 | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931; 94 years ago (1931) (original) 1946; 79 years ago (1946) (as a predecessor-in-interest to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation) |
| Founders | W. Ray Johnston Trem Carr |
| Defunct | 1953; 72 years ago (1953) (original) 1979; 46 years ago (1979) (as Allied Artists Pictures Corporation) |
| Fate | Film and music rights vested inAllied Artists International |
| Successors | Library: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (throughUnited Artists) (pre-August 1946) Warner Bros. (throughLorimar Motion Pictures) (post-August 1946) Paramount Pictures (throughMelange Pictures) (select post-1938 films) |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Kim Richards (chairman and CEO) Robert Fitzpatrick (president) |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Website | monogrampictures |
Monogram Pictures Corporation was an Americanfilm studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the nameAllied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in thegolden age of Hollywood, generally referred to collectively asPoverty Row. Lacking the financial resources to deliver the lavish sets, production values, and star power of the larger studios, Monogram sought to attract its audiences with the promise of action and adventure.
The company's trademark is now owned byAllied Artists International.[1] The original sprawling brick complex which functioned as home to both Monogram and Allied Artists remains at 4376 W Sunset Blvd, utilized as part of theChurch of Scientology Media Center (formerlyKCET's television facilities).[2]
Monogram was created in the early 1930s from two earlier companies:W. Ray Johnston'sRayart Productions (renamed Raytone when sound pictures came in) andTrem Carr'sSono Art-World Wide Pictures. Both specialized in low-budget features, a policy which continued at Monogram Pictures, with Carr in charge of production. Another independent producer,Paul Malvern, released 16 Lone Star western productions (starringJohn Wayne) through Monogram.[3]
The backbone of the studio's early days was a father-son partnership: writer/directorRobert N. Bradbury and cowboy actorBob Steele (born Robert A. Bradbury). Bradbury wrote almost all of the early Monogram and Lone Star westerns and directed many of them himself. Monogram offered a selection of film genres, including action melodramas, classics, and mysteries.[4] In its early years, Monogram could seldom afford big-name movie stars and would employ either former silent-film actors who were idle (Herbert Rawlinson,William Collier Sr.) or young featured players (Ray Walker,Wallace Ford,William Cagney,Charles Starrett).
In 1935, Johnston and Carr were wooed byHerbert Yates ofConsolidated Film Industries. Yates planned to merge Monogram with several other smaller independent companies to formRepublic Pictures. After a brief period under this new venture, Johnston and Carr clashed with Yates and left. Carr moved toUniversal Pictures, while Johnston reactivated Monogram in 1937.[4]
In 1938, Monogram began a long and profitable policy of makingseries and hiring familiar players to star in them.Frankie Darro, Hollywood's foremost tough-kid actor of the 1930s, joined Monogram and stayed with the company until 1950. ComedianMantan Moreland co-starred in many of the Darro films and continued to be a valuable asset to Monogram through 1949. Juvenile actorsMarcia Mae Jones andJackie Moran co-starred in series of homespun romances, and then joined the Frankie Darro series.
Boris Karloff contributed to the Monogram release schedule with hisMr. Wong mysteries. This prompted producerSam Katzman to engageBela Lugosi for a follow-up series of Monogram thrillers.
Katzman's street-gang seriesThe East Side Kids was an imitation of the then-popularDead End Kids features. The first film cast six juveniles who had no connection with the Dead End series, but Katzman signed Dead End KidsBobby Jordan andLeo Gorcey, and soon addedHuntz Hall andGabriel Dell from the original gang. TheEast Side Kids series ran from 1940 to 1945. East Side star Gorcey then took the reins himself and transformed the series intoThe Bowery Boys, which became the longest-running feature-film comedy series in movie history (48 titles over 12 years). During this run, Gorcey became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood on an annual basis.[citation needed]
Monogram continued to experiment with film series with mixed results. Definite box-office hits wereCharlie Chan,The Cisco Kid, andJoe Palooka, all proven movie properties abandoned by other studios and revived by Monogram. Less successful were the comic-strip exploits ofSnuffy Smith and Sam Katzman's comedy series teamingBilly Gilbert,Shemp Howard, andMaxie Rosenbloom.
