The Woolner Brothers were an American film releasing company formed in 1955, made up of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

(April 22, 1912 – July 21, 1985), Bernard (June 9, 1910 – February 21, 1977), and David Woolner.

History

After US Army service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Lawrence started a

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

drive-in theatre A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movi ...

in 1948. His brother Bernard had previously opened the first drive-in theatre in Memphis. Like other drive-in owners, the Woolners advanced money to low-budget

B picture 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 ...

producers to finance their product. Their first release was

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 ''

Swamp Women ''Swamp Women'' is a 1956 American adventure film noir crime film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Carole Mathews, Beverly Garland, and Marie Windsor, with Mike Connors and Ed Nelson in small roles. The film follows undercover police officer ...

'', followed by Corman's '' Teenage Doll'', both released through Allied Artists. Bernard Woolner produced but financially successful ''

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Berna ...

'' in 1958. The company moved to California in the early 1960s. The Woolners directly financed films made in Italy, and though they released several of

Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...

's films in America, Bava turned down a contract to make films directly for them in 1965. The pair produced a pair of sword-and-sandal films featuring

Reg Park Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr Britain in 1949. He then won the Mr Universe in 1951, 1958 and 1965. He also starred in five films, four featured as ...

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

, a film based on Jules Verne's ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' (french: Cinq semaines en ballon) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of hi ...

'' shot in Puerto Rico, a trio of

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

films, a pair of

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James ...

films and two science fiction films and two hillbilly films filmed in the US. Woolner Brothers' final release was '' The Sin of Adam and Eve'' filmed in Mexico that was released in 1969. Lawrence later became a partner in Corman's

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

in 1970 as President in charge of Sales and Distribution, but left with two other members of New World to join

Kinney National Company Kinney National Service, Inc. (later known as Kinney Services, Inc.) was an American conglomerate company from 1966 to 1972. Its successors were National Kinney Corporation and Warner Communications, Time Warner, AOL Time Warner, and WarnerMedia ...

, which would later become

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

, and form Dimension Pictures in 1971.

Woolner Bros. releases

* ''

'' (1956) * '' Teenage Doll'' (1957) * ''

'' (1958) (produced by Bernard Woolner) * '' Hercules Conquers Atlantis/''Hercules and the Captive Women'' (1961) * ''

Hercules in the Haunted World ''Hercules in the Haunted World'' (Italian: ''Ercole al centro della terra'', lit. "Hercules at the Center of the Earth") is a 1961 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Mario Bava. British bodybuilder Reg Park plays Hercules while British a ...

'' (1961) * ''

Flight of the Lost Balloon ''Flight of the Lost Balloon'' is a 1961 film produced, written and directed by Nathan Juran and stars Mala Powers and Marshall Thompson. The film was inspired by Jules Verne's 1863 novel ''Five Weeks in a Balloon'' and beat the major Irwin Al ...

'' (1962) * ''

Castle of Blood ''Castle of Blood'' ( it, Danza Macabra, links=no) is a 1964 horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and Sergio Corbucci. The film stars Barbara Steele, Arturo Dominici and Georges Rivière. The film was initially commissioned to director Ser ...

'' (1964) * ''

Castle of the Living Dead ''Castle of the Living Dead'' ( it, Il Castello dei Morti Vivi, french: Le Chateau des Morts Vivants) is a 1964 horror film directed by Warren Kiefer. It was released in English under the title ''Crypt of Horror''. It was Kiefer's first film a ...

'' (1964) * ''

Blood and Black Lace ''Blood and Black Lace'' ( it, 6 donne per l'assassino, lit=6 Women for the Murderer) is a 1964 ''giallo'' film directed by Mario Bava and starring Eva Bartok and Cameron Mitchell. The story concerns the brutal murders of a Roman fashion house ...

'' (1965) * ''

The Human Duplicators ''The Human Duplicators'' is a 1965 American science fiction film by Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc. Produced and directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce (the latter uncredited as director), the film stars George Nader, Barbara Nichols, ...

'' (1965) * ''

Mutiny in Outer Space ''Mutiny in Outer Space'' is a 1965 black-and-white independent American science fiction film, written, produced, and directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce, although Pierce was not credited as directing. It stars William Leslie, Dolor ...

'' (1965) * '' The Las Vegas Hillbillys'' (1966) * '' Hillbillys in a Haunted House'' (1967) * '' Lightning Bolt'' (1967) * '' Red Dragon'' (1967) * '' The Sin of Adam and Eve'' (1969)

References

External links

Woolner Brothers
at the

Internet Movie Database 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, ...

Film production companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States Mass media companies established in 1955 American companies established in 1955 1955 establishments in Louisiana Mass media companies disestablished in 1969 1969 disestablishments in California {{US-film-company-stub