Commonwealth United Entertainment, formerly known as ''Television Enterprises Corporation'' and was also known as Commonwealth United Corporation after its parent corporation, was an American film production and distribution company active to 1971. It was headed by Milton T. Raynor.
[(24 April 2002)]
Milton Raynor obituary
''Variety''. accessed September 22, 2012.
The company was sometimes considered one of the "instant majors" of the late 1960s.
[ The company also briefly operated a record label, Commonwealth United Records.
]
History
Commonwealth United Corporation was originally a real estate holding company formed in 1961 as the Real Properties Corporation. It changed its name to CUC in 1965. In 1967, CUC acquired Television Enterprises Corporation (TVC).[ Milton T. Raynor moved to California and became vice-president at TVE. Later, Raynor took over ownership.][
]
Commonwealth United Entertainment
In 1967, Commonwealth United Corporation acquired The Landau-Unger Company, with Ely Landau
Ely Abraham Landau (January 20, 1920 – November 4, 1993) was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series.
Landau began working in television as a director and producer i ...
becoming president and CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and Oliver A. Unger as executive vice-president.[Page 10.] and was renamed Commonwealth United Entertainment (CUE).[ In 1967, CUE produced 17 theatrical films and purchased publishing and recording interests.][ The ]Max Factor
Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Max Factor, Sr., Maksymilian Faktorowicz.
Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billio ...
family financed ''That Cold Day in the Park
''That Cold Day in the Park'' is a 1969 psychological thriller film directed by Robert Altman and starring Sandy Dennis. Based on the novel of the same name by Richard Miles and adapted for the screen by Gillian Freeman, it was filmed on locati ...
'', a movie directed by Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...
that CUE released in 1969.[The Auteur Cinema. Page 89.] By 1971, CUE was $80 million in debt. The company's film rights, foreign and domestic, were acquired by National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was an audio-visual marketing company primarily concerned with the syndication of American film libraries to television, including the Republic Pictures film library. It was successful enough on cable television ...
and American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
.[
]
Select Credits
*'' A Black Veil for Lisa'' (1968)
*''99 Women
''99 Women'' (german: Der heiße Tod, translation=The Hot Death) is a 1969 women in prison film directed by Jesús Franco and starring Maria Schell, Mercedes McCambridge, Maria Rohm, Rosalba Neri, Luciana Paluzzi and Herbert Lom. One of the ...
'' (1969)
*''Venus in Furs
''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
'' (1969)
*''Battle of Neretva
Case White (german: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive ( sh, Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during W ...
'' (1969)
*'' The Magic Christian'' (1969)
*'' It Takes All Kinds'' (1969)
*''That Cold Day in the Park
''That Cold Day in the Park'' is a 1969 psychological thriller film directed by Robert Altman and starring Sandy Dennis. Based on the novel of the same name by Richard Miles and adapted for the screen by Gillian Freeman, it was filmed on locati ...
'' (1969)
*'' Tiger by the Tail'' (1970)
*''Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'' (1970)
*''The Ballad of Tam Lin
''Tam-Lin'', also known as ''The Ballad of Tam-Lin'', ''The Devil's Widow'' and ''The Devil's Woman'', is a 1970 British folk horror film directed by Roddy McDowall. The film stars Ava Gardner and Ian McShane with Richard Wattis, Cyril Cusack, ...
'' (1970)
References
*Cook, David A. (2000)
Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979
University of California Press.
External links
Commonwealth United Entertainment
at IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{Authority control
Film production companies of the United States
Film distributors of the United States
Paramount Global subsidiaries