Grand National Films Inc.

Grand National Films Inc., also known as Grand National Pictures, Grand National Productions, and Grand National Film Distributing Co., was an American independent motion-picture production and distribution company that operated from 1936 until its liquidation in 1939. It emerged from First Division Pictures, a releasing organization that served low-budget independent producers and maintained a network of film exchanges. Edward L. Alperson, a film-exchange manager and First Division board member, took control of First Division's exchanges, product line, and contracts in April 1936 and reorganized the business under the Grand National name. Alperson believed the First Division identity had become too closely associated with inexpensive pictures. He therefore positioned Grand National as a more ambitious independent distributor, seeking to release higher-grade features to theaters outside the dominant major-studio circuits. The company developed a California-based production operation and shared facilities associated with Educational Pictures, a producer and distributor best known for comedy shorts. Its visual identity included a futuristic clock-tower logo built around the advertising idea that it was time to see a Grand National picture. The company operated across several popular genres. Westerns formed an important part of its program, including films featuring singing cowboy Tex Ritter, established action performer Ken Maynard, and newer performers Tex Fletcher and Dorothy Page. Grand National also issued mysteries, action films, problem melodramas, and comedies. Charles Lamont was among the company's recurring creative talents, while producer George Hirliman experimented with a two-color process marketed as Hirlicolor. Hirliman also produced a four-film series centered on federal agents Reynolds and O'Connor, played by Eleanor Hunt and Conrad Nagel. Rod La Rocque appeared in mystery pictures built around The Shadow, a character already familiar from popular fiction and radio. Franklyn Warner produced four well-regarded features under the Fine Arts Pictures name during 1938 and 1939. Grand National broadened its profile through partnerships and star acquisitions. It reached an overseas distribution arrangement with Associated British Pictures Corporation and acquired the American rights to the British Boris Karloff film Juggernaut, released in 1937. Its most important commercial gamble was the signing of James Cagney in 1936 after his break with Warner Bros. Cagney made Great Guy for Grand National and then chose the Hollywood musical satire Something to Sing About instead of the gangster story Angels with Dirty Faces, a property Grand National had acquired. The company invested heavily in the Cagney productions, expecting his name to attract audiences and improve its market position. The Cagney strategy did not succeed financially. Neither Great Guy nor Something to Sing About generated a profit, and their production costs were too high for Grand National's principal customers: small neighborhood theaters that operated outside the major studios' theater networks and generally paid modest rental fees for lower-budget films. The resulting mismatch between costs and distribution revenue became a major factor in the company's collapse. Angels with Dirty Faces ultimately went to Warner Bros., as did Cagney's subsequent association with that studio. An attempted expansion alliance with Educational Pictures executive Earle W. Hammons in 1938 failed to stabilize either business. Grand National entered liquidation in 1939. Completed but unreleased films were sold to Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures, while the company's library was divided among reissue distributors, principally Screencraft Pictures and Astor Pictures. The company released approximately 100 films during its brief three-year run. Many titles later entered the public domain and remain available through legal archival and online sources. Grand National had no corporate relationship with the British company known as Grand National Pictures, although the British firm used the American company's logo.

Grand National developed out of First Division Pictures, a releasing company associated with Harry F. Thomas that provided independent low-budget producers with access to theatrical distribution. First Division handled features commonly made by producers such as Mayfair Pictures, Willis Kent, and Bernard B. Ray. Its program emphasized westerns, mysteries, melodramas, and action pictures. The organization had also distributed the early short-subject documentary series The March of Time before RKO Radio Pictures assumed that responsibility after four installments. Edward L. Alperson, a film-exchange manager and member of First Division's board, took control of the company's exchanges, contracts, and existing product in April 1936. He considered the First Division name commercially limiting because it had become associated with inexpensive production. The renamed Grand National Film Distributing Company was intended to compete for independent-theater business with a more polished feature program, in a role sometimes compared with the position of Republic Pictures among emerging independent studios. During 1936, Alperson began developing Grand National Productions in California. The production unit shared facilities connected with Educational Pictures, whose principal business was comedy shorts. The company introduced a distinctive futuristic clock-tower emblem and used a slogan centered on the idea that audiences should see a Grand National picture. Producer Edward Finney supplied the company with one of its earliest significant attractions, singing cowboy Tex Ritter. Grand National subsequently expanded its western output with Ken Maynard and launched shorter-lived series featuring Tex Fletcher and Dorothy Page. Genre production remained the foundation of the business. Charles Lamont worked repeatedly as a comedy director. George Hirliman made several features using a two-color process he called Hirlicolor, modeled on other economical color systems such as Cinecolor. Hirliman also produced a four-picture federal-agent series with Eleanor Hunt and Conrad Nagel. Mystery production included films featuring Rod La Rocque as The Shadow, a character with an established audience through popular fiction and radio. Franklyn Warner produced four features released under the Fine Arts Pictures name in 1938 and 1939. Grand National also arranged overseas distribution with Associated British Pictures Corporation and released the British Boris Karloff picture Juggernaut in the United States in 1937. The company's most consequential decision was its 1936 agreement with James Cagney. Cagney's availability followed a falling-out with Warner Bros., and his participation gave Grand National a level of publicity well beyond its normal genre market. He made Great Guy, and Grand National had acquired Angels with Dirty Faces, a gangster property that might have reunited Cagney with a familiar screen image. Concerned about being typecast, Cagney instead selected Something to Sing About, a musical satire of Hollywood directed by Victor Schertzinger. Grand National spent substantially more on the Cagney films than was typical for its program. The investment proved unsustainable because the company's distribution customers were mainly small neighborhood theaters outside the major studios' theater circuits. Those exhibitors were accustomed to inexpensive rentals and could not provide the revenue needed to recover the larger production budgets. Neither Cagney film turned a profit, and the Angels with Dirty Faces property ultimately moved to Warner Bros.; Cagney also returned to that studio's orbit. In 1938, Earle W. Hammons of Educational Pictures joined Grand National in an effort to expand both businesses. The alliance failed to produce a viable long-term structure. Grand National entered liquidation in 1939, ending a three-year operation during which it released about 100 films. Completed but unreleased titles were sold to Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures. The remaining library was dispersed among reissue distributors, especially Screencraft Pictures and Astor Pictures. A number of Grand National titles later entered the public domain and became accessible through legal archival and online repositories. The company should not be confused with the unrelated British Grand National Pictures, despite that firm's use of the American company's logo.

