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I'm a little fuzzy on this one, so maybe someone else can add a few more pieces to the puzzle.

In 1926 and 1927 the West Coast Theatres chain was aquired by William Fox, the founder of Fox studios, and that company became Fox-West Coast Theatres. Fox's first large movie palace was the 6,000 seat Roxy in New York. He then set out to build many more huge theatres across America including the large and lavis Fox in San Francisco. After Fox's financial demise from the stock market crash, and after he was indicted for obstruction of justice for trying to bribe a federal judge he was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. He served six months.

I believe that the company that was organized to assume control of the former Fox empire was National Theatres headed by prominent showman Charles P. Skouras originally from St. Louis.

Eventually, the company was reorganized as National General Corporation which ran numberous divisions across the country such as Fox West Coast Theatres, National Theatres, Fox Evergreen Theatres, Fox Philadelphia Inc. and so on. There were numberous others.

In 1934 there was a National Theatres SYN. of Cali. with offices located at 25 Taylor Street in San Francisco. This company operated six theatres at that time in smaller cities and towns in california. Whether this company had anything to do with the National theatres that took control of the Fox empire, I do not know.

I looked through the Theatre Circuits section of the "1938-1939 International Motion Picture Almanac". The National Theatre Syndicate is listed at 25 Taylor Street, San Francisco, Cal. The following theatre circuits are also listed at 25 Taylor Street, San Francisco, Cal.: Blumenfeld Theatre Circuit, Joe Blumenfeld; Goldberg, Aaron, Theatres; Golden State Theatre & Realty Corp., R. A. McNeil; Midland Theatres, Geo. M. Mann; Nasser Bros. Theatres, William Nasser; San Francisco Theatres, Inc.; T. and D., Jr., Enterprises; and United California Theatres, Inc., R. A. McNeil. I also noticed the California Theatres Association, Inc., and the costume company Dance Art Shoe Co. at the same address.

The next almanac I have is the 1943-1944 edition. The National Theatre Syndicate and United California Theatres are not listed in the Theatre Circuits section. Blumenfeld, Goldberg, and Nasser are listed at the same address. Golden State Theatre & Realty Corp. moved to 995 Market Street and also operated San Francisco Theatres, Inc., and T & D, Jr., Enterprises. E. H. Emmick is president, R. A. McNeil is 1st vice president, and M. A. Naify is 2nd vice president of Golden State Theatre & Realty Corp. Midland Theatres is not listed but George M. Mann is listed as president of Redwood Theatres, Inc. Redwood also operated Midland Theatres Corp.; Noyo Theatres, Inc.; Trinity Theatres, Inc.; Vacaville Theatre Co., Inc.; Northwestern Theatres Co.; Plaza Theatre Co.; Modesto State Theatre, Inc.; Associated Theatrical Enterprises, Inc.; Marysville Theatre Co.; and Woodland Theatres Co.

In 1973 National General Corporation sold its remaining 266 theatres to Mann Theatres Corporation.

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1969 National General Theatre: The National General theatre circuit (formerly National Theatres which
had been divorced from Fox as part of the Paramount consent decree)

sought to extend the District Court's permission to engage in film production and distribution. The Court
reaffirmed the general principle of distributor-exhibitor divorcement but allowed National General to
continue producing and distributing its movies subject to two new prohibitions: (1) National General could
not show a preference for exhibiting its movies in its own theatres and (2) it had to keep records
explaining why its films were played in its own theatres instead of a competing theatre and why its
pictures played there instead of a feature of a competing distributor.