Many of Monogram's series were westerns. The studio released sagebrush sagas withBill Cody,Bob Steele,John Wayne,Tom Keene,Tim McCoy,Tex Ritter, andJack Randall before hitting on the "trio" format teaming veteran saddle pals.Buck Jones,Tim McCoy, andRaymond Hatton became The Rough Riders;Ray (Crash) Corrigan,John "Dusty" King, andMax Terhune wereThe Range Busters, andKen Maynard,Hoot Gibson, andBob Steele teamed as The Trail Blazers. WhenUniversal Pictures allowedJohnny Mack Brown's contract to lapse, Monogram grabbed him and kept him busy through 1952.
Monogram was also a useful outlet for ambitious movie stars who wanted to produce their own films.Lou Costello,Sidney Toler,Kay Francis, Leo Gorcey, andArthur Lake all pursued independent production, releasing through Monogram.[5]
The studio was a launching pad for new stars (Preston Foster inSensation Hunters,Randolph Scott inBroken Dreams,Ginger Rogers inThe Thirteenth Guest,Lionel Atwill inThe Sphinx,Alan Ladd inHer First Romance,Robert Mitchum inWhen Strangers Marry. The studio was also a haven for established stars whose careers had stalled:Edmund Lowe inKlondike Fury,John Boles inRoad to Happiness,Ricardo Cortez inI Killed That Man,Simone Simon inJohnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore,Kay Francis andBruce Cabot inDivorce.
Monogram did create and nurture its own stars.Gale Storm began her career atRKO Radio Pictures in 1940 but found a home at Monogram. Storm had been promoted from Monogram's Frankie Darro series and was showcased in crime dramas (likeThe Crime Smasher (1943) oppositeRichard Cromwell and radio'sFrank Graham in the title role) and a string of musicals to capitalize on her singing talents (likeCampus Rhythm andNearly Eighteen (both 1943), as well asSwing Parade of 1946 featuringThe Three Stooges). Another of Monogram's finds during this time was British skating starBelita, who conversely starred in musical revues first and then graduated to dramatic roles, includingSuspense (1946), an A-budgetKing Brothers Productions picture released under the Monogram name. Monogram's final leading-lady discovery wasJane Nigh, who starred in several wholesome outdoor stories between 1950 and 1952; she returned to the studio in 1957 for a Bowery Boys comedy.
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In the mid-1940s Monogram very nearly hit the big time withDillinger, a sensationalized crime drama that was a runaway success in 1945. Filmed byKing Brothers Productions, it received anAcademy Award nomination forBest Original Screenplay. Monogram tried to followDillinger with several "exploitation" melodramas cashing in on topical themes, likeBlack Market Babies (1946, about illegal traffic in adoptions) andAllotment Wives (1946, about women marrying servicemen for their federal allotment checks). The studio did achieve some success -- its slogan in 1946 was "Make Way for Monogram"[6] -- but Monogram never became a respectable "major" studio like former poverty-row denizenColumbia Pictures.
Monogram's fortunes continued to improve after World War II. With Hollywood's larger studios curtailing B-picture production in favor of more prestigious and more expensive pictures, there was now a greater need for low-priced pictures that theater owners could afford. Major first-run theater chains that had never played Monogram's budget movies -- as well as small, independent theaters that depended on bargain-rate films to turn a profit -- began using Monogram features regularly. The casting in Monogram features improved tremendously after the war, because scores of actors found themselves unemployed or underemployed when their home studios now made fewer movies. Major-studio talent began accepting work at Monogram, which gave the studio's films more prestige and boxoffice value.
Monogram continued to launch new series. In 1946 The East Side Kids became The Bowery Boys under a new producer, Jan Grippo. The former producer, Sam Katzman, began a new musical-comedy series called "The Teen Agers" (1946-48) as a vehicle for singerFreddie Stewart. Other series included the Cisco Kid westerns (1945-47); the exploits of masked crimefighterThe Shadow withKane Richmond (1946); theBringing Up Father comedies (1946-50) based on theGeorge McManus comic strip, featuringJoe Yule andRenie Riano as "Jiggs and Maggie; the "Joe Palooka" prizefight comedies (1946-51); theRoddy McDowall series (1948-52), with the juvenile lead forsaking child roles for dramatic and action vehicles; the "Henry" series of small-town comedies (1949-51) co-starringRaymond Walburn andWalter Catlett; and the "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" adventures (1949-55) starringJohnny Sheffield (formerly "Boy" of theTarzan films).
The studio's biggest drawing cards were The Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, and the Monogram westerns (now featuring Johnny Mack Brown,Jimmy Wakely, andWhip Wilson). Monogram filmed some of its later features inCinecolor, mostly outdoor subjects likeCounty Fair,Blue Grass of Kentucky, andThe Rose Bowl Story, as well as the science-fiction film,Flight to Mars (1952).
