Grand National Films
Grand National Films, Inc , also known as Grand National Pictures , was an American film company that existed from 1936 to 1939.
history
The film distributor Edward L. Alperson founded Grand National in 1936. Originally intended as a film distributor in the style of United Artists or Monogram Pictures , the film studio soon began making its own productions when Grand National appropriated the studio complex of Educational Pictures . Alperson invented the studio's logo. it represented a futuristic clock tower , the subtitle / slogan was “it's time to see a Grand National release” (Eng. “It is time to see a Grand National release”).
Grand National won James Cagney as producer for two films and bought the rights to a British film starring Boris Karloff . With Tex Fletcher and his film Six-Gun Rhythm , Tex Ritter and Dorothy Page , they shot some westerns in the style of the singing cowboy films that are currently popular . They also made some films in the Shadow series. In addition to the westerns, the greatest successes were the comedies by Charles Lamont . Grand National also shot several color films using the Cinecolor process, which they named "Hirlicolor" after film producer George Hirliman .
After Great Guy (1936), Cagney was offered Chicago angels with dirty faces . But instead, Cagney decided to shoot the musical comedy Music in his fists , as he was afraid of being subscribed to gangster films . After this film flopped, he turned to Chicago - Angels with Dirty Faces , but for Warner Bros.
In 1939 the studio went bankrupt and sold its finished but not yet released films to Universal Pictures . The previously released films went to Astor Pictures and the studio complex was bought by the Producers Releasing Corporation .
At the Academy Awards in 1938 , two employees from the music and sound department were nominated for an Oscar. AE Kaye was nominated for The Girl Said No (1937) for Best Sound and Constantin Bakaleinikoff for Music in Fists for Best Film Music.
Filmography (selection)
Grand National released over 100 films during the three years of its existence. These included:
- 1936: Captain Calamity
- 1937: Carmen in Texas ( Trouble in Texas )
- 1937: Music in Fists ( Something to Sing About )
- 1937: The Girl Said No.
- 1938: Swing It, Sailor!
- 1938: Here's Flash Casey
- 1938: Mr. Boggs Steps Out
- 1939: Exile Express
- 1940: Isle of Destiny (published by RKO Pictures )