Producers Releasing Corporation
Encyclopedia
Producers Releasing Corporation was one of the more lower-end Hollywood film
studios on Poverty Row
from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the years, but the majority of its output was routine, to say the least. The company was substantial enough to not only produce but distribute its own product and some imports from the UK, and operated its own studio facility.
and his brother Sam Newfield
to make its films. After the collapse of PDC, the brothers established PRC. Most of the movies made were westerns or action melodrama
s, plus a number of horror movies, and each took a week or less to shoot.
PRC had very few star names on its payroll and had to make do with either character actors (Neil Hamilton, Eddie Dean
, Wallace Ford
, Ralph Morgan
), stars who were idle (Lee Tracy
, Patsy Kelly
, Benny Fields
) or celebrities from other fields (burlesque queen Ann Corio
, animal hunter Frank Buck
, radio singer Frances Langford
).
Typical PRC efforts include The Devil Bat
with Bela Lugosi
; Misbehaving Husbands
with silent-comedy star Harry Langdon
; and Nabonga
, a jungle thriller with Buster Crabbe
and Julie London
. As with other studios of the time, PRC released a wide variety of westerns including 17 films in the Lone Rider series and a series featuring Billy the Kid
and The Frontier Marshals. PRC attempted its own version of The East Side Kids called The Gas House Kids in a series of three films. Mystery series were provided by three Philo Vance
and several Michael Shayne
films.
Another notable film for the studio was Baby Face Morgan
, a tongue-in-cheek gangster epic with Mary Carlisle
, Robert Armstrong
and Richard Cromwell
. According to B Movies by Don Miller
(Copyright 1973 by Film Fan Monthly under arrangement with Curtis Books. Foreword copyright 1987 by Leonard Maltin
, Paperback edition by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, New York. 361 pp.), "Most of the remainder of the 1942 PRC product dealt with gangsters, crime or whodunit puzzles, reliable standbys of the indie companies catering to action and grind theater houses. Baby Face Morgan played it for laughs, with Cromwell as a rube posing as a tough racketeer. Armstrong, [co-star] Chick Chandler
and Carlisle lent strong support and while it never scaled any heights it was a passable spoof of the genre." During World War II PRC made several war film
s such as Corregidor
, They Raid By Night
, A Yank in Libya
and a pair of films set in China, Bombs over Burma
and Lady from Chungking
, both starring Anna May Wong
.
Austrian director Edgar G. Ulmer began working for the studio in 1942 and directed three films noir
there--Bluebeard
(1944), Strange Illusion
(1945) and Detour
(1945). All three have been recognized more recently as minor artistic achievements. The PRC production Hitler's Madman
was picked up by MGM for distribution, and one of PRC's music composers, Leo Erdody, was nominated for an Academy Award
for his musical score for PRC's Minstrel Man
in 1944.
PRC was purchased by Pathe Industries
, though the only noticeable change was of the name of the company's production arm to PRC Pictures Inc. The company otherwise continued to flourish within its own element until after WWII. The distribution arm of the company was absorbed in the formation of Eagle-Lion Films Inc.
in 1946, and the production arm (and, therewith, the entire company) followed shortly thereafter in 1947. Eagle-Lion would distribute the backlog of films from PRC until 1955, when United Artists
bought the company.
From 1950 the American CBS
network was screening PRC films on television.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
studios on Poverty Row
Poverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the years, but the majority of its output was routine, to say the least. The company was substantial enough to not only produce but distribute its own product and some imports from the UK, and operated its own studio facility.
History
The company evolved from the earlier Producers Distributing Corporation begun by exhibitor Ben Judell, which had hired Sigmund NeufeldSigmund Neufeld
Sigmund Neufeld was an American film producer. Neufeld produced many films directed by his brother Sam Newfield.- Selected filmography :*The Red Blood of Courage *Aces and Eights *Ghost Patrol...
and his brother Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie director, with over 250 feature films to his credit, and a large number of shorts, training films, industrial films, TV episodes, and pretty much anything anyone would pay him for...
to make its films. After the collapse of PDC, the brothers established PRC. Most of the movies made were westerns or action melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
s, plus a number of horror movies, and each took a week or less to shoot.
