Western B movie fans have a lot to thank Nat Levine for.
Without him, Gene Autry may never have warbled a song in film.
Without him, Tom Mix would never have achieved his 2nd career and fame.
Without Nat, John Wayne would have been a has-been, relegated to the "Say, what ever happened to..." pages.
Without him, serial fans would have had less to cheer for.
Without him, the world of B cinema would be an emptier place.
The story of Mascot Films IS the story of Nat Levine, and also the story of the beginnings of the art form know as the 'Serial'. Let us begin.
The beginnings of Mascot Films was inauspicious, and dates back to the early 1920's. Nat Levine, born Nathaniel Levine in 1899, learned the movie distribution business from the master himself, Marcus Loew. As a young man, he had worked his way up to personal secretary (to Mr Loew) for the Loew Theatre Chain. Here, Nat gained the contacts necessary to build a network of theatres and chains (exchanges) that would pay flat fees for films. He also learned theat maximum profitability derived from the production of motion pictures on tight budgets. Later, as the head of Mascot Studios, this lesson would serve him particularly well.
His first successes were in purchasing films that were already produced, but were entangled one way or another. With his contacts that were developed while working with the Loew chain, he was able to turn a profit from most of the films he had purchased rights to.
The early distribution system was based on the state system. Producers sold the exhibition rights to a film, by area, for a specified period of time, to the exchange system operating in the area. The exchange operator could then book the film as many times in as he could in as many theatres as he could within the time period. This way, Levine was able to develop a stable system of theatres and show houses for his products.
With the profits from his distribution efforts, Nat Levine and Samuel Bischoff produced "The Sky Skidder" in 1926, and due to investors concerns, sold it to Universal for a good profit. With this experience behind him, he realized that if he controlled the costs, a serial could easily bring a handsome profit margin.
The first real Mascot effort, "The Golden Stallion" (1927), was directed by Harry Webb, supervised, and distributed by Nat Levine. Over the next 8 years, Levine would produce 27 serials, and 16 feature movies.
