Kroger Babb
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Howard W. "Kroger" Babb (December 30, 1906 – January 28, 1980) was an American film producer and
showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling Funfair, showmen ("showies") are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events ...
. His
marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with roots in the
medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common ...
tradition. Self-described as "America's Fearless Young Showman", Eric Schaefer, ''Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films, 1919–1959'' (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1999; ). he is best known for his presentation of the 1945
exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...
'' Mom and Dad'', which was added to the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
of the
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in 2005. Babb was involved in the production and marketing of many films and television shows, promoting each according to his favorite marketing
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
: "You gotta tell 'em to sell 'em."David F. Friedman, ''A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-Film King'' (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1990; ). His films ranged from
sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...
-style dramas to "documentaries" on foreign cultures, intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks.


Youth

Babb was born in 1906 in Lees Creek, Ohio.Kenneth Turan, "Kroger Babb: Superhuckster", ''Los Angeles Times''; reprinted in ''The Washington Post'', November 11, 1977, p. 23. He earned the nickname "Kroger" either from his childhood job at the grocer of the same name Joe Bob Briggs, ''Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History!'' (New York: Universe Publishing, 2003; ). or from his father's preference for B.H. Kroger coffee. Babb held a number of jobs during his youth, gaining a mention in ''
Ripley's Believe It Or Not ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
'' for
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
ing a record number of youth sports games. He started out with jobs in sportswriting and reporting at a local newspaper in his 20s, and even showed signs of his later work while showcasing "Digger" O'Dell, the "living corpse", but first achieved success after his promotion to publicity manager for the Chakeres-Warners movie theaters, where he would create different kinds of stunts to lure audiences—for example, a drawing to award two bags of groceries to one ticket holder at selected theaters. In the early 1940s Babb joined Cox and Underwood, a company that obtained the rights to poorly made or otherwise unmarketable films of subjects that were potentially controversial or shocking. It would often remove entire sections of these films and add material such as medical reels that lent itself to sensational promotion. Babb went on the road with a Cox and Underwood concoction titled ''Dust to Dust'', a reworking of ''High School Girl'' with a childbirth scene added to the end. Its profits allowed Cox and Underwood to retire from the business, leaving Babb to start his own company, Hygienic Productions. He opened it near his childhood home in Wilmington, Ohio, and hired booking agents and advance salesmen along with out-of-work actors and comedians to present repackaged films and new features.


