American International Pictures
Encyclopedia
James H. Nicholson
James Harvey Nicholson was an American film producer. He is best known as the co-founder, with Samuel Z. Arkoff, of American International Pictures.-Biography:...
, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Zachary Arkoff was an American producer of B movies.-Life and career:Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa to a Russian Jewish family, Arkoff first studied to be a lawyer. Along with business partner James H. Nicholson and producer-director Roger Corman, he produced eighteen films...
, an entertainment lawyer. It was dedicated to releasing independently produced, low-budget films packaged as double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
s, primarily of interest to the teenagers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Nicholson and Arkoff formed ARC in 1955, with their first release being The Fast and the Furious.
AIP personnel
Nicholson and Arkoff served as executive producers while Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and Alex Gordon were the principal film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
s and, sometimes, directors. Writer Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith was a Chicago-born screenwriter, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge...
wrote many of the early films, along with Arkoff's brother-in-law, Lou Rusoff. Later writers included Ray Russell
Ray Russell
Ray Russell was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. In 1991 he received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement....
, Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
and Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
. Floyd Crosby
Floyd Crosby
Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer.Crosby was born and raised in West Philadelphia, the son of Julia Floyd and Frederick Van Schoonhoven Crosby...
, A.S.C. famous for his camera work on a number of exotic documentaries and the Oscar winner, High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
, was chief cinematographer. His innovative use of surreal color and odd lenses and angles gave AIP films a signature look. The early rubber monster suits and miniatures of Paul Blaisdell were used in AIP's science fiction films. The company also hired Les Baxter
Les Baxter
Les Baxter was an American musician and composer.Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer...
and Ronald Stein
Ronald Stein
Ronald Stein was an American film composer.-Biography:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Stein wrote scores for numerous low budget horror and exploitation films during the 1950s and 1960s, many of which were released by American International Pictures...
to compose many of its film scores.
Emphasis on teenagers
When many of ARC/AIP's first releases failed to earn a profit, Arkoff quizzed film exhibitors who told him of the value of the teenage market as adults were watching television. AIP stopped making Westerns with Arkoff explaining: "To compete with television westerns you have to have color, big stars and $2,000,000".AIP was the first company to use focus group
Focus group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
s , polling American teenagers about what they would like to see and using their responses to determine titles, stars, and story content. AIP would question their exhibitors (who often provided 20% of AIP's financing) what they thought of the success of a title, then would have a writer write a script for it. A sequence of tasks in a typical production involved coming up with a great title, getting an artist such as Albert Kallis who supervised all AIP artwork from 1955–73 to create a dynamic, eye-catching poster, then raising the cash, and finally actually writing and casting the film.
The ARKOFF formula
Samuel Z. Arkoff related his tried-and-true "ARKOFF formula" for producing a successful low-budget movie years later, during a 1980s talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
appearance. His ideals for a movie included:
- Action (exciting, entertaining drama)
- Revolution (novel or controversial themes and ideas)
- Killing (a modicum of violence)
- Oratory (notable dialogue and speeches)
- Fantasy (acted-out fantasies common to the audience)
- Fornication (sex appeal, for young adults)
Later the AIP publicity department devised a strategy called "The Peter Pan Syndrome":
a) a younger child will watch anything an older child will watch;
b) an older child will not watch anything a younger child will watch;
c) a girl will watch anything a boy will watch
d) a boy will not watch anything a girl will watch;
therefore-to catch your greatest audience you zero in on the 19-year old male.
The films of the 1950s
Having recognized that other filmmakers were ignoring the lucrative teenage drive-in market, AIP focused on producing scores of low-budget, youth-oriented films. They exploited the emerging juvenile delinquent genre with movies like Daddy-ODaddy-O
Daddy-O is a 1958 B-movie starring Dick Contino. It was directed by Lou Place and written by David Moessinger. The film is notable for its soundtrack as being the debut film score for composer John Williams...
, High School Hellcats
High School Hellcats
High School Hellcats is an American black-and-white 1958 film about a high school girl gang. The film stars Yvonne Lime, Bret Halsey, and Jana Lund...
, Female Jungle
Female Jungle
Female Jungle is a 1955 black-and-white B-movie notable for being Jayne Mansfield's first film; one of Lawrence Tierney's last before his comeback and the only American International Pictures entry into film noir.-Plot:...
, Reform School Girl, Runaway Daughters, and Girls in Prison.
Many of AIP's "wild youth" features also catered to the teenage obsession with cars and drag racing in films such as Hot Rod Gang, Hot Rod Girl
Hot Rod Girl
Hot Rod Girl is a 1956 action film directed by Leslie H. Martinson and released by American International Pictures. It stars Lori Nelson and Chuck Connors.-Cast:*Lori Nelson as Lisa Vernon*Chuck Connors as Det. Ben Merrill*John Smith as Jeff Northrup...
(with Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
), Road Racers, Drag Strip Girl, and the 1959 horror-hybrid The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow – the sequel to 1958's Hot Rod Gang.
Movies centered around rock 'n roll music such as Shake, Rattle & Rock!
Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956 film)
Shake Rattle and Rock! is a 1956 musical/comedy-drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn for American International Pictures.-Cast:*Touch Connors as Garry Nelson*Lisa Gaye as June Fitzdingle*Sterling Holloway as Albert "Axe" McAllister...
and Rock All Night
Rock All Night
Rock All Night is a 1957 American International Pictures film produced and directed by Roger Corman based on a 1955 television episode of The Jane Wyman Theatre called Little Guy.-Plot:...
was another untapped area mined by AIP. But one of their most unique innovations was the creation of teen-themed horror films with eye-catching titles like: I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
(starring Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway released by American International Pictures in November 1957. It is the follow-up to AIP's box-office hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf released less than five months earlier...
, and Roger Corman's science fiction film Teenage Cave Man
Teenage Cave Man
Teenage Cave Man is the name of a 1958 science fiction film directed by Roger Corman. It was shot as Prehistoric World, but was changed by American International Pictures to its final title. Years later in an interview, Corman stated "I never directed a film called Teenage Caveman"...
, with Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
.
An attempt was also made to capitalize on the popularity of war films with releases such as 1958's Tank Battalion. Tank Battalion managed to cast Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, backstopped by a bevy of female nurses and barmaids in case the combat scenes failed to interest moviegoers. Made as usual on a very tight budget, the costs of casting meant that the producer could only afford the rental of a single tank for the so-called 'Tank Battalion', and the action scenes were written with this limitation in mind, focusing primarily on the tank's crew and their love interests. Tank Battalion was unsuccessful, and the cost of making war subject films led the studio to cancel future projects in the genre.
Science fiction and horror films, many directed by Roger Corman, were a staple at AIP with titles like It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World is a 1956 American science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist. It was directed by Roger Corman, written by Lou Rusoff , and starred Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally...
(with Peter Graves
Peter Graves
Peter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...
and Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
), The She Creature
The She Creature
The She Creature is a 1956 American black-and-white horror film produced by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff , produced by Alex Gordon and directed by Edward L. Cahn...
, and War of the Colossal Beast
War of the Colossal Beast
War of the Colossal Beast is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Bert I. Gordon and produced by Carmel Productions and distributed by American International Pictures. It continued the storyline of the 1957 movie The Amazing Colossal Man, although it was not marketed as a direct...
.
AIP's 1960s output
Beginning with 1963's Beach PartyBeach Party
Beach Party was the first of several beach party films from American International Pictures aimed at a teen audience. It was directed by William Asher and written by Lou Rusoff. The main actors included Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello...
, AIP created a new genre of beach party film
Beach Party film
Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
s featuring Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
and Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
. The highly successful and often imitated series ended in 1966 with the 7th film, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is the seventh of the American International Pictures beach party films and was released in 1966. The entire film takes place in and around a haunted house with no beach in sight, with the teenage gang instead cavorting in and around it and the adjacent swimming...
. Many actors from the beach films also appeared in AIP's spy-spoofs such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley...
(1965) and car racing sagas like Fireball 500
Fireball 500
Fireball 500 is a stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s...
