| Industry | Film studio |
|---|---|
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Successor | Astor Pictures |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Defunct | 1939 |
| Key people | Edward L. Alperson |
Grand National Films, Inc or Grand National Pictures was an American motion picture company in operation from 1936-1939.[1] The company has no relation to the British Grand National Pictures.
A film exchange manager by the name of Edward L. Alperson created Grand National in 1936. Grand National was originally meant to distribute films in the manner of United Artists or Monogram Pictures but the studio soon began its own production to compete with the major movie studios when Grand National acquired the studio complex of the diminished Educational Pictures. Alperson dreamed up the studio's logo, a futuristic clock tower with an idea to advertise "it's time to see a Grand National release".[2]
Grand National was able to acquire James Cagney as an independent producer for a few films, hired Boris Karloff for one film, featured singing cowboy Tex Fletcher for what was to be a series starting with Six-Gun Rhythm, used singing cowboy Tex Ritter and singing cowgirl Dorothy Page for a series of Westerns, and made a series of mysteries with the character of The Shadow. Grand National made a few features in Cinecolor that they called "Hirlicolor" after producer George Hirliman.
After making Great Guy, Cagney was offered Angels With Dirty Faces that Grand National had acquired but Cagney, worried about being typecast as a gangster as he had at Warner Bros. opted instead for a musical satire on Hollywood called Something to Sing About directed by Victor Schertzinger. Wags called it "Something to Cry About" as the film failed.[2]
The studio went into liquidation in 1939 with completed but not yet released films sold to Universal Pictures for release under their name. The negatives of Grand National acquired by Astor Pictures for re-release. The studio complex was acquired by Producers Releasing Corporation.