Film promotion

Babb is best known for his presentation of
exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...
s, a term many in the business would embrace. According to ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', his success came from picking topics that would be easily sensationalized, such as religion and sex. His expenses were estimated at 5% for selling, and his distribution overhead near 7%, resulting in some of the largest per-dollar returns in the film industry.''Hollywood Reporter'', August 20, 1951. Babb's biggest success was ''Mom and Dad'', which he conceived and produced and which
William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out a remarkable 179 feature-length films in a wide variety of genres. He is best know ...
directed in six days. Babb headed the promotion of this film following its premiere in early 1945, often going on the road with it himself. The film, a
morality tale The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
about a young girl who becomes pregnant and struggles to find someone to turn to, cost $62,000 and over 300 prints were struck and sent to theaters all over the country,National Film Registry 2005 Press Release
, Library of Congress (URL accessed August 27, 2006).
with a "presenter"—later known as an advance man—and the presenter would stir up his own controversy in the weeks preceding the film's arrival by writing protest letters to local churches and newspapers and fabricating letters from the mayors of nearby cities relating tales of young women encouraged by the film to discuss similar predicaments. The third highest-grossing film of its decade, ''Mom and Dad'' was claimed by Babb to have made $63,000 for every $1,000 the original investors contributed,Kroger Babb obituary, ''Variety'', January 30, 1980. and the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' estimated that it grossed anywhere from $40 million to $100 million. Its success spawned a number of imitations, such as '' Street Corner'' and '' The Story of Bob and Sally'', that eventually flooded the market, but it was still being shown around the world decades later* Dennis McDougal, "Filmmaker Babb let promotion offset low budgets". '' The Press-Enterprise, (Riverside, CA)'', unknown date. and ultimately was added to the National Film Registry in 2005. The success of ''Mom and Dad'' was mostly due to Babb's marketing strategy of overwhelming a small town with ads and generating controversy. Eric Schaefer explains: :Acknowledging that his films were unknown quantities, Babb advocated a "100% saturation campaign". In his sample situation--The Deadwood Theater in Movie-hater, Missouri, with a potential audience base of twenty-four thousand--Babb suggested sending tabloid heralds to all seven thousand homes in the area at a cost of $196, spending $65 for newspaper ads, $50 on radio, plus an additional $65 for three hundred window cards, hand-out teaser cards, pennants, and posters. The total came to almost $400, or the same amount the theater owner would normally spend on advertising in the course of an entire month. Babb always claimed that with his formula the profit would outweigh the investment... The film became so ubiquitous that ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' said its presentation "left only the livestock unaware of the chance to learn the facts of life". Babb also made sure that each showing of the film followed a similar format: adults-only screenings segregated by gender, and live lectures by "Fearless Hygiene Commentator Elliot Forbes" during an intermission. At any one time, hundreds of Elliot Forbeses would be giving a lecture at the same time in a variety of locations. (in some predominantly
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
areas, Olympic
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
ist
Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...
appeared instead, a trend he'd continue with films like ''"She Shoulda Said 'No'!"''Mike Quarles, ''Down and Dirty: Hollywood's Exploitation Filmmakers and Their Movies'' (
Jefferson, North Carolina Jefferson is a town in and the county seat of Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,622. History The North Carolina General Assembly created a special commission in 1799 to found a county seat fo ...
, McFarland, 2001; ). p56.
) According to entertainer Card Mondor, an Elliot Forbes in the 1940s who later purchased the Australian and New Zealand rights for ''Mom and Dad'', the Forbeses were "mostly local men (from Wilmington, Ohio) who were trained to give the lecture . . . was a cross-section of the male population, mostly clean-cut young guys . . . The whole concept would have never worked with a trashy look."Card Mondor, letter to Michael Zengel, February 5, 1994 (available from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences archives). During the intermission and after the showing, books relevant to the subject of the film were sold. ''Mom and Dad'''s distributor Modern Film Distributors sold over 45,000 copies of ''Man and Boy'' and ''Woman and Girl'', written by Babb's wife, netting an estimated $31,000. According to Babb, these cost about eight cents to produce, and were sold for $1 apiece. While Modern Film was able to sell 45,000 on its own, Babb estimates sales of 40 million, citing "
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
figures." This sort of companion selling would become common practice for Babb: with the religious film '' The Lawton Story (AKA-Prince of Peace)'', he would sell Bibles and other spiritual literature; and with his fidelity film '' Why Men Leave Home'' books featuring beauty tips. With other films, Babb would try different approaches. For '' She Shoulda Said No!'', an anti-
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
film of the 1950s, he highlighted the sexual scenes and arranged "one-time-only" midnight showings, claiming that his company was working with the United States Treasury Department to release the film "in as many towns and cities as possible in the shortest possible length of time" as a public service. David F. Friedman, another successful exploitation filmmaker of the era, has attributed the "one-time-only" distribution to a quality so low that Babb wanted to cash in and move to his next stop as fast as possible. At each showing of a film, a singing of "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
" was also required.John Windsor,
Shot in glorious sexploitation.
''The Guardian'', September 11, 2005. URL accessed January 11, 2006.
As well as being at the forefront of the battles over censorship and the motion picture censorship system, the exploitation genre faced numerous challenges during the 1940s and 1950s. It was estimated that Babb was sued over 400 times just for ''Mom and Dad'' (Babb himself claimed 428). He would often use the supposed educational value of the films as a defense, also recommending it to theater owners; in his
pressbook In the world of theatrical film exhibition, a pressbook was a promotional tool created and distributed by film distributors in order to market their films. Sometimes called "campaign manuals," most pressbooks took the form of large, multi-page bro ...
for ''
Karamoja The Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Uganda. It covers an area of 27,528km and comprises the Kotido District, Kaabong District, Karenga District, Nabilatuk District, Abim District, Moroto District, Napak D ...
'', he wrote, "When a stupid jerk tries to outsmart proven facts, he should be in an asylum, not a theater." Despite the criticism that Babb drew for ''Mom and Dad'', in 1951 he received the first annual
Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American entrepreneur and showman who established two of Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Chinese The ...
Showmanship Award, presented by the Hollywood
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in honor of his accomplishments over the years."Kroger Babb to Get Showmanship Award", ''The Hollywood Reporter'', January 31, 1951.


