Editing Monogram Pictures (section)

==History==
Monogram was created in the early 1930s from two earlier companies:  [[W. Ray Johnston]]'s [[Rayart Productions]] (renamed Raytone when sound pictures came in) and [[Trem Carr]]'s [[Sono Art-World Wide Pictures]]. Both specialized in low-budget features, a policy which continued at Monogram Pictures, with Carr in charge of production. Another independent producer, [[Paul Malvern]], released 16 Lone Star western productions (starring [[John Wayne]]) through Monogram.{{sfn|Okuda|1999}}

The backbone of the studio's early days was a father-son partnership: writer/director [[Robert N. Bradbury]] and cowboy actor [[Bob Steele (actor)|Bob Steele]] (born Robert A. Bradbury). Bradbury wrote almost all of the early Monogram and Lone Star westerns and directed many of them himself. Monogram offered a selection of film genres, including action melodramas, classics, and mysteries.{{sfn|Miller|1987}} In its early years, Monogram could seldom afford big-name movie stars and would employ either former silent-film actors who were idle ([[Herbert Rawlinson]], [[William Collier Sr.]]) or young featured players ([[Ray Walker (actor)|Ray Walker]], [[Wallace Ford]], [[William Cagney]], [[Charles Starrett]]).

In 1935, Johnston and Carr were wooed by [[Herbert Yates]] of [[Consolidated Film Industries]].  Yates planned to merge Monogram with several other smaller independent companies to form [[Republic Pictures]]. After a brief period under this new venture, Johnston and Carr clashed with Yates and left. Carr moved to [[Universal Pictures]], while Johnston reactivated Monogram in 1937.{{sfn|Miller|1987}}

[[File:WifeWantedPoster.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Poster for the movie ''[[Wife Wanted (1946 film)|Wife Wanted]]'' (1946), featuring star [[Kay Francis]] and other cast members]]
{{multiple image
  | direction = vertical
  | width     = 218
  | footer    = [[Bela Lugosi]] appeared in a string of Monogram productions throughout the 1940s.
  | image1    = CorpseVanishesLugosi001A.jpg
  | image2    = VoodooManLobbyCard1944A.jpg
  | image3    = Spooksrunwildlobbycard3Cropped.jpg
}}