My Collection of Amicus Films
by oxhine | created - 28 Aug 2012 | updated - 23 May 2014 | PublicJust look for the Subotsky-Rosenberg label!
Often regarded as Hammer's poor relation, the little production company known as Amicus established a distinctive identity all its own and was brought into being through the collaboration of two managing partners whose tempestuous relationship gave lie to the amiable company name.
Milton Subotsky, an engineering major, and Max J. Rosenberg, a lawyer, were two New York-based, would-be producers with polar opposite personalities who partnered on a few films Stateside under the Vanguard label before shifting the operation to England as Amicus. Starting with a slate that included a couple of hard-hitting dramas, four rock musicals, a family film and only one actual horror movie, the duo decided to capitalize on the appetite for fright films that Hammer had recently awakened.
It is a bit ironic that Amicus would perpetually be in Hammer's shadow since they had actually kick-started the Hammer juggernaut when Subotsky wrote a screenplay adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" which Rosenberg then sold to Hammer through a middle-man. Although Subotsky's treatment was supposedly scrupulously faithful to the source material, Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster significantly re-shaped the script into the film that would put Hammer on the map: "The Curse of Frankenstein".
While Amicus and Hammer films often get confused with one another due to the use of similar casts and crews, there are three trademarks to most of Amicus' horror output: setting, structure and theme. Amicus horror almost always has a contemporary setting, usually is structured as an anthology and often features a theme of bleak moral relativism. Hammer films, by contrast, generally have Victorian/Edwardian settings, stand-alone narrative structure and themes of black-and-white Manichean morality. While yielding a distinct aesthetic difference, it should be noted that such choices were largely made for budgetary reasons as modern dress and shorter shooting schedules for costly cast members were cheaper.
Despite a few forays into other genres such as sci-fi, drama and adventure, horror was the name of the game with only the Dr. Who and Burroughs films making a splash outside the company's usual fare. In the end, a third managing partner named John Dark who was brought on board by Rosenberg began exerting his own influence which brought the volatile relationship between Milton and Max to the boiling point resulting in a dissolution of the partnership. All three men went on to produce their own projects individually.
However, Rosenberg kept the company's copyright alive and, 30 years later, two new movies have been made under the Amicus label by his successor paralleling Hammer's similar resurrection.
As Amicus films are defined as much by the men who made them as they are by their content, the list below includes all the movies I own that bear their fingerprints. Entries 1-5 are Proto-Amicus films from the American Vanguard years, entries 6-32 are Classic Amicus films from the British period, entries 33-38 are Post-Amicus projects by Dark, Subotsky and Rosenberg, respectively, and entries 39-40 are the Neo-Amicus releases.
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1. Rock Rock Rock! (1956)
G | 85 min | Drama, Music
Dori is trying to get together enough money to buy a strapless gown; Daddy has cut off Dori's allowance, but gee, she's gotta go to the prom.
Director: Will Price | Stars: Alan Freed and his Rock 'n Roll Band, Fran Manfred, Tuesday Weld, Connie Francis
Votes: 643
*** Proto-Amicus ***
DVD Distributor: Network [Region 2]
2. Jamboree! (1957)
Not Rated | 86 min | Musical
Pete Porter and Honey Wynn become overnight sensations as a romantic singing duo. But what will become of their budding love affair when their feuding, back-stabbing managers persuade them ... See full summary »
Director: Roy Lockwood | Stars: Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Bowen, Buddy Knox
Votes: 322
UK Title: Disc Jockey Jamboree
DVD Distributor: Warner Home Video
3. The Last Mile (1959)
Approved | 81 min | Drama, Thriller
A prison break is attempted the same night an execution occurs on death row.
