Filmways

Filmways, Inc.

Company type	Corporation
Industry	Motion pictures,television programs
Founded	1952(1952)
Founder	Martin Ransohoff Edwin Kasper
Defunct	1982(1982)
Fate	Acquired byOrion Picturesand renamed as Orion Pictures Corporation
Successor	Orion Pictures Corporation
Headquarters	Sonoma County, California
Key people	Martin Ransohoff, Edwin Kasper, Rodney Erickson

Filmways, Inc.(also known asFilmways PicturesandFilmways Television) was atelevisionandfilmproduction company founded byAmericanfilm executiveMartin Ransohoffand Edwin Kasper in 1952.It is probably best remembered as the production company ofCBS' "ruralcomedies"of the 1960s, includingMister Ed,The Beverly Hillbillies,Petticoat Junction,andGreen Acres,as well as the comedy-dramaThe Trials of O'Brien,the westernDundee and the Culhane,the adventure showBearcats!,the police dramaCagney & Lacey,andThe Addams Family.Notable films the company produced includeThe Sandpiper,The Cincinnati Kid,The Fearless Vampire Killers,Ice Station Zebra,Summer Lovers,The Burning,King,Brian De Palma'sDressed to KillandBlow Out,andDeath Wish II.

Filmways acquired several companies throughout the years, such asHeatter-Quigley Productions,Ruby-Spears ProductionsandAmerican International Pictures.It was also the owner of the film distributor Sigma III Corporation (Closely Watched Trains,Hi, Mom!), andWally Heider Recordingin Hollywood.

History

Filmways was formed in 1952 by Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper, who would part with Filmways five years later. The company originally produced television commercials and documentary films. In 1959, Filmways entered the television sitcom arena in a big way when many executives ofMcCadden Productions(a production company founded by comedian and actorGeorge Burns) joined Filmways following McCadden's Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier the same year.Filmways TV Productionswas formed with former McCadden executive Al Simon as president, producing its first TV series,21 Beacon Street.During that time, McCadden also produced the pilot which would later become the seriesMister Ed.Burns sold the rights to Filmways, and Burns and directorArthur LubinformedThe Mister Ed Companyas a joint venture. As a result,Mister Edbecame a smash hit. From 1962 until 1971, Filmways produced its biggest hit,The Beverly HillbilliesforCBS,created byPaul Henning,another former McCadden executive.

In 1967, the company had acquired small film distributor Sigma III Corporation, as well as its film library in an effort to expand onto motion picture production and distribution.Two years later, in 1969, the company acquiredHeatter-Quigley Productions,the game show producer known for their biggest hit,Hollywood Squares.Also that year, the company boughtSears Point RacewayinSonoma County, California,andWally Heider's recording studiosin Hollywood and San Francisco.Filmways was also listed as a co-developer ofOntario Motor SpeedwayinSan Bernardino County, California,which opened in 1970. In 1972, Ransohoff left Filmways as president.

Filmways housed studios inManhattanat 246 East 127th Street, which were built forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayerin the 1920s.

In 1974, it acquired book publisherGrosset & DunlapfromAmerican Financial Group.In May 1975, it revived the television syndication firmRhodes Productionsafter former parentTaft Broadcastingrenamed the original company to Taft, H-B Program Sales two weeks earlier.In 1976,Richard L. Blochbecame CEO. In 1977, it foundedRuby-Spears Productionswith former Hanna-Barbera alumniJoe RubyandKen Spears.Later that year, Rhodes Productions was spun off into an independent corporation, and launched its syndication unitFilmways Enterprises,headed byJamie Kellner.On July 12, 1979, afterSamuel Z. Arkoff's retirement, Filmways purchasedAmerican International Pictures(AIP). Their TV subsidiary, AITV was eventually merged into Filmways Enterprises.

Filmways had lost nearly $20 million during the nine months ending in November 1981. However, it partially exited bankruptcy by selling a few of its previously acquired assets. In 1981, Ruby-Spears Productions was sold toTaft Broadcasting,owners of theHanna-Barberaanimation studio and Sears Point Raceway was sold toSpeedway Motorsports.In 1982, Grosset & Dunlap was sold toG. P. Putnam's Sons.

In February 1982, Filmways was acquired byOrion Pictures(withE. M. Warburg Pincus & CompanyandHome Box Office(HBO) for its pay and cable television rights).Filmways was then reincorporated as Orion Pictures Corporation on August 31, 1982.

Announcements at the end of productions

Most productions ended with the announcement, "This has been a Filmways presentation". For some shows, the voice-over was made by a cast member:

• Petticoat Junction:first, Billie Jo Bradley (Jeannine Riley) and later, Betty Jo Bradley (Linda Kaye Henning)
• Green Acres:Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), who says, "This has been a Filmways presentation, darling."
• The Beverly Hillbillies:Elly May Clampett (Donna Douglas). Following a few episodes, the voice of Jethro,Max Baer Jr.,can be heard saying, "Aww, shuddup, Elly May", following her announcement. Seasons 1–3, however, feature Bill Baldwin, the announcer for the show's sponsors.
• Mister Ed:Roger Addison (Larry Keating). Later seasons feature Mister Ed (Allan Lane) saying it after Keating's death in 1963.
• The Addams Family:The logo was silent, but in some episodes the phrase was recited in a deep baritone voice byTed Cassidy,although he did not use his usual "Lurch" voice. A few other times,Carolyn Jonesrecited the phrase and added "darling" at the end.

