First National
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- For the defunct Canadian television newscast, see First National (television show).
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The First National Exhibitors' Circuit was founded in 1917 by the merger of 26 of the biggest First Run cinema chains in the United States of America, eventually controlling over 600 cinemas, more than 200 of them so-called "first run" houses (as opposed to the "second run" neighborhood theaters to which films moved when their first run boxoffice receipts dwindled).
First National was the brainchild of Thomas L. Tally, who was reaction to the overwhelming influence of Paramount Pictures, which dominated the market. In 1912, he thought that a conglomorate of theaters throughout the nation could buy and/or produce and distribute their own films. Tally was soon partnered with West Virginian John D. Williams, and they formed First National Exhibitors Circuit.
Between 1917 and 1918, they made contracts with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, the first million-dollar deals in the history of film.
Paramount was threatened by First National's financial power and its control over the lucrative first run theaters and decided to enter the cinema business as well. With a $10 million dollar investment, they built their own chain of first run houses after a secret plan to merge with First National failed. Ironically, this led to the foundation of United Artists by Douglas Fairbanks, Pickford and Chaplin, and to the loss of First National's biggest stars.
In the early twenties, Paramount attempted a hostile takeover, buying several of First National's member firms. First National built its massive studio lot in Burbank in 1926. With the success of The Jazz Singer, the company was purchased by Warner Bros. in September 1928. For decades afterwards, most Warner Bros. films bore the words "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture."
In 2002, Warner Bros. sold the name's rights to Ryan Kugler of Distribution Video & Audio (DV&A), a company specializing in acquiring excess inventory and close-out properties. The resurrected First National Pictures name will be used to brand no-frills digital releases of children's, documentary, and special interest titles.