Director: Howard W. Koch | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Frank Overton, Michael Constantine, John Vari
Votes: 358
DVD Distributor: MGM Archive
4. The City of the Dead (1960)
PG-13 | 76 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey | Stars: Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Tom Naylor
Votes: 8,511
US Title: Horror Hotel
DVD Distributor: VCI Entertainment
{uncut UK version}
5. Girl of the Night (1960)
93 min | Drama
Girl of the Night is about Bobbie (Anne Francis), a sensitive, lonely call girl who is manipulated and ultimately used by her madame, played by Kay Medford.
Director: Joseph Cates | Stars: Anne Francis, Lloyd Nolan, Kay Medford, John Kerr
Votes: 135
DVD Distributor: Warner Archive
6. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Approved | 98 min | Horror
Aboard a British train, mysterious fortune teller Dr. Schreck uses tarot cards to read the futures of five fellow passengers.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Neil McCallum, Ursula Howells
Votes: 7,496
*** Classic Amicus ***
DVD Distributor: Anchor Bay [Region 2]
7. The Skull (1965)
Not Rated | 83 min | Horror, Thriller
A collector comes into possession of the skull of the Marquis de Sade and learns it is possessed by an evil spirit.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Peter Cushing, Patrick Wymark, Christopher Lee, Jill Bennett
Votes: 3,579
DVD Distributor: Legend Films
(The Cult Horror Collection)
{grouped with "The Deadly Bees" and Hammer's "The Man Who Could Cheat Death"}
8. Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
Not Rated | 82 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
An eccentric inventor and his companions travel in his TARDIS to the Planet Skaro and battle the evil menace of the Daleks.
Director: Gordon Flemyng | Stars: Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey
Votes: 5,352
DVD Distributor: Optimum Home Releasing [Region 2]
(The Dalek Collection)
{paired with "Daleks -- Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D."}
9. The Psychopath (1966)
Approved | 82 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Four men who were involved in the investigation of a German millionaire at the end of World War II are found murdered with tiny dolls left next to their corpses.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnston, John Standing, Alexander Knox
Votes: 1,107
DVD Distributor: Collector's DVD-R
10. Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)
Not Rated | 84 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Dr. Who and his companions arrive on Earth in the year 2150 AD, only to discover that the planet has been invaded and its population enslaved by the dreaded Daleks.
Director: Gordon Flemyng | Stars: Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, Ray Brooks, Andrew Keir
Votes: 4,540
DVD Distributor: Optimum Home Releasing [Region 2]
(The Dalek Collection)
{paired with "Dr. Who and the Daleks"}
11. The Terrornauts (1967)
75 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of scientists are kidnapped and taken into outer space aboard a saucer.
Director: Montgomery Tully | Stars: Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes
Votes: 660
DVD Distributor: Collector's DVD-R
12. The Deadly Bees (1966)
Not Rated | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Suzanna Leigh, Frank Finlay, Guy Doleman, Catherine Finn
Votes: 2,250
DVD Distributor: Legend Films
(The Cult Horror Collection)
{grouped with "The Skull" and Hammer's "The Man Who Could Cheat Death"}
13. They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
Unrated | 85 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
Scientists investigating an unusual meteor shower in a rural field are possessed by an alien force bent on an ulterior purpose.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne, Zia Mohyeddin, Bernard Kay
Votes: 2,044
DVD Distributor: Studio Canal [Region 2]
14. Danger Route (1967)
Approved | 92 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
During the Cold War, a British secret agent is ordered to kill a Soviet-bloc defector held by the CIA in England but this straightforward mission turns into a convoluted plot involving double-agents.
Director: Seth Holt | Stars: Richard Johnson, Carol Lynley, Barbara Bouchet, Sylvia Syms
Votes: 512
DVD Distributor: Collector's DVD-R
15. Torture Garden (1967)
Not Rated | 93 min | Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four short horror stories about people who visit Dr. Diabolo's fairground haunted-house attraction show.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing
Votes: 3,350
DVD Distributor: Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
16. The Birthday Party (1968)
G | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
The down-at-heel lodger in a seaside boarding house is menaced by two mysterious strangers, who eventually take him away.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Robert Shaw, Patrick Magee, Sydney Tafler, Dandy Nichols
Votes: 1,164
DVD Distributor: Pearson Television Video [Region 2]
17. A Touch of Love (1969)
M/PG | 107 min | Drama
A young London woman, studying for her doctorate in the British Museum, spends her nights trying to avoid the sexual admiration of men in her life.
