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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''. The company also briefly distributed '' SCTV'' in the United States and also distributed a syndicated half-hour edition of reruns of ''Saturday Night Live'' in the late 1970s. 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 K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Burning (1981 Film)
''The Burning'' is a 1981 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. The film marks the debuts of actors Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter. The film is an international co-production between the United States and Canada. 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. Rick Wakeman, of the progressive rock band Yes, composed the score. ''The Burning'' was theatrically released on May 8, 1981, by Filmways. Its critical reception was largely unfavorable, with many film critics deriding its similarities to '' Friday the 13th'' and ''Friday the 13th Part 2'' and its graphic violence. Howev ... [...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] |
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, Filmways, Inc. and CBS Productions. Premise The show centers on the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widowed Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietress. 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 c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blow Out
''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American independent 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, unintentionally 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 one 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 budget of $18 million. ''Blow Out'' opened to very little audience interest at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orion Pictures
Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Orion Pictures Corporation, a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former senior executives at United Artists (UA). The company produced and released films from 1978 through 1999 and was also involved in television production and syndication in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was one of the largest mini-major studios during its early years, when it worked with prominent directors such as Woody Allen, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, and Oliver Stone. Four films distributed by Orion won Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture: ''Amadeus (film), Amadeus'' (1984), ''Platoon (film), Platoon'' (1986), ''Dances with Wolves'' (1990), and ''The Silence of the Lambs (film), The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991). In 1997, Orion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dressed To Kill (1980 Film)
''Dressed to Kill'' is a 1980 American erotic psychological thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma, and starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson and Nancy Allen. It depicts the events leading up to the brutal murder of a New York City housewife (Dickinson) before following a prostitute (Allen) who witnesses the crime, and her attempts to solve it with the help of the victim's son ( Keith Gordon). 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Lovers
''Summer Lovers'' is a 1982 American romantic comedy-drama 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'' features the songs "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", a number-one single for Chicago, and " I'm So Excited" by the Pointer Sisters. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Plot Recent college graduates and high school sweethearts Michael Pappas and Cathy Featherstone, a young American couple, spend their summer vacation at a rented hillside villa on the Greek island of Santorini. When they visit a nude beach crowded with other young tourists, Michael explores a nearby cave and notices a young woman sunbathing topless, with whom he exchanges glances. The next day, using binoculars, he spots the same woman standing outside a villa across the hill. Later, on his ... [...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 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 ''Franc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beverly Hillbillies
''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri who move to posh Beverly Hills, California after striking oil on their land. The show was produced by Filmways and was created by Paul Henning. It was followed by two other Henning-inspired "country cousin" series on CBS: '' Petticoat Junction'' and its spin-off '' Green Acres'', which reversed the rags-to-riches, country-to-city model of ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television for eight of its nine seasons, ranking as the No.1 series of the year during its first two seasons, with 16 episodes that still remain among the 100 most-watched television episodes in American history. It accumulated seven Emmy nominations during its ... [...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 Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W. R. Burnett, loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1963 novel. Both were inspired by real-life events that took place in 1959 (the flight, loss and search for Discoverer 2). The film concerns a US nuclear submarine that must rush to the North Pole to rescue the members of Ice Station Zebra. The film was shot in Super Panavision 70 and presented in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements. The original music score is by Michel Legrand. It was released on October 23, 1968, to mixed reviews, and it was not a box office success, earning only $4.6 million over its $8–10 million budget. Plot A satellite re-enters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule, which parachutes to Arctic ice, approximately northwest of Station Nord, Greenland in the Arctic Ocean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Acres
''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965, to April 27, 1971. Although it received solid ratings during its six-year run, ''Green Acres'' was cancelled in 1971 as part of the " rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been in syndication and is available on DVD and VHS releases. A reunion movie aired in 1990. In 1997, the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold Is Born" was ranked No. 59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time. Radio origins ''Green Acres'' derives from '' Granby's Green Acres'', a comedy show aired on the CBS radio network from July 3 to August 21, 1950. The eight-episode summer series was created by Jay Sommers, who also wrote, produced, and directed. The principal characters, a married couple played by Bea Benad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