The only Monogram release to win an Academy Award wasClimbing the Matterhorn, a two-reel adventure that won the "Best Short Subject" Oscar in 1947. Other Monogram films to receive Oscar nominations wereKing of the Zombies forAcademy Award for Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic Picture) in 1941 andFlat Top for Best Film Editing in 1952.
ProducerWalter Mirisch began at Monogram after World War II as assistant to studio headSteve Broidy. He convinced Broidy that the days of low-budget films were ending, and in 1946 Monogram created a new unit, Allied Artists Productions, to make costlier films. The new name was meant to mirror the name of United Artists by evoking images of "creative personnel uniting to produce and distribute quality films".[7]
At a time when the average Hollywood picture cost about $800,000 (and the average Monogram picture cost about $90,000), Allied Artists' first release, the Christmas-themed comedyIt Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), cost more than $1,200,000.[8] It was rewarded with an estimated $1.8 million boxoffice return.[9] Subsequent Allied Artists releases were more economical. Some were filmed in black-and-white, but others were filmed inCinecolor andTechnicolor.
Monogram continued to be the parent company; the "Allied Artists Productions" all bore Monogram copyright notices, and were released through Monogram's network of film exchanges. The studio's new deluxe division permitted what Mirisch called "B-plus" pictures, which were released along with Monogram's established line of B fare.
Mirisch's prediction about the end of the low-budget film had come true thanks to television, and in September 1952 Monogram announced that henceforth it would only produce films bearing the Allied Artists name. The Monogram brand name was retired in 1953, and the company was now known as Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.[3]
Allied Artists retained a few vestiges of its Monogram identity, continuing its popularStanley Clements action series (through 1953), its B-westerns (through 1954), itsBomba, the Jungle Boy adventures (through 1955), and especially its breadwinning comedy series withThe Bowery Boys (through 1957, with Clements replacing Leo Gorcey in 1956). For the most part, Allied Artists was heading in new, ambitious directions under Mirisch.
Monogram was the first substantial theatrical distributor to offer its recent films to network television, in April 1948.[10] Steve Broidy's asking price was $1,000,000 for a package of 200 features, or $5,000 per title. TheCBS network declined the offer, and the films went instead to Motion Pictures for Television, a pioneer TV syndicator established in 1951 by film executive Matty Fox.[11]
Monogram cautiously entered the field of syndicating its own product in November 1951. Major studios avoided putting their names on their television subsidiaries, fearing adverse reaction and charges of unfair competition from their movie-theater customers. Monogram followed suit, christening its TV arm as Interstate Television Corporation. Ralph Branton, a former exhibitor who became a Monogram executive, was named president.[12] Interstate's biggest success wasThe Little Rascals series (formerlyHal Roach'sOur Gang theatrical comedy shorts, which had been reissued for theaters by Monogram). Interstate further pursued juvenile audiences by distributing Monogram's feature-length westerns withWild Bill Elliott, and outdoor adventures withKirby Grant and "Chinook, the Wonder Dog." Interstate used the stock title design it created for theLittle Rascals shorts when it filmed new TV titles for the Elliott and Grant features.
In July 1961 Interstate TV became Allied Artists Television Corporation, under the leadership of Edward Morey, who had been a production manager for the studio.[13]Variety commented on the updated company's getting quick results: "Allied Artists Television Corp. took over a fading Interstate TV company and injected some new razzmatazz patterns into syndication, with a resultant setup that now gives AAT the status of a major distribery with techniques that are paying off in handsome dividends. Most of it was accomplished through the marketing of five going packages of feature films, with particular success in bundling the pix as a series"[14] [48 Bowery Boys, 22 science-fiction, 13 Bomba, and two packages comprising 72 miscellaneous features].
Allied Artists' television library was sold to Lorimar's TV production and distribution arms in 1979. Lorimar was acquired byWarner Bros. Television, which now controls the library.
For a time in the mid-1950s, the Mirisch family held great influence at Allied Artists, with Walter as executive producer, his brother Harold as head of sales, and brother Marvin as assistant treasurer.[15]
The Mirisch brothers pushed the studio into big-budget filmmaking, signing contracts withWilliam Wyler,John Huston,Billy Wilder, andGary Cooper. Their first big-name productions were Wyler'sFriendly Persuasion (1956) – nominated for sixAcademy Awards, includingBest Picture – and Wilder'sLove in the Afternoon (1957). Despite their prestige, both films were box-office failures. As a result, studio head Broidy reverted Allied Artists to the kinds of pictures Monogram had previously been known for: low-budget action pictures and thrillers such asDon Siegel's science-fiction filmInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Some of these were biographical, likePay or Die (1960), dramatizing policemanJoseph Petrosino's pioneering crusade against organized crime;Operation Eichmann (1961), capitalizing on the recent capture of Nazi war criminalAdolf Eichmann; andThe George Raft Story (1961), recapitulating the actor's career in a slick but superficial treatment.
