Commonwealth United Entertainment (generally referred to as Commonwealth United; abbreviated as CUE), formerly known as Television Enterprises Corporation (abbreviated as TEC), was an American film & TV 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. Its parent company briefly operated a record label, Commonwealth United Records (abbreviated as CUR), as well as a TV production & distribution company, Commonwealth United Television (abbreviated as CUT). It produced films through its in-house film studio, Commonwealth United Productions (abbreviated as CUP), which would eventually become Commonwealth United Pictures (abbreviated as CUP).

History

Commonwealth United Corporation (abbreviated as CUC) 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 TEC. Milton T. Raynor moved to California and became vice-president at TEC. Later, Raynor took over ownership.

Commonwealth United Entertainment

In 1967, CUC acquired The Landau-Unger Company, with Ely Landau becoming president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and Oliver A. Unger as executive vice-president. It also acquired TECPage 10. and was renamed Commonwealth United. In 1967, Commonwealth United produced 17 theatrical films and purchased publishing and recording interests. The Max Factor family financed '' That Cold Day in the Park'', a movie directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

that Commonwealth United released in 1969.The Auteur Cinema. Page 89. By 1971, Commonwealth United was $80 million in debt. The company's film rights, foreign and domestic, were acquired by

National Telefilm Associates National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was a distribution 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 between 19 ...

and

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

respectively.

Select Credits

* ''

A Black Veil for Lisa ''A Black Veil for Lisa'' (, lit. "Death has no sex") is a 1968 thriller film directed by Massimo Dallamano. The film follows narcotics detective Franz Buloff as he investigates a drug ring and hires a hitman, Max Lindt, to kill his wife, Lisa, s ...

'' (1968) * ''

99 Women ''99 Women'' () 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 earliest and most financially successful examples of ...

'' (1969) * ''

Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' () 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 Cain'' (). ''Venus in Furs'' was ...

'' (1969) * ''

Battle of Neretva Case White (), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive (), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. It was one of the most significant confrontations o ...

'' (1969) * '' The Magic Christian'' (1969) * '' It Takes All Kinds'' (1969) * '' That Cold Day in the Park'' (1969) * ''

Paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

'' (1969) * '' Tiger by the Tail'' (1970) * ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

'' (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 and starring Ava Gardner and Ian McShane. Plot A mysterious older woman, Micky ...

'' (filmed in 1969) * ''

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

'' (filmed 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, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{Authority control Film production companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States Paramount Global subsidiaries