73-885: The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont . Gaumont-British was founded in 1898 as the British subsidiary of the French film studio Gaumont . In 1910, Gaumont Graphic Studios were at Shepherds Bush, in London. In 1914, the Gaumont-British film studios were opened, then completely rebuilt for sound, re-opening on 29 June 1932. "Gaumont Graphic newsreels were exhibited as part of larger cinema programmes from 1910 to 1932, when Gaumont Sound News
146-453: A Bowery Boys comedy. In the mid-1940s Monogram very nearly hit the big time with Dillinger , a sensationalized crime drama that was a runaway success in 1945. Filmed by King Brothers Productions , it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay . Monogram tried to follow Dillinger immediately (with several "exploitation" melodramas cashing in on topical themes), and did achieve some success, but Monogram never became
219-418: A box office of $ 427 million. Abel Gance , a director and the early animator Emile Cohl worked for the studio at one time or another. The company has also produced television shows, including seven animated series: Highlander: The Animated Series , Space Goofs , The Magician , Dragon Flyz , F Is for Family , and Sky Dancers (the second and third are based on their respective toy lines), and
292-459: A brief period under this new venture, Johnston and Carr clashed with Yates and left. Carr moved to Universal Pictures , while Johnston reactivated Monogram in 1937. In 1938, Monogram began a long and profitable policy of making series 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. Comedian Mantan Moreland co-starred in many of
365-487: A distributor of foreign films, but restarted production with the release of Cabaret (1972) and followed it with Papillon (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 of The Man Who Would Be King (1975) by selling the European distribution rights to Columbia Pictures and
438-514: 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" [48 Bowery Boys, 22 science-fiction, 13 Bomba, and two packages comprising 72 miscellaneous features]. Allied Artists' television library
511-472: A former exhibitor who became a Monogram executive, was named president. Interstate's biggest success was the Little Rascals series (formerly Hal Roach 's "Our Gang" comedies, which had been reissued for theaters by Monogram). Interstate further pursued juvenile audiences by distributing Monogram's feature-length westerns with Wild Bill Elliott , and outdoor adventures with Kirby Grant and "Chinook,
584-473: A free float of 416,784 shares, which represents 9.75% of the capital and 5.99% of the voting rights. In the first half of 2012, Gaumont recorded a profit of €7.7 million, which reversed the €0.6 million loss from the first half of 2011. The profit was driven by a 49% increase in revenue, which reached €50.1 million. The company cited the continued effects of Intouchables , which increased International revenues by 153%. Gaumont's current market capitalization
657-710: A half-year 2011 loss to a record annual €26 million profit. The Intouchables currently has a box office of $ 361 million. In 2012, Gaumont acquired the production company Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) for €3.1 million. The company was previously run and created by cinema legend Louis Malle . As part of the acquisition, Gaumont now owns the entire Malle collection, including Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au Revoir les Enfants . In February 2012, Gaumount restarted its television division which had been defunct for about ten years. On 2 May 2016 according to Deadline Hollywood , Gaumont teamed with Lionsgate , and seven other international companies to launch
730-459: A home at Monogram. Storm had been promoted from Monogram's Frankie Darro series and was showcased in crime dramas (like The Crime Smasher (1943) opposite Richard Cromwell and radio's Frank Graham in the title role) and a string of musicals to capitalize on her singing talents (like Campus Rhythm and Nearly Eighteen (both 1943), as well as Swing Parade of 1946 featuring The Three Stooges ). Another of Monogram's finds during this time
803-609: A long-term lease with Hickson for Placeritos Ranch, with terms that stipulated that the ranch be renamed Monogram Ranch. Actor/cowboy singer/producer Gene Autry purchased the Monogram Ranch property from the Hickson heirs in 1953, renaming it after his film Melody Ranch . As of 2010, it was operated as the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio and Melody Ranch Studios. After fire damage,
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#1732791049926876-624: A new musical-comedy series called "The Teen Agers" (1946-48) as a vehicle for singer Freddie Stewart . Other series included the Cisco Kid westerns (1945-47); the exploits of masked crimefighter The Shadow with Kane Richmond (1946); the Bringing Up Father comedies (1946-50) based on the George McManus comic strip, featuring Joe Yule and Renie Riano as "Jiggs and Maggie; the "Joe Palooka" prizefight comedies (1946-51);
949-534: 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". 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 comedy It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), cost more than $ 1,200,000. It
