Larry Darmour | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lawrence J. Darmour January 8, 1895 Flushing, New York, United States |
| Died | March 17, 1942 (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1916-1942 |
Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator ofLarry Darmour Productions from 1926, and a significant figure in Hollywood's low-budget production community.
Darmour was born inFlushing, Queens, New York. After completing his education atPrinceton University, he entered the motion picture industry as a film inspector for the Gaumont company. Within the year he was a newsreel cameraman, offering his footage to both the Gaumont and the Mutual weekly newsreels. He enlisted in the U. S. Army duringWorld War I and served in the Signal Corps as a cameraman. He had the distinction of being the first American soldier on the battlefield atChateau-Thierry; he had been taking a stroll along the front the night before the Allied forces were scheduled to attack. He awoke to find himself in the middle of a barrage, the only soldier on the field.[1]
After the war he resumed his work in newsreels.[2] He joinedLewis J. Selznick's company as editor of its newsreel, and was promoted to vice president of Selznick's distributing arm.
In 1925 Darmour organized Standard Cinema Corporation, best known today for releasing short comedies produced byJoe Rock and starringStan Laurel. The following year, Darmour opened his own studio at 5823 Santa Monica Boulevard inLos Angeles.
In September 1927 he produced the first of theMickey McGuire series of short subjects, based on theFontaine Fox comic strip and starring a youngMickey Rooney. The series ran for seven years, encompassing some 60 two-reel comedies between 1927 and 1934. They were released throughJoseph P. Kennedy'sFBO, and then FBO's successorRKO Radio Pictures. Rooney's popularity prompted Darmour to expand his line of comedy shorts, including theToots and Casper series withThelma Hill andBud Duncan, and star vehicles forKarl Dane &George K. Arthur,Alberta Vaughn,Louise Fazenda, and others.
Entering the feature-film market in 1931, Larry Darmour foundedMajestic Pictures, with himself as company president.[3] The company's first feature wasSea Devils (1931), starringMolly O'Day. Majestic began producing a stream of dramas and thrillers for small neighborhood theaters. Darmour gave these films higher production values than the usual independent features, with expensive-looking sets (often rented from larger studios) and big-name casts familiar from major motion pictures. Majestic's most famous feature is probablyThe Vampire Bat (1933), a horror thriller starringLionel Atwill,Fay Wray,Melvyn Douglas,Dwight Frye, andGeorge E. Stone. Majestic ceased operations in 1935 when film executiveHerbert J. Yates consolidated several smaller studios into the newRepublic Pictures.[4] Larry Darmour withdrew from Republic and arranged to release his films throughColumbia Pictures.
Darmour produced dozens of action and western features for Columbia. In 1937 he took over Columbia's popularJack Holt series, and signedKen Maynard for a series of westerns. He also produced Columbia's "Ranger" westerns withBob Allen and a companion series of westerns withBill Elliott. Larry Darmour's name doesn't appear on his Columbia productions -- this was company policy at Columbia, where staff producers likeJack Fier often worked without screen credit.
In 1940 Darmour was entrusted with production of Columbia's serials. Darmour, already very busy with feature films, placed serial veteran and comedy directorJames W. Horne in complete charge of the serial unit. Horne freely indulged his sense of humor in such serials asThe Green Archer,Terry and the Pirates, andHolt of the Secret Service (Holt's last film for Darmour, and only serial). Horne's serials combine action and adventure with tongue-in-cheek comedy.
Darmour was also assigned Columbia'sEllery Queen series of detective-mystery features, which he produced through 1942.
Larry Darmour underwent an abdominal operation in late 1941 and never recovered; he died three months later.[5] His production units became the responsibility of Columbia staff producer Rudolph C. Flothow. The Majestic physical plant, known informally as "the Darmour studio," continued to operate as the Larry Darmour Studio after his death, and closed its doors in 1949.
In addition to numerous shorts and serials, Darmour produced the following feature films:
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