(1966) and Thunder Alley
Thunder Alley (film)
Thunder Alley is a 1967 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Annette Funicello and Fabian.-Plot:A race car driver retires after a blackout causes the death of another driver on the motorway. After the accident, he then begins working at a "Thrill Circus" as a stunt driver. There he meets the...
. During this time AIP also produced or distributed most of Roger Corman's famous horror B movies, including such films as X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes
X (1963 film)
X is a 1963 science fiction/horror motion picture.Directed by Roger Corman from a script by Ray Russell and Robert Dillon, X stars Ray Milland as Dr. James Xavier. A world renowned scientist, Dr. Xavier experiments with X-ray vision and things go horribly wrong...
, The Raven
The Raven (1963 film)
The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
, and The Terror
The Terror (1963 film)
The Terror is an American horror film produced by Roger Corman, and famous for being filmed on leftover film sets from other AIP productions, including The Haunted Palace...
.
In 1966, the studio released The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman film, made on location in Southern California. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider and was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture...
starring Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
, based loosely on the real-life exploits of the Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
motorcycle gang. This film kicked off a subgenre of motorcycle gang films that lasted almost ten years and included Devil's Angels
Devil's Angels
Devil's Angels is a 1967 American biker movie written by Charles B. Griffith and directed by Daniel Haller....
, The Glory Stompers with Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
and The Born Losers
The Born Losers
This article is about the film. You may be looking for the song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_LosersBorn Losers is a 1967 action film and the first of the Billy Jack movies. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack...
—the film that introduced the Billy Jack
Billy Jack
Billy Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
character. The psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
and hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
scenes of the late '60s were also exploited with films like The Trip
The Trip (1967 film)
The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...
, also with Peter Fonda, Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip is a 1967 low-budget exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures, and filmed and released within six weeks of the actual late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots....
, Wild in the Streets
Wild in the Streets
Wild in the Streets is a 1968 film featuring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. It was produced by American International Pictures and based on a short story by writer Robert Thom...
, Maryjane, Gas-s-s-s
Gas-s-s-s
Gas-s-s-s is a 1971 motion picture produced and released by American International Pictures. It was producer Roger Corman's final film for AIP, before leaving to found his own New World Pictures...
, and Psych-Out
Psych-Out
Psych-Out is a feature film about hippies, psychedelic music, and recreational drugs, produced and released by American International Pictures. Originally scripted as The Love Children, the title when tested caused people to think it was about bastards, so Samuel Z...
with Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
.
American International International
On a trip to Italy, Arkoff met Fulvio Lucisano, an Italian screenwriter and producer who eventually headed Italian International Productions, which co-produced 25 films in Italy for AIP. Importing completed productions was cheaper than producing their own films in America. AIP released many gialloGiallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
, sword and sandal
Sword and sandal
The Peplum , also known as Sword-and-Sandal, is a genre of largely Italian-made Historical or Biblical Epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by the "Spaghetti Western"...
(or "peplum)", Eurospy and war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
s featuring many American stars and Italian stars such as the comedy team of Franco Franchi
Franco Franchi
Franco Franchi was an Italian comedian.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the 1960s...
and Ciccio Ingrassia
Ciccio Ingrassia
Ciccio Ingrassia was an Italian comedian.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the 1960s. He starred in many comedies, mainly as a duo with comedian Franco Franchi...
. However, AIP released no spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s, perhaps recalling their failure of Westerns in the 1950s. Many of these films were edited, rewritten with different English dialogue, and sometimes rescored by Les Baxter.
AIP through Henry G. Saperstein
Henry G. Saperstein
Henry G. Saperstein was a U.S. film producer and distributor. Through his UPA studio, he produced the television special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol , and The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo television series which it spawned, as well as the animated features 1001 Arabian Nights starring Magoo, and...
is well known for being the major U.S. distributor for Kadokawa Pictures
Kadokawa Pictures
is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...
and Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
's Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
and Gamera
Gamera
is a giant, flying turtle from a popular series of kaiju films produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the daikaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own...
(kaiju
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
) movies of the '60s and '70s. AIP also distributed other Japanese science fiction movies like Frankenstein Conquers the World
Frankenstein Conquers the World
Frankenstein Conquers the World, released in Japan as , with Toho's official English title being Frankenstein vs. Baragon, is a kaiju film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd...
, Monster from a Prehistoric Planet
Daikyoju Gappa
is a 1967 Kaiju film. The film was produced by Nikkatsu Corporation, and was their only foray into the giant monster genre. The foreign sales title for the film was Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, and was dubbed into English...
, and the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n production Yonggary, Monster from the Deep
Yonggary
Yonggary or Yongary , also known as Yongary, Monster from the Deep, is a 1967 South Korean Kaiju film directed by prominent genre-film director Kim Ki-duk...
as well as the Japanese animated film Alakazam the Great
Alakazam the Great
is a 1960 Japanese anime film, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, he was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he...
. AIP also released a pair of Japanese spy thrillers redubbed as a comedy co-written by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
called What's Up Tiger Lily?.
The studio also released edited and English-dubbed versions of several Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
science fiction films, that had the dialogue rewritten for the American market and in some cases had additional scenes filmed with American and British actors. These include the Soviet film Planeta Bur (Planet of Storms) which was released by AIP in two different English-dubbed versions, as Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet is a 1965 science fiction film directed by Curtis Harrington. The film is an American adapted and edited version of the Russian science fiction movie Planeta Bur directed by Pavel Klushantsev, with Curtis Harrington filming extra scenes featuring Basil Rathbone and...
and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women is a science fiction film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The film is an adapted version of Curtis Harrington's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, which in turn is adapted from the Russian 1962 feature Planeta Bur by Pavel Klushantsev...
and the highly-regarded 1963 Czech science fiction film Ikarie XB-1
Ikarie XB-1
Ikarie XB-1 is a 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction film directed by Jindřich Polák. It was also edited and dubbed into English for release in the USA, where it is known by its alternate title Voyage to the End of the Universe.-Plot:...
, which was retitled Voyage to the End of the Universe.
The Corman-Poe cycle
In the early 1960s, AIP gained some kudos by combining Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
, Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
into a series of visually impressive horror films. This series of movies made AIP an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
counterpart to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
studio Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
and its famous Hammer Horror line featuring Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
and Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.
The original idea, usually credited to Corman, was to take Poe's story "The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
", which had both a high name-recognition value and the merit of being in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, and thus royalty
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
-free, and expand it into a feature film. Corman convinced the studio to give him a larger budget than the typical AIP film so he could film the movie in widescreen and color, and use it to create lavish sets as well.
The success of House of Usher
House of Usher (film)
House of Usher is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, and Mark Damon: the story is about a New England family cursed with madness, criminal conduct, and debauchery...
led AIP to finance further films also based on Poe's stories. The sets and special effects were often reused in subsequent movies (for example, the burning roof of the Usher mansion reappears in most of the other films) making the series quite cost-effective. All the films in the series were directed by Roger Corman, and they all starred Price except The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story on the theme of being buried alive, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest...
, which featured Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
in the lead. It was originally produced for another studio, but AIP acquired the rights to it.
As the series progressed, Corman made attempts to change the formula. Later films added more humor to the stories, especially The Raven
The Raven (1963 film)
The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
, which takes Poe's poem as an inspiration and develops it into an all-out farce starring Price, Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
and Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
; Karloff had starred in the 1935 version. Corman also adapted H. P. Lovecraft's
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a short novel by H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's liftetime...
" in an attempt to get away from Poe, but AIP changed the title to that of an obscure Poe poem, The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in a story about a village held in the grip of a cult. The film was directed by Roger Corman, and is usually listed as one in his series of eight films...
, and marketed it as yet another movie in the series. The penultimate film in the series, The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death (film)
The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
, was filmed in England with an unusually long schedule for Corman and AIP. The film, inspired by Ingmar Bergman's
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
, looks much more opulent than the rest of the series.
Although Corman is generally credited with coming up with the idea for the Poe series, in an interview on the Anchor Bay DVD of Mario Bava's
Mario Bava
Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath (film)
The motion picture Black Sabbath, whose Italian title, I Tre volti della paura, translates as The Three Faces of Fear, is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava. Boris Karloff, in addition to appearing in the linking passages, has a role in "The Wurdalak" segment...
