The studio became Republic Studios was originally built by Mack Sennett in 1927 on 20.1 acres. He claimed to have spent $500,000 building the studio which then comprised an administration building, 2 enclosed stages, some outbuildings, and a modest backlot. Unfortunately for Sennett, six years later, in 1933, the studio was taken from him in backruptcy. Enter Nat Levine, owner of Mascot Pictures, who leased the studio, but did not purchase it. He is said to have regretted that decision in later years. Enter Herbert J. Yates, the owner of Consolidated Film Industries. He created Republic Pictures in 1935 by the consolidation of Mascot, Monogram, Majestic, Liberty, Chesterfield, and Invincible. The new Republic Pictures moved onto the Studio City lot in late 1935.
The Western Street was begun in late 1935/early 1936 after Trem Carr departed from the company (they had been using his Trem Carr Ranch in Placeritos Canyon for their westerns, which ranch had a very good western street set--that sets were removed from that ranch when Carr's lease ended and were transported to Ernie Hickson's Placeritos Ranch about a mile away). In April 1946, there was a major reburbishing of the buildings. Melody Ranch was built in 1940 for the Gene Autry film Melody Ranch. The barn set was later converted into a residential house which was used in the My Three Sons television show when the series moved from ABC-TV to CBS-TV. The Duchess Ranch was built in 1944 for the Red Ryder film "Tucson Raiders". The Mansion set was built for the 1949 John Wayne film, "The Fighting Kentuckian". Brazos Street was erected in 1939 for "Man of Conquest". Dakota Street was reared in 1945 for the John Wayne film of the same name. The lagoon was in place prior to 1941. The Spanish Street, Cantina Street, and Hacienda Square were built in the years 1935-1937. New York Street was built in 1937, and the adjacent New York Square in 1942.
DIRECTIONS: From Los Angeles, take the Hollywood (101) Freeway north. Exit at Ventura Boulevard. Turn left onto Campo de Cahuenga Way. Turn right at Ventura Boulevard. Turn right at Radford Avenue. The studio will be on your right.
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Map of Republic Studios (This map is the way the lot was in the mid to late 1950s) |
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:
"The Lost City" (Regal 1935) Directed by: Harry C. Revier. Cast: William (Stage) Boyd, Kane Richmond, Claudia Dell, Josef Swickard, George F. Hayes, Ralph Lewis, William Bletcher.
"Boots and Saddles" (Republic 1937) Directed by: Joe Kane. Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Judith Allen, Ra Hould, Guy Usher, Gordon Elliott, John Ward, Frankie Marvin, Chris Martin, Stanley Blystone, Bud Osborne.
"Thundering Trails" (Republic 1942) Directed by: John English. Cast: Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Jimmie Dodd, Nell O'Day, Sam Flint, Karl Hackett, Charles Miller, John Janes, Forrest Taylor, Edward Cassidy, Forbes Murray, Reed Howes, Bud Geary.
"Bandit King of Texas" (Republic 1949) Directed by: Fred C. Brannon. Cast: Allan "Rocky" Lane, Eddy Waller, Helene Stanley, Jim Nolan, Harry Lauter, Robert Bice, John Hamilton, Lane Bradford, George H. Lloyd, Steve Clark, I. Stanford Jolley, Danni Nolan, Richard Emory.
"Sands of Iwo Jima" (Republic 1949) Directed by: Allan Dwan. Cast: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker, Wally Cassell, James Brown, Richard Webb, Arthur Franz, Julie Bishop, James Holden, Peter Coe, Richard Jaeckel, Bill Murphy, George Tyne, Hal Fieberling, John McGuire, Martin Milner, Leonard Gumley, William Self.
"The Topeka Terror" (Republic 1954) Directed by: Howard Bretherton. Cast: Allan Lane, Linda Stirling, Earle Hodgins, Twinkle Watts, Roy Barcroft, Bud Geary, Tom London, Frank Jaquet, Jack Kirk, Eve Novak, Bob Wilke, Hank Bell.
"Panic in Year Zero" (American International 1962) Directed by: Ray Milland. Cast: Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel, Joan Freeman, Richard Bakalyan, Rex Holman, Richard Garland, Willis Buchet, Neil Nephew, O. Z. Whitehead, Russ Bender, Andrea Lane, Scott Peters.
