The most profitable B pictures functioned much like the comic strips in the daily newspapers, showing the continuing adventures of Roy Rogers Boston Blackie [Columbia, the Bowery Boys Bros./Universal, Blondie and Dagwood Charlie Chan [Fox/Monogram, and so on. Even a major studio like MGM industry leader from 1931 through 1941 was equipped with a so-called B unit that specialized in these serial productions. At MGM, however, the Andy Hardy, Dr. Kildaire , and Thin Man films were made with major stars and with what some organizations would have considered A budgets.