Director: Waris Hussein | Stars: Sandy Dennis, Ian McKellen, Michael Coles, John Standing
Votes: 475
Original UK Title: A Touch of Love
DVD Distributor: Optimum Home Releasing [Region 2]
18. Scream and Scream Again (1970)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A serial killer who drains his victims' blood is on the loose in London. The police follow him to a house owned by an eccentric scientist.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Alfred Marks
Votes: 4,437 | Gross: $0.38M
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
(Midnite Movies)
{paired with the non-Amicus "The Oblong Box"}
19. The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A man who has been in a coma since infancy is awakened.
Director: Alan Cooke | Stars: Terence Stamp, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport, Christian Roberts
Votes: 930
DVD Distributor: Sony Archive
20. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the U.K.
Director: Peter Duffell | Stars: John Bryans, John Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Peter Cushing
Votes: 7,500
DVD Distributor: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
21. I, Monster (1971)
PG | 75 min | Horror
In the Nineteenth Century, in London, the psychologist Charles Marlowe researches a new drug capable to release inhibitions and uses his patients as guinea pigs. He discusses the principles... See full summary »
Director: Stephen Weeks | Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mike Raven, Richard Hurndall
Votes: 1,974
DVD Distributor: Optimum Home Releasing [Region 2]
22. What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972)
PG | 93 min | Horror
In order to collect inheritance money, a slacker tries to induce a heart attack in his invalid grandmother by convincing her that she's become the target of youth supremacists who want to enact a genocide on the elderly.
Director: Bill Bain | Stars: Vanessa Howard, Mona Washbourne, Paul Nicholas, George Benson
Votes: 220
DVD Distributor: Collector's DVD-R
23. Asylum (I) (1972)
PG | 88 min | Horror
In order to secure a job at a mental institution, a young psychiatrist must interview four patients inside the asylum.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Barbara Parkins, Richard Todd, Sylvia Syms, Peter Cushing
Votes: 8,175
DVD Distributor: Dark Sky Films
24. Tales from the Crypt (1972)
PG | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Five strangers get lost in a crypt and, after meeting the mysterious Crypt Keeper, receive visions of how they will die.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ralph Richardson, Geoffrey Bayldon
Votes: 13,014 | Gross: $1.70M
DVD Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Video
(Midnite Movies)
{paired with edited version of "Vault of Horror"}
25. The Vault of Horror (1973)
R | 87 min | Horror, Thriller
An anthology of five horror stories shared by five men trapped in the basement of an office building.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Curd Jürgens, Terry-Thomas, Tom Baker, Dawn Addams
Votes: 6,255
DVD Distributor: VIPCO [Region 2]
{uncut UK version}
26. And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
R | 91 min | Horror
England, 1795: the young Catherine has just married Charles Fengriffen and moves into his castle. She becomes the victim of an old curse that lays on the family. On her wedding night she is raped by a ghost and gets pregnant.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham
Votes: 3,078
DVD Distributor: Dark Sky Films
27. From Beyond the Grave (1974)
PG | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An anthology of four short horror stories revolving around a mysterious antique shop owner and his antique pieces, each of which hides a deadly secret.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Diana Dors
Votes: 5,292
DVD Distributor: Warner Home Video
28. Madhouse (1974)
PG | 89 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A horror movie star returns to his famous role after years in a mental institution. But the character seems to be committing murders independent of his will.
Director: Jim Clark | Stars: Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri
Votes: 4,516
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
(Midnite Movies)
{paired with the non-Amicus "Theater of Blood"}
29. The Beast Must Die (1974)
PG | 93 min | Horror, Mystery
Eight people are invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?
