Monogram's stars Monogram Pictures

poster movie wife wanted (1946), featuring star kay francis , other cast members

in years, monogram seldom afford big-name movie stars , employ either former silent-film actors idle (herbert rawlinson, william collier, sr.) or young featured players (ray walker, wallace ford).

in 1938 monogram began long , profitable policy of making series , hiring familiar players star in them. frankie darro, hollywood s foremost tough-kid actor of 1930s, joined monogram , stayed company until 1950. comedian mantan moreland co-starred in many of darros , continued valuable asset monogram through 1949.

juvenile actors marcia mae jones , jackie moran carried series of homespun romances. crime themes dominated roster @ monogram in late thirties , forties. example, forgettable though endearing riot squad (1941) cast richard cromwell doctor working covertly police department catch mobsters before girlfriend rita quigley breaks engagement.

boris karloff brought touch of class monogram release schedule mr. wong mysteries. prompted producer sam katzman engage bela lugosi follow-up series of monogram thrillers. katzman hit bull s-eye street-gang series east side kids, ran 1940 1945. east side star leo gorcey took reins himself , transformed series bowery boys, became longest-running feature-film comedy series in movie history (48 titles on 12 years). during run, gorcey became highest paid actor in hollywood on annual basis.

monogram catered western fans. studio released sagebrush sagas bill cody, bob steele, john wayne, tom keene, tim mccoy, tex ritter, , jack randall before hitting on trio format teaming veteran saddle pals. buck jones, tim mccoy, , raymond hatton became rough riders; ray (crash) corrigan, john dusty king, , max terhune range busters, , ken maynard, hoot gibson, , bob steele teamed trail blazers. when universal pictures allowed johnny mack brown s contract lapse, monogram grabbed him , kept him busy through 1952.

the studio launching pad stars of future (preston foster in sensation hunters, randolph scott in broken dreams, ginger rogers in thirteenth guest, lionel atwill in sphinx, alan ladd in first romance, robert mitchum in when strangers marry. studio haven established stars careers had stalled: edmund lowe in klondike fury, john boles in road happiness, ricardo cortez in killed man, simone simon in johnny doesn t live here anymore, kay francis , bruce cabot in divorce.

monogram did create , nurture own stars. gale storm began career @ rko radio pictures in 1940 found home @ monogram. storm had been promoted monogram s frankie darro series , showcased in crime dramas (like cosmo jones, crime smasher (1943) opposite richard cromwell , radio s frank graham in title role) , string of musicals capitalize on singing talents (like campus rhythm , eighteen, both 1943). of monogram s finds during time british skating star belita, conversely starred in musical revues first , graduated dramatic roles, including suspense (1946), a-budget king brothers productions picture released under monogram name.