1022-407: A policy which continued at Monogram Pictures, with Carr in charge of production. Another independent producer, Paul Malvern , released 16 Lone Star western productions (starring John Wayne ) through Monogram. The backbone of the studio's early days was a father-son partnership: writer/director Robert N. Bradbury and cowboy actor Bob Steele (born Robert A. Bradbury). Bradbury wrote almost all of
1095-809: A respectable "major" studio like former poverty-row denizen Columbia Pictures . The only Monogram release to win the Academy Award was Climbing the Matterhorn , a two-reel adventure that won the "Best Short Subject" Oscar in 1947. Other Monogram films to receive Oscar nominations were King of the Zombies for Academy Award for Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic Picture) in 1941 and Flat Top for Best Film Editing in 1952. Monogram's fortunes improved even more after World War II. With Hollywood's larger studios curtailing B-picture production in favor of more prestigious and more expensive pictures, there
1168-582: Is now owned by Allied Artists International . The original sprawling brick complex which functioned as home to both Monogram and Allied Artists remains at 4376 Sunset Drive, utilized as part of the Church of Scientology Media Center (formerly KCET 's television facilities). 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,
1241-477: Is €164 million. Léon Gaumont selected the ox-eye daisy as the company logo to pay homage to his mother, whose first name was Marguerite (Daisy). Throughout the decades the logo has been redesigned several times, but the daisy has always remained present, even though its significance has been largely forgotten. Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when
1314-674: The Globalgate Entertainment consortium. Globalgate will produce and distribute local-language films in markets around the world. Lionsgate said it had partnered with international entertainment executives Paul Presburger, William Pfeiffer and Clifford Werber to launch Globalgate. In 2019, Gaumont was replaced by TF1 Studio as Globalgate's new French member. On 1 March 2017, Gaumont sold its 34% stake in Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé to Pathé for $ 400 million in order to focus on production. In January 2018, it
1387-707: The Roddy 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-starring Raymond Walburn and Walter Catlett ; and the " Bomba, the Jungle Boy " adventures (1949-55) starring Johnny Sheffield (formerly "Boy" of the Tarzan films). The Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, and the Monogram westerns (now featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely , and Whip Wilson ) were
1460-653: The motion picture industry's first female director, and she went on to become the Head of Production of the Gaumont film studio from 1897 to 1907. From 1905 to 1914, its Cité Elgé studios (from the normal French pronunciation of the founder's initials L-G) in La Villette, France were the largest in the world. Gaumont began producing full-length feature films in 1908. The company manufactured its own equipment and mass-produced films until 1907, when Louis Feuillade became
1533-546: The 1910s. Later, the company became part of Amalgamated Photographic Manufacturers, forming the Kershaw-Soho Ltd group. The brand Kalee continued to be used until the Kershaw group was acquired by Gaumont British to become G.B.-Kalee Ltd . Both GB-Kershaw and GB-Kalee were used as brand names for a range of 8-mm and 16-mm cine-cameras , movie projectors , slide projectors and still cameras . G.B.-Kalee
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#17327910499261606-618: The 1930s, the company employed 16,000 people. During her first attempt in 1933 at circumnavigation of the UK, kayaker Fridel Meyer gave lectures about her journey at various landing places, for the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it outsourced distribution to 20th Century Fox . In 1941
1679-418: The 1950s, as well as the permissiveness within French films (e.g., nudity), allowed French productions to successfully compete against an American cinema that was still burdened by conservative moral codes. The period was to see the return to prominence of Gaumont Studios. In 1975, media tycoon and French old money heir multimillionaire Nicolas Seydoux started managing Gaumont; he personally owned 60% of
1752-402: The 1950s, many cinemas on all circuits were closed and eventually the booking power of the Gaumont circuit declined. In January 1959, Rank restructured its exhibition operation and combined the best Gaumonts and the best Odeons in a new Rank release, while the rest were given a new "National" release. In 1961, Paramount objected to Rank consigning its Dean Martin comedy All in a Night's Work to
1825-586: The American models except in model number. During the 1950s G.B.-Bell & Howell either manufactured or distributed a number of 8 mm and 16 mm cine-cameras and projectors. In 1888 Abram Kershaw established a business in Leeds making photographic items, including lanterns and projection equipment. Kershaw produced cinema projectors under the Kalee trade name (from the initials of K ershaw, A , Lee ds) from
