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Filmways
Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production company of CBS’ “rural comedies” of the 1960s, including ''Mister Ed'', ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', ''Petticoat Junction'', and ''Green Acres'', as well as the comedy-drama ''The Trials of O'Brien'', the western ''Dundee and the Culhane'', the adventure show ''Bearcats!'', the police drama ''Cagney & Lacey'', and ''The Addams Family''. Notable films the company produced include ''The Sandpiper'', ''The Cincinnati Kid'', ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'', ''Ice Station Zebra'', ''Summer Lovers'', '' The Burning'', ''King'', Brian De Palma's '' Dressed to Kill'' and ''Blow Out'', and ''Death Wish II''. Filmways acquired famous companies throughout the years, such as Heatter-Quigley Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions and American Inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Ransohoff
Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927 – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer, and member of the Ransohoff, Ransohoff family. Early life and education Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927 in New Orleans, New Orleans, LouisianaBroadcasting Magazine: "Our Respects To...Martin Ransohoff" November 16, 1959, p.121 the son of Babette (Strauss) and Arthur Ransohoff. His mother was a former Republican National Committeewoman. He had one sister Barbara Burnett (married to a former Washington & Jefferson College president Howard J. Burnett) and one brother Jack, a nuclear engineer. He attended Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut and graduated with a B.A. in History and English from Colga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Burning (film)
''The Burning'' is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Tony Maylam, and starring Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua, and Lou David. Its plot follows a summer camp caretaker who is horribly burnt from a prank gone wrong, where he seeks vengeance at a nearby summer camp years later. Based on the New York urban legend of the Cropsey maniac, the screenplay was written by Bob Weinstein and Peter Lawrence, from a story conceived by producer Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam, and Brad Grey. The film marks the debut of Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter. Rick Wakeman, of the progressive rock band Yes, composed the score. ''The Burning'' was theatrically released on May 8, 1981 by Filmways. While the film did not generate the interest nor revenue achieved by other slasher films at the time, it has since become a cult classic and received positive reappraisal from film critics. Plot One night at Camp Blackfoot, several campers pull a prank on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films from 1978 until 1999 and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former senior executives at United Artists. From its founding until its buyout by MGM in the late 1990s, Orion was considered one of the largest mini-major studios. Woody Allen, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, Oliver Stone, and several other prominent directors worked with Orion during its most successful years from 1978 to 1992. Of the films distributed by Orion, four won Academy Awards for Best Picture: ''Amadeus'' (1984), ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Dances with Wolves'' (1990), and ''The Silence of the Lambs (film), The Silence of the Lambs'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Wish II
''Death Wish II'' is a 1982 American vigilante action film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film ''Death Wish''. It is the second installment in the ''Death Wish'' film series. In the story, architect Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) moves to Los Angeles with his daughter (Robin Sherwood). After his daughter is murdered at the hands of several gang members, Kersey once again chooses to become a vigilante. Unlike the original, in which he hunts down every criminal he encounters, Kersey only pursues his family's attackers. The sequel makes a complete breakaway from the Brian Garfield novels ''Death Wish'' and ''Death Sentence'', redefining the Paul Kersey character. It was succeeded by ''Death Wish 3.'' The sequel was produced by Cannon Films, which had purchased the rights to the ''Death Wish'' concept from Dino De Laurentiis. Cannon executive Menahem Golan planned to direct the film, but Winner returned on Bronson's insistence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blow Out
''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, serendipitously captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a presidential hopeful. Nancy Allen stars as Sally Bedina, a young woman involved in the crime. The supporting cast includes John Lithgow and Dennis Franz. The film's tagline in advertisements was, "Murder has a sound all of its own". Directly based on Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film ''Blowup'', the film replaces the medium of photography with the medium of audio recording. The concept of ''Blow Out'' came to De Palma while he was working on the thriller '' Dressed to Kill'' (1980). The film was shot in the late autumn and winter of 1980 in various Philadelphia locations on a relatively substantial budget of $18 million. ''Blow Out'' opened to minuscule ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petticoat Junction
''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo; and her uncle Joe Carson. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters produced by Paul Henning. ''Petticoat Junction'' was created upon the success of Henning's previous rural/urban-themed sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971). The success of ''Petticoat Junction'' led to a spin-off, '' Green Acres'' (1965–1971). ''Petticoat Junction'' was produced by Filmways, Inc. Premise The show centers on the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widowed Kate Bradley ( Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy but lovable Uncle Joe Carson (Edgar Buchanan) supposedly helps her in the day-to-day running of the hotel, while she serves as a mediator in the various minor crises that befall her three be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bearcats!
