On The Boulevard: P.R.C.

Not a real star on walk of fame

We're moving a few blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard. What you see below is what was once one of the more famous studios of Poverty Row. See, in days of yore, Hollywood wasn't just the dream factory for big budget musicals or epic landscapes. It was also where tons of smaller production companies pumped out low budget fare that was looked at as disposable money makers.

PRC Productions (Producers Releasing Corp) was one of these studios. It may have been small, but in the 30's and 40's it held enough dough to produce, distribute and even import movies from England for U.S. distribution. They specialized in westerns, noir and horror films. Back then, much like now, genre films were an easy way to make a quick buck. Emphasis on the word "quick" since most of their movies were shot in about a week.

PRC Studios 1941

But it was these small budgets and a lack of supervision that allowed filmmakers like Edgar G. Ulmer to experiment and make movies with themes and stories that the big guys at Warners or MGM wouldn't touch. Ulmer would make three of his better known films for PRC. Bluebeard (1944), Strange Illusion (1945) and the noir geeks totem Detour (1945). Other fun titles produced by the company were Crime Inc. (1945), Thunder Town (1946), Nabonga (1944), and The Devil Bat (1940) starring Bela Lugosi. Overall they'd make 280 films in 13 years. Just under 22 movies a year, not too shabby.

PRC Studios 2009

In 1947, PRC would be bought up by Eagle-Lion Films Inc. and fade away into the larger myth of Poverty Row. It may not be as well known today to film geeks like Monogram or Republic Pictures, but PRC has left an indelible mark on B-movie history and has earned star (from me) on the boulevard.