1898-587: The Darro films and continued to be a valuable asset to Monogram through 1949. Juvenile actors Marcia Mae Jones and Jackie Moran co-starred in series of homespun romances, and then joined the Frankie Darro series. Boris Karloff contributed to the Monogram release schedule with his Mr. Wong mysteries. This prompted producer Sam Katzman to engage Bela Lugosi for a follow-up series of Monogram thrillers. Katzman's street-gang series The East Side Kids
1971-955: The Gaumont name continued to linger until, in January 1987, the last Gaumont, in Doncaster, was renamed Odeon. G.B. Equipments Ltd , a subsidiary of Gaumont-British, made a number of 16-mm film sound projectors in Britain before and during the Second World War, including models such as the G.B.-Scope A and B, Grosvenor and G.B. K and L series. After the war, G.B. Equipments Ltd decided not to manufacture models of its own. Instead they began to manufacture, under licence, models of American design by Bell & Howell . These models, branded as either G.B.-Bell & Howell or Bell & Howell-Gaumont in Great Britain, were identical to
2044-466: The Jungle Boy adventures (through 1955), and especially its breadwinning comedy series with The Bowery Boys (through 1958, 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. Steve Broidy's asking price
2117-678: The Légende company and its subsidiaries for €6.6 million. Légende is a full-length film and television series production and distribution company managed by Alain Goldman . As of 2011, the Légende stake is worth €6.3 million. 2011 was the year that Gaumont opened its Gaumont International Television division in Los Angeles . In 2011, Gaumont co-produced and co-distributed The Intouchables , which became France's highest-grossing movie of all time. The international release of The Intouchables
2190-551: The Netherlands. As of 2011, this stake was worth €214 million. In 2004, Gaumont continued its development with Pathé to set up another joint venture, Gaumont-Pathé Archives . Gaumont owns 57.5% of this entity, which contains newsreels, documentaries, and silent movies from the 20th and 21st centuries. From early 2004 to 2007, the company had a partnership with Sony for producing films and for theater and DVD distribution worldwide. And for many years, Gaumont's home video division
2263-580: The Rank Organisation bought Gaumont-British and its sister company Gainsborough Pictures . Rank also took control over rival cinema chain Odeon Cinemas the same year. Gaumont-British and its sister company Gainsborough Pictures are now owned by Gregory Motton . Gaumont-British were the first large British cinema chain controlling 180 cinemas by 1928 and up to 300 the following year. Fox Film Corporation indirectly acquired shares in
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2336-496: The UK was characterised by alignments between exhibitors and distributors. After the Odeon and Gaumont takeovers, Rank had access to the product of 20th Century-Fox, Paramount , Walt Disney , Columbia , Universal , United Artists , Samuel Goldwyn , RKO , Alexander Korda 's London Films , Republic Pictures , British Lion Films , and its own film productions. Rivals ABC had only Warner Brothers , MGM , Monogram Pictures , and
2409-576: The Wonder Dog." Curiously, Interstate used the stock title design for the "Little Rascals" shorts when it filmed new TV titles for the Elliott and the Grant features. In July 1961 Interstate TV became Allied Artists Television Corporation, under the leadership of studio executive Edward Morey. Variety commented on the updated company's getting quick results: "Allied Artists Television Corp. took over
2482-807: The artistic director of Gaumont. When World War I broke out, he was replaced by Léonce Perret , who continued his career in the United States a few years later. In 1909 the company participated in the Paris Film Congress , a failed attempt by European producers to create a cartel similar to that of the MPPC in the United States. Gaumont opened foreign offices and acquired the theatre chain Gaumont British , which later notably produced several films directed by Alfred Hitchcock such as The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). Along with its competitor Pathé Frères , Gaumont dominated
2555-770: The comic-strip exploits of Snuffy Smith and Sam Katzman's comedy series teaming Billy Gilbert , Shemp Howard , and Maxie Rosenbloom . Many of Monogram's series were westerns. The studio released sagebrush sagas with Bill Cody , Bob Steele , John Wayne , Tom Keene , Tim McCoy , Tex Ritter , and Jack Randall before hitting on the "trio" format teaming veteran saddle pals. Buck Jones , Tim McCoy , and Raymond Hatton became The Rough Riders; Ray (Crash) Corrigan , John "Dusty" King , and Max Terhune were The Range Busters , and Ken Maynard , Hoot Gibson , and Bob Steele teamed as The Trail Blazers. When Universal Pictures allowed Johnny Mack Brown 's contract to lapse, Monogram grabbed him and kept him busy through 1952. Monogram
