Due to continuing confusion about our intentions here at Monogram, we have decided to re-post the following message which was originally posted here in 2004.  Hopefully this will help to clear things up.  If not, well, se la vie.   

Greetings from Monogram,

Though the overall response to the revival of Monogram, and our mission to preserve Poverty Row, has been overwhelmingly supportive, a few visitors to our websites have expressed confusion and even doubt, concerning our ownership of certain intellectual properties. Some have even questioned the validity of what we are trying to do here at Monogram. Of course, this is understandable, considering the fact that no company has ever pursued a mission quite like Monogram's before. It is only natural then, that some people will be skeptical. I fully understand the reasoning behind these few instances of skepticism, and even though I could ignore them, I feel that it is my responsibility to address these issues, so that I might ease any doubts in the minds of our friends and fans.

I believe the confusion about our properties is largely due to the fact that our list of holdings is so large and that it lists many different types of intellectual properties, together. Unfortunately, clear distinctions have not as yet been made between the different types of properties listed on our holdings page. At the time that our holdings page was constructed, we were not aware, that there would be so much interest in our properties and we apologize for any confusion.

Because we list many famous public domain film titles on our holdings page, some have assumed that we are trying to lay claim to classic public domain films. Monogram does not hold rights to any properties, films or otherwise, that are in the public domain, no one does. We do not own any film libraries and it was not our intent to imply otherwise. We are currently preparing remakes of many classic Poverty Row films. To protect our investment, we do claim the rights to a number of film titles associated with public domain films. However, we do not claim ownership of the original films. To try and claim such films would be folly, as it is common knowledge that these films have been in the public domain for decades. It was never our intent to claim or imply ownership of any public domain films.

Another factor that may be contributing to the confusion about our properties, is that I think some people assume that Monogram's many trademarks and other properties, must be owned by some big corporation somewhere. Well, as Cab Calloway said "It ain't necessarily so". One must understand, that just because one company buys out another, does not necessarily mean that the purchaser owns all of that companies properties. In some cases, all that they own is the trade name. In other cases they buy the properties and not the trade name. In many cases, they buy the whole lot, trade name and properties, but eventually sell off the trade name. In other cases they sell off the properties and keep the trade name. There are any number of variations. Often a trade name is simply abandoned through pure neglect, or sometimes simply because they deem the trade name worthless. Remember, these big corporations are not the Hollywood studios of old. They're all about making money, they're not really even about movies, and they're certainly not about nostalgia. If they don't see a profit in it, they don't care about it. Unlike big Hollywood, Monogram is not motivated solely by profit. We're in the movie business because we love it. We do not view our trade names, characters and so on, merely as properties, but as beloved icons, and it is our intent to preserve them, even if some of them have very little monetary value.

Monogram is not embarrassed by the fact that some of our trade names are just that, trade names, which hold no real properties. These beloved movie icons are themselves valuable properties. In some cases, these trade names and logos were simply abandoned by their former owners, and were destined for oblivion. We made it our mission to rescue these historic banners, by re-establishing them as active trademarks/service marks. Had we not done this, they would most likely have disappeared, either into nothingness or into the dusty file cabinets of some giant corporation, which could care less about them. Monogram is proud to have been able to revive these lost legends of cinema, and we will continue this work, so that future generations might enjoy the rich history of American B-cinema.

We are also very proud of the many characters which are a part of the Monogram family. We don't just own these characters, we also love them, and we want the public to enjoy them. Had we not secured the rights to these characters, they too would probably have been relegated to oblivion, in some big studio vault or file cabinet, forever inaccessible to their fans. Rest assured, Monogram has no intention of hording these beloved characters away, simply for the purpose of charging exorbitant licensing fees. Monogram is not just a B-movie company, we are B-movie fans and we want these characters to be enjoyed for as long as the public has interest in them.

Like most B-movie fans, I love the Hollywood of old, but am not a fan of the corporate Hollywood of modern times. Unfortunately, the old Hollywood studios have been taken over by gigantic corporate entities that claim ownership of everything, while seeking to severely restrict, or if possible abolish the public domain and "fair use". After entering the film industry, it became my personal mission to acquire the rights to as many classic banners, characters and other properties as possible, to protect them from being gobbled up by the soulless corporate behemoths that now dominate the industry. I did not want to see these last remaining vestiges of old Hollywood disappear into some dusty vault, never to see the light of day again - safe for instances in which they would be trotted out, to be used as ammunition in a lawsuit, against some hapless fan, historian, artist or entrepreneur. It is Monogram's intent to insure that these beloved icons are never neglected or horded away in the vaults of some big corporation, left behind to disappear from the public’s memory. We want our characters and other properties out there, being used.