Ownership of film, television properties

Today, most of the Filmways library, includingGreen Acres,The Addams Family,Cagney & Lacey(continued by Orion),Death Wish II(a Cannon film),The Hollywood Squares,andMister Edis now owned byAmazon MGM Studios(viaOrion Television).

The Beverly HillbilliesandPetticoat Junctionare owned byParamount Global.Viacom(the parent ofCBSfrom 1999 to 2005, actually started as CBS' syndication arm) syndicated these two programs since the 1970s. In the case ofHillbillies,Amazon MGM Studios (via Orion Television) still owns the copyrights to the episodes, excluding episodes from the first season and the first half of the second season, which have fallen into thepublic domain.However, any new compilation ofHillbilliesmaterial will be copyrighted by either MPI Media Group or CBS, depending on the series content.

Filmways co-producedEye Guess,The Face Is Familiar,Personality,andYou're Putting Me OnwithBob Stewart Productions.Those four game shows are currently owned bySony Pictures Television(SPT). Filmways syndicatedMary Hartman, Mary Hartmanthat was produced byT.A.T. Communications Company.That too is owned by SPT (via ELP Communications). SPT co-distributed the MGM library for a short time.

The rights to nearly all movies Filmways co-produced with major studios have been retained by the studios that originally released them;10 Rillington Placeis owned byColumbia Pictures,Save the Tigeris owned byParamount Pictures,Two-Minute Warningis owned byUniversal Studios,and so forth. Most of the foreign-language films released by their Sigma III division have reverted to their original producers, but a small number of English-language films Sigma III handled such asCul-de-sacandHi, Mom!were retained by Filmways and are now owned by Amazon MGM Studios (via Orion Pictures). The rest that were originally released by MGM prior to May 23, 1986 are currently owned byWarner Bros.(viaTurner Entertainment Co.).

Television series

Title	Years	Network	Notes
21 Beacon Street	1959	NBC
Mister Ed	1961–66	Syndication/CBS
The Beverly Hillbillies	1962–71	CBS
Petticoat Junction	1963–70	CBS
The Addams Family	1964–66	ABC
Green Acres	1965–71	CBS
The Trials of O'Brien	1965–66	CBS
Eye Guess	1966–69	NBC	co-production withBob Stewart Productions
The Hollywood Squares	1966–81	NBC	co-production withHeatter-Quigley Productions
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe	1966	ABC
The Face Is Familiar	1966	CBS	co-production withBob Stewart Productions
The Pruitts of Southampton	1966–67	ABC
Personality	1967–69	NBC	co-production withBob Stewart Productions
Dundee and the Culhane	1967	CBS
The Debbie Reynolds Show	1969–70	NBC
Bearcats!	1971	CBS
Ozzie's Girls	1973–1974	Syndication
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman	1976–1977	Syndication	produced byT.A.T. Communications Company.T.A.T. took over syndication during season 2
Big Hawaii	1977	NBC
King	1978	NBC
240-Robert	1979–81	ABC
Thundarr the Barbarian	1980–82	ABC(1980–82)/NBC(1983)	co-production withRuby-Spears
Cagney & Lacey	1982–88	CBS	continued byOrion Television

Feature films

Release Date	Title	Notes
June 21, 1962	Boys' Night Out	distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
November 14, 1963	The Wheeler Dealers
September 17, 1964	Topkapi	distributed byUnited Artists
October 27, 1964	The Americanization of Emily	distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
June 23, 1965	The Sandpiper
October 11, 1965	The Loved One
October 15, 1965	The Cincinnati Kid
1967	Too Many Thieves
June 20, 1967	Don't Make Waves
November 13, 1967	The Fearless Vampire Killers
December 6, 1967	Eye of the Devil
October 23, 1968	Ice Station Zebra
November 17, 1968	Journey to Jerusalem	distributed by Sigma III
February 9, 1969	A Midsummer Night's Dream	television film
July 23, 1969	Castle Keep	distributed byColumbia Pictures
December 21, 1969	Hamlet
April 27, 1970	Hi, Mom!	distributed by Sigma III; Produced by West End Films
July 1970	The Moonshine War	distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
May 12, 1971	10 Rillington Place	distributed byColumbia Pictures
June 30, 1971	What's the Matter with Helen?	distributed byUnited Artists
September 2, 1971	See No Evil	distributed byColumbia Pictures
November 22, 1971	King Lear	distributed by Altura Films
July 14, 1972	Fuzz	distributed byUnited Artists
February 14, 1973	Save the Tiger	distributed byParamount Pictures
July 21, 1974	The White Dawn
November 14, 1975	The Other Side of the Mountain	distributed byUniversal Pictures
November 7, 1976	21 Hours at Munich	television film
November 12, 1976	Two-Minute Warning	distributed byUniversal Pictures
February 10, 1978	The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2
July 11, 1980	How to Beat the High Cost of Living
July 24, 1980	The Earthling
July 25, 1980	Dressed to Kill
September 26, 1980	Without Warning
October 3, 1980	The First Deadly Sin
November 28, 1980	The Babysitter	television film
May 8, 1981	The Burning	produced byMiramax Films
July 24, 1981	Blow Out
October 9, 1981	Full Moon High
March 1, 1981	Miracle on Ice	television film
November 12, 1981	Roar
December 11, 1981	Four Friends
February 19, 1982	Death Wish II	US distribution; produced byThe Cannon Group, Inc.
July 16, 1982	Summer Lovers