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Amicus Productions
Amicus Productions was a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. Films Prior to establishing Amicus, its two producers collaborated on the successful horror film '' The City of the Dead'' (1960). Amicus's first two films were low-budget musicals for the teenage market, ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962) and '' Just for Fun'' (1963). Amicus is best remembered for making a series of portmanteau horror anthologies, inspired by the Ealing Studios film ''Dead of Night'' (1945). They also made some straight thriller films, often based on a gimmick. Amicus's horror and thriller films are sometimes mistaken for the output of the better-known Hammer Film Productions, due to the two companies' similar visual style and use of the same actors, including Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Unlike the period gothic Hammer films, Amicus productions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinema Of The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a significant film industry for over a century. While film production reached an all-time high in 1936, the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, during which the directors David Lean, Michael Powell, (with Emeric Pressburger) and Carol Reed produced their most critically acclaimed works. Many British actors have accrued critical success and worldwide recognition, such as Audrey Hepburn, Olivia de Havilland, Glynis Johns, Maggie Smith, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Joan Collins, Judi Dench, Julie Andrews, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet. Some of the films with the largest ever box office returns have been made in the United Kingdom, including the third and sixth highest-grossing film franchises (''Harry Potter'' and ''James Bond''). The identity of the British film industry, particularly as it relates to Hollywood, has often been the subject of debat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Friedkin
William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in the early 1960s, he directed the crime thriller film '' The French Connection'' (1971), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, and the supernatural horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. His other films include the drama '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970), the thriller '' Sorcerer'' (1977), the crime comedy drama ''The Brink's Job'' (1978), the crime thriller '' Cruising'' (1980), the neo-noir thriller '' To Live and Die in L.A.'' (1985), the psychological horror film '' Bug'' (2006) and the black comedy '' Killer Joe'' (2011). Early life Friedkin was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Rachael (née Green) and L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He worked in films throughout most of his career, and played more than sixty cinema roles. From an artistic but not theatrical background, Richardson had no thought of a stage career until a production of ''Hamlet'' in Brighton inspired him to become an actor. He learned his craft in the 1920s with a touring company and later the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1931 he joined the Old Vic, playing mostly Shakespearean roles. He led the company the following season, succeeding Gielgud, who had taught him much about stage technique. After he left the company, a series of leading roles took him to stardom in the West End and on Broadway. In the 1940s, together with Olivier and John Burrell, Richardson was the co-director of the Old Vic company. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Leighton
Margaret Leighton, CBE (26 February 1922 – 13 January 1976) was an English actress, active on stage and television, and in film. Her film appearances included (her first credited debut feature) in Anatole de Grunwald's ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948). For ''The Go-Between'' (1971), she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Leighton began her career on stage in 1938, before joining the Old Vic and making her Broadway debut in 1946. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play: for the original Broadway productions of ''Separate Tables'' (1957) and ''The Night of the Iguana'' (1962). She also won an Emmy Award for a 1970 television version of ''Hamlet''. Life and career Born in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, Leighton made her stage debut as Dorothy in ''Laugh with Me'' (1938), which also was performed that year for BBC Television. She became a star of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Magee (actor)
Patrick George Magee (née McGee, 31 March 1922 – 14 August 1982) was a Northern Irish actor. He was noted for his collaborations with playwrights Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, sometimes called "Beckett's favorite actor," as well as creating the role of the Marquis de Sade in the original stage and screen productions of ''Marat/Sade''. Known for his distinctive voice, he also appeared in numerous horror films and in two Stanley Kubrick films – ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971) and '' Barry Lyndon'' (1975) – and three Joseph Losey films – '' The Criminal'' (1960), ''The Servant'' (1963) and '' Galileo'' (1975). He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1964 to 1970. Critic Antonia Quirke posthumously described him as "a presence so full of strangeness and charisma and difference and power," while scholar Conor Carville wrote that Magee was " navant-garde bad-boy" and "very important and unjustly forgotten figure who represents an important aspect of the cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Lom
Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 years, he generally appeared in character roles, often portraying criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men as he aged. Highly versatile, he proved a skilled comic actor in '' The Pink Panther'' franchise, as inspector Dreyfus. Lom was noted for his precise, elegant enunciation of English. He is best known for his roles in '' The Ladykillers'', '' The Pink Panther'' film series, ''War and Peace'' and the television series '' The Human Jungle''. Early life and education Lom was born in Prague to Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru and Olga Gottlieb. His mother was of Jewish ancestry. His ancestor, Christian Schluderpacher, a burgher of Bozen, was ennobled in 1601. Lom's family were comfortable, but not grandly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
