Amicus Productions was a British film production company, based at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...

, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters

Milton Subotsky Milton Subotsky (September 27, 1921 – June 27, 1991) was an American film and television writer and producer. In 1964, he founded Amicus Productions with Max Rosenberg, Max J. Rosenberg. Amicus means "friendship" in Latin. The partnership pro ...

and

Max Rosenberg Max J. Rosenberg (September 13, 1914 – June 14, 2004) was an American film producer, whose career spanned six decades. He was particularly known for his horror or supernatural films, and found much of his success while working in England. Lif ...

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! ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962), known in the U.S. as ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'', is a British musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of Dixieland jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Produc ...

'' (1962) and '' Just for Fun'' (1963). Amicus is best remembered for making a series of

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordshorror anthologies Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing ...

, inspired by the

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

film ''

Dead of Night ''Dead of Night'' is a 1945 black and white British anthology horror film, made by Ealing Studios. The individual segments were directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie W ...

'' (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 Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

, due to the two companies' similar visual style and use of the same actors, including

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

. Unlike the period

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Hammer films, Amicus productions were usually set in the present day. Although not an Amicus Productions film, a film version of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's play '' The Birthday Party'' (1968), directed by

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 t ...

, was produced by the team of Subotsky and Rosenberg for

Palomar Pictures Walt Disney Television, formerly American Broadcasting Companies, Capital Cities/ABC and Disney-ABC Television Group has formed a number of production companies over the years. ABC Film Syndication, or ABC Films, was ABC's syndication distributio ...

International

Portmanteau horror films

Amicus's

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsDr. Terror's House of Horrors ''Dr Terror's House of Horrors'' is a 1965 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It was the fi ...

'' (1965), directed by

Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director. He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer. He started his career with British films such as Jack Cardiff's ''Sons and L ...

, '' Torture Garden'' (1967), ''

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 ...

'' (1971), ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' (1972), ''

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

'' (1972), ''

Vault of Horror ''The Vault of Horror'' was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Along with ''Tales from the Crypt (comics), Tales from the Crypt'' and ''The Haunt of Fear'', it formed a trifecta of pop ...

'' (1973) and ''

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 f ...

'' (1974). These films typically feature four or sometimes five short horror stories, linked by an overarching plot featuring a narrator and those listening to his story. The casts of these films are invariably composed of name actors, each of whom play a main part in one of the stories—-a small proportion of the film as a whole. Along with genre stars like Cushing, Lee and

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 ye ...

, Amicus also drew its actors from the classical British stage ( Patrick Magee,

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'' (1 ...

and

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 wo ...

), rising younger actors (

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in ''Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its ...

and

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

), or former stars in decline (

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...

, Robert Hutton, and

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

). Some, such as

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

, were in their mid-career doldrums when they worked with Amicus, while others such as

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

and Tom Baker (later the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and fourth incarnations of the Doctor in the science-fiction series, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'') were at the height of their careers. ''Torture Garden'', ''Asylum'' and ''The House That Dripped Blood'' were written by

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

, based upon his own stories. An exception was the "Waxworks" segment of ''The House That Dripped Blood'', which was scripted (uncredited) by Russ Jones, based on Bloch's story. ''Tales from the Crypt'' and ''The Vault of Horror'' were based on stories from EC horror comics from the 1950s.

Other horror films

Amicus also produced some conventional chillers, such as ''

The Skull ''The Skull'' is a 1965 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Amicus Productions, and starring the frequently paired horror actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, alongside Patrick Wymark, Jill Bennett, Nigel Green, P ...

'' (1965), ''

The Psychopath Psychopath can refer to: * Psychopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Diffe ...

'' (1966), ''

I, Monster ''I, Monster'' is a 1971 British horror film directed by Stephen Weeks (his feature debut) for Amicus Productions. It is an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', with the main charact ...

'' (1971), ''

And Now the Screaming Starts! ''And Now the Screaming Starts!'' is a 1973 British gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham and Ian Ogilvy. It is one of the few feature-length horror stories by A ...

'' (1973), and '' The Beast Must Die'' (1974). ''The Skull'' was also based on a Bloch story (though scripted by Milton Subotsky). Bloch was also the screenwriter of Amicus's thriller ''

'' (1966), and wrote the original adaptation of ''

The Deadly Bees ''The Deadly Bees'' is a 1966 British horror film based on H.F. Heard's 1941 novel ''A Taste for Honey''.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 43-45 It was directed by Freddie Francis, and ...

'' (based upon H. F. Heard's ''A Taste for Honey'').

Science fiction, espionage, drama

In the mid-1960s, Amicus also produced two films based on the science fiction television series ''

'' which had debuted on television in 1963. The films, ''

Dr. Who and the Daleks ''Dr. Who and the Daleks'' is a 1965 British science fiction film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Milton Subotsky, and the first of two films based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It stars Peter Cushi ...

