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National General Corporation (NGC) was a theater chain holding company,
film distribution Film distribution (also known as Film exhibition or Film distribution and exhibition) is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marke ...
and production company and was considered one of the "instant majors". It was in operation from 1951 to 1974.


Divisions

Its division National General Pictures (NGP) was a production company which was active between 1967 and
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
. NGP produced nine motion pictures in-house. The company was a division of the National General Corporation (NGC) which started as the spun out Fox Theatre chain of movie houses, which were later sold to the Mann Theatres Corporation. National General had its own record label, National General Records, that operated for at least three years and was distributed by
Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...
.


History

National General Corporation was a film distribution network and the successor of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
's theater division with 550 theaters when spun off in 1951 and reduced in half by court order six years later.Cook, p. 400. National General entered distribution in 1966 under a three-year waiver from the consent decreesCook, pp. 331-332. with six distribution offices.Cook, p. 333. In 1967, the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television network decided to produce their own films for theatrical release through their production unit Cinema Center Films, which were released through National General. National General also acquired Sy Weintraub's Banner Productions in 1967 which was producing
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
films and the
TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
. NGC had also entered theatrical film production under Charles Boasberg in 1967 as National General Pictures (NGP). The ABC television network had done the same thing with
Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporat ...
in the formation of another instant major partnership. In 1969, after a request for an indefinite waiver, the consent decree waiver was extended for another three years. NGC gained another production partner in 1969 with the formation of First Artists Productions (FAP). The company tried to acquire Warner Bros. in 1969, but the deal was rejected on antitrust grounds by the
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in ...
, and NGP was closed in 1970. By 1970, all the instant majors had each captured 10% of the market. Following Cinema Center's closure, NGC was taken over by American Financial Corporation in 1972, but continued distributing films until 1973. In November 1973, American Financial sold NGC/NGP's releasing contracts and film library to Warner Bros. National General, then just containing 240 theaters, were sold in 1973 to Mann Theatres.


Partial list of film titles


1960s


1970s


References

*Cook, David A. (2000)
Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979
University of California Press. {{Authority control 20th Century Studios Warner Bros. Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies established in 1951 Entertainment companies disestablished in 1974 1951 establishments in California 1974 disestablishments in California