2628-647: The company to help with the expansion. Gaumont-British developed or acquired large "super-cinemas". The New Victoria (later Gaumont and finally Odeon) in Bradford opened in 1930, the Gaumont in Manchester opened in 1935, and the Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn , London, opened in 1937. They also took over many smaller cinemas across the country, eventually owning 343 properties. One such property
2701-474: The early 1930s and the effects of the Great Depression , Gaumont declared bankruptcy in 1935. In 1937, the studio ceased production and operated only as a theater and distribution company. The company was purchased by the French corporation Havas in 1938, was renamed Société Nouvelle des Etablissements Gaumont, and reopened its film production studio. During the later years of World War II , Gaumont
2774-662: 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. 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 by Herbert Yates of Consolidated Film Industries . Yates planned to merge Monogram with several other smaller independent companies to form Republic Pictures . After
2847-603: 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. Allied Artists retained a few vestiges of its Monogram identity, continuing its popular Stanley Clements action series (through 1953), its B-westerns (through 1954), its Bomba,
2920-421: The engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in the world, established before other studios such as Pathé (founded in 1896), Titanus (1904), Nordisk Film (1906), Universal , Paramount , and Nikkatsu (all founded in 1912). Gaumont predominantly produces, co-produces, and distributes films, and in 2011, 95% of Gaumont's consolidated revenues came from
2993-443: The film division. The company is also a producer of TV series through Gaumont Télévision and animation through Gaumont Animation as well as its existing French production features. Gaumont is run by Nicolas Seydoux (chairman) and Sidonie Dumas (CEO). Originally dealing in photographic apparatus, the company began producing short films in 1897 to promote its make of camera-projector. Léon Gaumont's secretary Alice Guy-Blaché became
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3066-434: 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 . 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
3139-609: The first digital cinema projection in Europe with the Texas Instruments prototype projector. From 1993 to early 2004, Gaumount and Disney had a partnership for producing films for theater distribution. In 2001, Gaumont spun off the cinema division into a joint venture with Pathé since known as Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé. Gaumont owned a 34% stake in the entity, which controls a large cinema network in France, Switzerland, and
3212-490: 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. Monogram continued to experiment with film series with mixed results. Definite box-office hits were Charlie Chan , The Cisco Kid , and Joe Palooka , all proven movie properties abandoned by other studios and revived by Monogram. Less successful were
3285-436: The most notable films produced by Gaumont are the serials Judex (1916) and Fantômas (1913); the comic Onésime series, starring Ernest Bourbon; and the comic Bébé series, starring five-year-old René Dary . The two biggest films to which Gaumont owns the rights are Jean-Marie Poiré 's Les Visiteurs , with a box-office of $ 98 million, and the 2011 blockbuster Intouchables by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano , with
3358-417: The motion picture industry in Europe until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. After World War I , Gaumont suffered economic losses owing to increased competition from American Hollywood productions. In 1925, the studio's output decreased to only three films. In addition, Gaumont was unable to keep pace with the cost of technological changes (e.g., the advent of sound movies). Struck by mounting debts in
3431-531: The national circuit and henceforth switched its allegiance to the ABC circuit. With the continuing decline in attendance and cinema numbers, the National release died on its feet and henceforth there were two release patterns, Rank and ABC. There was no reason to perpetuate the Gaumont name, and in towns that lost their Odeon, the Gaumont was usually renamed Odeon within a couple of years of the latter's closure. Even so,
3504-481: The northern San Gabriel Mountains foothills. Tom Mix had used the Placeritos Ranch for location shooting for his silent western films. Ernie Hickson became the owner in 1936 and reconstructed all the "frontier western town" sets , moved from the nearby Republic Pictures Movie Ranch (present day Disney Golden Oak Ranch ), onto his 110-acre (0.45 km ) ranch. A year later Monogram Pictures signed
3577-451: The productions of its parent company Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC). Both cinema circuits also took films from smaller distributors. With ample supply of product, Rank maintained the separate Odeon and Gaumont release pattern for many years. Some Odeon cinemas were renamed Gaumont when transferred to Gaumont release. In 1948, Rank merged the management and booking operations of Odeon and Gaumont. As attendances declined during
