Manka Bros. Film Library
The World's Largest Film Library
1940 - 1949
The Czar's Daughter (1940) - Sweeping epic about Anastasia and her struggle for survival after the killing of her family.
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Hawaiian Lei-dy (1942) - A glorious travelscape movie musical where a U.S. soldier station in Hawaii falls in love with a local girl whose parents forbid their love. [The film set, which was mostly shot in and around Pearl Harbor, was bombed by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. Several actors and crew were killed and the film sets were damaged beyond repair. The movie did not resume filming and a badly pieced together version was released to terrible reviews. Though most critics and audiences agreed that the surprise ending where all the characters were suddenly killed by a bomb was spectacular.]
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Kola On Ice (1946) - Lavish screen version of the hit Broadway musical Moe Feinshriberger and Sammy Lee set in the U. S.-occupied Kola Peninsula during the waning days of World War II. As the U.S.S. Shreveport the frozen Barents Sea, good natured American G.I.s melt the hearts of the stoic Murmansk people.
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The Way To Yucatan (1947) - Fourth in a series of 'Way' pictures. On this outing, Skip and Benny are Spanish conquistadors bringing 'civilization' to the locals. After Benny is mistaken for the Rain God Chac, the town is left in ruins. The boy'll leave you in stitches. Features the songs 'Young, Mayan, And Ours' and 'Down Uaxactu Way.'
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The Ballad Of Clem Fortune (1948) - Dustbowl-era story of the drifter who brought rain to the parched fields of the Texas panhandle. [Written by John Steinbeck. Supposedly, studio chief Harry Manka hated his first draft so much that he stood outside Steinbeck's office on the studio lot and hit golf balls at his window.]
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The Ballad Of Clem Fortune (1948) - Dustbowl-era story of the drifter who brought rain to the parched fields of the Texas panhandle. [Written by John Steinbeck. Studio chief Harry Manka hated his first draft so much that he stood outside Steinbeck's office on the studio lot and hit golf balls at his window.]
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The Asp Of Luxor (1948) - Loosely based on Shakespeare’s 'Antony and Cleopatra' about a hard drinking detective from L.A. hired to solve the 'Riddle of the Sphinx.' [This was the first film using the ‘MANKOLOR'™ film coloring process, which changed the industry forever.]
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Requiem For A Wrestler (1949) - G. Gordon Castle's award-winning film about a drunken, cross-dressing, homophobic wrestler.
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Two-Legged Race (1949) - True story of two amputee American G.I.s who joined together to win the 100 meters at the 1948 Olympics. [After the film failed to get any Oscar nominations, studio head Harry Manka started his own awards show The Khans (named for his older brother who died in 1937). ‘Two-Legged Race’ won Best Picture.]
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