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Harry M. Popkin and Leo C. Popkin’s Million Dollar Productions, the company that produced Reform School, is notable for having consistently worked closely with Black community members to make race films that reflected social issues such as criminalization, justice denied, fugitivity, and Black-on-Black crime. [1]
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 and Ralph Cooper. History
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 .
Million Dollar Productions was organized May, 1937 for the purpose of producing all-colored cast, modern, Class -A- talking pictures with themes taken from modern Negro life. The corporation was headed by Harry M. Popkin, who served as Executive Producer. The personnel of the original company was:
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Billy Coy (Mickey Rooney) arrives in the town of Carrell, California and offers himself as a mechanic for Arthur "Red" Stanley (Thomas Mitchell) at his garage. Red turns down Billy initially, but after seeing a photo of his father, "Cannonball" Coy, a famous driver, Red scares up a job for Billy. Billy's father died in an accident at the Indianapol...
Rooney returned from the war and made four films for MGM. He wanted to enter independent production and MGM agreed provided he promise to make five films for them. In April 1949 Rooney announced he would make four films in partnership with producer Sam Stiefel of which Big Wheel would be the first, directed by Edward Ludwig based on a story by Robe...
The film was previewed in November 1949. The Los Angeles Timessaid the track scenes were "thrilling".
In January 1950 driver Bill Holland sued Rooney, Dempsey, Popkin, Stifel and his brother for $250,000 in damages claiming the film was based on the 1949 Indianapolis 500. Holland won the race and argued the film damaged his reputation by implying he won by a fluke.
The Big Wheel at IMDbThe Big Wheel is available for free viewing and download at the Internet ArchiveThe Big Wheel at the American Film Institute CatalogThe Big Wheel at the TCM Movie DatabaseFeb 4, 2024 · Harry Popkin Productions. Publication date. 1949. Topics. feature film, crime drama, colorized, film noir. Language. English. Item Size. 863003070. A unfaithful wife (Helen Walker) plots with her lover to kill her husband (Brian Donlevy), but the lover is accidentally killed instead.
Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. [1] It was established to produce films with African American casts. [2] It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin, Leo C. Popkin and Ralph Cooper.
