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James Harvey Nicholson (September 14, 1916 – December 10, 1972) was an American film producer. He is best known as the co-founder, with Samuel Z. Arkoff, of American International Pictures.
- Day The World Ended
- I Was A Teenage Werewolf
- The Pit and The Pendulum
- Reptilicus
- Black Sabbath
- Wild in The Streets
- The Abominable Dr. Phibes
- The Amityville Horror (1979) and The End of AIP
Day the World Ended is a terrific start to our list because it combines three elements integral to AIP’s early years: Roger Corman, Paul Blaisdell, and a monster. Corman, a young independent filmmaker, had produced a race car movie called The Fast and The Furious in 1954 – the title of which he eventually licensed to Universal in 2001 for their fam...
As the ‘50s wore on, AIP went from strength to strength releasing horror and exploitation double bills to great success. The culmination of their teen awareness and monster savvy arrived in one of AIP’s very best: I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Michael Landon plays Tony, a troubled young man who explodes into violent rage at the slightest provocation. H...
Following the black-and-white monster cycle of the 1950s, Roger Corman would once again influence AIP’s next steps. Arkoff and Nicholson had approached the producer about doing another pair of black-and-white horrors for $100,000, but Corman instead asked if he could make one film for double the cost in widescreen and colour. This initiated an eigh...
Reptilicusis a marvellous giant monster film. A drilling team digs up the remains of a reptilian tail, which eventually regenerates into a complete giant monster: Reptilicus. The beast makes its way through the Danish countryside before ravaging Copenhagen. The film is an example of how AIP had branched out, looking to overseas productions to impor...
From the late ‘50s onwards, AIP also turned to Italy to import expensive-looking pictures for inexpensive costs with significant profits. As with Reptilicus, AIP didn’t keep itself to just importing, and several Italian co-productions appeared in the early 1960s. In 1961, AIP had imported Mario Bava’s sensational black-and-white horror Black Sunday...
Wild in the Streets perhaps demonstrates AIP’s finger on the cultural pulse at its finest. The film asks the question every generation poses: what if young people were in charge? Wild in the Streetsfollows Max Frost, a millionaire 20-something rockstar whose public image sees him catapulted to the highest office in the land. As President, Frost and...
One of AIP’s most peculiar releases given its modus operandi was a 1970 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Though the film wasn’t a great success, director Robert Fuest had impressed Nicholson and Arkoff, paving the way for his involvement in arguably one of Vincent Price’s best horror films. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a tour de force of gorgeous p...
It seems fitting that one of AIP’s last hurrahs – and one of its most successful films – was a horror picture. The Amityville Horror remains as effective as ever, a haunted house horror triumph. Starring Margot Kidder and James Brolin, The Amityville Horrortells the supposedly true story of the haunting of the Lutz family, whose new home seems poss...
It was formed on April 2, 1954, as American Releasing Corporation (ARC) by former Realart Pictures Inc. sales manager James H. Nicholson and entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff [2] and their first release was the 1953 UK documentary film Operation Malaya.
James H. Nicholson was a longtime theater owner and exhibitor and worked as a promo man for Realart Pictures prior to 1954, when he founded American Releasing Corp., Two years later, he decided he wanted to expand globally and, with lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff, formed American International Pictures.
- Producer, Additional Crew, Writer
- September 14, 1916
- James H. Nicholson
- December 10, 1972
Mar 26, 2001 · The answers are all found in the history of Sam Arkoff and Jim Nicholson’s AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES. The premiere of the special will launch a four-night, “Midnight Madness” film festival, May 1 to May 4, featuring an A.I.P cult classic every night.
This entry covers the period 1954-1979 when American International Pictures was an independent American motion picture company that produced and distributed low-budget films. Formed by James H Nicholson and Samuel Z Arkoff in 1954 and initially called the American Releasing Corporation (ARC), it was renamed American International Pictures (AIP ...
From Wikipedia: "American International Pictures (AIP) was an independent film production and distribution company formed on April 2, 1954 as American Releasing Corporation (ARC) by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer.