Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with African American casts. It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin,

Leo C. Popkin Leo C. Popkin (1914–2011) was a film director and producer in the United States. His brother Harry M. Popkin was the executive producer of Million Dollar Productions, a partnership that included Ralph Cooper. He managed African American movie ...

and Ralph Cooper.

History

Ralph Cooper was an experienced black actor nicknamed "Dark Gable" who was also a singer, dancer, comedian and emcee at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

Amateur Night in Harlem. While contracted to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, Cooper learned film making skills. Together with

George Randol George Randol (1895–1973) was an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer of films in the United States. In 1938 he was honored as an influential film executive in a newspaper writeup of the "Negro" film industry. Life and career Randol was ...

, he formed Cooper-Randol Productions to produce ''Dark Manhattan'' (1937). Using the experience he went into partnership with the Popkin brothers, Harry and Leo to form Million Dollar Productions. Harry Popkin owned and managed a chain of Circle Theatres in Los Angeles. One of these was the Million Dollar Theatre that catered to a black clientele. The production company made several fast moving genre pictures with budgets, despite its name, of approximately $8,000 to $10,000 with the films shot in seven days. Cooper not only starred but wrote and directed several films as well as bringing

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

in to co-star with him. Cooper left the company in 1939, according to one source because he was tired of only making gangster films, with another source feeling he desired the financing and distribution control of the Popkin brothers. In the same year Million Dollar Productions merged with Sack Amusement Enterprises, another film business specializing in

race films The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for African American, black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race ...

. It offered better distribution opportunities. Other black stars appearing in Million Dollar Productions were

Nina Mae McKinney Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, 1912 – May 3, 1967) was an American actress who worked internationally during the 1930s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after beginning her career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed " ...

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actor in several films. Ear ...

, Laurence Criner and

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of black Am ...

. Production ceased at the start of American involvement in World War II. Following World War II, the Popkin brothers produced several well regarded mainstream Hollywood films such as '' D.O.A.'' (1950) and ''

The Well The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL or The Well, is a virtual community founded in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annu ...

'' (1951). News photographer turned film maker Edward Lewis made documentary films such as ''Life in Harlem'' and the series' ''Colored America on Parade'' and ''The Colored Champions of Sport'' for the company.

Filmography

* '' Bargain with Bullets'' rereleased as ''Gangsters on the Loose'' (1937) * '' Life Goes On'' (1938) * ''

The Duke Is Tops ''The Duke Is Tops'' is a 1938 American musical film released by Million Dollar Productions and directed by William Nolte. The film was later released in 1944 under the title ''The Bronze Venus''. It features top-billed Lena Horne in her film ...

'' (1938) * '' Gang Smashers'' (1938) * ''

Reform School A reform school was a Prison, penal institution, generally for teenagers, mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, reformatory, reformatories (commonly called reform schools) were set up from 1854 onward f ...

'' (1939) * ''

One Dark Night ''One Dark Night'' (also known as ''Entity Force'') is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tom McLoughlin, and starring Meg Tilly, E. G. Daily, and Adam West. It follows three teenagers sent to a mausoleum for the night as p ...

'' (1939) * '' Straight to Heaven'' (1939) * ''

Four Shall Die ''Four Shall Die'' is a 1940 American supernatural crime film directed by William Beaudine. It features Dorothy Dandridge in her first credited film role. Plot Cast * Niel Webster as Pierre Touissant * Mantan Moreland as Beefus, Touissant's ...

'' (1940) * '' Gang War'' (1940) * '' While Thousands Cheer'' (1940) * ''Colored Americans in the Nation's Capital'' (short subject, 1942)

References

{{Reflist Mass media companies established in 1937 Mass media companies disestablished in 1940 Defunct film and television production companies of the United States African-American film producers American companies established in 1937 American companies disestablished in 1940