'' (1965) and ''

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. ''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Milton Subotsky, and the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It stars ...

'' (1966), are the only theatrical film adaptations of the series. In these films, Peter Cushing played "Dr. Who", a human scientist rather than an alien, with ''Who'' as his actual surname, disregarding the

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

of the TV series. Amicus also funded and produced films of other genres. ''

Danger Route ''Danger Route'' is a 1967 British spy film directed by Seth Holt for Amicus Productions and starring Richard Johnson as Jonas Wilde, Carol Lynley and Barbara Bouchet. It was based on Andrew York's 1966 novel ''The Eliminator'' that was the work ...

'' (1967) was a film version of

Christopher Nicole Christopher Robin Nicole (born 7 December 1930) is a prolific British writer of over 200 novels and non-fiction books since 1957. He has written as Christopher Nicole and also under several pseudonyms including Peter Grange, Andrew York, Robin ...

's (writing as Andrew York) 1966 spy novel ''The Eliminator'', directed by

Seth Holt Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...

, the only film of the Jonas Wilde series of novels to have been filmed.

Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and ''Jer ...

's adaptation of her novel ''The Millstone'' (1965) was filmed as '' A Touch of Love'' (1969), and

Laurence Moody Laurence Moody (born 28 January 1948) is an English television director who, after reading English at Cambridge University, worked as a trainee at Granada Television, at this time directing a number of episodes of their top rated ITV1 soap opera, ...

's novel ''The Ruthless Ones'' (1969) was filmed as '' What Became of Jack and Jill?'' (1972) Amicus Productions produced a few

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

films, including a 1967

double bill 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 ...

of ''

The Terrornauts ''The Terrornauts'' is a 1967 British science fiction film produced by Amicus Productions. The film is based on '' The Wailing Asteroid'' by Murray Leinster, adapted for screen by John Brunner. Synopsis Project Star Talk is based at a UK r ...

'' and ''

They Came from Beyond Space ''They Came from Beyond Space'' is a 1967 British Eastman Color science fiction film produced by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, and directed by Freddie Francis. The screenplay was written by Subotsky, based on the 1941 novel '' The Go ...

'' that were produced when

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

, who Rosenberg had previously worked with, told Rosenberg that if Amicus could produce two films for £200,000,

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

would finance and release both of them. Amicus later produced a trilogy of adaptations of several of the works of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

, including '' The Land That Time Forgot'' (1975), '' At the Earth's Core'' (1976), and '' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977).

After Amicus

Milton Subotsky relocated to Canada for a time and unsuccessfully tried to carry on the anthology convention with such films as '' The Uncanny'' (1977) and ''

The Monster Club ''The Monster Club'' is a 1981 British anthology horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine. An anthology film, it is based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the fina ...

'' (1980); Peter Cushing came along for the former but passed on the latter. Subotsky secured the rights to some

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

properties in the early 1980s and got a credit on the King anthology film '' Cat's Eye'' (1985). His final credits, again based on King properties, would be ''

Sometimes They Come Back "Sometimes They Come Back" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1974 issue of ''Cavalier'' and later collected in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. Plot summary In 1957, nine-year-old Jim Norman and his twelve-y ...

'' (1991), ''

The Lawnmower Man "The Lawnmower Man" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the May 1975 issue of ''Cavalier'' and later included in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. Plot summary Harold Parkette is in need of a new lawn mowing service. The ...

'' (1992), and '' Sometimes They Come Back... Again'' (1996), the last title bearing Subotsky's final credit; he had died in 1991.

Today

In 2003,

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...

released a five disc

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

box-set of Amicus films in a coffin-shaped container in the UK. In 2005, Amicus was revived to produce homages to the old titles as well as original horror fare. Their first production was

Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...

's '' Stuck'' (2007).

Filmography

* ''

'' (1962) * '' Just for Fun'' (1963) * ''

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors ''Dr Terror's House of Horrors'' is a 1965 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It was the fi ...

'' (1965) * ''

'' (1966) * ''

'' (1966) * '' Torture Garden'' (1967) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

'' (1967) * '' A Touch of Love'' (1969) * '' The Mind of Mr. Soames'' (1969) * ''

Scream and Scream Again ''Scream and Scream Again'' is a 1970 British science fiction conspiracy thriller film starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel ''The Disorientated Man'' (1967) attributed ...

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1971) * '' What Became of Jack and Jill?'' (1972) * ''

'' (1972) * '' ''Asylum'''' (1972) * '' The Vault of Horror'' (1973) * ''

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1974) * '' Madhouse'' (1974) * '' The Beast Must Die'' (1974) * '' The Land That Time Forgot'' (1975) * '' At the Earth's Core'' (1976) * '' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977)

References

Notes

External links

Amicus Horror Films List
{{Cinema of the United Kingdom Film production companies of the United Kingdom