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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
286:. 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 "
282:, 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.
313:, 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
247:(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.
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622:(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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494:(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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658:(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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788:American companies disestablished in 1963
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793:Mass media companies established in 1930
612:Astor's biggest success was undoubtedly
302:westerns of the 1930s, and a number of
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813:Film distributors of the United States
783:American companies established in 1930
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731:"The Astounding B Monster | Cult"
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461:(1944), and four EP shorts starring
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380:Grand National Pictures
369:Types of Astor releases
304:Grand National Pictures
645:Last Year at Marienbad
635:Shoot the Piano Player
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575:and its later remake,
284:Southern United States
572:Cat-Women of the Moon
445:Packaged three 1930s
429:The Road to Hollywood
329:Cat-Women of the Moon
315:neighborhood theatres
129:American film company
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424:Educational Pictures
398:Educational Pictures
296:Educational Pictures
187:Went out of business
51:improve this article
593:Atlantic Television
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578:Missile to the Moon
503:Stairway for a Star
479:It Pays to Be Funny
459:The Birth of a Star
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738:. Retrieved
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648:(1961), and
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49:Please help
44:verification
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720:Harper 2007
625:Peeping Tom
541:Bowery Boys
527:Sam Katzman
491:Tumbleweeds
416:Bing Crosby
362:Peeping Tom
300:Poverty Row
292:Tumbleweeds
273:Poverty Row
230:(1886–1956)
767:Categories
740:2016-10-30
662:References
510:race films
455:Danny Kaye
403:, such as
353:, such as
311:race films
223:Key people
77:newspapers
655:The Trial
555:Westerns.
471:Bert Lahr
351:art films
323:Billboard
321:years. A
202:(through
192:Successor
638:(1960),
628:(1960),
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505:. (1947)
463:Bob Hope
195:Library:
138:Industry
522:(1946).
519:Beware!
481:(1947).
439:Road to
376:Western
290:" and "
259:, then
251:History
174: (
166:Defunct
156: (
148:Founded
91:scholar
544:films.
473:, and
239:was a
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288:Wings
98:JSTOR
84:books
389:and
359:and
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184:Fate
176:1963
169:1963
158:1930
151:1930
70:news
703:in
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