, Mark Damon
Mark Damon
Mark Damon is an American film actor and producer. He started his career in his native country, appearing in such films as Young and Dangerous and Roger Corman's House of Usher...
claims that he first suggested the idea to Corman. Damon also says that Corman let him direct The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
uncredited. Corman's commentary for Pit mentions nothing of this and all existing production stills of the film show Corman directing.
List of Corman-Poe films
- House of UsherHouse of Usher (film)House of Usher is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, and Mark Damon: the story is about a New England family cursed with madness, criminal conduct, and debauchery...
(1960) - The Pit and the PendulumThe Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
(1961) - The Premature BurialThe Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
(1962) - Tales of TerrorTales of TerrorTales of Terror is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone; it is the fourth in a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP.-Plot:...
(1962) - The RavenThe Raven (1963 film)The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
(1963) - The Haunted PalaceThe Haunted PalaceThe Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in a story about a village held in the grip of a cult. The film was directed by Roger Corman, and is usually listed as one in his series of eight films...
(1963) - The Masque of the Red DeathThe Masque of the Red Death (film)The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
(1964) - The Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964)
AIP-TV
In 1964, AIP became one of the last film studios to start its own television production company, American International Productions Television (a.k.a. American International Television or AIP-TV). AIP-TV at first released many of their 1950s films to American television stations, then filmed unsuccessful television pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
s for Beach Party
Beach Party
Beach Party was the first of several beach party films from American International Pictures aimed at a teen audience. It was directed by William Asher and written by Lou Rusoff. The main actors included Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello...
and Sergeant Deadhead, made several colour horror/science fiction television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s by Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan was a film director, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a "schlockmeister". Many of his titles have landed on "worst movie" lists, but all at least broke even and many made a profit.Buchanan was born in Mexia, Texas. He was orphaned as a baby, and was raised in Dallas in...
that were remakes of black-and-white AIP films, and sold packages of many dubbed European, Japanese, and Mexican films produced by K. Gordon Murray
K. Gordon Murray
K. Gordon Murray was an American producer, most notable for his redubbing and re-releasing of foreign fairy tale films for U.S. audiences. He is often cited as the "King of the Kiddie Matinee"...
and foreign-made live-action and animated TV series (including Prince Planet
Prince Planet
Prince Planet is the English name given to one of the earliest Japanese TV anime series, , when it was televised in America in the mid-1960s...
). The best known animated series AIP-TV distributed was Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt.
In order to allay the fears of cinema owners who feared current releases would soon end up being shown on television, AIP issued a statement retroactive to 1963 that the company would not release any of their films to television until five years after cinema release unless the film had not made back its original negative costs. AIP-TV also filmed specials of promotion of AIP films such as The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot (1965, ABC) and An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1972, syndication), both with Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
.
AIP Records
AIP started their own record label, American International Records in 1959 to release tunes used in their movies. There were a number of soundtrack albums as well.AIP Records was once distributed by MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
, the record label owned by AIP's successor-in-interest MGM.
Later years
In the 1970s, AIP produced some of that decade's blaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
films like Blacula
Blacula
Blacula is a 1972 American horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role about an 18th century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is both turned into a vampire and locked inside a coffin by Count Dracula...
, and Foxy Brown
Foxy Brown (1974 film)
Foxy Brown is a 1974 blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars Pam Grier as the title character, described by one character as "a whole lot of woman" who showcases unrelenting black sexiness while battling the villains.- Plot :...
. In a throwback to the old "studio days", the company is credited with making Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
a household name, as the majority of her early '70s films were made under contract to American International.
In the mid to late 1970s, AIP began to produce more mainstream films such as Bunny O'Hare
Bunny O'Hare
Bunny O'Hare is a 1971 American comedy film directed by Gerd Oswald, starring Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine. The screenplay by Coslough Johnson and Stanley Z...
, Cooley High
Cooley High
Cooley High is a 1975 American film based upon the real high school located on the near north side of Chicago produced and released by American International Pictures and written by Eric Monte...
, The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (1979 film)
The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film based on the bestselling 1977 novel of the same name by Jay Anson. It is the first movie in the Amityville Horror franchise....
, Love at First Bite
Love At First Bite
Love at First Bite is a 1979 comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin and Arte Johnson. The original music score was composed by Charles Bernstein...
, Meteor
Meteor (film)
Meteor is a 1979 science fiction Technicolor disaster film in which scientists detect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth and struggle with international, cold war politics in their efforts to prevent disaster. The movie starred Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.It was directed by Ronald Neame...
, Force 10 from Navarone, Shout at the Devil
Shout at the Devil (film)
Shout at the Devil is a British film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.The picture is a comedic adventure story set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913-1915 based on a novel written by Wilbur Smith and is very loosely inspired by real events.-Plot:It tells...
, The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film)
The Island of Dr. Moreau is the second movie version of the H. G. Wells science fiction novel about a scientist who attempts to convert animals into people, starring Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Barbara Carrera, and Richard Basehart...
and C.H.O.M.P.S, and even released an Australian
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
film, Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
, dubbed into American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
. The increased spending on these projects, though they did make some money, contributed to the company's downfall.
In 1979, with the retirement of Arkoff, AIP was sold to Filmways, Inc.
Filmways
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1958...
and became a subsidiary production unit thereof renamed Filmways Pictures in 1980. AIP-TV was absorbed as the wholly owned program syndication arm of Filmways Television. Filmways was later bought by Orion Pictures Company in 1982 and Filmways was later renamed as Orion Pictures Corporation, but retained the distribution arm. This allowed Orion to establish its own distribution after utilizing Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
for distribution which still has distribution rights to Orion films Warner distributed. Today, a majority of the AIP library is owned by Orion's successor company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. The American International name is still a registered trademark owned by MGM's Orion Pictures unit.
As American Releasing Corporation
- Female JungleFemale JungleFemale Jungle is a 1955 black-and-white B-movie notable for being Jayne Mansfield's first film; one of Lawrence Tierney's last before his comeback and the only American International Pictures entry into film noir.-Plot:...
(1955) - The Fast and the Furious (1955)
- The Beast with a Million EyesThe Beast with a Million EyesThe Beast with a Million Eyes is a science-fiction movie about an alien capable to see through the eyes of the many creatures he takes control of. It was produced and directed by David Kramarsky, although some sources say that it was co-directed by Lou Place and co-produced by Roger Corman and...
(1955) - The Phantom from 10,000 LeaguesThe Phantom from 10,000 LeaguesThe Phantom from 10,000 Leagues is a 1955 science fiction film. It was directed by Dan Milner and starred Kent Taylor. The movie was released December, 1955. It has had many DVD releases.-Plot:...
(1955) - Day the World EndedDay the World EndedDay the World Ended was the fourth film directed by Roger Corman. Rick is a heroic scientist who, among others, must face off against a mutant monster after an atomic war destroys human civilization...
(1955)
1950s
- It Conquered the WorldIt Conquered the WorldIt Conquered the World is a 1956 American science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist. It was directed by Roger Corman, written by Lou Rusoff , and starred Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally...
(1956) - Hot Rod GirlHot Rod GirlHot Rod Girl is a 1956 action film directed by Leslie H. Martinson and released by American International Pictures. It stars Lori Nelson and Chuck Connors.-Cast:*Lori Nelson as Lisa Vernon*Chuck Connors as Det. Ben Merrill*John Smith as Jeff Northrup...
(1956) - Girls in PrisonGirls in PrisonGirls in Prison is a 1956 drama/sexploitation women in prison film about a young woman who is convicted of being an accomplice to a bank robbery and is sent to an all-female prison. The film was directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Richard Denning, Joan Taylor, and Mae Marsh...
(1956) - The She CreatureThe She CreatureThe She Creature is a 1956 American black-and-white horror film produced by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff , produced by Alex Gordon and directed by Edward L. Cahn...
(1956) - Shake, Rattle & Rock!Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956 film)Shake Rattle and Rock! is a 1956 musical/comedy-drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn for American International Pictures.-Cast:*Touch Connors as Garry Nelson*Lisa Gaye as June Fitzdingle*Sterling Holloway as Albert "Axe" McAllister...
