Astor Pictures

All you want to know about Astor Pictures

Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution service headed by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 - 29 April 1956). Astor, located at 130 West 46th Street, New York City initially acquired the rights to other motion pictures for profitable rerelease.

In 1947 the motion picture perodical Boxoffice reported that the number of reissued films for that year were four times that of the previous year.^[1] Many smaller cinemas wished to show double features to attract audiences with a reissue being the cheapest release.

Types of Astor releases

Astor Pictures--

acquired the film library of the defunct Grand National Pictures films after their liquidation for cinema rerelase^[2]
were sold rerelease rights of many RKO films
rereleased William S. Hart's Tumbleweeds (1925 film) in 1939 with music and sound effects and Hart speaking a famous prologue "Oh, the thrill of it all"
distributed many race films but only produced one, Louis Jordan's Beware! (1946).^[3]
in addition to showing many of Bing Crosby's short subjects made for Educational Pictures, put several of them together and released it as a feature called The Road to Hollywood to compete with Paramount's Road series.
obtained the rights to many of Sam Katzman's Monogram East Side Kids pictures for rerelease at the same time Monogram Pictures was releasing Bowery Boys films
released many of the early Hammer Films in the USA by an arrangement with Hammer's parent company Exclusive Films
started Atlantic Television to distribute films to television in the early 1950's
released many science fiction films of dubious quality such as Cat-Women of the Moon and Missile to the Moon in the 1950's.
after Savini's death, Astor and Atlantic Television were acquired by George M. Foley Jr and Franklin Bruder who released European films in the USA such as Peeping Tom and Shoot the Piano Player where they went out of businsess shortly afterwards^[4]

References

^ p.72 Wilinsky, Barbara Sure Seaters-The Emergence of Art House University of Minnesota Press 2001
^ Balio, Tino Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise 1930-1939 University of California Press 1996
^ McGilligan, Patrick Oscar Micheaux The Great and Only: The Life of America's First Black Filmmaker Harper 2007
^ Heffenan, Kevin Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business 1953-1968 Duke University Press 2004