3650-589: The public domain. Jean-Luc Godard dedicated his film Breathless (1960) to Monogram. Allied Artists had its studio at 4401 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, on a 4.5-acre lot. The longtime home (since 1971) of former PBS television station KCET , the station sold the studios to the Church of Scientology in April 2011. Monogram Pictures operated the Monogram Ranch , its movie ranch in Placerita Canyon near Newhall, California , in
3723-460: The release of Al Capone in 1959. This prompted Allied to invest in a series of bigger budgeted films once more including El Cid , Billy Budd , The George Raft Story and Hitler . There were still cut backs 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). Studio chief Steve Broidy retired in 1965. Allied Artists ceased production in 1966 and became
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#17327910499263796-682: The rest of the backing came from Canadian tax shelters. King was released in 1975, but received disappointing returns. That same year, the company distributed the French import Story of O , but spent much of its earnings defending itself from obscenity charges. In 1976, Allied Artists attempted to diversify when it merged with consumer producers Kalvex and PSP, Inc. The new Allied Artists Industries, Inc. manufactured pharmaceuticals, mobile homes, and activewear in addition to films. 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
3869-514: The shares and 70% of the votes. In the 1990s, the company operated TV and multimedia divisions, which was divested at the end of the 1990s. The television division was sold to company executive Christian Carret, who turned it into GTV, while the multimedia division's animation unit were sold to management and renamed into Xilam , and the multimedia division continued producing video games until 2004. On 2 February 2000, Philippe Binant, technical manager of Digital Cinema Project at Gaumont, realized
3942-522: The studio's biggest drawing cards. Monogram filmed some of its later features in Cinecolor , mostly outdoor subjects like County Fair , Blue Grass of Kentucky , and The Rose Bowl Story , as well as the science-fiction film, Flight to Mars (1952). Producer Walter Mirisch began at Monogram after World War II as assistant to studio head Steve Broidy . He convinced Broidy that the days of low-budget films were ending, and in 1946 Monogram created
4015-565: The very popular Oggy and the Cockroaches . The company also began production in its American unit Gaumont International Television on two series: Hannibal and Hemlock Grove . The studio has been described as a mini-major studio . Ciné Par is a majority shareholder with 69.92% of the voting rights: this entity is controlled by CEO Nicolas Seydoux. The other private shareholders are First Eagle Investment Management , Bolloré , and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault . The company has
4088-618: Was $ 1,000,000 for a package of 200 features, or $ 5,000 per title. The CBS 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. Monogram cautiously entered the field of syndicating its own product in November 1951. Fearing adverse reaction from its movie-theater customers, a major studio avoided putting its own name on its television subsidiary. Monogram followed suit, christening its TV arm as Interstate Television Corporation. Ralph Branton,
4161-400: Was British skating star Belita , who conversely starred in musical revues first and then graduated to dramatic roles, including Suspense (1946), an A-budget King Brothers Productions picture released under the Monogram name. Monogram's final leading-lady discovery was Jane Nigh , who starred in several wholesome outdoor stories between 1950 and 1952; she returned to the studio in 1957 for
4234-401: Was a joint venture with Sony Pictures . Currently, Gaumont distributes its films through Paramount Home Media Distribution on video in France. At the end of 2007, Gaumont took over the French animation studio Alphanim for €25 million and renamed it Gaumont Alphanim. As of 2013, it is known as Gaumont Animation . On 16 December 2010, Gaumont acquired a 37.48% stake in the share capital of
4307-464: Was affected by the financial ruin of France's economy as well as the physical destruction of its facilities. The company ceased production until 1947. During that time, Gaumont partnered with Compagnie Parisienne de Location de Films to produce and distribute films and co-marketed together, until CPLF was renamed to Gaumont Distribution. However, the global interest in French New Wave films in
4380-630: Was also a haven for established stars whose careers had stalled: Edmund Lowe in Klondike Fury , John Boles in Road to Happiness , Ricardo Cortez in I Killed That Man , Simone Simon in Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Kay Francis and Bruce Cabot in Divorce . Monogram did create and nurture its own stars. Gale Storm began her career at RKO Radio Pictures in 1940 but found
