Guide Note

Warner Brothers is one of the world's foremost and oldest producers of film, television, and music entertainment. Founded in 1923 by brothers Sam, Jack, Albert, and Harry Warner. The studio revolutionized the movie industry with the 1927 release of the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer. ¹

Fast Facts

1. Annual revenue: $43.6 Billion (2005)
2. Headquarters:Burbank, California
3. Parent company: Time Warner Inc.
4. President or CEO: Barry Meyer
5. Feature films in library: 6,650
6. Television titles: 40,000
7. Animated titles: 14,000

The Warner brothers did not begin producing films until 1918, but they had been distributing them for two decades prior to that, by traveling across Ohio and Pennsylvania exhibiting short silents such as The Great Train Robbery to audiences. When they realized they could make more by creating films, they moved to California and set up a small studio in Culver City. By 1928, the company had opened a large studio in Burbank where the headquarters remains to this day. Many of the best known actors in history were hired as "contract players" for the early Warner Brothers, including Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Errol Flynn. By the 1930s, Warner Brothers had branched into animated films, creating the legendary characters of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, among others, for its Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series.

Some of the greatest films of all time have been produced by Warner Brothers, including The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, A Streetcar Named Desire, Rebel Without a Cause, and My Fair Lady. With the advent of television, Warner Brothers entered the fledgling market and has since produced shows such as Dallas, The Waltons, and Murphy Brown.