(1956) - Flesh and the SpurFlesh and the SpurFlesh and the Spur is a 1957 Western film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The movie stars John Agar as Lucius Random, Marla English as Wild Willow, and future Mannix star Mike Connors as Stacy Tanner.-Plot:...
(1957) - The UndeadThe Undead (film)The Undead is a 1957 horror film directed by Roger Corman starring Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Allison Hayes, and Val Dufour. It follows the story of prostitute Diana Love who is put into a hypnotic trance by psychic Quintis , thus causing her to regress back to a previous life...
(1957) - Voodoo WomanVoodoo WomanVoodoo Woman is a horror film directed by Edward L. Cahn and released by American International Pictures.-Synopsis:A pair of treasure hunters, which includes the beautiful but ruthless Marilyn Blanchard , discover gold in the voodoo idol of a tribe of the African jungle...
(1957) - Rock All NightRock All NightRock All Night is a 1957 American International Pictures film produced and directed by Roger Corman based on a 1955 television episode of The Jane Wyman Theatre called Little Guy.-Plot:...
(1957) - I Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
(1957) - Invasion of the Saucer MenInvasion of the Saucer MenInvasion of the Saucer Men is a 1957 sci-fi comedy film starring Steven Terrell and Gloria Castillo and personally produced by James H. Nicholson for his American International Pictures...
(1957) - The Amazing Colossal ManThe Amazing Colossal ManThe Amazing Colossal Man is a 1957 black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Bert I. Gordon and starring Glenn Langan. The film revolves around a 60 foot mutant man produced as the result of an atomic accident....
(1957) - I Was a Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage Frankenstein is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway released by American International Pictures in November 1957. It is the follow-up to AIP's box-office hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf released less than five months earlier...
(1957) - The Astounding She-MonsterThe Astounding She-MonsterThe Astounding She-Monster is a 1957 science fiction horror film starring Robert Clarke and directed, written and produced by Ronald V. Ashcroft...
(1957) - The Cool and the CrazyThe Cool and the CrazyThe Cool and the Crazy is a 1958 motion picture that was distributed by American-International Pictures. The producer of the film, Elmer Rhoden Jr., was president of the Kansas City, Missouri-based Commonwealth Theaters chain, a prominent chain of motion picture theaters with stretched through...
(1958) - War of the Colossal BeastWar of the Colossal BeastWar of the Colossal Beast is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Bert I. Gordon and produced by Carmel Productions and distributed by American International Pictures. It continued the storyline of the 1957 movie The Amazing Colossal Man, although it was not marketed as a direct...
(1958) - How to Make a MonsterHow to Make a Monster (1958 film)How to Make a Monster is a 1958 American horror film released by American International Pictures. The film is a follow-up to both I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. Like Teenage Frankenstein, a black & white film that switched to color for the final moments, How to Make a...
(1958) - Terror from the Year 5000Terror from the Year 5000Terror from the Year 5000 is a 1958 American science fiction film directed by Robert J. Gurney Jr. starring Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, John Stratton, Salome Jens and Fred Herrick....
(1958) - She Gods of Shark ReefShe Gods of Shark ReefShe Gods of Shark Reef is a 1958 adventure film directed by Roger Corman that was filmed on location in Kaua'i.-Plot:A young and reckless criminal Jim , stows away on his brother Chris Johnston's boat after killing two men...
(1958) - High School HellcatsHigh School HellcatsHigh School Hellcats is an American black-and-white 1958 film about a high school girl gang. The film stars Yvonne Lime, Bret Halsey, and Jana Lund...
(1958) - The Screaming SkullThe Screaming SkullThe Screaming Skull is a 1958 American horror film, inspired by the short story of the same name written by Francis Marion Crawford. The film stars John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, and Alex Nicol, the film's director...
(1958) - Machine-Gun KellyMachine-Gun Kelly (film)Machine-Gun Kelly is a film directed by Roger Corman, chronicling the criminal activities of the real-life George "Machine Gun" Kelly. The film was considered low budget, but received good critical reviews...
(1958) - Daddy-ODaddy-ODaddy-O is a 1958 B-movie starring Dick Contino. It was directed by Lou Place and written by David Moessinger. The film is notable for its soundtrack as being the debut film score for composer John Williams...
(1958) - Jet Attack (1958)
- Hell SquadHell Squad (1958 film)Hell Squad is a 1958 American film produced, written and directed by Burt Topper in his motion picture debut. Filmed in Indio, California in 1957, the film was originally titled The Ground They Walk but was retitled upon being picked up by American International Pictures who released it as a double...
(1958) - Tank BattalionTank Battalion (film)Tank Battalion is a 1958 War film directed by Sherman A. Rose, starring Don Kelly, Leslie Parrish and Edward G. Robinson Jr. Four men in their tank, during the Korean War in 1951, find themselves behind enemy lines.-Cast:* Don Kelly as Sgt. Brad Dunne...
(1958) - Hot Rod Gang (1958)
- Suicide BattalionSuicide BattalionSuicide Battalion is a 1958 World War II film starring Mike Connors and John Ashley who made the film while on leave from the US Army. It was remade for television by Larry Buchanan as Hell Raiders, which was the original working title of the film.American International Pictures originally...
(1958) - Teenage Cave ManTeenage Cave ManTeenage Cave Man is the name of a 1958 science fiction film directed by Roger Corman. It was shot as Prehistoric World, but was changed by American International Pictures to its final title. Years later in an interview, Corman stated "I never directed a film called Teenage Caveman"...
(1958) - Paratroop CommandParatroop CommandParatroop Command is a 1959 war film directed by William Witney, starring Richard Bakalyan, Ken Lynch and Jack Hogan.Charlie is a soldier who suffers the scorn of his paratroop unit because he accidentally kills one of their own men...
(1959) - A Bucket of BloodA Bucket of BloodA Bucket of Blood is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in beatnik culture. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman's work....
(1959) - The Angry Red PlanetThe Angry Red PlanetThe Angry Red Planet is a 1959 science fiction film starring Gerald Mohr and directed by Ib Melchior. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.The movie was made with a CineMagic technique which was applied for all of the scenes on the...
(1959) - Horrors of the Black MuseumHorrors of the Black MuseumHorrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
(1959) - The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)
- Attack of the Giant LeechesAttack of the Giant LeechesAttack of the Giant Leeches is a low-budget 1959 science fiction film from American International Pictures. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, produced by Gene Corman, and the screenplay was written by Leo Gordon. The film is in black and white, and runs for 62 minutes...
(1959)
1960s
- House of UsherHouse of Usher (film)House of Usher is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, and Mark Damon: the story is about a New England family cursed with madness, criminal conduct, and debauchery...
(1960) - Beyond the Time BarrierBeyond the Time BarrierBeyond the Time Barrier is a 1959 Cold War era black and white time travel science fiction film filmed in ten days in Texas. It was produced by and starred Robert Clarke and was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Ulmer's wife Shirley acted as a script editor whilst their daughter Arianne Arden...
(1960) - The Amazing Transparent ManThe Amazing Transparent ManThe Amazing Transparent Man is a 1960 science fiction film starring Marguerite Chapman. It is an American B-movie which follows the story of an insane ex-U. S. Army major who uses an escaped criminal to steal materials to improve the invisibility machine his scientist prisoner made. It was one of...
(1960) - Colossus and the HeadhuntersColossus and the HeadhuntersColossus and the Headhunters, also known in its original Italian title as Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste , is a sword and sandal film created in Italy and released in 1960....
(1960) - Assignment Outer SpaceSpace MenSpace Men is a 1960 science fiction film starring Rik Van Nutter and directed by Antonio Margheriti. It follows an assignment by Interplanetary News reporter Ray Peterson aboard a space station in the 21st century...
(1960) - Alakazam the GreatAlakazam the Greatis a 1960 Japanese anime film, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, he was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he...
(1960) - La Dolce VitaLa Dolce VitaLa Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
(1960) - Black Sunday (1960)
- KongaKonga (film)Konga is a 1961 British science fiction film directed by John Lemont and starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns and Austin Trevor. It was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures....
(1961) - Night TideNight TideNight Tide is a 1961 thriller film, written and directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Dennis Hopper. It premiered in 1961, but was held up from general release until 1963...
