Crown International Pictures
 |
|
| Corporation | |
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Newton P. Jacobs |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California, US |
Crown International Pictures is an independent film studio and distribution company formed in 1959 by Newton P. Jacobs
Jacobs was a branch head of RKO Pictures until 1947, when he formed Favorite Films, an organization releasing films acquired from previous studios long after their first run release.. He became one of the first franchises for showing American International Pictures (AIP) product. Like AIP, Crown International is primarily known for low-budget flicks, grindhouse cinema, biker films, exploitation films and B-movie drive-in fare. The company was later headed by Jacobs' original vice-president Mark Tenser, who became President in 1973 with Jacobs moving up to become Chairman of the Board. Jacobs' daughter Marilyn Jacobs Tenser became vice president.
In July 1988 Jacobs died in a motorcycle accident. This resulted in leadership being passed down to his son, Louis Jacobs.
Crown International began releasing both low-budget films by American producers, such as Bloodlust! and The Seventh Commandment and cheaply acquired foreign films such as First Spaceship on Venus and Varan the Unbelievable (released as a double feature in 1962). In 1963 Crown began producing its own films, starting with Coleman Francis' The Skydivers.
Crown began in 1961 by releasing six films, with the number rising to 12 ten years later. Jacobs felt that Crown survived by having carefully planned growth and not overextending its product. He said that Crown did not want to be regarded as a mini major studio but as the top of the independents, to give the company more freedom in selecting and exploiting its film product. Well over 50% of exhibitors showing Crown's products were drive-in theatres, with the number decreasing to 30% in 1981.
...
Wikipedia