From Beyond The Grave
''From Beyond the Grave'' is a 1974 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by Kevin Connor, produced by Milton Subotsky and based on short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the last in a series of anthology films from Amicus and was preceded by ''Dr Terror's House of Horrors'' (1965), '' Torture Garden'' (1967), ''The House That Dripped Blood'' (1970), ''Asylum'', ''Tales from the Crypt'' (both 1972) and '' The Vault of Horror'' (1973).Bryce, Allan (ed.), ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000, pp. 126-137 Plot Four customers buy or steal items from Temptations Limited, an antique shop whose motto is "Offers You Cannot Resist". A nasty fate awaits those who cheat the shop's proprietor (Peter Cushing). The Gatecrasher Edward Charlton (David Warner) buys an antique mirror for a knockdown price, believing that he has tricked the proprietor into accepting that it is a reproduction. Charlton holds a seance at the suggestio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vault Of Horror (film)
''The Vault of Horror'' (otherwise known as ''Vault of Horror'', ''Further Tales from the Crypt'' and ''Tales from the Crypt II'') is a 1973 British anthology horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker, and starring Terry-Thomas, Dawn Addams, Denholm Elliott, Curd Jürgens, Tom Baker, Michael Craig, Terence Alexander, Glynis Johns, Mike Pratt, Robin Nedwell, Geoffrey Davies, Daniel Massey and Anna Massey. None of the film's stories are actually from ''Vault of Horror'' comics. All but one appeared in ''Tales from the Crypt'', the exception being from ''Shock SuspenStories''. The film omits the Vault Keeper character from the comics. Plot Intro Five strangers board a descending lift, one by one, in a modern office block in London. They reach the sub-basement, though none of them have pressed for that destination. There they find a large, elaborately furnished room that appears to be a gentlemen's club. The lift door has closed; there are no buttons to bring it back, nor any ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asylum (1972 Horror Film)
''Asylum'' (also known as ''House of Crazies'' in subsequent US releases) is a 1972 British anthology horror film made by Amicus Productions. The film was directed by Roy Ward Baker and produced by Milton Subotsky. Robert Bloch wrote the script, adapting four of his own short stories. Baker had considerable experience as a director of horror films, as he had tackled '' Quatermass and the Pit'' and ''Scars of Dracula''. Bloch had written the novel '' Psycho'', on which the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock was based. ''Asylum'' is a horror anthology film, one of several produced by Amicus during the 1960s and 1970s. Others included ''Dr. Terror's House of Horrors'', '' Torture Garden'', ''Tales from the Crypt'', ''The House That Dripped Blood'', '' The Vault of Horror'', and ''From Beyond the Grave''. Shot in April 1972, the film was edited and set for release 15 weeks after the final day of shooting, premièring in July 1972 in the UK. The film had its North American début on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tales From The Crypt (film)
''Tales from the Crypt'' is a 1972 British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It is an anthology film consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from EC Comics. It was produced by Amicus Productions and filmed at Shepperton Studios. In the film, five strangers (Joan Collins, Ian Hendry, Robin Phillips, Richard Greene and Nigel Patrick) in a crypt encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), who makes each person in turn foresee the possible manner of their death. It is one of several Amicus horror anthologies produced during the 1970s. Plot Intro Five strangers go with a tourist group to view old catacombs. Separated from the main group, the strangers find themselves in a room with the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson), who details how each of them may die. "...And All Through the House" * Taken from '' The Vault of Horror'' #35 (February–March 1954). Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) kills her husband Richard (Martin Boddey) o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The House That Dripped Blood
''The House That Dripped Blood'' is a 1971 British anthology horror film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee. The film is a collection of four short stories concerning a series of inhabitants of the eponymous building. All of the stories were originally written, and subsequently scripted, by Robert Bloch. Plot ''Framework part 1'' Shortly after renting an old country house, film star Paul Henderson mysteriously disappears and Inspector Holloway ( John Bennett) from Scotland Yard is called to investigate. Inquiring at the local police station, Holloway is told some of the house's history. ''Method for Murder'' (''Fury'' #7, July 1962) Charles Hillyer ( Denholm Elliott), a hack writer who specialises in horror stories, and his wife Alice ( Joanna Dunham), move into the house. Charles begins working on a novel focusing on Dominic, a murder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torture Garden (film)
''Torture Garden'' is a 1967 British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, Michael Ripper, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Ursula Howells, Michael Bryant (actor), Michael Bryant and Barbara Ewing. The score was a collaboration between Hammer Studios, Hammer horror regulars James Bernard (composer), James Bernard and Don Banks. Made by Amicus Productions, it is one of producer Milton Subotsky's trademark "portmanteau" films, an omnibus of short stories (in this case all by ''Psycho (novel), Psycho'' author Robert Bloch, who adapted his own work for the screenplay) linked by a single narrative. Plot Prologue Five people visit a Traveling carnival, fairground sideshow run by showman Dr. Diabolo (Burgess Meredith). Having shown them a handful of Haunted attraction (simulated), haunted house-style attractions, he promises them a genuinely scary experience if they will pay extra. Their curiosity gets the better of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
