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Film Ventures International
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Film Ventures International (FVI) is an independent movie production and distribution company originally situated in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1970s. FVI garnered a notorious reputation within the industry for producing films which were highly derivative of many blockbusters of the era. The company mainly specialized in producing and distributing B-Movies and horror fare.
The entrepreneur who spearheaded the company was Edward L. Montoro. He wrote, directed and produced the company's first feature film Getting Into Heaven in 1968. The adult film was made for $13,000 and grossed almost 20 times its cost.
FVI was known for acquiring Italian genre films and distributing them within the United States. These films included the 1968 spaghetti western Boot Hill, a sequel to the famous Trinity films; and the 1974 horror thriller Beyond the Door starring Juliet Mills.
FVI acquired Beyond the Door for $100,000 and the film went on to earn $9 million at the box office, making it one of the most successful independent releases of that year. Detailing a Woman possessed by a demon, Beyond the Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit failed after it was determined Warner Bros. had no rights to key horror scenes depicted in The Exorcist.
FVI produced and distributed Grizzly in 1976, one of the first of the Jaws clones. Montoro financed the film for $750,000 and it was directed by William Girdler. Grizzly was a surprise hit, earning more than $39 million and becoming the most financially successful independent film of 1976. Montoro decided to keep the profits for himself, resulting in a lawsuit against FVI by Girdler and producer/screenwriters Harvey Flaxman and David Sheldon. FVI eventually returned the profits to the filmmakers. Montoro's FVI worked with Girdler on the animal horror thriller The Day of the Animals the following year, though the collaboration did not achieve the success of Grizzly.
Montoro eventually moved FVI's headquarters to Hollywood and began churning out multiple genre films over the next seven years including Search and Destroy (1979) starring Don Stroud; The Dark (1979) starring William Devane; The Visitor (1979) starring Glenn Ford; H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (1979) starring Jack Palance; Kill and Kill Again (1981); The Incubus (1981) starring John Cassavetes; Texas Lightning (1981) starring Cameron Mitchell; Pieces (1982) starring Christopher George; They Call Me Bruce? (1982); Pod People (1983); Vigilante (1983) starring Robert Forster; The House on Sorority Row (1983); Mortuary (1983) starring Bill Paxton; Alley Cat (1984); and Mutant (1984) starring Bo Hopkins.
In 1980, FVI acquired the rights to the Italian film Great White, a thinly-veiled Jaws rip-off starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow. Montoro and FVI spent over $4 million in advertising in the U.S., but Universal Pictures promptly filed suit, claiming that the film was too derivative of Jaws. Universal won the lawsuit and Great White was pulled from the theaters after one week of release. The failure of Great White was a major monetary loss for FVI.
By 1984, FVI was on the verge of collapse due to multiple financial issues including the release failure of Great White, the poor box office performance of FVI's final film Mutant, and a pending divorce settlement of Montoro's. Surprising many within the industry, Montoro took one million dollars from FVI and vanished never to be seen again. Film Ventures International officially closed its doors in 1985, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and later being purchased by the INI Corporation. To this day, Montoro's whereabouts remain unknown, though it is believed he fled to Mexico.
Today, many of the films produced and released through Film Ventures International are now distributed through small-scale video and DVD companies including Anchor Bay Entertainment. The company was revived for the creation of independent films such as "The Final Curtain". FVI now owns 2 brands. Artists Releasing Corporation and Coliseum Video.
Filmography of Film Ventures International (15 films)
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Night Shadows (1984)
, 1h39Directed by John Cardos
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Zombie films, Films about viral outbreaks, Disaster films
Actors Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, Lee Montgomery, Cary Guffey, Jennifer Warren
Two brothers Josh (Wings Hauser) and Mike (Lee Montgomery), are run off the road by local rednecks and forced to spend the night in a small town whose inhabitants are suffering from a mysterious disease. Mike goes missing and so Josh has to team-up with the Sheriff (Bo Hopkins) to defeat the mutating townsfolk.