(1961) - Master of the WorldMaster of the World (1961 film)Master of the World is a 1961 science fiction film based upon the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World. The movie stars Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull, was written by Richard Matheson, and directed by William Witney.The film was an attempt by American...
(1961) - The Pit and the PendulumThe Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
(1961) - The Brain That Wouldn't DieThe Brain That Wouldn't DieThe Brain That Wouldn't Die, also known as The Head That Wouldn't Die, is a 1962 science-fiction/horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton. The film was completed in 1959 under the title The Black Door, but was not released until May 3, 1962, when it was renamed...
(1962) - Invasion of the Star CreaturesInvasion of the Star CreaturesInvasion of the Star Creatures is a May 3, 1962, science fiction/comedy film directed by Bruno VeSota and starring Bob Ball and Frankie Ray. It was released theatrically by American International Pictures. It was released as a double feature with The Brain That Wouldn't Die.-Plot:The film opens...
(1962) - Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)
- The Premature BurialThe Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
(1962) - Panic in Year Zero!Panic in Year Zero!Panic in Year Zero! , sometimes known as End of the World, is a science fiction film directed by and starring Ray Milland. The original music score was composed by Les Baxter...
(1962) - Tales of TerrorTales of TerrorTales of Terror is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone; it is the fourth in a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP.-Plot:...
(1962) - CommandoMarcia o CrepaMarcia o Crepa known as The Legion's Last Patrol in the UK and Commando in the US is a 1962 European co-production war film about the Algerian War of Independence...
(1962) - The RavenThe Raven (1963 film)The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
(1963) - AtragonAtragonAtragon, released in Japan as , is a 1963 Toho tokusatsu film based on a series of juvenile adventure novels under the banner Kaitei Gunkan by Shunrō Oshikawa and the illustrated story Kaitei Okoku by illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki, serialized in a monthly magazine for boys...
(1963) - Dementia 13Dementia 13Dementia 13 is a 1963 horror thriller released by American International Pictures, starring William Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. The film was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Roger Corman...
(1963) - Beach PartyBeach PartyBeach Party was the first of several beach party films from American International Pictures aimed at a teen audience. It was directed by William Asher and written by Lou Rusoff. The main actors included Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello...
(1963) - The TerrorThe Terror (1963 film)The Terror is an American horror film produced by Roger Corman, and famous for being filmed on leftover film sets from other AIP productions, including The Haunted Palace...
(1963) - The Evil Eye (1963)
- The Haunted PalaceThe Haunted PalaceThe Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in a story about a village held in the grip of a cult. The film was directed by Roger Corman, and is usually listed as one in his series of eight films...
(1963) - Operation BikiniOperation BikiniOperation Bikini is a film released in 1963 by American International Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Carras and starred Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon, and Scott Brady.The casting was aimed to capture a varied audience...
(1963) - X: The Man with the X-Ray EyesX (1963 film)X is a 1963 science fiction/horror motion picture.Directed by Roger Corman from a script by Ray Russell and Robert Dillon, X stars Ray Milland as Dr. James Xavier. A world renowned scientist, Dr. Xavier experiments with X-ray vision and things go horribly wrong...
(1963) - Attack of the Mushroom PeopleMatango, also known as Matango, Fungus of Terror and Attack of the Mushroom People, is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu movie. It was directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Takeshi Kimura based on the story "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson , and had special...
(1963) - Voyage to the End of the UniverseIkarie XB-1Ikarie XB-1 is a 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction film directed by Jindřich Polák. It was also edited and dubbed into English for release in the USA, where it is known by its alternate title Voyage to the End of the Universe.-Plot:...
(1963) - Black SabbathBlack Sabbath (film)The motion picture Black Sabbath, whose Italian title, I Tre volti della paura, translates as The Three Faces of Fear, is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava. Boris Karloff, in addition to appearing in the linking passages, has a role in "The Wurdalak" segment...
(1963) - The Comedy of TerrorsThe Comedy of TerrorsThe Comedy of Terrors is an American International Pictures comedy horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Joe E. Brown . The film also features Orangey the cat, billed as "Rhubarb the Cat"...
(1964) - Under Age (1964)
- The Last Man on Earth (1964)
- Muscle Beach PartyMuscle Beach PartyMuscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It was made in 1964 and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series...
(1964) - The Time TravelersThe Time Travelers (1964 film)The Time Travelers is a science fiction film directed by B-movie director Ib Melchior that inspired the 1966 TV series The Time Tunnel as well as the 1967 remake Journey to the Center of Time...
(1964) - The Masque of the Red DeathThe Masque of the Red Death (film)The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
(1964) - Hercules and the Tyrants of BabylonHercules and the Tyrants of BabylonErcole contro i tiranni di Babilonia is a 1964 film directed by Domenico Paolella and starring Peter Lupus.- Plot :...
(1964) - Godzilla vs. the ThingMothra vs. Godzillais a 1964 science fiction kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda. It was the fourth film to be released in the Godzilla series, produced by Toho Company Ltd...
(1964) - Bikini BeachBikini BeachBikini Beach is a 1964 teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in a series of seven films produced by American International Pictures .-Plot:School is out and...
(1964) - Pajama PartyPajama Party (film)Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures...
(1964) - The Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964) - Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini MachineDr. Goldfoot and the Bikini MachineDr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley...
(1965) - Beach Blanket BingoBeach Blanket BingoBeach Blanket Bingo is an American International Pictures beach party film, released in 1965 and was directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the beach party film series...
(1965) - Ski PartySki PartySki Party is a B-movie, directed by Alan Rafkin, and released in 1965 by American International Pictures. Ski Party is part of the 1960s Beach Party film genre, with a change of setting from the beach to the slopes - although the final scene places everyone back at the beach...
(1965) - Planet of the VampiresPlanet of the VampiresPlanet of the Vampires is a 1965 Italian science fiction horror film directed by Mario Bava. The film stars Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell. The screenplay, by Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua, Callisto Cosulich, Antonio Roman, and Rafael J. Salvia, was based on an Italian language science fiction...
(1965) - Frankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the World, released in Japan as , with Toho's official English title being Frankenstein vs. Baragon, is a kaiju film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd...
(1965) - Voyage to the Prehistoric PlanetVoyage to the Prehistoric PlanetVoyage to the Prehistoric Planet is a 1965 science fiction film directed by Curtis Harrington. The film is an American adapted and edited version of the Russian science fiction movie Planeta Bur directed by Pavel Klushantsev, with Curtis Harrington filming extra scenes featuring Basil Rathbone and...
(1965) - War-Gods of the DeepWar-Gods of the DeepWar-Gods of the Deep is a 1965 science fiction film. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and starred Vincent Price, Tab Hunter and David Tomlinson. The plot concerns the discovery of a lost city beneath the sea off the coast of Cornwall...
(1965) - Die, Monster, Die!Die, Monster, Die!Die, Monster, Die! is a 1965 horror film directed by Daniel Haller. The film is a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space. The story is about an American scientist who pays a visit to the estate of his fiancée's family...
(1965) - The Dirty GameThe Dirty GameThe Dirty Game is a 1965 portmanteau spy film starring Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan.The original film had Robert Ryan linking four different spy stories, each helmed by a different director; original James Bond director Terence Young for the English sequences, Christian-Jaque for the French, Carlo...
(1965) - Spy in Your EyeBerlin, Appointment for the SpiesBerlin, Appointment for the Spies is a 1965 Italian Eurospy film directed by Vittorio Sala and starring Dana Andrews...
(1965) - Secret Agent Fireball (1965)
- How to Stuff a Wild BikiniHow to Stuff a Wild BikiniHow to Stuff a Wild Bikini is a 1965 beach party film from American International Pictures. The sixth entry in a seven-film series, the movie features Mickey Rooney, Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, and Beverly Adams...
(1965) - Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl BombsDr. Goldfoot and the Girl BombsDr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs is a 1966 Italian spy-spoof film directed by Mario Bava and starring Vincent Price, Fabian, Francesco Mulé, Laura Antonelli and the Italian comedy team of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia....
