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Filmways
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Foundation date 1 january 1958
Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by both 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 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 sitcoms Mr. Ed and The Addams Family. Notable films the company produced include The Sandpiper, The Cincinnati Kid, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Ice Station Zebra, Summer Lovers, The Burning, King and Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill and Blow Out.
Filmways acquired famous companies throughout the years, such as Heatter-Quigley Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions and American International Pictures. It was also the owner of the film distributor Sigma III Corporation (Closely Watched Trains, Hi, Mom!).
Best films
(1982)
(1980)
(1964)
(1965)
(1973)
(1967)Filmography of Filmways (57 films)
Production
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Ice Station Zebra (1968)
, 2h28Directed by John Sturges
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Spy
Themes Spy films, Seafaring films, Transport films, Underwater action films, Submarine films, Political films, Arme nucléaire
Actors Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, Tony Bill, Lloyd Nolan, Alf Kjellin
A satellite reenters the atmosphere and ejects a capsule which parachutes to the Arctic, coordinates 85N 21W (approx 320 miles WNW of Nord, Greenland, in the Arctic Ocean ice pack). During an ice storm, a figure soon approaches, guided by a homing beacon, while a second person secretly watches from nearby.
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
, 1h48Directed by Roman Polanski
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Vampires in film, Comedy horror films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Jack MacGowran, Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, Ferdy Mayne, Sydney Bromley, Alfie Bass
The film is set in the heart of Transylvania and the story appears to take place sometime during the mid-19th Century. Professor Abronsius, formerly of the University of Königsberg and his apprentice Alfred are on the hunt for vampires. Abronsius is old and withering and barely able to survive the cold ride through the wintry forests, while Alfred is bumbling and introverted. The two hunters come to a small Eastern European town seemingly at the end of a long search for signs of vampires. The two stay at a local inn full of angst-ridden townspeople who perform strange rituals to fend off an unseen evil.
Don't Make Waves (1967)
, 1h37Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin USA
Genres Erotic, Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality, Sports films, Erotic films, Surfing films
Actors Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Sharon Tate, Robert Webber, Joanna Barnes, Marc London
The film depicts a series of romantic triangles between different groupings of the principal cast and supporting players among several backdrops involving Southern California culture (swimming pools, bodybuilding, beach life, fantastic real estate, mudslides, metaphysical gurus, etc.).
Our Mother's House (1967)
, 1h44Directed by Jack Clayton
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Films about families
Actors Dirk Bogarde, Mark Lester, Pamela Franklin, Phoebe Nicholls, Yootha Joyce, Anthony Nicholls
The seven Hook children, whose ages range from five to fourteen, live in a dilapidated Victorian house in suburban London. The older children help to care for their invalid single mother, whose chronic illness has led to her to convert to fundamentalist religion and refuse all medical help. When their mother dies suddenly, the children realise that they may be split up and sent to orphanages, so they decide to conceal their mother's death and carry on with their daily routine as if she were still alive. They secretly bury their mother in the back yard at night, and convert the garden shed into a shrine to her, where they periodically hold seances to communicate with her spirit.
Eye of the Devil (1966)
, 1h32Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror, Crime
Actors Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings, Sharon Tate, Edward Mulhare
David Niven plays the owner of a vineyard, who is called back to the estate when it falls on hard times. Accompanied by his wife (Deborah Kerr), the couple are confronted by a beautiful witch (Sharon Tate), who also lives on the estate with her brother (David Hemmings). As time passes it becomes clear that a blood sacrifice is expected to return the vineyard to its former glory.
The Sandpiper (1965)
, 1h58Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Melodrama, Romance
Themes Peinture
Actors Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bronson, Robert Webber, Tom Drake
Laura Reynolds (Taylor) is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny (Morgan Mason) in an isolated California beach house. She makes a modest living as an artist and home-schools her son out of concern that he will be compelled to follow stifling conventional social norms in a regular school. Danny has gotten into some trouble with the law through two minor incidents, which are in his mother's eyes innocent expressions of his natural curiosity and conscience rather than delinquency. Now with a third incident a judge (Torin Thatcher) orders her to send the boy to an Episcopal boarding school where Dr. Edward Hewitt (Burton) is headmaster, and his wife Claire (Eva Marie Saint) teaches. Edward and Claire are happily married with two young sons, but their life has become routine and their youthful idealism has been tamed by the need to raise funds for the school and please wealthy benefactors.
