Jacobs was a branch head ofRKO Pictures until 1947, when he formed Favorite Films, an organization which released films acquired from the studios which had originally produced them, long after their first run release. CIP became one of the first franchise distributors forAmerican International Pictures (AIP) product.[2] Like AIP, Crown International is primarily known for low-budget genre films, includingbiker films,exploitation films, andB-movie drive-in fare.
Crown International began releasing both low-budget films asBloodlust! andThe Seventh Commandment, by American producers, as well as foreign films such asFirst Spaceship on Venus andVaran the Unbelievable (released as adouble feature in 1962) which Crown was able to acquire inexpensively, due to the US dollar's strength. Crown began producing its own films, starting withColeman Francis'The Skydivers, in 1963.
Beginning in 1961, Crown began by releasing six films, with the number rising to 12 a decade years later. Jacobs felt that Crown survived by having carefully planned growth and not overextending its product.[3] He said that Crown did not want to be regarded as a minimajor studio but as the top of the independents, to give the company more freedom in selecting and exploiting its film library.[4] Well over 50% of exhibitors showing Crown's products weredrive-in theatres, with the number decreasing to 30% in 1981.[5]
Crown often re-titled its releases to make them sound more exciting or exploit current trends. Jacobs told theLos Angeles Times in November 1963, "A title is the handle . . . You can't lift a picture very high if the handle is weak"[6]
Crown also acted as importer forSonny Chiba'sStreet Fighter films to the United States.[citation needed]
In 1973, Mark Tenser, who had been vice-president, became president with Jacobs' ascension to becomechairman of the board. Jacobs' daughter Marilyn Jacobs Tenser became vice president. The company handled its in-house production division, Marimark Productions, to produce a majority of the Crown's later output.
The director ofDeath Machines (1976) gave an account of how Crown picked up and shot new scenes for his film[7] that included shooting a prologue that would make the martial arts film a science-fiction one to make it more in line with current box-office trends.
In 1983, Crown International Pictures launched a new international division Crown International Pictures Export Corporation, whereas it took over duties from previous firm distributor who had once got a contract from Crown,Manson International, in order to market sales of Crown's own pictures internationally.[8] In 1987, Crown International Pictures, signed a three-title deal with RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, which resulted in RCA/Columbia picking up home video rights to Crown's in-house productionHunk, as well as acquisitions handled by Crown, which areScorpion andJocks, of which all three Crown films will be headed to home video this summer.[9]
In July 1988, Jacobs died in a motorcycle accident, which resulted in his son, Louis, taking the helm of Crown International.[10]
In 1964, Crown packaged several of the features that it released or had acquired rights to become part of a package of the Westhampton Film Corp. American television production companyDesilu entered film syndication in 1964 by acquiring the rights to show Crown International films as part of the "Westhampton Feature Package".[137] In the 1970s Crown released films for syndication throughGold Key Entertainment, which was then a division of Vidtronics, Inc.
Many of Crown's releases have been released toDVD onBCI Home Entertainment'sWelcome to the Grindhouse,Starlite Drive-In Theater andDrive-In Cult Classics series. Several Crown films have been shown onMystery Science Theater 3000. SinceNavarre Corporation's closing of its subsidiary BCI Home Entertainment, DVD distribution of Crown's library has transferred to Mill Creek Entertainment. Most of the television rights to Crown's library are today owned byLionsgate via their 2005 acquisition of Modern Entertainment.[138]
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