(1966) - Zontar, The Thing from VenusZontar, The Thing from VenusZontar, the Thing from Venus also known as Zontar: The Invader from Venus is a 1966, made for television, science fiction film, directed by Larry Buchanan and based on the teleplay by Hillman Taylor and Buchanan. It is a remake of Roger Corman's It Conquered the World , and also featured an alien...
(1966) - Curse of the Swamp CreatureCurse of the Swamp Creature-Plot:Deep in the rural swamps of Texas the insane Dr. Simond Trent is conducting experiments on the local swamp people in an attempt to discover the secret of evolution...
(1966) - What's Up, Tiger Lily?What's Up, Tiger Lily?The soundtrack album to What's Up Tiger Lily? was released in 1966. It contains music by The Lovin' Spoonful. It was re-released on CD along with You're a Big Boy Now, the Spoonful's soundtrack for the 1966 Francis Ford Coppola film. It reached No...
(1966) - The Wild AngelsThe Wild AngelsThe Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman film, made on location in Southern California. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider and was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture...
(1966) - Queen of BloodQueen of BloodQueen of Blood horror/science fiction film released by American International Pictures. The director, Curtis Harrington, crafted this B-movie with footage from the Russian films Mechte Navstrechu and Nebo Zovyot. It was released as part of a double bill with the AIP movie Blood Bath...
(1966) - Blood BathBlood BathBlood Bath is a 1966 horror film directed by Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman. William Campbell stars as an artist with vampiric tendencies who kills beautiful women and dumps their bodies into a vat of boiling wax in his studio...
(1966) - Fireball 500Fireball 500Fireball 500 is a stock car racing film, blended with the beach party film genre. A vehicle for stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Fabian, it was one of a string of similar racing films from the 1960s...
(1966) - Trunk to CairoTrunk to Cairo-Plot:Mike Merrick is an American agent who is sent to meet with Professor Schlieben a German scientist. During the mission it is revealed that the professor is a Neo-Nazi, developing a weaponized rocket that can be used against the Western world. Merrick now must destroy the rocket plans hidden...
(1966) - The Eye CreaturesThe Eye CreaturesThe Eye Creatures is a 1965 science-fiction film about an invasion of an unnamed American countryside by a flying saucer and its silent, shambling alien occupants...
(1966) - War of the MonstersGamera vs. Barugonis a 1966 daikaiju eiga featuring the giant turtle Gamera produced and distributed by Daiei Motion Picture Company. The film is the second to feature Gamera. Gamera vs. Barugon was released in the United States by AIP-TV as War of the Monsters, and then later by Sandy Frank as Gamera vs. Barugon...
(1966) - Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)
- The Ghost in the Invisible BikiniThe Ghost in the Invisible BikiniThe Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is the seventh of the American International Pictures beach party films and was released in 1966. The entire film takes place in and around a haunted house with no beach in sight, with the teenage gang instead cavorting in and around it and the adjacent swimming...
(1966) - Return of the Giant MonstersGamera vs. Gyaosis a 1967 daikaiju eiga featuring the giant turtle Gamera by the Daiei Motion Picture Company. Gamera vs. Gyaos was released in the United States by AIP-TV as Return of the Giant Monsters, and later by Sandy Frank as Gamera vs. Gaos...
(1967) - Monster from a Prehistoric PlanetDaikyoju Gappais a 1967 Kaiju film. The film was produced by Nikkatsu Corporation, and was their only foray into the giant monster genre. The foreign sales title for the film was Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, and was dubbed into English...
(1967) - Yonggary, Monster from the DeepYonggaryYonggary or Yongary , also known as Yongary, Monster from the Deep, is a 1967 South Korean Kaiju film directed by prominent genre-film director Kim Ki-duk...
(1967) - The Million Eyes of SumuruThe Million Eyes of SumuruThe Million Eyes of Sumuru is a 1967 spy film produced by Harry Alan Towers and directed by Lindsay Shonteff, starring Frankie Avalon and George Nader, with Shirley Eaton as the titular Sumuru. It was based on a series of novels by Sax Rohmer about a megalomaniac femme fatale. The film was released...
(1967) - Jack and the WitchJack and the Witchis a Japanese animated fantasy adventure feature film, the 10th cinema feature produced by Tōei Animation , released in Japan in 1967...
(1967) - Mars Needs WomenMars Needs WomenMars Needs Women is an American International Pictures made for TV science fiction film filmed in 1966 and released in 1967 which features Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, and Byron Lord. it was shot during a two week period in Houston and Dallas, Texas...
(1967) - Thunder AlleyThunder Alley (film)Thunder Alley is a 1967 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Annette Funicello and Fabian.-Plot:A race car driver retires after a blackout causes the death of another driver on the motorway. After the accident, he then begins working at a "Thrill Circus" as a stunt driver. There he meets the...
(1967) - In the Year 2889In the Year 2889In the Year 2889 is a 1967 apocalyptic science fiction television film about a futuristic nuclear war. The film is the remake of Day the World Ended . In the film, a nuclear war has wiped out almost all of Earth's citizens. It is set in the year 1977; not 2889...
(1967) - Devil's AngelsDevil's AngelsDevil's Angels is a 1967 American biker movie written by Charles B. Griffith and directed by Daniel Haller....
(1967) - The TripThe Trip (1967 film)The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...
(1967) - The Born LosersThe Born LosersThis article is about the film. You may be looking for the song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_LosersBorn Losers is a 1967 action film and the first of the Billy Jack movies. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack...
(1967) - Riot on Sunset StripRiot on Sunset StripRiot on Sunset Strip is a 1967 low-budget exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures, and filmed and released within six weeks of the actual late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots....
(1967) - Creature of DestructionCreature of DestructionCreature of Destruction is a 1967 American made-for-television film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is an uncredited color remake of the 1956 film The She Creature directed by Edward L. Cahn.- Plot summary :...
(1967) - Wild in the StreetsWild in the StreetsWild in the Streets is a 1968 film featuring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. It was produced by American International Pictures and based on a short story by writer Robert Thom...
(1968) - Destroy All MonstersDestroy All MonstersDestroy All Monsters, released in Japan as , is a 1968 Japanese horror Science fiction Kaiju film. The ninth in Toho Studios' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa This is the fifth film to feature Mothra, third to feature King Ghidorah, fourth...
(1968) - Destroy All PlanetsGamera vs. Virasis the fourth entry in the original Gamera film series.-Plot:A deadly alien force approaches earth. Gamera intervenes and destroys the alien vessel; but before the ship is destroyed, the aliens broadcast a warning to their world stating Gamera as their enemy....
(1968) - Psych-OutPsych-OutPsych-Out is a feature film about hippies, psychedelic music, and recreational drugs, produced and released by American International Pictures. Originally scripted as The Love Children, the title when tested caused people to think it was about bastards, so Samuel Z...
(1968) - Killers ThreeKillers ThreeKillers Three is a motion picture crime drama produced in 1968 by Dick Clark Productions and released by American International Pictures starring Robert Walker, Jr., Diane Varsi and Dick Clark. Others in the cast include Norman Alden, Maureen Arthur, Tony York, Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.This...
(1968) - The Conqueror WormWitchfinder General (film)Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
(1968) - Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric WomenVoyage to the Planet of Prehistoric WomenVoyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women is a science fiction film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The film is an adapted version of Curtis Harrington's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, which in turn is adapted from the Russian 1962 feature Planeta Bur by Pavel Klushantsev...
(1968) - The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots (1969)
- Attack of the MonstersGamera vs. Guiron, is a 1969 kaiju film, the fifth entry in the original Gamera series. It was one of five Gamera films to be featured as episodes of movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Plot:...
(1969) - The Oblong Box (1969)
- 'It's Alive!''It's Alive!''It's Alive!' is a 1969 American film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is about a mad farmer who tries to feed a stranded couple to a dinosaur he keeps in a cave. Its tagline is: "Trapped In a Cave of Terror!" It was filmed in the Ozark Mountain area of northern Arkansas and Tennessee...
(1969)
1970s-1980
- The Savage Wild (1970)
- Strawberries Need Rain (1970)
- Scream and Scream AgainScream and Scream AgainScream and Scream Again is a 1970 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon.- Plot :...