Extraterrestrial Visitors (1983)
Genres Science fiction, Horror
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Frank Braña
The film starts with three poachers going into the woods to hunt. One of them sees what he thinks is a meteor land and goes to investigate. He finds a red glowing cave with a stash of large eggs. He decides to smash them, but is killed by an unseen entity before he can finish, which leaves one egg left intact. The mysterious being takes revenge for the destruction, first killing the other hunters and then going after members of a rock band led by Rick (Ian Sera), who are on a weekend camping trip. This band is accompanied by Laura, a girl who Rick met and told about the weekend's plans, not expecting her to want to come along. Sharon, a member of the band, is jealous of Laura, as she (Sharon) is Rick's girlfriend. Cathy and Tracy are also band members.
Texas Lightning (1981)
, 1h31Directed by Gary Graver
Genres Drama, Action
Actors Cameron Mitchell, Maureen McCormick, Peter Jason, Charles Dierkop, Adam Wade, Hope Holiday
A tough, macho, truck driver decides to make his soft son more manly by taking him hunting. They vacation and go to a honky tonk bar where the younger man falls in love with a burned out waitress.
The Last Shark (1981)
, 1h23Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
Origin Italie
Genres Horror
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films, Films about sharks, Natural horror films, Mise en scène d'un poisson
Actors James Franciscus, Vic Morrow, Micaela Pignatelli, Joshua Sinclair, Massimo Vanni, Romano Puppo
While wind surfing near the seaside community of Port Harbor, a young man is killed by a giant Great White Shark. Author Peter Benton and professional shark hunter Ron Hammer realize the truth, but ambitious governor William Wells refuses to accept that a shark threatens their community. Fearing that a canceled wind-surfing regatta would derail his gubernatorial campaign, Wells has shark nets installed. But the sounds of teenagers splashing in the surf leads the shark to rip through the nets. The next day, the shark plows through the wind surfers, knocking them off their boards. But rather than eat the scattered teenagers, the shark targets the governor's aide and eats him.
Kill and Kill Again (1981)
, 1h40Origin USA
Genres Martial arts, Action, Martial arts
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films
Actors Anneline Kriel, Bill Flynn, Deon Stewardson
The plot involves Steve Chase (James Ryan), trying to stop the evil Marduk from amassing an army of mind-controlled karate slaves and taking over the world. Steve is assisted by Gorilla, the strongman (Ken Gampu); Gypsy Billy, the "former champion of the world", Norman Robinson; The Fly, the mystic (Stan Schmidt), and Hotdog, the gimmicky weapon-expert and theoretical comic relief (Bill Flynn). Also on Steve's team is Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel), a woman claiming to be the daughter of Dr. Kane, who invented the potato-based mind-control serum that Marduk uses on his army.
Don't Go in the House (1979)
, 1h22Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Dan Grimaldi
Donald "Donny" Kohler is obsessed with fire and human combustion, an obsession that stems from the severe abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, who would hold his bare arms over a gas stove in an effort to "burn the evil out of him". When his mother dies, he sets out to avenge himself on every woman who bears a resemblance to her with the aid of steel chains, a flamethrower, and a steel-paneled bedroom crematorium.
The Visitor (1979)
, 1h39Directed by Giulio Paradisi
Genres Science fiction, Horror
Themes Films set in the future, Demons in film, Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Disaster films
Actors John Huston, Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen, Sam Peckinpah, Shelley Winters
The film opens with vague impressions of nature and supernatural forces before centering on a Christ-like figure telling a story to a group of bald pupils, most of whom are children. He tells a story about cosmic forces in conflict. In particular, he warns about the threat of Sateen, an evil inter-spacial force of immense magnitude. The film cuts to The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia where two fictional teams are playing a basketball game. The owner of the Atlanta team, Raymond Armstead (Lance Henriksen), sits courtside and promises an interviewer that the team will win at all costs. Since Raymond is a new owner and the source of his wealth is unknown, the interviewer presses him on the source of his wealth. He eventually answers that the money comes "from God".
Stunt Rock (1978)
, 1h26Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Genres Drama, Action, Musical
Actors Monique van de Ven, Phil Hartman
Australian stuntman Grant Page accepts a job on an American television series and travels to Los Angeles, where he reunites with his cousin, Sorcery band member Curtis Hyde. Hyde performs with a heavy metal band called Sorcery, playing the part of The Prince of Darkness who is locked in cosmic combat with Merlin the Magician (Paul Haynes). While the band plays out the story with its signature brand of theatrical but muscular hard rock, Page's first stunt for the cameras goes awry and he is hospitalized, but defies his doctors by escaping out a fifth story window to get back to the set. Such reckless behavior attracts the attention of newspaper reporter (Margaret Gerard) who is writing an article about the career obsessed, as well as a TV star (Dutch star Monique van de Ven) who both gravitate towards the stuntman's professional fearlessness. Together they attend Sorcery concerts, enjoy Hollywood parties with the band and explore the nature of extreme living.
