Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) was an Americanfilm distribution company which distributed 60 films in the United States between 1952 and 1959.
It was a subsidiary of theWalter Reade Organisation, a British-based firm catering toart houses. The American counterpart DCA initially followed Reade's British policy, issuing or reissuing specialized "prestige" pictures, among themThe Wages of Fear (1953),Animal Farm (1954), andI Am a Camera (1955), starringJulie Harris andLaurence Harvey; the latter film ran into censorship from theProduction Code because of the original script's treatment of abortion. DCA also handled re-releases, like the 1956 revivals ofThe Naked City (1948) andBrute Force (1947), both produced byMark Hellinger and directed byJules Dassin.
DCA's biggest hit wasRobert Youngson's compilation of silent comedies,The Golden Age of Comedy (1958). Originally intended for novelty playdates on the art-house circuit, the film became a blockbuster, endorsed on network television by popular personalitiesSteve Allen andJack Paar. DCA scrapped its original ad campaign and created a new series of promotions capitalizing on the critical and popular success of the film's initial engagements.[1]
DCA then specialized inexploitation quickies for theaters and drive-ins. Many of these were European imports. The first to capitalize on the new science-fiction trend wasRodan (1956). The company them began accepting low-budget thrillers from American producers, likeMonster From Green Hell (1957). In 1958 the company releasedPlan 9 from Outer Space,Half Human,The Strange World of Planet X, andThe Crawling Eye. Some of these were combined on double-feature programs with British features handled by Walter Reade, such asTime Lock (1957) andDevil Girl from Mars (1954).[2]
Veteran producerHal Roach had observed the success ofThe Golden Age of Comedy, in which many of his own films were featured. Roach took over DCA in late 1958, with company president Fred Schwartz remaining with the firm.[3] In 1960 the company was reorganized as Valiant Pictures.[4]
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