Commonwealth United Entertainment

Commonwealth United Entertainment
Industry	Filmed entertainment
Defunct	1971; 53 years ago
Fate	Broken up and sold
Successor	Library:; Parent

Commonwealth United Entertainment (generally referred to as Commonwealth United or sometimes CUE), formerly known as Television Enterprises Corporation (abbreviated as TEC), was an American film & TV production and distribution company active to 1971. It was headed by Milton T. Raynor.^[1]

The company was sometimes considered one of the "instant majors" of the late 1960s.^{[li 1]} The company also briefly operated a record label, Commonwealth United Records (abbreviated as CUR).

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.^[2] In 1967, CUC acquired TEC.^{[li 1]} Milton T. Raynor moved to California and became vice-president at TEC. Later, Raynor took over ownership.^[1]

Commonwealth United Entertainment

In 1967, CUC acquired The Landau-Unger Company, with

CEO and Oliver A. Unger as executive vice-president.^[3] It also acquired TEC^{[li 1]} and was renamed Commonwealth United.^[1] In 1967, Commonwealth United produced 17 theatrical films and purchased publishing and recording interests.^{[li 1]} The Max Factor family financed That Cold Day in the Park, a movie directed by Robert Altman that Commonwealth United released in 1969.^{[li 2]} 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.^{[li 1]}

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)
Tiger by the Tail (1970)
Julius Caesar (1970)
The Ballad of Tam Lin
(1970)
Freelance (filmed 1970)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c (24 April 2002). Milton Raynor obituary. Variety. accessed September 22, 2012.
^ Slide, Anthony The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry Routledge, 25 Feb 2014
^ "Commonwealth Buy of Landau-Unger To Give Show Biz Accent to Holding Co". Variety. August 9, 1967. p. 7.

Cook, David A. (2000). Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979. University of California Press.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Page 10.
^ The Auteur Cinema. Page 89.

External links

Commonwealth United Entertainment at IMDb

[vty-1] (24 April 2002). Milton Raynor obituary. Variety. accessed September 22, 2012.

[3] Slide, Anthony The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry Routledge, 25 Feb 2014

[4] "Commonwealth Buy of Landau-Unger To Give Show Biz Accent to Holding Co". Variety. August 9, 1967. p. 7.

[p10-2] Page 10.

[5] The Auteur Cinema. Page 89.

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