Editing Columbia Pictures (section)

===1940s===
[[File:The end card of a Colour Rhapsody cartoon with cue mark, circa 1939 (Commons).png|thumb|285x285px|The logo that Columbia used starting in 1936 and ending in 1976; this version was used on the ''Color Rhapsody'' cartoons.]]
In the 1940s, propelled in part by the surge in audiences for their films during [[World War II]], the studio also benefited from the popularity of its biggest star, [[Rita Hayworth]]. Columbia maintained a long list of contractees well into the 1950s; [[Glenn Ford]], [[Penny Singleton]], [[William Holden]], [[Judy Holliday]], [[The Three Stooges]], [[Ann Miller]], [[Evelyn Keyes]], [[Ann Doran]], [[Jack Lemmon]], [[Cleo Moore]], [[Barbara Hale]], [[Adele Jergens]], [[Larry Parks]], [[Arthur Lake (actor)|Arthur Lake]], [[Lucille Ball]], [[Kerwin Mathews]] and [[Kim Novak]].

Harry Cohn monitored the budgets of his films, and the studio got the maximum use out of costly sets, costumes, and props by reusing them in other films. Many of Columbia's low-budget [[B movie|"B" pictures]] and short subjects have an expensive look, thanks to Columbia's efficient recycling policy. Cohn was reluctant to spend lavish sums on even his most important pictures, and it was not until 1943 that he agreed to use three-strip [[Technicolor]] in a live-action feature. Columbia was the last major studio to employ the expensive color process. Columbia's first Technicolor feature was the western ''[[The Desperadoes]]'', starring [[Randolph Scott]] and [[Glenn Ford]]. Cohn quickly used Technicolor again for ''[[Cover Girl (film)|Cover Girl]]'', a Hayworth vehicle that instantly was a smash hit, released in 1944, and for the fanciful biography of [[Frédéric Chopin]], ''[[A Song to Remember]]'', with [[Cornel Wilde]], released in 1945. Another biopic, 1946's ''[[The Jolson Story]]'' with [[Larry Parks]] and [[Evelyn Keyes]], was started in black-and-white, but when Cohn saw how well the project was proceeding, he scrapped the footage and insisted on filming in Technicolor.

In 1948, the ''[[United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.]]'' [[Competition law|anti-trust]] decision forced Hollywood motion picture companies to divest themselves of the theater chains that they owned. Since Columbia did not own any theaters, it was now on equal terms with the largest studios. The studio soon replaced [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] on the list of the "Big Five" studios.

====Screen Gems====
[[File:Screen Gems (1965) Logo.svg|thumb|left|Screen Gems' final logo, used from 1965 to 1974]]
In 1946, Columbia dropped the [[Screen Gems#Animation studio (1921–49)|Screen Gems]] brand from its cartoon line, but retained the Screen Gems name for various ancillary activities, including a 16&nbsp;mm film-rental agency and a TV-commercial production company. On November 8, 1948, Columbia adopted the [[Screen Gems#Television subsidiary (1948–1974)|Screen Gems name for its television production subsidiary]] when the studio acquired Pioneer Telefilms, a television commercial company founded by Jack Cohn's son, Ralph.<ref name="broadcasting19590413">{{cite magazine|date=April 13, 1959|title=SCREEN GEMS HAS NEW IRON IN FIRE|magazine=Broadcasting|page=70}}</ref> Pioneer had been founded in 1947, and was later reorganized as Screen Gems.<ref name="broadcasting19590413" /> The studio opened its doors for business in New York on April 15, 1949.<ref name="broadcasting19590413" /> By 1951, Screen Gems became a full-fledged television studio and became a major producer of [[Sitcom|sitcoms]] for TV, beginning with ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' and followed by ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', ''[[The Partridge Family]]'', ''[[Bewitched]]'', ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', and ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]''.

On July 1, 1956, studio veteran Irving Briskin stepped down as manager of Columbia Pictures and formed his own production company Briskin Productions, Inc. to release series through Screen Gems and supervise all of its productions.<ref name="broadcasting19560611">{{cite magazine|date=June 11, 1956|title=Briskin to Form Company |magazine=Broadcasting|page=52}}</ref> On December 10, Screen Gems expanded into [[Broadcast syndication|television syndication]] by acquiring Hygo Television Films (a.k.a. "Serials Inc.") and its affiliated company United Television Films, Inc. Hygo Television Films was founded in 1951 by Jerome Hyams, who also acquired United Television Films in 1955 that was founded by Archie Mayers.<ref name="broadcasting19561210">{{cite magazine|date=December 10, 1956|title=SCREEN GEMS BUYS HYGO, UNITED, SETS UP TV OWNERSHIP DIVISION|magazine=Broadcasting|page=60}}</ref>

In 1957, two years before its parent company Columbia dropped UPA, Screen Gems entered a distribution deal with [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]], which produced classic animated series such as ''[[The Flintstones]]'', ''[[The Quick Draw McGraw Show]]'', ''[[The Huckleberry Hound Show]]'', ''[[The Yogi Bear Show]]'', ''[[Jonny Quest (TV series)|Jonny Quest]]'', ''[[The Jetsons]]'' and ''[[Top Cat]]'' among others. Screen Gems distributed the company's shows until 1967, when Hanna-Barbera was sold to [[Taft Broadcasting]]. In 1960, the animation studio became a publicly traded company under the name Screen Gems, Inc., when Columbia spun off an 18% stake.