Packaged three 1930s
418:The Road to Hollywood
318:Cat-Women of the Moon
304:neighborhood theatres
118:American film company
705:McGilligan, Patrick
413:Educational Pictures
387:Educational Pictures
285:Educational Pictures
176:Went out of business
40:improve this article
582:Atlantic Television
570:, during the 1950s.
567:Missile to the Moon
492:Stairway for a Star
468:It Pays to Be Funny
448:The Birth of a Star
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423:Paramount Pictures
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442:(1947), three of
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727:. Retrieved
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637:(1961), and
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536:Distributed
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473:Re-released
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201:Headquarters
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38:Please help
33:verification
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709:Harper 2007
614:Peeping Tom
530:Bowery Boys
516:Sam Katzman
480:Tumbleweeds
405:Bing Crosby
351:Peeping Tom
289:Poverty Row
281:Tumbleweeds
262:Poverty Row
219:(1886–1956)
756:Categories
729:2016-10-30
651:References
499:race films
444:Danny Kaye
392:, such as
342:, such as
300:race films
212:Key people
66:newspapers
644:The Trial
544:Westerns.
460:Bert Lahr
340:art films
312:Billboard
310:years. A
191:(through
181:Successor
627:(1960),
617:(1960),
540:'s post
494:. (1947)
452:Bob Hope
184:Library:
127:Industry
511:(1946).
508:Beware!
470:(1947).
428:Road to
365:Western
279:" and "
248:, then
240:History
163: (
155:Defunct
145: (
137:Founded
80:scholar
533:films.
462:, and
228:was a
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277:Wings
87:JSTOR
73:books
378:and
348:and
334:and
173:Fate
165:1963
158:1963
147:1930
140:1930
59:news
692:in
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