Commonwealth United Entertainment (generally referred to as Commonwealth United; abbreviated as CUE), formerly known as Television Enterprises Corporation (abbreviated as TEC), was a short-lived American film and TV production and distribution company active from the early-mid 1960s until 1971. It was headed by Milton T. Raynor.(24 April 2002). Milton Raynor obituary. Variety. accessed September 22, 2012.
The company was sometimes considered one of the "instant majors" of the late 1960s. Its parent company briefly operated a record label, Commonwealth United Records (abbreviated as CUR), as well as a TV production and distribution company, Commonwealth United Television (abbreviated as CUT). It produced films through its in-house film studio, Commonwealth United Productions (abbreviated as CUP), which would eventually become Commonwealth United Pictures (abbreviated as CUP).
History
Commonwealth United Corporation (abbreviated as CUC) was originally a real estate holding company formed in 1961 as the Real Properties Corporation. It changed its name to CUC in 1965.Slide, Anthony The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry Routledge, 25 Feb 2014 In 1967, CUC acquired TEC. Milton T. Raynor moved to California and became vice-president at TEC. Later, Raynor took over ownership.
Commonwealth United Entertainment In 1967, CUC acquired The Landau-Unger Company, with Ely Landau becoming president and CEO and Oliver A. Unger as executive vice-president. It also acquired TECPage 10. and was renamed Commonwealth United. In 1967, Commonwealth United produced 17 theatrical films and purchased publishing and recording interests. The Max Factor family financed That Cold Day in the Park, a movie directed by Robert Altman that Commonwealth United released in 1969.The Auteur Cinema. Page 89. By 1971, Commonwealth United was $80 million in debt. The company's film rights, foreign and domestic, were acquired by National Telefilm Associates and American International Pictures respectively.
Select credits A Black Veil for Lisa (1968) 99 Women (1969) Venus in Furs (1969) Battle of Neretva (1969) The Magic Christian (1969) It Takes All Kinds (1969) That Cold Day in the Park (1969) Paranoia (1969) Tiger by the Tail (1970) Julius Caesar (1970) Tam Lin (filmed in 1969, limited UK release in 1970) Freelance (filmed 1970)
References
Cook, David A. (2000). Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979. University of California Press.
External links Commonwealth United Entertainment at IMDb