| Type | Film Production |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founders | M.H. Hoffman |
| Defunct | 1935 |
| Fate | Acquired by Republic Pictures |
Liberty Pictures was an American film production company of the 1930s. Part of Poverty Row, the company produced low-budget B pictures. It was one of two companies controlled by the producer M.H. Hoffman along with Allied Pictures.
The company produced its first film, Ex-Flame , loosely based on the Victorian novel East Lynne , in 1930. In 1935 the company was taken over by the larger Republic Pictures. [1] When absorbing the company, Republic adopted the symbolic motif of Liberty Pictures - the Liberty Bell ringing in Philadelphia. This merger constituted an attempt by Herbert Yates to rationalize Poverty Row and create a ninth[ clarification needed ] major studio.
Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small B movie studios. Although many of them were based on today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did not necessarily refer to any specific physical location, but was rather a figurative catch-all for low-budget films produced by these lower-tier studios.
Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other companies to form Republic Pictures.
Reliable Pictures was an American film production and distribution company which operated from 1933 until 1937. Established by Harry S. Webb and Bernard B. Ray, it was a low-budget Poverty Row outfit that primarily specialized in Westerns. After its demise, the company's studios were taken over by Monogram Pictures.
Victory Pictures Corporation was a California-based film production and distribution company that operated from 1935 to 1939. It was owned by Sam Katzman and specialised in making low-budget movies, predominantly Westerns. It made two serials and 30 films, including some of the Western series of Bob Steele and Tim McCoy. It also made eight films based on the works of Peter B. Kyne.
Majestic Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active during the 1930s. Under the control of Larry Darmour, the company specialized in low-budget productions and was one of the more stable Poverty Row outfits during the period. It also gained a reputation for producing higher quality films than was common amongst similar studios, possibly due to a business arrangement the company had with the major studio MGM.
Chesterfield Motion Picture Corporation, generally shortened to Chesterfield Pictures, was an American film production company of the 1920s and 1930s. The company head was George R. Batcheller, and the company worked in tandem with its sister studio, Invincible Pictures Corporation, which was led by Maury Cohen. The production company never owned its own studio and rented space at other studios, primarily Universal Pictures and RKO.
Maury Cohen, also known as Maury M. Cohen, was an American film producer most active during the 1930s. He owned one of the Poverty Row studios, Invincible films, which specialized in making low-budget feature films. After leaving film in the early 1940s, Cohen founded and ran the historic dance club in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Palladium.
M. A. Anderson was an American cinematographer. He worked for the Poverty Row studio Chesterfield Pictures during the 1930s.
Roland D. Reed was an American film editor, producer and director. He worked on many films for the low-budget Chesterfield Pictures and later started Roland Reed Productions, Inc. that shut down in November 1956. In addition to TV series, Reed made industrial and Christian films as well as television commercials that were filmed at Hal Roach Studios.
Tremlet C. Carr was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist producers of B pictures in Hollywood.
Allied Pictures was an American film production company that operated between 1931 and 1934. Controlled by the producer M.H. Hoffman, it was one of the Poverty Row companies of the era turning out low-budget B pictures. The company's best known film is A Shriek in the Night, a thriller from 1933 starring Ginger Rogers.
Ex-Flame is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Neil Hamilton, Marian Nixon, and Norman Kerry. The film is an adaptation of the 1861 Victorian novel East Lynne, but is set in contemporary England. This was the first production of the Poverty Row company Liberty Pictures. The following year, a more celebrated film version of the novel was released by Fox Film. Some sources state this is a lost film.
M. H. Hoffman was an American studio owner and film producer. In the 1920s and 30s, Hoffman made films for seven different studios. He is particularly associated with Poverty Row where studios he founded -Allied Pictures, Liberty Pictures and Tiffany Pictures produced mainly low-budget B pictures.
W. Ray Johnston was an American film producer. He was associated with low-budget filmmaking, in particular with the larger Poverty Row studios Rayart Pictures and Monogram Pictures. Before founding Rayart in 1924, he also acted in a handful of films.
Mayfair Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active between 1931 and 1934 during the early sound era. It grew out of Action Pictures, another low-budget studio location on Poverty Row. It was established by the producer Ralph M. Like and was located at the former Charles Ray Studios in Hollywood.
Ralph M. Like (1894–1955) was an American film producer. He was involved with several independent film companies producing low-budget releases on Poverty Row. In 1932 he established Mayfair Pictures. Other companies he was involved with were Action Pictures and Progressive Pictures. After his studios folded in 1934, he produced only one further film You Can't Beat the Law for Monogram in 1943. Like also worked as a sound engineer at some of the major studios.
Phil Goldstone (1893–1963) was a Polish-born American film producer and director. He was also a real estate developer in Palm Springs. Goldstone was involved with low-budget Poverty Row companies such as Majestic Pictures.
Barry Barringer (1888–1938) was an American screenwriter. He also directed three films during the silent era He generally worked for low-budget Poverty Row companies.
Fred Bain (1895–1965) was an American film editor. A prolific worker, he edited over a hundred and seventy films, mainly westerns and action films, and also directed three. He worked at a variety of low-budget studios including Reliable Pictures, Grand National and Monogram Pictures. He was sometimes credited as Frederick Bain.
The Quitter is a 1934 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Charley Grapewin, Emma Dunn and Barbara Weeks. It was produced and distributed by the Poverty Row studio Chesterfield Pictures, later absorbed into Republic.
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