(1970) - Pacific Vibrations (1970)
- Twinky (1970)
- The Dunwich HorrorThe Dunwich Horror (film)The Dunwich Horror is a 1970 B-movie from American International Pictures directed by Daniel Haller and produced by Roger Corman. The film was based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft with a script co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This was the...
(1970) - The Bloody Judge (1970)
- Dracula Versus FrankensteinLos Monstruos del TerrorLos Monstruos del Terror , also known as Dracula vs. Frankenstein and Assignment Terror, is a 1969 Spanish/German/Italian horror film that is the third in a series featuring the werewolf, Waldemar Daninsky, played by Paul Naschy.-Synopsis:Aliens who run a traveling circus revive a vampire, a...
(1970) - Bloody MamaBloody MamaBloody Mama is a 1970 low budget film very loosely based on the story of Ma Barker. It was directed by Roger Corman and starred Shelley Winters in the title role, depicted as a corrupt mother who encourages and organizes her children's criminality. The film featured an early appearance by a young...
(1970) - Secrets of SexSecrets of SexSecrets of Sex aka Bizarre, is a British film, directed by Antony Balch, an experimental filmmaker and frequent collaborator with William S. Burroughs...
(1970) - Dorian GrayDorian Gray (1970 film)Dorian Gray is a 1970 movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Helmut Berger. Directed by Massimo Dallamano, the film stresses the decadence and eroticism of the story and changes the setting to early 1970s London...
(1970) - Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights (1970 film)Wuthering Heights is a 1970 film directed by Robert Fuest. It is based on the classic Emily Bronte novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, this film depicts only the first sixteen chapters concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son,...
(1970) - Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
- A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970)
- Cry of the BansheeCry Of The BansheeCry of the Banshee is a 1970 horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film co stars Elizabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hugh Griffith...
(1970) - Yog, Monster from SpaceSpace AmoebaSpace Amoeba, released in Japan as , is a 1970 Kaiju film produced and released by Toho Studios. This was one of director Ishirō Honda's last kaiju movies, and the first such movie made after the death of special-effects director Eiji Tsuburaya...
(1970) - Gamera vs. Monster XGamera vs. Jigeris a 1970 kaiju film by the Daiei Motion Picture Company. It is the sixth entry in the original Gamera series.-Plot:In Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera has his hands full right from the very beginning. Japan is preparing for the 1970 World's Fair, to be held in Osaka. Construction of the various buildings...
(1970) - The Vampire LoversThe Vampire LoversThe Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
(1970) - Angel Unchained (1970)
- The Devil's WidowTam-Lin (film)Tam-Lin, also known as The Ballad of Tam-Lin, The Devil's Widow and The Devil's Woman, is a 1970 British film made by Commonwealth United Entertainment, Winkast Film Productions Ltd. and distributed by American International Pictures . It was directed by Roddy McDowall and produced by Alan Ladd, Jr...
(1970) - Gas-s-s-sGas-s-s-sGas-s-s-s is a 1971 motion picture produced and released by American International Pictures. It was producer Roger Corman's final film for AIP, before leaving to found his own New World Pictures...
(1971) - Bunny O'HareBunny O'HareBunny O'Hare is a 1971 American comedy film directed by Gerd Oswald, starring Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine. The screenplay by Coslough Johnson and Stanley Z...
(1971) - The Incredible 2-Headed TransplantThe Incredible 2-Headed TransplantThe Incredible 2-Headed Transplant is a 1971 science fiction/horror film directed by Anthony Lanza. It is the earlier companion to the 1972 blaxpoitation film The Thing with Two Heads. The film is in the public domain.-Plot:...
(1971) - The Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again classics.-Plot:...
(1971) - Godzilla vs. the Smog MonsterGodzilla vs. Hedorah, also known as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, is a 1971 science fiction kaiju film. The eleventh film in Toho Co. Ltd.'s Godzilla series , it was directed by Yoshimitsu Banno with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. It was the first film to feature Hedorah. The score was composed by Riichiro Manabe...
(1971) - The Return of Count YorgaThe Return of Count YorgaThe Return of Count Yorga is a 1971 vampire/horror film starring Robert Quarry. It was the sequel to the 1970 film Count Yorga, Vampire.The film features Robert Quarry returning as the infamous vampire Count Yorga, along with his servant Brudah...
(1971) - Blood from the Mummy's TombBlood from the Mummy's TombBlood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, and James Villiers. This was director Seth Holt's final film, and was adapted from Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr...
(1971) - Dr. Jekyll and Sister HydeDr. Jekyll and Sister HydeDr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 British film directed by Roy Ward Baker based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The...
(1971) - Heavy TrafficHeavy TrafficHeavy Traffic is a 1973 American animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York cartoonist named Michael Corleone, using pinball imagery as a metaphor for...
(1972) - The Thing with Two HeadsThe Thing with Two HeadsThe Thing with Two Heads is a 1972 film, starring Rosey Grier, Ray Milland and Don Marshall directed by Lee Frost, and written by Wes Bishop. Frost and Bishop also had parts in the movie....
(1972) - Dr. Phibes Rises AgainDr. Phibes Rises AgainDr. Phibes Rises Again! is a sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It was directed by Robert Fuest, and stars Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes.-Plot:...
(1972) - Boxcar BerthaBoxcar BerthaBoxcar Bertha , director Martin Scorsese's second film, is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by Ben Reitman...
(1972) - FrogsFrogs (film)Frogs is a 1972 horror film directed by George McCowan. The film falls into the "eco-horror" category since it tells the story of an upper-class U.S. Southern family who are victimized by several different animal species, including snakes, birds, and lizards, as well as the occasional butterfly...
(1972) - SlaughterSlaughter (film)Slaughter is a 1972 Blaxploitation film which was released during the early 1970s Blaxploitation film era. It was directed by Jack Starrett and is stars Jim Brown as an African American Vietnam Veteran and former Green Beret captain who is referred to only by his last name Slaughter. He seeks...
(1972) - Black Mama, White MamaBlack Mama, White MamaBlack Mama, White Mama is a 1973 women in prison film with elements of blaxploitation, starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, and directed by Eddie Romero.-Plot:...
(1973) - BlaculaBlaculaBlacula is a 1972 American horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role about an 18th century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is both turned into a vampire and locked inside a coffin by Count Dracula...
(1973) - DillingerDillinger (1973 film)Dillinger is a 1973 gangster film about the life and criminal exploits of notorious bank robber John Dillinger.It stars Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson as his pursuer, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. The film, narrated by Purvis, chronicles the last few years of Dillinger's life as the FBI and...
(1973) - Slaughter's Big Rip-OffSlaughter's Big Rip-OffSlaughter’s Big Rip-off is a 1973 Blaxploitation film which was released during the 1970s Blaxploitation film era. It is directed by Gordon Douglass...
(1973) - Black CaesarBlack Caesar (film)Black Caesar is a 1973 American blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen. It is a remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar. It features a notable musical score by James Brown , his first experience with writing music for film...
(1973) - Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973)
- CoffyCoffy- Track listing :# "Coffy Is The Color" - 3:03Vocals – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Ayers, Wayne Garfield# "Priscilla's Theme" - 3:58# "King George" - 3:00Vocals – Roy Ayers# "Aragon" - 2:55# "Coffy Sauna" - 2:16# "King's Last Ride" - 1:10# "Coffy Baby" - 2:26...
(1973) - Sisters (1973)
- Hell Up in HarlemHell Up in HarlemHell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1973) - The Bat PeopleThe Bat PeopleThe Bat People is a 1974 film directed by Jerry Jameson and distributed by American International Pictures. After being bitten by a bat in a cave, a doctor undergoes an accelerating transformation into a man-bat creature.- Synopsis :...
(1974) - Sugar HillSugar Hill (1974 film)Sugar Hill is a 1974 zombie film released by AIP, who had previously combined the horror and blaxploitation genres with Blacula and its sequel, Scream Blacula Scream.-Plot:...
(1974) - Truck TurnerTruck TurnerTruck Turner is a 1974 blaxploitation film, starring Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. The screenplay was written by Michael Allin, Jerry Wilkes and Oscar Williams...
