International Pictures


International Pictures was an American film production company that existed in the 1940s. It merged with Universal Pictures to become Universal-International on October 1, 1946.

History

The company was formed in 1944. It was headed up by Leo Spitz, an executive at RKO, and William Goetz, vice president in charge for production 20th Century Fox.
In October 1943, Goetz announced International would start off making four films with an overall budget of $4.2 million, the films including Belle of the Yukon, The Woman in the Window and Casanova Brown.
In January 1944, International signed an agreement with RKO Pictures to provide four films for distribution.
Following the merger, Spitz and Goetz became head of production at Universal-International.
The library was up for sale in 1952. NBC first offered the package, but declined. Moulin Productions acquired the International film library in 1953, sell the theatrical distribution rights to Independent Releasing Corporation, and later transferred to United Artists, after the merger with Universal. The Dark Mirror was sold separately, first to a loan to Bank of America, later licensed to General Teleradio, and eventually at National Telefilm Associates. Only a single International film, Temptation was retained by Universal, and eventually included in Universal's TV packages by Screen Gems in the 1950s for a brief period of time.

Selected filmography

  • Casanova Brown – distributed by RKO
  • The Woman in the Window – distributed by RKO
  • Belle of the Yukon – distributed by RKO
  • It's a Pleasure – distributed by RKO
  • Along Came Jones – distributed by RKO
  • Tomorrow Is Forever – distributed by RKO
  • The Stranger – distributed by RKO
  • The Dark Mirror – distributed by Universal
  • Temptation – distributed by Universal