RKO Pictures (also known as RKO Productions, Radio Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio Pictures) is an American film production and distribution company. The original company produced films from 1929 through 1957, with releases extending until its dissolution in 1959. On October 23, 1928, RCA announced that it had acquired control of the Film Booking Offices of America studio and Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and was merging them under a holding company, Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. Its new production arm was incorporated as RKO Productions Inc. on January 25, 1929. While RKO Distributing Corp. was originally organized as a distinct business entity, by July 1930 the studio was transitioning into the new, unified RKO Radio Pictures Inc. In December, RKO announced that it would be acquiring Pathé Exchange, including its studio and backlot in Culver City, film laboratories in New Jersey, distribution exchanges in the United States and Great Britain, and the Pathé News operation. In 1931–32, RKO Pathé operated as a semiautonomous division of RKO Pictures.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywood's Golden Age, RKO was one of the Big Five studios. Its lineup of acting talent during this period included Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Robert Mitchum. Among the studio's most notable films are Cimarron (winner of the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture), King Kong (1933), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946—the studio's only other Academy Award for Best Picture), and what some people consider the greatest film of all time, 1941's Citizen Kane.
The studio declined after Howard Hughes acquired ownership in 1948, and it was sold to the General Tire and Rubber Company in 1955. After several years of attempting to save the company, in January 1957, General Tire reached an agreement with Universal Pictures, where Universal would distribute the remaining RKO product, but the agreement effectively ended all film production at RKO. In 1959, General Tire put all of its non-core operations in a holding company, RKO General, which in 1978 reconstituted RKO Pictures Inc. as a production subsidiary, although the new company did not release its first film until 1981. General Tire sold RKO Pictures in 1989, at which point it began operating under new management as a small independent film company, RKO Pictures LLC.
RKO Pictures was sold off to Concord's film and TV division in 2025 alongside the derivative rights to more than 5,000 titles. It will continue to operate as its own imprint under Concord Originals.
All release dates are from the AFI Database, except as follows: those designated with an (*) are from imdb.com, and those designated with a (**) are from Theiapolis.com; other sources are noted with footnotes. The date listed is the earliest date, whether that be the premiere or the general release date. The order is according to release dates in the United States.
Note: All films released by the original incarnation of RKO are now owned by Warner Bros. through Turner Entertainment Co. unless otherwise noted.
1929 RKO's first year of production resulted in the release of 13 films, highlighted by Syncopation, The Vagabond Lover, and Rio Rita. Two previous films titled Come and Get It (February 3, 1929) and The Drifter (February 8, 1929) were listed by AFI as RKO productions, but the copyright claimant is RKO's precursor, F.B.O. Productions, Inc.
Release dateFilmNotes/References March 24, 1929 Syncopation First film released by RKO, but second produced July 30, 1929 Street Girl First film produced by RKO; premiered in New York City with wide release on August 21, 1929 August 10, 1929 Half Marriage Premiered in New York City, wide release on October 13, 1929 August 24, 1929 Premiered in New York City, wide release on September 15, 1929 September 8, 1929 Side Street September 15, 1929 Rio Rita With Technicolor sequences September 22, 1929 October 27, 1929 Night Parade October 30, 1929 Jazz Heaven Premiered in New York City, wide release on November 3, 1929 November 10, 1929 Tanned Legs November 26, 1929 First talking film for Rudy Vallee; premiered in New York City, wide release on December 1, 1929 December 14, 1929 Dance Hall Premiered in New York City, wide release December 27, 1929 December 25, 1929 Seven Keys to Baldpate Premiered in New York City, wide release on January 12, 1930
The 1930s The first full decade for the fledgling film studio was a mixture of large successes and deep instability, as the studio went through numerous management changes. The studio produced many classic films, such as Gunga Din, Cimarron (the first Western film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and only one of two RKO films to win that award), King Kong, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Top Hat, The Three Musketeers, Bringing Up Baby and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. During this decade, the studio owned the contracts of such notable talents as Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Mary Astor, Joel McCrea and Joan Fontaine, as well as off-screen talent such as Irving Berlin and John Ford. A major accomplishment for the studio came when they signed an exclusive distribution deal with Walt Disney Productions.
1930 The studio released 29 films that year, although there were no major critical or financial hits.
Release dateFilmNotes January 5, 1930 Love Comes Along January 14, 1930 Hit the Deck With Technicolor sequences; premiered in New York, wide release on February 23, 1930 February 2, 1930 Girl of the Port February 9, 1930 Second Wife February 23, 1930 Oscar nomination for Best Sound Recording March 2, 1930 Beau Bandit March 16, 1930 Framed March 21, 1930 Lovin' the Ladies Premiered in New York City, wide release April 6, 1930 April 11, 1930 Alias French Gertie Premiered in New York City, wide release April 20, 1930 April 18, 1930 He Knew Women Premiered in New York City, wide release May 18, 1930 April 25, 1930 Premiered in New York City, wide release May 4, 1930 May 4, 1930 May 30, 1930 Midnight Mystery Premiered in New York City, wide release May 1, 1930 June 15, 1930 June 20, 1930 She's My Weakness Premiered in New York City, wide release August 1, 1930 July 5, 1930 Inside the Lines July 11, 1930 Lawful Larceny Premiered in New York City, wide release August 17, 1930 July 20, 1930 Shooting Straight August 1, 1930 Dixiana With Technicolor sequences; currently in the public domain August 10, 1930 Conspiracy September 1, 1930* Escape September 12, 1930 Leathernecking With Technicolor sequences; premiered in New York City, wide release September 22, 1930 October 4, 1930 Half Shot at Sunrise October 15, 1930 October 24, 1930 Premiered in New York City, wide release on October 25, 1930 October 25, 1930 Check and Double Check November 10, 1930 Sin Takes a Holiday Produced by Pathé; might have been released on November 20, 1930 November 15, 1930 Danger Lights Premiered Chicago, wide release December 12, 1930 December 24, 1930 Hook, Line and Sinker Premiered in New York City, wide release on December 26, 1930
1931 RKO acquired Pathé in January, and released films under both the RKO and RKO Pathé labels. Combined, the studio would release 50 films during the year; its film Cimarron won the Best Picture Oscar. By the end of the year, David O. Selznick took over as the head of production for the studio.
