National General Pictures
Encyclopedia
National General Pictures was a Distribution
and Film production company which was active between 1967
and 1973
. NGP produced nine motion pictures inhouse and was the distributor of eighty films.
In 1967 the American CBS
television network decided to produce their own films for cinema release with a production unit called Cinema Center Films
, releasing films through the National General Corporation, a film distribution network. The American ABC
television network had done the same thing with Cinerama
. When the company failed to acquire Warner Bros.
in 1969 the unit eventually closed, distributing films until 1973.
Today, the in-house productions are at the hands of Warner Bros.
, while the Cinema Center Films
productions are now with CBS
(with Paramount Pictures
handling theatrical distribution on CBS' behalf, and Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS DVD handling home video rights).
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
and Film production company which was active between 1967
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
and 1973
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
. NGP produced nine motion pictures inhouse and was the distributor of eighty films.
In 1967 the American CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network decided to produce their own films for cinema release with a production unit called Cinema Center Films
Cinema Center Films
Cinema Center Films was the theatrical film production division of the CBS television network. Founded in 1967 , its films were distributed by National General Pictures. CBS closed the unit in 1972; its last film was the Peanuts animated musical Snoopy Come Home...
, releasing films through the National General Corporation, a film distribution network. The American ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network had done the same thing with Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
. When the company failed to acquire 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,...
in 1969 the unit eventually closed, distributing films until 1973.
Today, the in-house productions are at the hands of 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,...
, while the Cinema Center Films
Cinema Center Films
Cinema Center Films was the theatrical film production division of the CBS television network. Founded in 1967 , its films were distributed by National General Pictures. CBS closed the unit in 1972; its last film was the Peanuts animated musical Snoopy Come Home...
productions are now with CBS
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
(with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
handling theatrical distribution on CBS' behalf, and Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS DVD handling home video rights).
Partial list of film titles
Titles in bold text were produced by Cinema Center Films.- The April FoolsThe April FoolsThe April Fools is a 1969 romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg.-Plot:Howard Brubaker is married to Phyllis, who doesn't love him. Catherine is the stunning wife of an equally uncaring husband, Howard's philandering boss Ted Gunther...
- Big JakeBig Jake (film)Big Jake is a 1971 Western film, filmed on location in Durango, Mexico, starring John Wayne and directed by George Sherman.Big Jake was released to box-office success and generally-positive critical reviews, despite a mixed reaction by John Wayne fans....
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown
- The Boys in the BandThe Boys in the BandThe Boys in the Band is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Friedkin. The screenplay by Mart Crowley is based on his Off Broadway play of the same title, Crowley penned a sequel to the play years later entitled The Men From The Boys...
- Charro!Charro!Charro! is a 1969 Western film starring Elvis Presley. It was his only role that didn't feature him singing on-screen, and is the only Presley film to feature no songs at all except for the main title theme. It also features a bearded Presley for the first and last time in any of his films.The film...
- El Condor
- Executive ActionExecutive ActionExecutive Action is a 1973 movie about the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, written by Dalton Trumbo, Donald Freed and Mark Lane, and directed by David Miller. The film opened to a storm of controversy over the depiction of the assassination: in some places in the U.S., the film ran...
The "da Vinci Code" explanation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy - The Flamingo Affair
- The GetawayThe Getaway (1972 film)The Getaway is a 1972 American action-crime film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw.The film is based on a novel by Jim Thompson, with the screenplay written by Walter Hill...
- Le MansLe Mans (film)Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin. Starring Steve McQueen, it features footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race....
- Little Big ManLittle Big ManLittle Big Man is a 1970 American Western film directed by Arthur Penn and based on the 1964 comic novel by Thomas Berger. It is a picaresque comedy about a Caucasian boy raised by the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century...
- MaurieMaurieMaurie is a 1973 American semi-biographical feature film directed by Daniel Mann. Distributed by National General Pictures, the film covers the lives and relationship of two NBA Hall of fame basketball players, the forward Jack Twyman, and his teammate the forward Maurice Stokes.-Plot summary:The...
A sports-bio film depicting the friendship of former NBA forwards Jack TwymanJack TwymanJohn Kennedy "Jack" Twyman is an American former professional basketball player and sports broadcaster.-Playing career:...
who cared for the late Maurice StokesMaurice StokesMaurice Stokes was an American professional basketball player in the 1950s, whose career was cut short by a debilitating injury...
, who became paralyzed after a seizure hours after a 1958 playoff game - Me, NatalieMe, NatalieMe, Natalie is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe. The screenplay by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an original story by Academy Award-winner Stanley Shapiro, who previously wrote Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, and That Touch of Mink for Doris Day...
- Monte WalshMonte WalshMonte Walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer. The movie has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. It was directed in 1970 by cinematographer William A. Fraker in his directorial debut, and starred Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The movie was set...
- Robert Kennedy Remembered
- The ReiversThe ReiversThe Reivers, published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book A Fable, making him one of only three authors to be awarded it more than once...
- Rio LoboRio LoboRio Lobo is a 1970 Western movie starring John Wayne. The film was the last film directed by Howard Hawks, from a script by Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Technicolor with a running time of 114 minutes...
- Scrooge
- Snoopy Come Home
- Something for EveryoneSomething for Everyone (1970 film)Something for Everyone is a black comedy starring Angela Lansbury, Michael York, Anthony Higgins, and Jane Carr. The film was based on the novel The Cook by Harry Kressing, with the screenplay written by Hugh Wheeler...
- Treasure IslandTreasure Island (1972 film)Treasure Island is a 1972 film starring Orson Welles as Long John Silver that is based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson....
- The War Between Men and WomenThe War Between Men and WomenThe War Between Men and Women is a 1972 slapstick live-cartoon comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, and Jason Robards.It is based on the writings of humorist James Thurber, and was released in 1972 by Cinema Center Films. Like many other films in the Cinema Center catalog, it has long...
- Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? is an American comedy drama film released in 1971 directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Dustin Hoffman. It portrays a single day in the life of Georgie Soloway, played by Hoffman...
- With Six You Get EggrollWith Six You Get EggrollWith Six You Get Eggroll is a family comedy, starring Doris Day and Brian Keith. Other cast members include George Carlin, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Barbara Hershey, Alice Ghostley and Pat Carroll....
Television Shows
- TarzanTarzan (TV series)This is a list of TV series based on Tarzan....
(produced by Banner Productions, a division of the company) - The Trouble with TracyThe Trouble with TracyThe Trouble with Tracy was a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.The show was produced as a daily...
(co-produced with CTV Television NetworkCTV television networkCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
) - The Storefront LawyersThe Storefront LawyersStorefront Lawyers was an American TV-series that ran from 1970 to 1971 on CBS.-Plot:David Hansen was a big-shot lawyer who grew tired of his important and expensive Los Angeles law firm. Hansen left his job to start a non-profit firm called Neighborhood Legal Services based in Century City,...