Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 53 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each

Michael R. Pitts

McFarland & Company, Jan 1, 1997 - Performing Arts - 534 pages

From the beginning of the sound era until the end of the 1930s, independent movie-making thrived. Many of the independent studios were headquartered in a section of Hollywood called Poverty Row. Here the independents made movies on the cheap, usually at rented facilities where shooting was limited to only a few days.
From Allied Pictures Corporation to Willis Kent Production, 55 Poverty Row Studios are given histories in this book. Some of the studios, such Diversion Pictures and Cresent Pictures, came into existence for the sole purpose of releasing movies by established stars; others, for example J.D. Kendis, were early exploitation filmmakers under the guise of sex education. The histories include critical commentary on the studio's output and a filmography of all titles released from 1929 through 1939.

Contents

• Ajax Pictures: 14
• AmbassadorConnMelody Pictures: 29
• Artclass Pictures: 42

About the author

has written numerous books on entertainment including Famous Movie Detectives i & ii. He is also the co author of Scarecrow Press's The Great Picture Series

Bibliographic information

• Title: Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 53 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each
• Author: Michael R. Pitts
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: McFarland & Company, 1997
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Feb 26, 2008
• ISBN: 0786401680, 9780786401680
• Length: 534 pages
• Subjects: Performing Arts / Film & Video / General