Howco Productions later Howco International Pictures, was an American film production and distribution company based in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, specialising in low budget

B pictures A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

designed for

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

s. In 1951 Joy Newton Houck Sr. (born 10 July 1900,

Magnolia, Arkansas Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County. Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship S ...

died 8 July 1999,

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. ...

), owner of 29 Joy Theatres in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, teamed up with producer/director

Ron Ormond Ron Ormond (born Vittorio Di Naro, August 29, 1910 – May 11, 1981) was an American author, showman, screenwriter, film producer, and film director of Western, musical, and exploitation films. Following his survival of a 1968 plane crash, Ormo ...

and J. Francis White, an officer of Consolidated Theatres and owner of 31 cinemas in Virginia, North and South Carolina, to contract with independent film producers to create product for their combined theatre chains. Their initials, "H, O, W," provided the name of the company. ''

Outlaw Women ''Outlaw Women'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and Ron Ormond and starring Marie Windsor, Richard Rober and Carla Balenda.Pitts p.239 It is set in a remote small town run entirely by women. The film was made in Cinecol ...

'', started in November 1951, was its first production. Initially Howco released

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

s from

's company featuring

Lash LaRue Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996) was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Early life and education Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana in 1917, he was reared in various towns th ...

, then moved into monster, science fiction, and

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s. In 1954 Howco expanded its production with four films announced, including ''

Kentucky Rifle The long rifle, also known as the longrifle, Kentucky rifle, Pennsylvania rifle, or American longrifle, a muzzle-loading firearm used for hunting and warfare, was one of the first commonly-used rifles. The American rifle was characterized by a ...

''. The same year, it started a television distribution company called National Television Films. Howco released

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

's '' Carnival Rock'' (paired with ''

Teenage Thunder ''Teenage Thunder'' is a 1957 American black and white teenage drama film directed by Paul Helmick. The film stars Chuck Courtney (actor), Chuck Courtney, Melinda Byron, Robert Fuller (actor), Robert Fuller, Tyler McVey and Paul Bryar. The opening ...

''),

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

's '' Jail Bait'' (paired with ''The Blonde Pickup'', a reissue of 1951's ''Racket Girls''), double features such as ''

The Brain from Planet Arous ''The Brain from Planet Arous'' is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Jacques R. Marquette, directed by Nathan H. Juran, that stars John Agar, Joyce Meadows, and Robert Fuller. Distributed brie ...

'' and ''

Teenage Monster ''Teenage Monster'' is a 1958 independently made science fiction- horror Western film. It was produced and directed by Jacques R. Marquette, and stars Anne Gwynne and Stuart Wade. The film had a first screening on December 25, 1957, in Los Ang ...

'' (1957), and ''

Lost, Lonely and Vicious ''Lost, Lonely and Vicious'' is a 1958 American film directed by Frank Myers. Plot Cast * Ken Clayton as Johnnie Dennis * Barbara Wilson as Helen Preacher *Lilyan Chauvin as Tanya Pernaud * Richard Gilden as Walt *Carol Nugent as Pinkie *S ...

'' and ''

My World Dies Screaming ''Terror in the Haunted House'' (originally titled ''My World Dies Screaming'') is a 1958 American horror film produced by William S. Edwards and directed by Harold Daniels. The movie stars Gerald Mohr, Cathy O'Donnell, William Ching, and John Qua ...

'' (1958). One unusual exploitation effort was derived from an aborted television series, filmed in Europe and starring radio's hillbilly comedians

Lum and Abner ''Lum and Abner'' was an American network radio comedy program created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff that was aired from 1931 to 1954. Modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas, near where Lauck and Goff grew up, the show proved i ...

. Howco compiled the three half-hour pilot episodes into a feature film, ''

Lum and Abner Abroad ''Lum and Abner Abroad'' is a 1956 European comedy film directed by James V. Kern and written by Carl Herzinger. The film stars Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Jill Alis, Lila Audres, Gene Gary, and Chris Peters. The film was released on January 1, 1 ...

'' (1956), which played to the comedians' fan base in the rural South. Howco exploited the film as "a big dish of corn with a continental flavor." Houck Sr.'s son Joy N. Houck Jr. directed two of the company's final double bills, ''

Night of Bloody Horror Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

'' and ''

Women and Bloody Terror A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

'' (1970). In the 1970s Howco achieved success with

Charles B. Pierce Charles Bryant Pierce (June 16, 1938 – March 5, 2010) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, set decorator, cinematographer, and actor. Pierce directed thirteen films over the span of 26 years, but is best known for his cu ...

's films including ''

The Legend of Boggy Creek ''The Legend of Boggy Creek'' is a 1972 American docudrama horror film about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that reportedly has been seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1940s. The film mixes staged interviews with some lo ...

'', ''

Bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

'' and '' Winterhawk''.

Notes

Film distributors of the United States Mass media companies established in 1951 1951 establishments in South Carolina {{US-film-company-stub