Unfortunately, Monogram doesn't have the clout of the industry giants, and as such, we are not able to do much about the fate of the public domain, but so long as I'm in charge, "fair use" will continue to flourish at Monogram. I made a promise to the fans, and to the B-movie community, that Monogram would never make these properties inaccessible to them, that unlike corporate Hollywood, Monogram would not hide these properties away or restrict the "fair use" of these properties. Now, that does not mean that Monogram has any intention of relinquishing these properties to the public domain, on the contrary, if we did, corporate Hollywood would surely find a way to claim them, and this would defeat our purpose entirely. Rest assured, our mission here at Monogram is one inspired by a profound love and admiration for all things "B", and not by greed.

In this day and time, it is not too far fetched to imagine some big corporation moving in and laying claim to all of the things that we B-movie fans have come to love so much, taking them from us forever. Fact is, this is a real possibility. Some fans may fear that Monogram is just this type of corporate marauder, but I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Monogram is only a small B-movie company, but small or not, because of our passion for B-movies and our love for the fans, we have taken up the challenge, to try and preserve the rights of B-movie fans, and prevent big corporations from usurping the icons which are the very identity of the genre. The day is fast approaching when just publishing a picture of your favorite B-movie character on your website, or in a book or magazine, will result in a lawsuit, filed by some big corporate entity. At Monogram we support "fair use" and will never pose such a threat to our fans.

Monogram makes no bones about being a Poverty Row studio, fact is, we're proud of it. Sure, we intend to profit by our efforts otherwise we couldn't stay in business. But before passing any judgment, one should consider this fact; if our focus was purely one of profit, we would most likely ply our efforts in a more mainstream branch of the film industry. Fact is, we B-movie fans are a minority. If our company was all about profit, and not about our love of the genre, why then would we invest our time and money in a B-movie company, in an era when the largest segment of the audience couldn't identify Boris Karloff in a line up, and only associates the term "B-movie" with something their grandfather used to watch. It just doesn't make much since, that is unless you are inspired by love and not money.

Some of the same good people who question us on these other issues, cite the fact that we don’t have a fancy website, as supposed evidence that we can’t be who or what we say we are. Why not, I mean, we’re not exactly claiming to be MGM here. It’s right on the front page, in big letters, “Monogram Pictures Company Int. The Home of Poverty Row”. After all, it’s not like Monogram was ever known for it’s big budgets or fancy reputation. Sure, it’s true that we don’t spend lots of money on our website. And why is that? Well, you see, I’m of the Sam Arkoff school of thought. I don’t believe in spending money that we don’t have to. And as long as I’m the “Mogul” around here, we ain’t spendin’ it. After all, why should we? We get good results with what we have and most people seem to be pleased. In fact, the response has been GREAT! We get more emails everyday than we can possibly keep up with, and 99.9% of those emails are from fans, who love what we’re doing. So, with those kinds of results, I can’t really see spending money on the web, that could otherwise go into our films or other venues of promotion. Monogram’s primary interest is in the production and distribution of films, we are not a holdings company, or a fanzine, and though we would love to spend more time on our websites, we must first be about our business. Otherwise, there won’t be a Monogram.

I have no doubt, that the few who have raised questions about Monogram are, like the rest of us, loyal B-movie fans, who naturally, having no inside knowledge about our company, are a bit skeptical of our claims. Like all of us, they don't want to be strung along or taken advantage of. Having been in the entertainment business all of my life, I can certainly understand and identify with this point of view. God knows, I've run into enough shysters in my time, so I hold no animosity toward skeptics. Fact is, if our positions were reversed, I too would be skeptical. But rest assured, neither I nor Monogram has any intention of commandeering the genre, and so long as I am in charge here at Monogram, B-movie fans and all things "B" will be respected and protected.

If we B-movie fans want the movies, performers, craftsmen, characters and studios that we all love, to continue to be remembered and live on through the rest of this century, then we've all got to stick together and help each other, to further our collective cause.

Thank you all so much for your support.

"B" happy & "B" well,

C. S. Lamb
President,
Monogram Pictures Company Int.

Monogram Pictures Company Int.