''Bearcats!'' is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before the American entry into World War I (1917). ''Bearcats!'' was produced by Filmways Inc. (which previously produced many series including ''The Addams Family'', ''Mister Ed'', ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', ''Green Acres'', and ''Petticoat Junction''). It was co-produced by Rodlor, Rod Taylor's production firm. Synopsis Set in 1914, somewhat later historically than a traditional Western, the stories center on the heroes' use of a 1914 Stutz Bearcat automobile. Although automobiles were common in the United States in 1914, a $2,000 sports car would have been very rare in the more remote areas of the Western United States. How the heroes paid for this expensive ride was rather unusual, as well. They undertook work which could be considered "private security" for a prosperous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dressed To Kill (1980 Film)
''Dressed to Kill'' is a 1980 American erotic thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon, the film depicts the events leading up to the murder of a New York City housewife (Dickinson) before following a prostitute (Allen) who witnesses the crime. It contains several direct references to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film '' Psycho''. Released in July 1980, ''Dressed to Kill'' was a box office success in the United States, grossing over $30 million. It received largely favorable reviews, and critic David Denby of ''New York'' magazine proclaimed it "the first great American movie of the '80s." Dickinson won the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance. Allen received both a Golden Globe Award nomination for New Star of the Year, as well as an inaugural first-year Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. Plot Sexually frustrated housewife Kate Miller is attending therapy sessions with New York C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Lovers
''Summer Lovers'' is a 1982 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Randal Kleiser and starring Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah and Valerie Quennessen. It was filmed on location on the island of Santorini, Greece. The original music score is composed by Basil Poledouris. ''Summer Lovers'' featured "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", a No. 1 hit for Chicago, and " I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters. Plot Americans Michael Pappas and Cathy Featherstone, a young couple from Connecticut who have just graduated from college, have known each other about 10 years and have been together about half that time. They vacation for almost the entire summer on the Greek island of Santorini. Michael sees it as a chance to enjoy one last crazy summer before going to work at his recently deceased father's business in the fall. When they visit a nude beach crowded with other young tourists, they are hesitant at first but find themselves getting caught up in the uninhibited energy that surround ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ice Station Zebra
''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W. R. Burnett, loosely based on MacLean's 1963 novel. Both have parallels to real-life events that took place in 1959. The film was photographed in Super Panavision 70 and presented in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements. The original music score is by Michel Legrand. Plot A satellite re-enters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule, which parachutes to the Arctic, near a British scientific weather station moving with the ice pack named ''Drift Ice Station Zebra'', approximately northwest of Station Nord, Greenland in the Arctic Ocean ice pack. A person approaches, guided by a homing beacon, while a second person secretly watches from nearby. Immediately afterwards distress calls begin to be broadcast from Ice Station Zebra. Littl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Addams Family (1964 TV Series)
''The Addams Family'' is an American macabre/black comedy sitcom based on Charles Addams' ''New Yorker'' cartoons. The 30-minute television series was responsible for taking the unnamed characters in the single-panel gag cartoons and giving them names, back stories and a household setting. This was spearheaded by David Levy, who created and developed the series with Donald Saltzman in cooperation with cartoonist Addams, who gave each character a name and description for the first time. The series was shot in black-and-white, airing for two seasons on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966, for a total of 64 episodes. The show's opening theme was composed and sung by Vic Mizzy. The show was originally produced by head writer Nat Perrin for Filmways, Inc., at General Service Studios in Hollywood, California. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer now owns the rights to the series. Premise The Addams Family is a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mister Ed
''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which originally appeared in short stories by Walter R. Brooks. ''Mister Ed'' is one of the few series to debut in syndication and be picked up by a major network for prime time. All 143 episodes were filmed in black and white. Beginnings The ''Mister Ed'' show concept was derived from a series of short stories by children's author Walter R. Brooks which began with ''The Talking Horse'' in the September 18, 1937, issue of ''Liberty'' magazine. Brooks is best known for the ''Freddy the Pig'' series of children's novels which feature talking animals that interact with humans. Arthur Lubin's secretary Sonia Chernus introduced him to the Brooks stories and is credited with developing the concept for television. The show's concept resembles that of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