Release dateFilmNotes/References January 15, 1931 January 16, 1931 Beau Ideal Premiered in New York City, wide release January 25, 1931 January 18, 1931 First talking film for Clark Gable January 26, 1931 Cimarron Academy Award for Best Picture, the first for a Western film; premiered in New York City, wide release February 9, 1931 February 6, 1931 Millie Premiered in New York City, wide release February 8, 1931 February 22, 1931 Lonely Wives February 22, 1931 Kept Husbands March 8, 1931 March 15, 1931 Behind Office Doors March 15, 1931** March 27, 1931 Laugh and Get Rich Premiered in New York City, wide release April 20, 1931 April 1, 1931 Aka Birds of Prey April 4, 1931 Cracked Nuts Premiered in New York City, wide release April 19, 1931 April 12, 1931 Beyond Victory April 15, 1931 Bachelor Apartment April 17, 1931 Born to Love April 18, 1931 May 22, 1931 Everything's Rosie Premiered in New York City, wide release June 13, 1931 May 23, 1931 Young Donovan's Kid Premiered in New York City, wide release June 6, 1931 June 6, 1931 White Shoulders June 12, 1931 Transgression Premiered in New York City, wide release June 27, 1931 June 25, 1931 Sweepstakes Premiered in New York City, wide release July 10, 1931 July 3, 1931 Three Who Loved July 8, 1931 Premiered in New York City, wide release August 7, 1931 July 17, 1931 Premiered in New York City, wide release July 24, 1931 July 18, 1931 Too Many Cooks July 31, 1931 Premiered in New York City, wide release August 1, 1931 August 3, 1931* August 7, 1931 Traveling Husbands Premiered in New York City, wide release August 15, 1931 August 7, 1931 First all-Technicolor RKO production; premiered in New York City, wide release August 22, 1931 August 18, 1931 High Stakes August 22, 1931 August 28, 1931 Rebound Premiered in New York City, wide release September 18, 1931 September 4, 1931 September 5, 1931 Caught Plastered September 11, 1931 Sundown Trail September 12, 1931 Smart Woman September 25, 1931 Devotion October 2, 1931 Bad Company October 3, 1931 Friends and Lovers October 10, 1931 Fanny Foley Herself Second all-Technicolor RKO production October 15, 1931 Consolation Marriage Premiered Hollywood, CA; wide release November 21, 1931 October 16, 1931 October 30, 1931 Freighters of Destiny November 13, 1931 Are These Our Children Premiered in New York City, wide release November 14, 1931 November 13, 1931 Way Back Home November 14, 1931 Secret Service November 20, 1931 Suicide Fleet December 18, 1931 December 25, 1931 Peach O'Reno Aka Peach-O-Reno
1932 46 films were produced and released by RKO during the year. Although Selznick was successful in signing major talent like Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn and George Cukor, financially, it was one of the worst years for the studio, as it was for many other studios as the Great Depression deepened. The RKO Pathé label was completely abandoned during this year.
Release dateFilmNotes/References January 1, 1932 First talking film for Pola Negri January 8, 1932 Men of Chance Released in January, after premiering in NYC on December 26, 1931 January 8, 1932 Partners January 15, 1932 Girl of the Rio January 19, 1932 Panama Flo January 22, 1932 Prestige February 5, 1932 Ladies of the Jury February 19, 1932 Lady with a Past March 10, 1932 March 19, 1932 March 19, 1932 Carnival Boat March 27, 1932 Girl Crazy March 29, 1932 Distribution only, produced by Super-Film GmbH April 8, 1932 Young Bride April 8, 1932 Aka Sunshine Susie; distribution only April 14, 1932 Symphony of Six Million April 28, 1932 May 5, 1932 State's Attorney May 13, 1932 Ghost Valley May 27, 1932 Westward Passage June 17, 1932 Is My Face Red? June 24, 1932 What Price Hollywood? July 8, 1932 Beyond the Rockies July 8, 1932 Roar of the Dragon August 12, 1932 Bird of Paradise Currently in the public domain August 19, 1932 August 19, 1932 Bring 'Em Back Alive September 9, 1932 September 16, 1932 Hold 'Em Jail September 16, 1932 Thirteen Women September 23, 1932 Hell's Highway September 23, 1932 Come On Danger! September 30, 1932 October 7, 1932 Strange Justice October 14, 1932 November 4, 1932 Little Orphan AnnieOwned by Sony Pictures (via Columbia Pictures) November 11, 1932 November 18, 1932 Men Are Such Fools November 18, 1932 November 25, 1932 Renegades of the West November 25, 1932 Rockabye November 25, 1932 Men of America December 2, 1932 Secrets of the French Police December 9, 1932 December 16, 1932 December 23, 1932 Currently in the public domain
1933