PRC had very few star names on its payroll and had to make do with either character actors (Neil Hamilton, Eddie Dean
Eddie Dean (singer)
Eddie Dean was an American western singer and actor whom Roy Rogers and Gene Autry termed the best cowboy singer of all time. Dean was best known for "I Dreamed Of A Hill-Billy Heaven" , which became an even greater hit in 1961 for Tex Ritter....
, Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford was an English film and television actor who, with his friendly appearance and stocky build later in life, appeared in a number of film westerns and B-movies....
, Ralph Morgan
Ralph Morgan
Ralph Morgan was a Hollywood film, stage and character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan .-Early life:...
), stars who were idle (Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy
William Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
, Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
, Benny Fields
Benny Fields
Benny Fields was a popular singer of the early 20th century, best known as one-half of the Blossom Seeley-Benny Fields vaudeville team...
) or celebrities from other fields (burlesque queen Ann Corio
Ann Corio
Ann Corio was a prominent American burlesque ecdysiast and actress. Unlike others in her profession, Ann Corio did not have a stage name.- Biography :...
, animal hunter Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
, radio singer Frances Langford
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
).
Typical PRC efforts include The Devil Bat
The Devil Bat
The Devil Bat is a black-and-white comedy-horror movie which was produced by Producers Releasing Corporation and directed by Jean Yarbrough...
with Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
; Misbehaving Husbands
Misbehaving Husbands
- Cast :*Harry Langdon as Henry Butler*Betty Blythe as Effie Butler*Ralph Byrd as Bob Grant*Esther Muir as Grace Norman*Gayne Whitman as Gilbert Wayne*Florence Wright as Nan Blake*Luana Walters as Jane Forbes*Frank Jaquet as Wilbur Drake...
with silent-comedy star Harry Langdon
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...
; and Nabonga
Nabonga
Nabonga is a PRC film made in 1943 starring Buster Crabbe and in her debut, Julie London. It was retitled Jungle Woman in the British Empire.- Plot :...
, a jungle thriller with Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
and Julie London
Julie London
Julie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
. As with other studios of the time, PRC released a wide variety of westerns including 17 films in the Lone Rider series and a series featuring Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
and The Frontier Marshals. PRC attempted its own version of The East Side Kids called The Gas House Kids in a series of three films. Mystery series were provided by three Philo Vance
Philo Vance
Philo Vance featured in 12 crime novels written by S. S. Van Dine , published in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, movies, and on the radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, even foppish dandy, a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual bent...
and several Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday. It was the title of a series of 12 films starring Lloyd Nolan, a radio series under a variety of names, between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960-1961, a 32 episode NBC television series...
films.
Another notable film for the studio was Baby Face Morgan
Baby Face Morgan
Baby Face Morgan is a 1942 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Dreifuss. The film was a notable "B" effort for PRC . Jack Schwarz was producer, and Leon Fromkess, was listed as "in charge of production."...
, a tongue-in-cheek gangster epic with Mary Carlisle
Mary Carlisle
Mary Carlisle was an American actress and singer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was a star of Hollywood films in the 1930s, having been one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1932. The archetypal blonde, Mary Carlisle was brought to Hollywood at the age of four by her...
, Robert Armstrong
Robert Armstrong (actor)
Robert Armstrong was an American film actor best remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He uttered the famous exit quote, "'Twas beauty killed the beast," at the film's end...
and Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell (actor)
Richard Cromwell, born LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh , was an American actor. His family and friends called him Roy, though he was also professionally known and signed autographs as Dick Cromwell. Cromwell's career was at its pinnacle with his work in Jezebel with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda and again...
. According to B Movies by Don Miller
Don Miller
Don Miller may refer to:*Don Miller , member of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team*Don Miller Don Miller may refer to:*Don Miller (American football), member of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team*Don...