4453-926: Was also a useful outlet for ambitious movie stars who wanted to produce their own films. Lou Costello , Sidney Toler , Kay Francis , Leo Gorcey, and Arthur Lake all pursued independent production, releasing through Monogram. The studio was a launching pad for new stars ( Preston Foster in Sensation Hunters , Randolph Scott in Broken Dreams , Ginger Rogers in The Thirteenth Guest , Lionel Atwill in The Sphinx , Alan Ladd in Her First Romance , Robert Mitchum in When Strangers Marry . The studio
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#17327910499264526-479: Was also the distributor in the United Kingdom for the 16-mm and 35-mm Arriflex cinema cameras, as well as a range of professional cinema projectors and sound equipment under the brand name Gaumont-Kalee . Gaumont (company) Gaumont SA ( French: [ɡomɔ̃] ) is a French film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France. Founded by
4599-502: Was an imitation of the then-popular Dead End Kids features. The first film cast six juveniles who had no connection with the Dead End series, but Katzman signed Dead End Kids Bobby Jordan and Leo Gorcey , and soon added Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell from the original gang. The East Side Kids series ran from 1940 to 1945. East Side star Gorcey then took the reins himself and transformed the series into The Bowery Boys , which became
4672-519: Was announced that the company's first office, in Cologne, Germany , would open in July 2018. The office will focus on development and production of premiere drama programming, according to film producer and new manager Sabine de Mardt. Gaumont currently has 938 films in its catalogue, most of which are in French; however there are some exceptions such as Luc Besson 's The Fifth Element (1997). Among
4745-412: Was bought by television production company Lorimar in 1980 for $ 4.75 million; today a majority of this library belongs to Warner Bros. Pictures (via their acquisition of Lorimar in 1989). The pre-August 1946 Monogram library was sold in 1954 to Associated Artists Productions , which itself was sold to United Artists in 1958 (it merged with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981). The pre-1946 Monogram library
4818-581: Was equally successful, trumping previous international blockbusters such as Harry Potter and Transporters in Germany. Intouchables is the highest-grossing foreign-language movie (any language other than English) beating the previous record of $ 275 million by the Japanese Spirited Away . The film was a major catalyst for Gaumont's boosting fourth-quarter 2011 cinema sales to €47.9 million, up 651% year on year. The film's success turned
4891-568: Was launched (superseded by Gaumont British News in 1934)." Gaumont's British subsidiary became independent of its French parent in 1922 when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British. In 1927 the Ideal Film Company , a leading silent film maker, merged with Gaumont. The company's Lime Grove Studios was used for film productions, including Alfred Hitchcock 's adaptation of The 39 Steps (1935), while its Islington Studios made Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). In
4964-705: Was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Wilder's Love in the Afternoon were box-office flops in 1956–57, studio head Broidy reverted to the kind of pictures Monogram had previously been known for: low-budget action pictures and thrillers, such as Don Siegel 's science-fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Allied Artists and The Mirisch Company released some (but not all) of their late-1950s films through United Artists . Roger Corman made several successful films for Allied Artists. The studio had renewed success with
5037-469: Was not part of the deal with Ted Turner . (The rights to many of the later films are now owned by MGM via United Artists; others, such as The 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 into Melange Pictures ' library, today a part of Paramount Global -owned Paramount Pictures . Most Monogram Pictures films released before 1942 are in
5110-465: 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. 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
5183-576: Was rewarded with an estimated $ 1.8 million boxoffice return. Subsequent Allied Artists releases were more economical. Some were filmed in black and white, but others were filmed in Cinecolor and Technicolor . 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
5256-630: Was sold to Lorimar's TV production and distribution arms in 1979. Lorimar was acquired by Warner 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. They pushed the studio into big-budget filmmaking, signing contracts with William Wyler , John Huston , Billy Wilder and Gary Cooper . When their first big-name productions, Wyler's Friendly Persuasion which
5329-681: Was the Holderness Hall in Hull , built by the pioneering William Morton in 1912 and managed by him until 1930, when he could no longer compete. Many of the Gaumont cinemas had a theatre organ for entertainment before the show, in the intervals, or after the show. The name "Gaumont" was adopted to describe the style of the flat-top organ console case (originally for the Pavilion Theatre, Shepherd's Bush ), for some Compton organs built from October 1931 to 1934. Cinema exhibition in
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