Day of the Animals (1977)
, 1h37Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Natural horror films
Actors Leslie Nielsen, Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Ruth Roman
A battle for survival begins as a group of mountain hikers in Northern California encounter a chemically imbalanced forest. The recent depletion of the Earth's ozone layer causes the sun to shine powerful ultraviolet light carrying some kind of solar radiation that somehow causes all animals above the altitude of 5,000 feet to run amok and kill, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers (including Christopher George, Lynda Day George, and Leslie Nielsen) who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before a quarantine is announced for all the surrounding towns. This has a dramatic effect on the rest of the nation, turning common household pets and pests into vicious attackers.
Grizzly (1976)
, 1h37Directed by William Girdler
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Adventure, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Natural horror films, Mise en scène d'un ours, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel, Joe Dorsey, Joan McCall, Bart l'ours
The film opens with a military veteran helicopter pilot and guide Don Stober (Andrew Prine) flying individuals above the trees of a vast national park. He states that the woods are untouched and remain much as they did during the time when the Native Americans lived there.
Kill or Be Killed (1976)
, 1h30Genres Drama, Martial arts, Action, Adventure, Martial arts
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films
A famous martial artist, Steve Chase (James Ryan), travels to the desert for what he thinks is an Olympic-style competition. The competition turns out to be a trap set by Baron von Rudloff (Norman Coombes), an ex-Nazi General who is still bitter over the humiliating defeat of his martial arts team at the 1936 Summer Olympics by Japanese martial artist Miyagi (Raymond Ho-Tong). Steve wants to escape when his girlfriend and fellow karateka, Olga (Charlotte Michelle), is deemed unsuitable to continue as part of von Rudloff's team. When Steve and Olga make their escape, von Rudloff sends his sympathetic dwarf henchman Chico (Danie DuPlessis) to travel around the world to recruit the best fighters for his team.
Beyond the Door (1974)
, 1h49Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis
Genres Horror
Actors Juliet Mills, Gabriele Lavia, Richard Johnson, Edward L. Montoro
Jessica Barrett is a young mother in San Francisco. Her family and friends begin to notice odd behavior around the time she falls pregnant with her third child. As the strangeness intensifies, Jessica begins to display signs of demonic possession including spinning her head all the way around and projectile vomiting.
When Women Had Tails (1970)
, 1h45Directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile
Origin Italie
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Sex comedy
Themes La préhistoire, Films about sexuality, Erotic films
Actors Senta Berger, Giuliano Gemma, Lando Buzzanca, Frank Wolff, Renzo Montagnani, Lino Toffolo
Seven orphan cavemen grow up on a little island all by themselves. After a fire burns all the vegetation, they set out to find a new place to live. One day they trap a strange animal, looking very similar to them, only softer and with longer hair.
Boot Hill (1969)
, 1h37Genres Comedy, Western
Themes Circus films, Buddy films
Actors Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Woody Strode, Victor Buono, Eduardo Ciannelli, Glauco Onorato
One night in the Old West, a man named Cat tries to ride out of a town and is ambushed by a large number of men. He is wounded, but manages to lure them away and hides in a wagon belonging to a circus company. Outside town the wagons are searched by men who are shot by Cat and the trapeze artist Thomas, who is a former gunfighter.
Alive or Preferably Dead (1969)
, 1h43Directed by Duccio Tessari
Origin Italie
Genres Comedy, Action, Western, Spaghetti Western
Actors Giuliano Gemma, Sydne Rome, George Rigaud, Antonio Casas, Víctor Israel, Dan van Husen
Two estranged brothers, city gambler Monty (Gemma) and Wild West farmer Ted Mulligan (Benvenuti) inherit $300,000 from their late uncle, on condition that they endure to live together for six months. The two start fighting about everything, and trouble begins as soon as Monty arrives in Ted's hometown.