• 1939

  Liquidation and dispersal of the library

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Grand National enters liquidation; unreleased films and library assets are transferred to several distributors.

• 1938

  Expansion alliance with Educational Pictures fails

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Earle W. Hammons joins Grand National in an unsuccessful attempt to expand the two companies' operations.

• 1937

  U.S. release of Juggernaut

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Grand National distributes the British Boris Karloff film Juggernaut under an acquired American release arrangement.

• 1936

  Grand National is formed from First Division Pictures

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Edward L. Alperson takes over First Division's exchanges, contracts, and product line and establishes the Grand National distribution identity.

• 1936

  California production operation begins development

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Grand National begins building a production entity in California while sharing facilities associated with Educational Pictures.

• 1936

  James Cagney joins Grand National

  [1]Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  The company signs James Cagney and makes him the centerpiece of a higher-cost feature strategy.

An ambitious independent alternative to the major Hollywood studios, combining low- and mid-budget genre production with theatrical distribution for independent and neighborhood cinemas.

• Feature-film genre · 1936

  Western films

  Westerns were central to Grand National's release program. The company used established performers such as Ken Maynard and singing cowboy Tex Ritter, while also attempting shorter series with Tex Fletcher and Dorothy Page. These films fit the company's independent-theater customer base and provided recurring genre identities without the budgets required by prestige productions.

• Mystery films · 1936

  Mystery and The Shadow films

  Grand National released mystery pictures, including productions featuring silent-era star Rod La Rocque in stories built around The Shadow. The character's popularity in fiction and radio gave the films a recognizable promotional hook and helped the company diversify beyond westerns.

• Feature film · 1936

  Great Guy

  Great Guy was Grand National's first film with James Cagney. The production represented a deliberate move toward a more prominent star vehicle and a larger commercial profile than the company's ordinary low-budget genre releases. Its performance did not recover the level of investment made in the Cagney strategy.

• Musical comedy · 1937

  Something to Sing About

  Directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring James Cagney, Something to Sing About was a musical satire of Hollywood. Cagney selected it instead of the gangster property Angels with Dirty Faces because he wished to avoid further typecasting. The film became one of Grand National's costly but unsuccessful star productions.

• Feature film distribution · 1937

  Juggernaut

  Juggernaut was a British Boris Karloff film for which Grand National acquired American distribution rights. Its release illustrates the company's effort to supplement internally produced genre pictures with selected foreign acquisitions.

• Color feature films

  Hirlicolor productions

  Producer George Hirliman made several Grand National features using a two-color process he branded Hirlicolor. The system was positioned as an economical alternative to more expensive color production and was comparable in concept to Cinecolor.

• 1938

  Attempt expansion with Educational PicturesStrategy

  Background

  Grand National and Educational Pictures sought to strengthen their operations through cooperation involving Educational executive Earle W. Hammons.

  Action taken

  The companies joined forces in an expansion effort.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement was unsuccessful, and Grand National entered liquidation the following year.

  Source

• 1936

  Rebrand First Division as Grand NationalStrategy

  Background

  First Division had become associated with low-budget releases, while Alperson wanted a stronger identity for higher-grade features aimed at independent theaters.

  Action taken

  Alperson renamed the distribution operation Grand National and developed a new logo and California production unit.

  Aftermath

  The rebranding expanded the company's ambitions but did not change its dependence on smaller theaters and modest rental economics.

  Source

• 1936

  Invest in James Cagney star vehiclesStrategy

  Background

  Cagney's availability after his dispute with Warner Bros. gave Grand National an opportunity to attract greater publicity and audiences.

  Action taken

  The company produced Great Guy and Something to Sing About and committed considerably more capital than usual to the productions.

  Aftermath

  Neither picture earned a profit. Their budgets were poorly matched to Grand National's small-theater customer base, contributing materially to the company's collapse.

  Source

1. 1Grand National Films Inc.en.wikipedia.org