(1974) - Foxy Brown (1974)
- Truck Stop WomenTruck Stop WomenTruck Stop Women is a 1974 film, directed by Mark L. Lester and partly financed by Phil Gramm, about a mother and daughter who run a brothel for truckers on the New Mexico highways, and fight back when the Mafia tries to take over their operation. Claudia Jennings appears in this film and is naked...
(1974) - The Nine Lives of Fritz the CatThe Nine Lives of Fritz the CatThe Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat is a 1974 animated film directed by Robert Taylor. It is an adult animation featuring a series of drug-induced vignettes both related and unrelated to life in the 1970s. Starring Skip Hinnant as the voice of the titular feline protagonist, the film is a sequel to...
(1974) - Macon County LineMacon County LineMacon County Line was a very successful independently financed movie, made in 1974. It can be called a road movie and more specifically it falls in the "redneck nightmare" genre.-Plot:...
(1974) - AbbyAbby (film)Abby is a 1974 blaxploitation horror film about a woman who is possessed by an African sex spirit. The film starred William H. Marshall, best known for portraying the lead role in Blacula, Terry Carter, and Carol Speed as the title character...
(1974) - VampiraVampira (film)Vampira is a 1974 comedy/horror film spoofing the vampire genre. It stars David Niven and Teresa Graves. Following the success of Young Frankenstein, Vampira was renamed Old Dracula for release in the United States in an attempt to cash in on Young Frankenstein's success.-Plot:Count Dracula is an...
(1975) - The Wild PartyThe Wild Party (1975 film)The Wild Party is a 1975 Merchant Ivory Productions film directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and starring James Coco and Raquel Welch....
(1975) - The Reincarnation of Peter ProudThe Reincarnation of Peter ProudThe Reincarnation of Peter Proud is an American motion picture released by Bing Crosby Productions, and Cinerama Productions Corporation. In the supernatural suspense genre, the film was directed by J...
(1975) - Cooley HighCooley HighCooley High is a 1975 American film based upon the real high school located on the near north side of Chicago produced and released by American International Pictures and written by Eric Monte...
(1975) - Sheba, BabySheba, BabyThe action movie Sheba, Baby is a 1975 blaxploitation film starring Pam Grier as Sheba Shayne. In the film, Sheba returns to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to confront thugs who are trying to intimidate her father into dissolving or handing over his family business...
(1975) - The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
- Return to Macon CountyReturn to Macon CountyReturn to Macon County is a 1975 sequel of the 1974 drive-in classic Macon County Line. This film was written and directed by Richard Compton, who was also responsible for the earlier film.-Synopsis:...
(1975) - Friday FosterFriday Foster (film)Friday Foster is a 1975 blaxploitation film, written and directed by Arthur Marks, and starring Pam Grier in the title role. Yaphet Kotto, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers and Carl Weathers co-starred. It was an adaptation of the 1970-74 eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip, scripted by Jim...
(1975) - Shout at the DevilShout at the Devil (film)Shout at the Devil is a British film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.The picture is a comedic adventure story set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913-1915 based on a novel written by Wilbur Smith and is very loosely inspired by real events.-Plot:It tells...
(1976) - The Food of the GodsThe Food of the Gods (film)The Food of the Gods is a 1976 film released by American International Pictures and was written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon....
(1976) - At the Earth's CoreAt the Earth's Core (film)At the Earth's Core is a 1976 science fiction film produced by Britain's Amicus Productions. It was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Philippa Herring and Doug McClure. It was filmed in Technicolor...
(1976) - The Town That Dreaded SundownThe Town That Dreaded SundownThe Town that Dreaded Sundown is a 1976, R-rated horror film directed by Charles B. Pierce. It is based on the Phantom Killer, who murdered five people in the 1940s in the city of Texarkana, Texas, at Spring Lake Park and was never caught. The film is presented similarly to Unsolved Mysteries,...
(1976) - The Little Girl Who Lives Down the LaneThe Little Girl Who Lives Down the LaneThe Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is a 1976 Canadian-French film directed by Nicolas Gessner and starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. It was written by Laird Koenig, based on Koenig's 1974 novel of the same title; Koenig also wrote a stage play based on his book...
(1976) - FutureworldFutureworldFutureworld is a 1976 sequel to the 1973 science fiction film Westworld. It was written by George Schenk and Mayo Simon, and directed by Richard T. Heffron. The cast included Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, and Arthur Hill. There is also a cameo appearance by Yul Brynner in a dream sequence...
(1976) - A Matter of TimeA Matter of Time (1976 film)A Matter of Time is a 1976 American/Italian musical fantasy film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by John Gay is based on the novel Film of Memory by Maurice Druon...
(1976) - One Summer LoveOne Summer LoveOne Summer Love, originally titled Dragonfly, is a 1976 romantic drama film directed by Gilbert Cates from a screenplay by N. Richard Nash. It stars Beau Bridges and Susan Sarandon and features Mildred Dunnock and Ann Wedgeworth.-Plot:...
(1976) - TentaclesTentacles (film)Tentacles is a 1977 Italian-American horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and starring John Huston and Shelley Winters.- Plot :The tourist spot Ocean Beach has come under attack by a giant octopus, which captures human swimmers and picks clean the skeletons of flesh and bone marrow...
(1977) - JoyrideJoyride (1977 film)Joyride is a 1977 film directed by Joseph Ruben. The screenplay was written by Ruben and Peter Rainer.-Taglines:"It was fun... while it lasted!""They're Burning Up The Blacktop!""Did You Ever Want to Just Shove It and Leave It All Behind?"-Plot:...
(1977) - Empire of the AntsEmpire of the Ants (film)Empire of the Ants is a 1977 science fiction horror film by Bert I. Gordon. Based very loosely on Empire of the Ants by H.G. Wells, the film involves a group of prospective land buyers led by a land developer, pitted against giant, mutated ants.-Plot:...
(1977) - The People That Time ForgotThe People That Time Forgot (film)The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions, all directed by Kevin Connor...
(1977) - The Island of Dr. MoreauThe Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film)The Island of Dr. Moreau is the second movie version of the H. G. Wells science fiction novel about a scientist who attempts to convert animals into people, starring Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Barbara Carrera, and Richard Basehart...
(1977) - The Incredible Melting ManThe Incredible Melting ManThe Incredible Melting Man is a 1977 American science fiction horror film about an astronaut whose body begins to melt after he is exposed to radiation during a space flight to Saturn, driving him to commit murders and consume human flesh to survive...
(1977) - Jennifer (1978)
- YoungbloodYoungblood (1978 film)Youngblood is a 1978 American film released by American International Pictures. It starred Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and featured Bryan O'Dell in the title role. Ren Woods had a prominent supporting role...
(1978) - Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
- Our Winning SeasonOur Winning SeasonOur Winning Season is a 1978 film directed by Joseph Ruben from a screenplay by Nicholas Niciphor.-Plot:A high school senior aspires to become a track star.-Principal cast:...
(1978) - Love at First BiteLove At First BiteLove at First Bite is a 1979 comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin and Arte Johnson. The original music score was composed by Charles Bernstein...
(1979) - The Amityville HorrorThe Amityville Horror (1979 film)The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film based on the bestselling 1977 novel of the same name by Jay Anson. It is the first movie in the Amityville Horror franchise....
(1979) - MeteorMeteor (film)Meteor is a 1979 science fiction Technicolor disaster film in which scientists detect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth and struggle with international, cold war politics in their efforts to prevent disaster. The movie starred Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.It was directed by Ronald Neame...
(1979) - C.H.O.M.P.S.C.H.O.M.P.S.-Plot:A young inventor - Brian Foster creates a robotic dog for use as part of a home protection system. C.H.O.M.P.S. is an acronym for "canine home protection system." Ralph Norton is his boss who he constantly argues with. Norton's daughter Casey and Foster develop a relationship...
(1979) - Mad MaxMad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
(1979) - GorpGorp (film)Gorp is a 1980 independent comedy film starring Michael Lembeck and Dennis Quaid, and featuring early acting work of Rosanna Arquette and Fran Drescher in supporting roles. Directed by Joseph Ruben, with both story and screenplay by Jeffrey Konvitz & A...
(1980)