Later films

Following the success of ''Mom and Dad'', Babb renamed his company Hallmark Productions, continuing the marketing approaches of Hygienic Productions while going beyond health and sex education films. He would later set up a larger distribution company, named Hallmark's Big-6."Babb, 5 Others Form New Indie Distribution Outfit", ''Variety'', 23 May issue, year unknown (c. 1960). Babb cheaply acquired the rights to what would become ''" She Shoulda Said No!"'' shortly after
Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...
and Lila Leeds were arrested for marijuana use. Its original producer had struggled to get it distributed as ''Wild Weed'', and Babb quickly presented it as ''The Story of Lila Leeds and Her Exposé of the Marijuana Racket'', hoping that the title would draw audiences. When it failed to stir up much interest, Babb instead focused on the one scene of female nudity, using a photo of Leeds in a
showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...
outfit, and retitled it ''"She Shoulda Said 'No'!"'', with
tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...
s such as "How Bad Can a Good Girl Get . . . without losing her virtue or respect???" According to Friedman, Babb's midnight presentation of the film twice a week made more money than any other film at the same theater would earn over a full run; Friedman proceeded to use the film in his own roadshow double features. Babb's associates agreed with his belief that "Nothing's hopeless if it's advertised right", stating that he "could take any piece of junk and sell it". One film Babb presented in the 1950s was centered on an annual
passion play The Passion Play or Easter pageant is a dramatic Play (theatre), presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus: his Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, trial, suffering and death. The viewing of and participation in Passion Plays is a traditional part of L ...
and the story behind putting it on, filmed in 1948 in
Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...
. Initially called '' The Lawton Story'' and filmed in
Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel an ...
, the film was so cheaply, shoddily and quickly made that telephone poles could be seen behind the
crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
. Its cast consisted of local non-professionals whose Oklahoma twangs were so thick that all of their lines had to re-recorded by professional voice-over actors; upon release, one reviewer described it as "the only film that had to be dubbed from English to English". In addition to re-dubbing it, Babb re-edited and re-titled it ''The Prince of Peace''; it was so successful that the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' called it "the Miracle of Broadway". Another film, ''
Karamoja The Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Uganda. It covers an area of 27,528km and comprises the Kotido District, Kaabong District, Karenga District, Nabilatuk District, Abim District, Moroto District, Napak D ...
'', was marketed as a shocking portrayal of a tribe from
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
who wore "only the wind and live on blood and beer". Scenes included "the bleeding of cattle and drinking of the warm blood, and
self-mutilation Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-abuse, self-injury, and se ...
as a form of ornamentation", as well as a full-color
circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
scene. ''Karamoja'' proved less controversial than many of Babb's other films and grossed less. Babb never repeated the overwhelming success of ''Mom and Dad'', and he followed much of the exploitation industry in turning to
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
features in an attempt to make more money. One notorious attempt was his acquisition of the American theatrical rights for
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
's ''Sommaren med Monika'' ('' Summer with Monika''). About one-third of the film was cut, and the remaining 62 minutes emphasized nudity by retaining a skinny-dipping scene; the result was titled ''Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl''. Suggestive advertising art, including promotional postcards, portrayed the nude rear of Harriet Andersson. Babb's final film was his presentation of a European version of
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...
's book ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...
''. This was described by Friedman as one of the most "unintentionally funny exploitation films ever made", filled with "second-rate Italian actors who could barely speak English".


Other ventures

After the success of ''Mom and Dad'', Babb talked of an "unrealized" project called ''Father Bingo'', which he advertised in ''
BoxOffice ''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP. History It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...
'' magazine as "An Exposé of Gambling in the Parish Halls" and described as a comedy with an anti-gambling message about a corrupt priest who runs a "controlled" bingo night at his parish. Babb called it "the best 'snow-job' of my life", and it has been speculated that he never intended to make it, despite the trade ads that appeared for years. Babb was involved with many film production companies along with his own, including Southwestern Productions. Virginia Kelley. ''Leading with My Heart''. Simon & Schuster, 1984. On the strength of his past successes, Babb joined John Miller's film production company, Miller-Consolidated Pictures, as vice president and general manager in 1959. Babb advocated the use of the hard-selling technique he had perfected as a presenter: "selling the sizzle instead of the steak", according to an interview."$1 million Movie I.Q. Contest Tops MCP Exploitation Plan", ''BoxOffice'', November 9, 1959, pp. 28–29, 180. He wrote a column for ''BoxOffice'' at the same time. His personal anecdotes provided advice for selling films, such as writing off expenses as
tax deduction A tax deduction or benefit is an amount deducted from taxable income, usually based on expenses such as those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The diff ...
s, and using
women's clubs The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...
to expand advertising and revenues cheaply. He noted that there were "over 30,000 women's clubs", and that "practically every women's club has a
16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...
". In 1963 Babb formed another distribution company, Studio 10,001. Operating in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
(and claiming representation in Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand"Kroger Babb Forms New Distributing Co", ''BoxOffice'', July 24, 1963.), it used similar roadshow techniques to market television programs such as '' The Ern Westmore Show''.''Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews'', vol. 18, ''1993–1994'' (New York: Garland, 1996; ). Babb also acted as a showman for hire, promoting others' films when not working on his own. Among them was a nudie-cutie picture titled ''Kipling's Women'', a
peep show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...
, and '' Five Minutes to Love'', a reworking of a
Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles on television sitcoms, including Maude (TV series)#Characters, Vivian Cavender Harmon on ''Maude (TV series), Maude'' (1972–78), ...
film. Babb began creating promotion kits entitled "Who's Got the Ball?" in an attempt to teach his craft to would-be presenters. Marketing himself as "MR. PIHSNAMWOHS" ("showmanship" backwards), he advertised in ''BoxOffice''. He also dabbled in other areas, writing tirades against pay television and creating a
pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model which, rather than earning money (or providing Return on investment, returns on investments) by sale of legitimate product (business), products to an end consumer, mainly earns money by recruiting new members ...
titled "The Idea Factory". One of his schemes was the "Astounding Swedish Ice Cream Diet": overweight throughout his life, Babb claimed to have eaten
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
three times a day, yet to have lost 100 pounds in 45 days.


