Film Chest, is a privately held media company that specializes in the archiving, restoring, licensing and distribution of films. It is headquartered in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, Connecticut. Film Chest distributes consumer DVDs, and sells digital content via online outlets including Apple's iTunes Store,

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

, and

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

. It also licenses its movies to TV networks, including

American Movie Classics AMC (an abbreviation of the channel's original name, American Movie Classics) is an American basic cable television channel that is the flagship property of AMC Networks. Launched in late 1984, the channel aired classic films prior to the 197 ...

and

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

, and for use as stock footage. According to the company's website, it services "high-quality content for use in broadcast television, film projects, video streaming, distribution, public television, cable or other professional needs."

History

The company was founded in 2000 by partners Phil Hopkins and Ralph Stevens, and has since amassed one of the largest privately owned film libraries, containing approximately 2,000 film and TV titles. The titles comprise rare science-fiction, horror and action-adventure films (such as '' The Devil Bat''), cartoons, and Oscar-winning classics like Orson Welles’ '' The Stranger'', for which Film Chest completed the first-ever HD restoration. A recent Film Chest coup was finding the 1958 TV series “

Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''eenden kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to ...

,” starring cult actress

Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action and science-fiction movi ...

, that few people had ever heard of because it was such a rarity. Despite its obscurity, the show was a landmark on two counts. It was the first series centered on a female cop and the first TV show to be shot on the streets of New York City. In 2010, the company purchased a 45,000-foot warehouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where it plans to store and digitize film collections.Varnon, Rob - Stamford Advocate (August 18, 2010) “Film Vault Comes to Park City”
/ref> The company recently added a public component to its work with a retail store
The Archive
which sells Film Chest videos and other carefully curated titles, as well as hundreds of vinyl record rarities and a screening room. The store also stocks posters, T-shirts and movie ephemera.

Select titles

* '' The Bat'' * ''

The Brain That Wouldn't Die ''The Brain That Wouldn't Die'' (also known as ''The Head That Wouldn't Die'' or ''The Brain That Couldn't Die'') is a 1962 American Science fiction film, science fiction horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton ...

'' * ''

A Bucket of Blood ''A Bucket of Blood'' is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in the West Coast beatnik culture of the late 1950s. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days and sha ...

'' * '' Carnival Magic'' * ''Decoy'' * ''

Dementia 13 ''Dementia 13'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''The Haunted and the Hunted'') is a 1963 Horror film, horror Thriller (genre), thriller film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Wi ...

'' * ''

His Girl Friday ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper ...

'' * ''

Hollow Triumph ''Hollow Triumph'' (working title ''The Man Who Murdered Himself'', reissued in the United States as ''The Scar'') is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Steve Sekely starring Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett and Leslie Brooks. It was rele ...

'' * ''

House on Haunted Hill ''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig, and Elisha Cook Jr. Price play ...

'' * ''

Kansas City Confidential ''Kansas City Confidential'' is a 1952 American independent film, independently-made film noir and crime film directed by Phil Karlson starring John Payne (actor), John Payne and Coleen Gray. The film was released in the United Kingdom as ''The S ...

'' * ''Lancelot Link'' * '' The Last Time I Saw Paris'' * ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

'' * ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'' * ''

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Ste ...

'' * ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

– Murder At The Baskervilles'' * '' The Stranger'' * ''

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

- Disorder In The Court'' * ''

Till the Clouds Roll By ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker (actor, born 1918), Robert Walker. Kern was involved with the ...

References

External links

Film Chest official website
Entertainment companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States Conservation and restoration companies {{US-film-company-stub