Monogram Pictures: Difference between revisions

'''Monogram Pictures''' was formed in 1931, a consolidation of "Raytone Productions" (headed by W. Ray Johnston first as "Rayart Productions") and "[[Sono Art-World Wide Pictures]]" (under Trem Carr), both of whom specialized in low-budget fare. Their main forte was Westerns (in fact, Monogram distributed Paul Malvern's [[Lone Star Productions|Lone Star]]/[[Republic Pictures (1935-1967)|Republic Pictures]], under the sway of Consolidated Film Industries head Herbert Yates. The new studio was a success, but Johnston and Carr both bolted in 1937. While Carr went on to produce for the "new" post-Laemmle [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], Johnston relaunched Monogram. Again specializing in the B-Western, it was one of the most successful studios on Hollywood's so-called "Poverty Row". Acting on advice from producer Walter Mirisch (who convinced studio chief Samuel Broidy that the glory days of the B-movie were ending), Monogram spun off a big-budget entity called westerns, many starring a young John Wayne), but produced in other genres as well. In 1946, Monogram joined with a few other small studios to form "[[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation|Allied Artists Productions]]", while continuing to make smaller-budget films under the Monogram aegis. In September 1952, Monogram announced that all its output would be released under the Allied Artists banner. The final Monogram picture came out in early 1953. Allied Artists filed for bankruptcy in 1979, due to high production costs, increased competition and runaway inflation. The Monogram/Allied Artists catalog was purchased by [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar Productions]] the following year. Today, most of them are owned by [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.]]; however, Viacom-owned [[Paramount Pictures]] through Melange Pictures, LLC. handles the pre-1936 Monogram library.