Personal life

Babb met Mildred Horn in 1944 during a showing of ''Dust to Dust'' in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, where she was working as a movie critic; her review of the film called it a "cheap, mislabeled
morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
", but the two struck up a conversation about it. They stayed together in a
common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, more uxorio or marriage by habit and repute, is a marriage that results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, follo ...
; Horn wrote a number of Babb's screenplays, including ''Mom and Dad'', as well as companion books. In November 1953 Babb was arrested on a drunk-driving charge after running a red
traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...
and refusing a sobriety test. His $250 bail was continued, and he was not convicted, although this mishap to the recent creator of the anti-alcohol film '' One Too Many'' was widely covered in the press."Producer of Film ''One Too Many'' Denies Being Tipsy", ''Los Angeles Examiner'', November 30, 1953; "TV Producer Arrested in Drunk Driving Case", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 30, 1953; "Producer Arrested on Drunk Charge", ''Citizen News'', November 30, 1953. Babb had tax troubles in the years after his success with ''Mom and Dad''. He suggested to the ''Press-Enterprise'' that his operation was so diffuse that sales of his one-dollar sex education
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
s were too difficult to track accurately. Babb eventually sold the rights to ''Mom and Dad'' and his stake in Modern Film Distributors to Irwin Joseph and Floyd Lewis—former partners in Modern Film who would continue to showcase ''Mom and Dad'' across the United States.Mildred A. Babb, letter in ''Los Angeles Times'', May 4, 1986. Babb suffered from various ailments toward the end of his life, including a stroke. He retired in 1977, at 70,"Death: Kroger Babb", ''Hollywood Gazette'', January 30, 1980. and died of heart failure (due to complications from
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
) on January 29, 1980, in
Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
. His gravestone reads, "His many trips around and all over the world began in Centerville and end here in Lees Creek."Photo from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Library.


Works

Babb worked in various areas of the entertainment industry, in both traditional and exploitation genres. He claimed to have made twenty films, and produced for television,"Better Read That TV Script a Leetle Closer, Mr. Babb", ''Mirror'', November 30, 1953. radio,"Specialist", ''The New York Times'', March 18, 1951. and even the stage.Copy of talk by Kroger Babb, introducing himself to Hollywood producers (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library). This is an incomplete collection of works owing to the nature of the exploitation genre. The titles are as they were finally presented by Babb, with earlier titles noted in parentheses."Kroger Babb to Handle ''Kwaheri'' in 11 States", ''BoxOffice'', April 26, 1965.


As film producer

* '' Dust to Dust'' (1938) * '' Mom and Dad'' (1945) * '' The Lawton Story'' (1949) * '' One Too Many'' (1951) * '' Secrets of Beauty'' (1951)


As film writer

* '' One Too Many''


As film distributor

* '' She Shoulda Said No!'' (previously ''Marijuana, the Devil's Weed'', ''The Devil's Weed'', ''Wild Weed'', ''The Story of Lila Leeds and Her Exposé of the Marijuana Racket'') (1949) * '' Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl'' (original title ''Sommaren med Monika'', later re-issued by others in full as ''Summer with Monika'') (1949) * ''Delinquent Angels'' (1951) * '' The Best is Yet to Come'' (1951) * ''
Karamoja The Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Uganda. It covers an area of 27,528km and comprises the Kotido District, Kaabong District, Karenga District, Nabilatuk District, Abim District, Moroto District, Napak D ...
'' (1954) * ''Kipling's Women'' (1961) * '' Kwaheri'' (1961) * '' Five Minutes to Love'' (previously ''The Rotten Apple'', ''It Only Takes Five Minutes'') (1963) * ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...
'' (1970) originally released in Europe in 1965 * ''Redheads vs. Blondes'' (undated)


Television

* '' The Ern Westmore Hollywood Glamour Show'',Frank Westmore and Muriel Davidson. ''The Westmores of Hollywood''. J. B. Lippincott, New York City, 1976. producer (1953)


Stage

* ''French Follies''


References


External links

* Briggs, Joe Bob.
Kroger Babb's Roadshow
. ''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
'', November 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Babb, Kroger 1906 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Palm Springs, California Deaths from diabetes in California Film producers from California Film producers from Ohio People from Clinton County, Ohio