Double Action Pictures Corporation came into formal existence on July 1, 1936. The new company’s twin six-shooters on a shield logo was raised over the front gate at 10000 Landmark Drive studio as Star Spangled Pictures Inc. went into movie history. Of course, the studio was just as active as it had been in the months leading up to the merger, but the freshly repainted sound stages and the upgraded sound and music departments were as new as new as ever.

Richard Fannin posed for pictures with his new partners Harold Tovar and Tex McTaggart and then the three split to their offices.  As originally constituted  Tex McTaggart and his team from Target Western Films would be in charge of the studio’s B-westerns,  Harold Tovar would supervise serials and non-western features while Richard Fannin would be in charge of finances, personnel, advertising and promotion and all the other support services that would keep film production running smoothly.

The studio also ready to release its first films under the new banner though they had actually been made in the finals months of SSP.  First out would be the RANGE MAVERICKS (starring SSP’s stalwart Buster Steele with Luke Lassiter and newcomer Johnny Dallas) along with Harold Tovar’s adventure serial MARK OF THE VULTURE (with Buster Steele, Rebecca Raymond, and Cynthia Crawford. Both productions had been given extra money by Fannin and it showed in much improved production values that pleased the movie going public and made exhibitors willing to book additional D-A product. Still, Double-Action was still regarded as a Poverty Row outfit (even though its Laguna Perdita location was far from its “Gower Gulch” brethren) and it would take time for the studio attain a degree of respectability in the Tinseltown film community (though it was to glory in its “outsider” reputation to the end.

It was the westerns of producer Edward ("Tex") McTaggart that were the mainstay of Double-Action's first 6 months/ McTaggart (under his "TARGET WESTERN" banner) was contracted to produce 5 Range Mavericks, 5 Buster Steele Wsterns, 3 Luke Lassisters and 3 Johnny Dallas (The Nevada Kid Series). Finally able to get strong financing and technical facilities, McTaggart ground out his 13  action-packed films (shooting time 10-14 days each).

Right from the start it could be observed that the unique aspect of D-A westerns were female fight scenes to go along with the standard male fist and gunfights.  Behind the scenes, run-on-the-mill screenwriter Oliver Harte found a niche with his ability to come up with fresh twists for the fem-fight scenes which otherwise might have grown stale.

Meanwhile Harold Tovar's first 3 serials: the previously mentioned adventure serial MARK OF THER VULTURE, was followed by the aviation serial PIRATES OF THE AIR (both 12 chapters) and ending the year withe first chapters of the western era THE VANISHED WAGON TRAIN. The presence of strong (and combative fermale characters made these serials stand out along with good serial writing and production values.

Rounding out the initial D-A slate were a group of 6 films who seemed to have been designed to provide a double feature contrast to the ,ainstay serials/westerns. 3 comedies and 3 mysteries, though they  illustrate the studio's early struggles to produce comic films. Of the group the mystery story CURSE OF DEVIL'S DOUBLOONS directed by D.F. (Dorothy Francis) Dodge and written by Mila Kirova (as ""Michael Kirk') is probably the best showing Dodge's good camera work and sense of pacing together with Kirova's skillful plotting and interesting characters.