Filmways Pictures

Filmways, Inc.

Former type	Corporation
Industry	Motion pictures, television programs
Fate	Acquired by Orion Pictures & renamed to Orion TV Productions
Successor	Orion TV Productions
Founded	1952
Defunct	1983
Headquarters	Sonoma County, California
Key people	Martin Ransohoff, Edwin Kasper, Rodney Erickson

Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff, and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production company of CBS’ “rural comedies” of the 1960s, including Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres, as well as the comedy-drama The Trials of O'Brien, the western Dundee and the Culhane, the adventure show Bearcats!, the police drama Cagney & Lacey, and The Addams Family. Notable films the company produced include The Sandpiper, The Cincinnati Kid, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Ice Station Zebra, Summer Lovers, The Burning, King and Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill and Blow Out.

Filmways acquired famous companies throughout the years, such as Heatter-Quigley Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions and American International Pictures. It was also the owner of the film distributor Sigma III Corporation (Closely Watched Trains, Hi, Mom!), Wally Heider Recording, Studio 3 Inc.