Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc.
Company type	Public
Industry	Film; Television; Music
Genre	Entertainment
Predecessor	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.; Seven Arts Productions
Founded	July 15, 1967; 57 years ago
Defunct	December 16, 1969; 55 years ago
Fate	Acquired by Kinney National Services Inc. and rebranded as Warner Bros. Inc.
Successor	Warner Bros. Inc.
Headquarters	4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jack L. Warner; Kenneth Hyman
Parent	Kinney National Services Inc. (July–December 1969)
Subsidiaries	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Television; Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records; Atlantic Records; Seven Arts Productions; Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc. was an American entertainment company active from 1967 until 1969.

History

Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack L. Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures for $32 million in November 1966.^[3]^[4]^[5] The merger between the two companies was completed by July 15, 1967, and the combined company was named Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.

The acquisition included Warner Bros. Records (which was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records), and Reprise Records. Later that same year, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts purchased Atlantic Records. Those record labels were combined in 1971 with two other acquisitions (Elektra Records and its sister label Nonesuch Records) in a new holding company, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic, under the direction of Mo Ostin^[6] and Joe Smith.

The head of production was Kenneth Hyman, son of Seven Arts co-founder Eliot Hyman. The first film of production and distribution was Reflections in a Golden Eye. Cool Hand Luke was the final film produced by Warner Bros. Pictures before and after changing its name.

Acquisition by Kinney

On July 4, 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was acquired by Kinney National Company, and, in August that year, Ted Ashley became the chairman of the film studio. On December 16, 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was rebranded as Warner Bros. Inc.

The final film to be released under the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts name was Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, which was released in February 1970. The studio's next film, Woodstock, which was released in March, was credited as a Warner Bros. production, and this credit would be applied to all other productions from the studio afterward with Warner Bros. reestablished as a major film studio.

In September 1971, due to a financial scandal in its parking lot operation business,^[7] Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets as National Kinney Corporation, and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc. on February 10, 1972.

Filmography

The Shuttered Room (1967)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Camelot (1967)
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Wait Until Dark (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Cats (1968)
Firecreek (1968)
Countdown (1968)
Norman Normal (1968); produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation
Bye Bye Braverman (1968)
Kona Coast (1968)
Chubasco (1968)
Petulia (1968)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
The Green Berets (1968)
Assignment to Kill (1968)
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968)
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
Sweet November (1968)
The Sea Gull (1968)
The Sergeant (1968)
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968); with Hammer Films
The Picasso Summer (1969)
The Big Bounce (1969)
2000 Years Later (1969)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Learning Tree (1969)
The Rain People (1969)
The Valley of Gwangi (1969); with Hammer Films
The Great Bank Robbery (1969)
Moon Zero Two (1969); with Hammer Films
Once You Kiss a Stranger (1969)
The Sweet Body of Deborah (1969)
The Arrangement (1969)
Jeff (1969); with Alain Delon's Adel Productions
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts (1967–69); produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970); with David Paradine Productions and London Weekend Television
Crescendo (1970)
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)
Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1970); with Hammer Films

References

^ "Amended Proposed Decision" (PDF). www.justice.gov. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
^ Newspaper.com (16 December 1969). "Warner Bros. Drops Name of Seven Arts". Valley Times. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
^ Warner Sperling, Cass (Director) (2008). The Brothers Warner (DVD film documentary). Warner Sisters, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016.
^ "Company History". warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
^ "Warner Brothers Records Story". bsnpubs.com. 23 April 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
^ "Mo Ostin Biography". rockhall.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
^ "List of corporate scandals". Financial Analyses. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2015.