Allied Artists andThe Mirisch Company released some, but not all, of their late-1950s films throughUnited Artists, and made their studio space and facilities available to independent producers. Billy Wilder'sSome Like It Hot, handled by United Artists, was filmed using many of Allied Artists' resident technicians.Roger Corman also made several successful films for Allied Artists.[16]
The studio had renewed success with the release ofAl Capone (filmed on the still-standingSome Like It Hot sets) in 1959.[17] This prompted Allied to invest in a series of bigger budgeted films once more includingEl Cid (1961),Billy Budd (1962), andHitler (1962). There were still cutbacks in overall production – the studio had released 35 films in 1958, but this dropped to 12 in 1960, mainly because the studio stopped making westerns.[18]
Studio chief Steve Broidy retired in 1965. Allied Artists ceased production in 1966 and became a distributor of foreign films, but restarted production with the release ofCabaret (1972) and followed it withPapillon (1973). Both were critical and commercial successes, but high production and financing costs meant they were not big moneymakers for the company. Allied raised financing for their adaptation ofThe Man Who Would Be King (1975) by selling the European distribution rights toColumbia Pictures and the rest of the backing came from Canadian tax shelters.[19]King was released in 1975, but received disappointing returns. That same year, the company distributed the French importStory of O, but spent much of its earnings defending itself from obscenity charges.[19]
In 1976, Allied Artists attempted to diversify when it merged with consumer producers Kalvex and PSP, Inc. The newAllied Artists Industries, Inc. manufactured pharmaceuticals, mobile homes, and activewear in addition to films.[19]
Monogram/Allied Artists continued until 1979, when runaway inflation and high production costs pushed it into bankruptcy.
The post-August 1946 Monogram/Allied Artists library was bought by television production companyLorimar in 1980 for $4.75 million;[20] today a majority of this library belongs toWarner Bros. Pictures (via their acquisition of Lorimar in 1989). The pre-August 1946 Monogram library was sold in 1954 toAssociated Artists Productions, which itself was sold toUnited Artists in 1958 (it merged withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981). The pre-1946 Monogram library was not part of the deal withTed Turner. (The rights to many of the later films are now owned by MGM via United Artists; others, such asThe Big Combo, lapsed into the public domain.) A selection of post-1938 Monogram films acquired by M&A Alexander Productions and Astor Pictures were later incorporated intoMelange Pictures' library, today a part ofParamount Skydance-ownedParamount Pictures. Most Monogram Pictures films released before 1942 are in the public domain.
Jean-Luc Godard dedicated his filmBreathless (1960) to Monogram.[21]
Allied Artists had its studio at 4401 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, on a 4.5-acre lot. The longtime home (since 1971) of formerPBS television stationKCET,[22] the station sold the studios to theChurch of Scientology in April 2011.[23][24]
Monogram Pictures operated theMonogram Ranch, itsmovie ranch inPlacerita Canyon nearNewhall, California, in the northernSan Gabriel Mountains foothills.Tom Mix had used the Placeritos Ranch forlocation shooting for his silent western films. Ernie Hickson became the owner in 1936 and reconstructed all the "frontierwestern town"sets, moved from the nearbyRepublic Pictures Movie Ranch (present day DisneyGolden Oak Ranch), onto his 110-acre (0.45 km2) ranch. A year later Monogram Pictures signed a long-term lease with Hickson for Placeritos Ranch, with terms that stipulated that the ranch be renamed Monogram Ranch. Actor/cowboy singer/producerGene Autry purchased the Monogram Ranch property from the Hickson heirs in 1953, renaming it after his filmMelody Ranch.[25][26][27] As of 2010, it was operated as the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio and Melody Ranch Studios.[28]
After fire damage, the sets were replaced; as of 2012, the studio had 74 buildings (including offices) and two sound stages.[29] The owners in 2019 were Renaud and Andre Veluzat. The owners indicate that other recent movies were also partly filmed here, includingOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood. The site includes a movie memorabilia museum that is open to visitors.[28]
Media related toMonogram Pictures at Wikimedia Commons