Director: Paul Annett | Stars: Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray
Votes: 4,169
DVD Distributor: Dark Sky Films
30. The Land That Time Forgot (1974)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Fantasy
During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Keith Barron
Votes: 7,020
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
(Midnite Movies)
{paired with "The People That Time Forgot"}
31. At the Earth's Core (1976)
PG | 89 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
A Victorian era scientist and his assistant take a test run in their Iron Mole drilling machine and end up in a strange underground labyrinth ruled by a species of giant telepathic bird and full of prehistoric monsters and cavemen.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Doug McClure, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Cy Grant
Votes: 5,466
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
(Midnite Movies)
{grouped with "The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes", "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" and "War-Gods of the Deep"}
32. The People That Time Forgot (1977)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1919, a British expedition in the Antarctica region is searching for a lost American explorer and finds a hidden prehistoric world instead.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Patrick Wayne, Doug McClure, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie
Votes: 3,498
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
(Midnite Movies)
{paired with "The Land That Time Forgot"}
33. Warlords of the Deep (1978)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
Two deep-sea explorers and their crew must survive a master race of beings and monstrous creatures when they discover the fabled city of Atlantis.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, Lea Brodie
Votes: 2,751
*** Post-Amicus John Dark ***
Original UK Title: Warlords of Atlantis
DVD Distributor: Cinema Club [Region 2]
34. Arabian Adventure (1979)
G | 98 min | Adventure, Fantasy
An evil magician seeks to gain power by obtaining a magic rose. A peasant boy and a Prince join forces to stop him.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Christopher Lee, Milo O'Shea, Oliver Tobias, Emma Samms
Votes: 1,149
DVD Distributor: Optimum Home Releasing [Region 2]
35. The Martian Chronicles (1980)
360 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
In the 21st century, Earth begins the colonization of Mars. However, things do not go as planned, at first due to the hostile Martian natives and later because of the self-destructive Earthmen.
Stars: Rock Hudson, Gayle Hunnicutt, Bernie Casey, Christopher Connelly
Votes: 2,511
*** Post-Amicus Milton Subotsky ***
DVD Distributor: MGM Video
36. The Monster Club (1981)
Unrated | 104 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A writer of horror stories is invited to a "monster club" by a mysterious old gentleman. There, three gruesome stories are told to him; between each story some musicians play their songs.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Vincent Price, John Carradine, Anthony Steel, Roger Sloman
Votes: 4,530
DVD Distributor: Network [Region 2]
37. Cat People (1982)
R | 118 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
A woman who was orphaned from a young age finally reunites with her older brother. Matters start to go awry when she slowly discovers the true nature of her family.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard, Annette O'Toole
Votes: 23,895 | Gross: $7.00M
*** Post-Amicus Max J. Rosenberg ***
DVD Distributor: Universal Pictures
38. Perdita Durango (1997)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Horror
A psychotic criminal couple kidnaps a random teenage couple. The woman rapes the male captive, and lets him watch his lover being raped by the man. They then plan to sacrifice the couple.
Director: Álex de la Iglesia | Stars: Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem, Harley Cross, Aimee Graham
Votes: 9,840
Original Title: Perdita Durango
DVD Distributor: Metrodome [Region 2]
{uncut 2006 DVD re-release version}
39. Stuck (I) (2007)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A young woman commits a hit-and-run, then finds her fate tied to her victim.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Russell Hornsby, Rukiya Bernard
Votes: 10,267 | Gross: $0.07M
*** Neo-Amicus ***
DVD Distributor: Image Entertainment
40. It's Alive (2009)
R | 80 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A baby born to a human couple turns out to be a mutant monster with an appetite to kill when scared.
Director: Josef Rusnak | Stars: Bijou Phillips, James Murray, Raphaël Coleman, Owen Teale
Votes: 2,994
DVD Distributor: First Look Studios
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