Sol Lesser formed Principal Distributing Corporation in 1932, but he was in the film business as early as 1917 when he was the head of States' Rights Distributors. In 1921, he formed Principal Distributing, but it was the Principal Distributing Corporation, later Principal Exchange, that he used for creating films for his distributors. The firm folded in 1938. In 1941, Sol Lesser became a producer at RKO Radio Pictures. By 1943, he had formed Principal Artists Productions, by 1945, Champion Productions Inc., and by 1946, Sol Lesser Productions Inc.
Principal Distributing Corporation released only one Edgar Rice Burroughs' inspired movie, the 1933 "Tarzan the Fearless". Principal Artists Productions released two, both in 1943, "Tarzan Triumphs" and "Tarzan's Desert Mystery". Champion Productions Inc. released "Tarzan and the Amazons" in 1945. From 1946 to 1957, Sol Lesser Productions Inc. released twelve Tarzan films, "Tarzan and the Leopard Woman", "Tarzan and the Huntress", "Tarzan and the Mermaids", "Tarzan's Magic Fountain", "Tarzan and the Slave Girl", "Tarzan's Peril", "Tarzan's Savage Fury", "Tarzan and the She-Devil", "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle", "Tarzan and the Lost Safari", "Tarzan's Fight for Life", and "Tarzan and the Trappers".
After the attempt at a Tarzan television show for which three episodes were filmed (released theatrically as "Tarzan and the Trapper"), Sol Lesser sold the Tarzan series to Sy Weintraub for an amount reported between $2.5 and 3.5 million.