| Industry | Film studio |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with Metro Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures |
| Successor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Defunct | 1924 (merged with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions) |
| Headquarters | Fort Lee, New Jersey |
| Key people | Samuel Goldwyn |
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in 1916 by Samuel Goldfish in partnership with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn using an amalgamation of both last names to create the name. Seeing an opportunity, Samuel Goldfish then had his name legally changed to Samuel Goldwyn.
At the beginning, Goldwyn Pictures rented production facilities from Solax Studios when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey.[1][2][3] The studio proved moderately successful, but became most famous due to the Leo the Lion trademark.
Samuel Goldwyn was forced out by his partners who then brought in Lee Shubert, the head of The Shubert Organization that was the dominant live theatre operator in the United States. In 1924, Shubert sold Goldwyn Pictures to movie theater magnate Marcus Loew, who was looking for a way to ensure a steady supply of movies for his growing chain. Loew already owned Metro Pictures. He then bought Louis B. Mayer Pictures, and merged the three studios to form Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation.[4] In 1925, Mayer added his name to the studio's name, changing it to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Although Metro was the nominal survivor, the merged studio inherited Goldwyn's old facility in Culver City, California where it would remain until 1986. The merged studio also retained Goldwyn's Leo the Lion logo, which has become perhaps the most famous movie studio logo in the world.
Goldwyn went on to form Samuel Goldwyn Productions in 1923. He would become one of the most respected producers in the industry, but never had any tangible connection to MGM.