Grand National
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Last Train From Gunhill
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Read more: Last Train From GunhillThis highly acclaimed western from 1959 was directed by John Sturgess and had a brilliant and talented cast that included Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones and Earl Holliman. As with the other Hal Wallis productions we’d acquired from Grand National it was released uncut, but unlike the Elvis movies it failed to sell in…
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Girls! Girls! Girls!
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Read more: Girls! Girls! Girls!This was the third most popular of the Elvis Presley features we picked up from Grand National, whose contract also included the western ‘Last Train from Gun Hill’ and five additional Elvis Presley musicals: ‘G.I. Blues’, ‘Blue Hawaii’, ‘Paradise Hawaiian Style’, ‘Fun in Acapulco’ and ‘King Creole’, all originally released by Paramount Pictures and produced…
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King Creole
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Read more: King CreoleApparently James Dean was first in the running for this role that, several years later, would be played by Elvis Presley. It was to have been a gritty urban drama based on the best selling 1952 novel by Harold Robbins ‘A Stone for Danny Fisher’. Following Dean’s death and the casting of Elvis, it was…
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The Flesh Eaters
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Read more: The Flesh EatersThis little gem was released to theaters in the USA in 1964, however it wasn’t until it was re-released in 1968 that ‘Grand National Pictures’ (GNP) got around to releasing it in the UK. Over the years the film has developed a cult following due to its gruesome, if somewhat primitive, special effects, including some…
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Grand National Pictures
Read more: Grand National PicturesA look at some of the numerous meetings that we undertook in order to issue 8mm films to our customers. Contracts & Rights Chapter 14 Derek was no stranger to the office of Maurice Wilson, the MD of Grand National Pictures, together they had completed a dozen deals and counting. Just a quick glance in…
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The First Rank Contract #1
Read more: The First Rank Contract #1A look at some of the numerous meetings that we undertook in order to issue 8mm films to our customers, or obtain 16mm for our library. Contracts & Rights Chapter 6 If you’ve been following the Friday posts you will know that in 1974 I’d been able to get a day off work at the…
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The Early Years #5
Read more: The Early Years #5A look at some of the numerous meetings that we undertook in order to issue 8mm films to our customers, or obtain 16mm for our library. Contracts & Rights Chapter 5 Before the advent of our first contract with Rank Film Distributors, many of the titles that Derek picked up for 8mm and 16mm distribution/rental,…
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The Early Years #1
Read more: The Early Years #1This is the first of a series of posts that will look at some of the numerous meetings that we undertook in order to issue 8mm films to our customers, or obtain 16mm for our library. Contracts & Rights Chapter 1 But let’s start in the mid 60s, 10 or so years before I entered…