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
, 1h38Directed by Norman Jewison
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Jeu, Poker
Actors Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, Joan Blondell
Eric Stoner, nicknamed "The Kid," is an up-and-coming poker player in New Orleans. He hears that Lancey Howard, a longtime master of the game nicknamed "The Man," is in town, and sees it as his chance to finally become the Man himself. The Kid's friend Shooter cautions him, reminding the Kid how he thought he was the best five-card stud player in the world, until Howard "gutted" him when they played.
The Loved One (1965)
, 2h2Directed by Tony Richardson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Robert Morse, Anjanette Comer, Rod Steiger, Jonathan Winters, John Gielgud, Liberace
Young Englishman Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) wins an airline ticket and visits his uncle Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud) in Los Angeles. Hinsley has worked as a production staffer at a major Hollywood studio for over thirty years. His employer D.J. Jr. (Roddy McDowall) fires Hinsley, despite the old man's faithful dedication to the company. Hinsley commits suicide by hanging himself.
Topkapi (1964)
, 2hDirected by Jules Dassin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime, Romance
Themes Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Jess Hahn, Akim Tamiroff
Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) visits Istanbul, where she sees a traveling fair featuring replicas of treasures from the Topkapı Palace. Next she cases the Topkapı, fascinated by the emerald-encrusted dagger of Sultan Mahmud I. Leaving Turkey, she recruits her ex-lover, Swiss master-criminal Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell), to plan a theft of the dagger. They engage Cedric Page (Robert Morley), master of all things mechanical; Giulio, "The Human Fly" (Gilles Ségal), a mute acrobat; and the burly Hans (Jess Hahn), who will provide the muscle needed for the job.
The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
, 1h47Directed by Arthur Hiller
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors James Garner, Lee Remick, Phil Harris, Chill Wills, Jim Backus, Elliott Reid
Molly Thatcher (Lee Remick) is a stockbroker languishing in a company run by sexist Bullard Bear (Jim Backus). When the company does poorly, he has to fire somebody. Molly is the obvious choice, but to avoid charges of sex discrimination, he assigns her the seemingly impossible task of unloading shares of an obscure company called Universal Widgets, figuring that when she fails, he will have an excuse to dismiss her.
Boys' Night Out (1962)
, 1h55Directed by Michael Gordon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall, Howard Morris, Howard Duff, Janet Blair
Three married men, George (Tony Randall), Doug (Howard Duff), and Howie (Howard Morris), and divorcé Fred (James Garner) are friends who commute to work from Greenwich, Connecticut, to New York City on the same train. Seeing Fred's philandering boss, Mr. Bingham (Larry Keating), with his mistress sets the men to fantasizing about sharing the expense of an apartment in the city as a love nest. As a gag, they give Fred the task of finding an unrealistically inexpensive apartment and a blonde "companion" to go with it.
Distribution
Return to Green Acres (1990)
, 2hDirected by William Asher
Genres Comedy
Actors Eddie Albert, Frank Cady, Eva Gabor, Pat Buttram, Mary Grace Canfield, Henry Gibson
Roar (1982)
, 1h42Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Adventure, Horror
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about animals
Actors Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith, Zakes Mokae, Will Hutchins
Hank (Marshall) lives contentedly with his wild animals: four tiger cubs, two elephants, and 110 lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and cheetahs. One day his family (wife and three children) arrive to visit him. The only trouble is he is not at home, but all his animals are. The visiting family is in for one shocking experience.
Death Wish II (1982)
, 1h28Directed by Michael Winner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction, Rape and revenge films, Auto-justice
Actors Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, Anthony Franciosa, J. D. Cannon, Laurence Fishburne
Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) seems to have picked up the pieces of his life and moved on, and is now dating L.A. radio reporter Geri Nichols (played by Bronson's real-life wife Jill Ireland). They go to pick up Kersey's daughter Carol (Robin Sherwood) from the hospital, where her doctor says that despite traumatic catatonia, Carol has begun to speak again. Paul, Geri, and Carol spend the afternoon at a carnival. While waiting in line for ice cream, Paul gets pick-pocketed by five gang members (named Nirvana, PunkCut, Stomper, Cutter and Jiver). He catches up with Jiver, after a brief struggle, denies taking Paul's wallet. Paul lets him go.
Summer Lovers (1982)
, 1h38Directed by Randal Kleiser
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Bisexuality-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah, Valérie Quennessen, Barbara Rush, Carole Cook, Rika Diallina
Michael Pappas (Peter Gallagher) and Cathy Featherstone (Daryl Hannah), a young couple who have just graduated from college in the United States, have known each other about 10 years and have been together about half that time. They vacation for the summer on a Greek island. When they visit a nude beach crowded with other young tourists, they are hesitant at first but find themselves getting caught up in the uninhibited energy that surrounds them.