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The Great Train Robbery
The brothers began in the film business as traveling exhibitors, moving throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania with their portable projector. One of the first pictures they showed was Edwin S. Porter’s “The Great Train Robbery,” the first motion picture to tell a definite story. -
Duquesne Amusement & Supply
Warner brothers founded the Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company in Pittsburgh to distribute films. -
Cascade Theatre
With the money Harry Warner made from selling his bicycle shop and the money Abe and Sam had saved up, they were able to purchase a building in New Castle Pennsylvania. A converted store in which they turned into a theatre, which they called The Cascade Theatre -
Duquesne Film Exchange
Warner Brothers had acquired 200 film titles, distributing throughout western Pennsylvania as the Duquesne Film Exchange, later opening exchanges in Norfolk, Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia. Warner Brothers subsequently moved to California to start producing films, establishing a small production base at 18th St. and Main St. in Culver City, California. -
My Four Years in Germany
First film produced by the four Warner Brothers. It was their first nationally syndicated film as well. -
Warner Bros Incorporates
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Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin was a dog adopted from a WWI battlefield that went on to star in twenty-three Hollywood films. Rin Tin Tin was much sought after and was signed for endorsement deals. He was featured in ads for Ken-L Ration, Ken-L-Biskit, and Pup-E-Crumbles. Credited for saving Warner Bros. from bankruptcy. (Audrey Ferris & Rin Tin TIn) -
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer became the the first feature film originally presented as a Talkie. It was a major hit, it was made with Vitaphone, the leading brand of sound-on-disc technology. -
Burbank Studios
The brothers bought The Stanley Company of America for its theatre chain, which included one-third ownership of First National Pictures. Later that year, they purchased the rest of First National, acquiring a newly built studio in Burbank (in California’s San Fernando Valley, which today remains the home of Warner Bros. Studios) -
The Beginning of the Gangster Era
First gangster movie out of a string of box office hits. It tells the story of a hoodlum who ascends the ranks of organized crime until he reaches its upper echelons. Started the gangster era of film. -
WW2 Propaganda
World War 2 Propaganda Prior to the United States entering World War II, the head of Warner Bros. sales in Germany, Philip Kauffman, was murdered by the Nazis in Berlin in 1936. Consequently, Harry Warner produced the successful anti-German film The Life of Emile Zola (1937). After that, Harry supervised the production of several more anti-German films. -
Warner's First Oscar
“The Life of Emile Zola” wins Warner Bros. its first best picture Oscar -
Looney Tunes
Warner Bros bought Leon Schlesinger's cartoon unit in 1944 as a division, renamed it as Warner Bros. Cartoons. -
Hollywood Black Friday
Hollywood Black Friday or “Bloody Friday” a six-month strike by the set decorators represented by the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) boiled over into a bloody riot at the gates of Warner Brothers' studios -
SAG Labor Strike
After Warner’s refusal to meet Screen Actors Guild salary demands, employees engaged in a month-long strike. -
Jack Warner's Congress Testimony
Jack Warner goes before Congress about Mission to Moscow and accused multiple employees of ties to Communists. -
Taft-Hartley Act
The “Bloody Friday” labor strikes led to the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act. The Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions. -
Antitrust Conspiracy
Harry Warner and six other movie studio figures were caught in a conspiracy in violating the Sherman Antitrust Act which prohibits certain business activities that reduce the marketplace through an attempt to gain a monopoly. -
Warner's Entry into Television
The Warner Bros. Television story began in 1955 when the venerable Warner Bros. film studio made a bold move into what was then a fledgling new arena—television—with the debut of the western adventure “Cheyenne.” -
Harry Warner Death
Harry Warner died peacefully at home. -
Reprise Records
Frank Sinatra sells control of his Reprise Records to Warner Bros. Records -
Ashley Famous Agency
Steve Ross purchased Ted Ashley’s talent agency, -
Warner Bros. - Seven Arts
An aging Jack Warner sold the Studio to Elliot and Ken Hyman, and it was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. In November of the same year, Albert Warner died at the age of 83. -
DC Comics
Ross purchased DC Comics (and its classic characters) -
Warner Communications Inc.
Ross and his Kinney Corporation purchased the company, and it became Warner Communications, Inc. -
Ted Ashley
Ted Ashley is put in charge of Warner Bros. movie studios. (Ted Ashley, Jack Warner, Courtenay Valenti) -
Turner Communications Group
Ted Turner buys Atlanta UHF TV station WJRJ and relaunches it as WTCG (Turner Communications Group). -
Warner Communications
Kinney changes the name of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts to Warner Communications. With Ross serving as CEO, president and chairman, the company grows into a media powerhouse. -
Jack Warner Death
Jack Warner died—the same year that the studio he had co-founded showed record profits. -
Theatre Expansion
Warner Bros. initiated its strategy of growing a market for its films by building state-of-the-art multiplex theatres in underserved territories overseas, operating them until they are mature businesses and then moving onto new frontiers. The first of these ventures was in Australia. -
Time Warner Inc.
Warner Communications Inc. and Time Inc merge to form Time Warner, Inc., one of the world’s largest communications and entertainment companies. -
SEC Troubles
SEC began probing the accounting practices of the world’s largest media company at the time WB. This caused a four year low for the company’s stock as investors fled amidst investigations. -
Big Scores
Warner Bros. Pictures’ domestic and international divisions each had their sixth consecutive billion-dollar-plus years at the box office -
CEO Troubles
CEO Kevin Tsujihara caught in a sex scandal and resigns as a result.
