Rko

RKO, short for Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, was an American entertainment company that operated as a major film production and distribution studio in Hollywood. It originated in 1928 through the merger of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum vaudeville circuit with the Radio Corporation of America, forming Radio-Keith-Orpheum and its film arm, RKO Radio Pictures.

As one of the era's Big Five studios, RKO produced and released a wide range of films from the 1930s through the 1950s. Notable titles include King Kong (1933), the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals such as Top Hat (1935) and Bringing Up Baby (1938), the breakthrough drama Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welles, and the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). The studio helped launch and sustain prominent stars and directors and contributed to developments in sound, special effects, and narrative style.

In the late 1940s, the studio's fortunes declined. Howard Hughes acquired a controlling interest in RKO in 1948 and attempted to reorganize its operations. By the end of the 1950s, RKO ceased producing films and gradually divested its assets; the studio structure dissolved, though some distribution and library rights persisted under various owners. The RKO Pictures name persisted in branding and licensing but no longer functioned as an independent major studio.

Legacy and ownership of the RKO library have passed through several companies, with many of its titles retained and reissued by later distributors. The studio is remembered for its impact on classic Hollywood cinema, its distinctive slate of innovations, and its role in several landmark films.