(Copyright 1973 by Film Fan Monthly under arrangement with Curtis Books. Foreword copyright 1987 by Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
, Paperback edition by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, New York. 361 pp.), "Most of the remainder of the 1942 PRC product dealt with gangsters, crime or whodunit puzzles, reliable standbys of the indie companies catering to action and grind theater houses. Baby Face Morgan played it for laughs, with Cromwell as a rube posing as a tough racketeer. Armstrong, [co-star] Chick Chandler
Chick Chandler
Chick Chandler was an American film actor. best known for his appearances in dozens of B-Movies and his role as Tubo Smith in the short lived Universal produced series Soldiers of Fortune...
and Carlisle lent strong support and while it never scaled any heights it was a passable spoof of the genre." During World War II PRC made several war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
s such as Corregidor
Corregidor (1943 film)
Corregidor is an American war film directed by William Nigh and starring Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, and Donald Woods. The film is set in December 1941 through May 1942 during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.-Cast:...
, They Raid By Night
They Raid By Night
- Plot summary :The story follows the insertion of covert British Commandos into Norway to rescue Norwegian General Heden from captivity and to return him to England to lead the Free Norwegian Forces....
, A Yank in Libya
A Yank in Libya
- Plot summary :American correspondent Mike Malone uncovers a Nazi plot for an uprising of the Arab tribes in Libya. Pursued by Sheik David and his men, Mike takes refuge in the suite of Nancy Brooks, who is in the British Intelligence. He asks her to hide a gun and escapes through a window...
and a pair of films set in China, Bombs over Burma
Bombs over Burma
-Plot:The film tells the story of Chinese guerrillas fighting for the Allied cause in Burma during World War II. During the construction of a military supply road like the Ledo Road, the project is sabotaged by an English nobleman who is a Nazi agent....
and Lady from Chungking
Lady from Chungking
The Lady from Chungking is a 1942 American War film.-Synopsis:The film tells the story of an aristocratic Chinese woman leading a group of Chinese fighters against Japan during World War II.-Cast:* Anna May Wong... Kwan Mei...
, both starring Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
.
Austrian director Edgar G. Ulmer began working for the studio in 1942 and directed three films noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
there--Bluebeard
Bluebeard (1944 film)
Bluebeard is a 1944 film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, starring John Carradine in the title role. After the film's release, it became a favorite of horror movie fans and still later, a cult classic. It would also be registered as a film in thepublic domain...
(1944), Strange Illusion
Strange Illusion
Strange Illusion is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. According to noir historian Spencer Selby the film is, "A stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies."-Plot summary:...
(1945) and Detour
Detour (1945 film)
Detour is a film noir thriller that stars Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake and Edmund MacDonald. The movie was adapted by Martin Goldsmith and Martin Mooney from Goldsmith's novel of the same name and was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer...
(1945). All three have been recognized more recently as minor artistic achievements. The PRC production Hitler's Madman
Hitler's Madman
Hitler's Madman is a 1943 World War II film about the assassination of Nazi Reinhard Heydrich and the revenge taken by the Germans. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal for PRC and Angelus Pictures, Inc. The shooting of Hitler's Madman took place late in 1942 and early 1943...
was picked up by MGM for distribution, and one of PRC's music composers, Leo Erdody, was nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for his musical score for PRC's Minstrel Man
Minstrel Man (1944 film)
Minstrel Man is a 1944 American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was nominated for two Academy Awards ....
in 1944.
PRC was purchased by Pathe Industries
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
, though the only noticeable change was of the name of the company's production arm to PRC Pictures Inc. The company otherwise continued to flourish within its own element until after WWII. The distribution arm of the company was absorbed in the formation of Eagle-Lion Films Inc.
Eagle-Lion Films
Eagle-Lion Films was a British film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to release British productions in the United States. In 1947 it acquired PRC Pictures, a small American production company, to produce B Pictures to accompany the British releases...
in 1946, and the production arm (and, therewith, the entire company) followed shortly thereafter in 1947. Eagle-Lion would distribute the backlog of films from PRC until 1955, when United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
bought the company.
From 1950 the American CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network was screening PRC films on television.
External links
- The History of PRC on (re)Search my Trash