Crown International Pictures

Crown International Pictures
TypeCorporation
IndustryFilm
Founded1959; 64 years ago (1959)
FounderNewton P. Jacobs
Defunct1992; 31 years ago (1992)
FateChapter 11 Bankruptcy
HeadquartersBeverly Hills, California, US

Crown International Pictures (CIP) was an independent film studio and distribution company formed in 1959 by Newton P. Jacobs.

History

Jacobs was a branch head of RKO Pictures until 1947, when he formed Favorite Films, an organization which released films acquired from the studios which had originally produced them, long after their first run release. CIP became one of the first franchise distributors for American International Pictures (AIP) product. Like AIP, Crown International is primarily known for low-budget genre films, including; grindhouse cinema, biker films, exploitation films, and B-movie drive-in fare.

Crown International began releasing both low-budget films as Bloodlust! and The Seventh Commandment, by American producers, as well as foreign films such as First Spaceship on Venus and Varan the Unbelievable (released as a double feature in 1962) which Crown was able to acquire inexpensively, due to the US dollar's strength. Crown began producing its own films, starting with Coleman Francis' The Skydivers, in 1963.

Beginning in 1961, Crown began by releasing six films, with the number rising to 12 a decade years later. Jacobs felt that Crown survived by having carefully planned growth and not overextending its product. He said that Crown did not want to be regarded as a mini major studio but as the top of the independents, to give the company more freedom in selecting and exploiting its film library. Well over 50% of exhibitors showing Crown's products were drive-in theatres, with the number decreasing to 30% in 1981.

Crown often re-titled its releases to make them sound more exciting or exploit current trends. Jacobs told the Los Angeles Times in November 1963, "A title is the handle  . . . You can't lift a picture very high if the handle is weak"

Crown also acted as importer for Sonny Chiba's Street Fighter films to the United States.[citation needed]

In 1973, Mark Tenser, who had been vice-president, became president with Jacobs' ascension to become chairman of the board. Jacobs' daughter Marilyn Jacobs Tenser became vice president. The company handled its in-house production division, Marimark Productions, to produce a majority of the Crown's later output.

The director of Death Machines (1976) gave an account of how Crown picked up and shot new scenes for his film that included shooting a prologue that would make the martial arts film a science-fiction one to make it more in line with current box-office trends.

In 1983, Crown International Pictures launched a new international division Crown International Pictures Export Corporation, whereas it took over duties from previous firm distributor who had once got a contract from Crown, Manson International, in order to market sales of Crown's own pictures internationally. In 1987, Crown International Pictures, signed a three-title deal with RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, which resulted in RCA/Columbia picking up home video rights to Crown's in-house production Hunk, as well as acquisitions handled by Crown, which are Scorpion and Jocks, of which all three Crown films will be headed to home video this summer.

In July 1988, Jacobs died in a motorcycle accident, which resulted in his son, Louis, taking the helm of Crown International.

Filmography

Year Title Notes Ref
1961 The Beast of Yucca Flats
Bloodlust!
The Devil's Hand
The Seventh Commandment
1962 Carnival of Crime
Secret File: Hollywood
Dangerous Charter
Stakeout
First Spaceship on Venus (金星ロケット発進す) US English dubbed version
Varan the Unbelievable (大怪獣バラン) US re-edited English dubbed adaptation
1963 As Nature Intended US re-edited version
Terrified
Madmen of Mandoras Adapted to They Saved Hitler's Brain in 1968
The Skydivers
1964 Iron Angel
Vengeance
The Creeping Terror
1965 Angel's Flight
Indian Paint
Orgy of the Dead
1966 To the Shores of Hell
The Hostage
1967 Guilt (Tills. med Gunilla månd. kväll o. tisd.) US English dubbed version
The Road to Nashville
Mondo Balordo A Mondo film
The Hellcats
Catalina Caper
Hell on Wheels
The Wild Rebels
1968 Single Room Furnished
I, a Lover (Jag - en älskare) US English dubbed version
Terror in the Jungle
The Fountain of Love (Die Liebesquelle) US English dubbed version
1969 The Big Hunt US release
African Safari (aka Rivers of Fire and Ice)
The Fantastic Plastic Machine
The Sidehackers
Nightmare in Wax
The Babysitter
Blood of Dracula's Castle
1970 Cindy & Donna
Noon Sunday
Weekend with the Babysitter
Blood Mania
1971 The Young Graduates
Wild Riders
Chain Gang Women
Point of Terror
The Pink Angels
1972 The Stepmother
Blue Money
Stanley
1973 The Naked Countess (Die nackte Gräfin) US English dubbed version
Little Laura and Big John
Santee
Superchick
Horror High
Kung Fu Mama (山東老娘) US English dubbed version
1974 The Sister-in-Law
Policewomen
The Teacher
Where the Red Fern Grows
1975 Trip with the Teacher
The Specialist
Best Friends
Las Vegas Lady
Pick-Up
Welcome Home Brother Charles (aka Soul Vengeance)
1976 The Pom Pom Girls
Hustler Squad
Death Machines
Death Riders
Satan's Slave
1977 The Van
Land of the Minotaur
The Crater Lake Monster
1978 Sextette
Coach
Dracula's Dog (aka Zoltan...Hound of Dracula)
Malibu Beach
French Quarter
1979 Van Nuys Blvd.
Burnout
Malibu High
Terror US release
1980 Don't Answer the Phone!
Galaxina
The Hearse
The Kidnapping of the President
1981 McVicar US release
The High Country
The Last Chase
Separate Ways
Improper Channels US release
1982 The Beach Girls
Budo: The Art of Killing
Liar's Moon
Double Exposure
1983 My Tutor
Stacy's Knights
Americana US theatrical release
Tender Cousins (Tendres Cousines) US English dubbed release
1984 Weekend Pass
Killpoint
Fleshburn
Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold
1985 Tomboy
9 Deaths of the Ninja
Cavegirl
Hot Target
1986 My Chauffeur
Low Blow
The Patriot
Scorpion
1987 Jocks
Hunk
The Virgin Queen of St. Francis High
Deathrow Gameshow
1988 Prime Evil
Lurkers
1989 My Mom's a Werewolf
Night Club
1990 Click: The Calendar Girl Killer
1991 Top Cop
Lena's Holiday
Brain Twisters
1992 The Silencer
1993 Housewife From Hell
1994 Almost Hollywood
2003 Malibu Spring Break

Home media

In 1964 Crown packaged several of the features that it released or had acquired rights to become part of a package of the Westhampton Film Corp. American television production company Desilu entered film syndication in 1964 by acquiring the rights to show Crown International films as part of the "Westhampton Feature Package". In the 1970s Crown released films for syndication through Gold Key Entertainment, which was a division of Vidtronics, Inc.

Many of Crown's releases have been released to DVD on BCI Home Entertainment's Welcome to the Grindhouse, Starlite Drive-In Theater and Drive-In Cult Classics series. Several Crown films have been shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since Navarre Corporation's closing of its subsidiary BCI Home Entertainment, DVD distribution of Crown's library has transferred to Mill Creek Entertainment. Most of the television rights to Crown's library are today owned by Lionsgate via their 2005 acquisition of Modern Entertainment.


This page was last updated at 2023-06-04 03:44 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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