Monogram Productions, Inc.
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| Industry | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | Southern California (1931) predecessor-in-interest to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation (1946) |
| Founders | W. Ray Johnston Trem Carr |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California & New York City, New York |
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Key people
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Kim Richards, Chairman and CEO, Robert Fitzpatrick, President |
| Products | Motion Pictures, Television Production, Music, Music Publishing, Entertainment, Television Syndication, Online games, Mobile Entertainment, Video on demand, Digital distribution |
| Website | monogrampictures.com |
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, mostly on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in the golden age of Hollywood, generally referred to collectively as Poverty Row. The idea behind the studio was that when the Monogram logo appeared on the screen, everyone knew they were in for action and adventure.
Today the company's trademark is owned by Allied Artists International. The original sprawling brick complex that was home to both Monogram and Allied Artists remains in place today at 4376 Sunset Drive, utilized as part of the Church of Scientology Media Center (formerly KCET television).
Monogram was created in the early 1930s from two earlier companies, W. Ray Johnston's Rayart Productions (renamed Raytone when sound pictures came in) and Trem Carr's Sono Art-World Wide Pictures. Both specialized in low-budget features and, as Monogram Pictures, continued that policy until 1935, with Carr in charge of production. Another independent producer, Paul Malvern, released his Lone Star western productions (starring John Wayne) through Monogram.
The backbone of the studio in those early days was a father-and-son combination: writer/director Robert N. Bradbury and cowboy actor Bob Steele (born Robert A. Bradbury) were on their roster. Bradbury wrote almost all, and directed many, of the early Monogram and Lone Star westerns. While budgets and production values were lean, Monogram offered a balanced program, including action melodramas, classics and mysteries.
In 1935 Johnston and Carr were wooed by Herbert Yates of Consolidated Film Industries; Yates planned to merge Monogram with several other smaller independent companies to form Republic Pictures. However, after a short time in this new venture, they discovered that they couldn't get along with Herbert Yates, and they left. Carr moved to Universal Pictures, while Johnston reactivated Monogram in 1937.
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