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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cinema Television |
| Founded | July 23, 1914; 111 years ago (1914-07-23) |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 1961; 64 years ago (1961) |
| Fate | Absorbed intoHalcyon Studios |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | TV shows Theatrical feature films TV movies Theatrical short films |
| Parent | Scranton Lace Company (1958-1960) Quintex Australia Ltd./RHI Entertainment/Hallmark Entertainment/Sonar Entertainment/Halcyon Studios (1988-2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Hal Roach Television Corporation |
Hal Roach Studios was an Americanmotion picture and, through its TV production subsidiary,Hal Roach Television Corporation,television production studio. Known asThe Laugh Factory to the World, it was founded by producerHal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as theRolin Film Company on July 23, 1914.[1][2] The studio lot, at 8822 Washington Boulevard inCulver City,California,United States, was built in 1920, at which time Rolin was renamed toHal E. Roach Studios. The first series in Hal Roach Studios were theWillie Work comedies, with first short beingWillie Runs the Park.
Roach saw significant success in the 1920s with series ofshort comedy films featuring stars such asHarold Lloyd,Snub Pollard, and theOur Gang kids.[2] The studio produced both short films and features for distribution throughPathé Exchange until 1927, when it signed a new distribution deal withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[3] By the early 1930s, the studio had entered a golden age, with a line-up of many of film's most popular comedians, includingLaurel and Hardy,Charley Chase,Our Gang,Thelma Todd, andZasu Pitts.[2]
As movie theaters began to favordouble features over single-feature programs with added short films—Roach's specialty—the studio's focus shifted from shorts to features, such asTopper and Laurel and Hardy'sWay Out West (both 1937).[4][5]
In 1938, the studios began distributing its titles throughUnited Artists, selling theOur Gang short film unit to MGM.[2]
In the early 1940s, Roach began producing "streamliner" features—shorter films running 40–50 minutes, intended for exhibition asB movies.[6]
From 1942 to 1945, the studio was leased to theFirst Motion Picture Unit for the production of training and propaganda films, primarily for the Army Air Forces.[7] The studio was nicknamed "Fort Hal Roach".[8][5]
From 1943, Roach licensed revivals of his sound-era productions for theatrical and home-movie distribution.[9]
Following the War, Roach became the first Hollywood producer to go to an all-color production schedule, making four streamliners inCinecolor.[9]
With the television boom of the late 1940s, Roach shifted to TV production withHal Roach Television Corporation and producedFireside Theatre,Amos 'n' Andy,The Public Defender,The Life of Riley andThe Stu Erwin Show.[2]
In April 1959, the studio was closed due to bankruptcy under the management of Roach's son Hal Roach Jr.[10] Hal Sr. returned to try to resurrect it; but by December 1962, the lot was permanently closed.[10] In August 1963, the lot was demolished after several auctions and sales of the company's assets.[10]
Hal Roach Jr. died ofpneumonia in 1972. Hal Sr. sold his interest in Hal Roach Studios to a Canadian investment group in 1971; he died in 1992.[10] As a corporate entity, Hal Roach Studios survived into the 1980s, managing the rights to its catalog, primarily the Laurel and Hardy films, and sporadic new productions such asKids Incorporated.[11]
It also became a pioneer in digitalfilm colorization, purchasing a 50% interest in pioneering company Colorization, Inc.[12]
Through Colorization, Inc., Hal Roach Studios produced colorized versions of classic black-and-white Roach films, beginning withTopper andWay Out West, and became the first studio to distribute colorized films in 1985.[13][14][15] Roach's Colorization, Inc. colorized films from other studios as well.[10] On July 17, 1986, Hal Roach Studios inked an agreement with film production companyOtto Preminger Films to colorize four black-and-white Otto Preminger movies for television syndication.[16]
On August 8, 1986, Hal Roach Studios and Robert Halmi, Inc. partnered with book publisher Grolier to set up a home video arm, Grolier Home Video, to produce adaptations of Grolier's book properties.[17] In 1986, the company made an offer to buyRastar Productions, but it was turned down in 1987.[18][19]
The company was gradually acquired from 1985 to 1988 byRHI Entertainment (now part ofChicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment).[20][21][22] The company had completed the merger by 1987. Australian financial companyQintex joined the board, a prelude to their full takeover of the company by 1988.[23][24]
It seems fitting thatTopper should again be on the cutting edge of change, this time heralding the age of Colorization as the first completed Color version of a classic black and white motion picture.
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