Milton Subotsky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Milton Subotsky
Born	(1921-09-27)September 27, 1921 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	June 27, 1991(1991-06-27) (aged 69)
Citizenship	British (from 1960)
Occupation	Film and television producer and writer
Years active	1950–1991
Organization	Amicus Productions (co-founded with Max Rosenberg)
Spouse(s)	Fiona Subotsky

Milton Subotsky (born September 27, 1921 – died June 27, 1991) was an American writer and producer for movies and TV. In 1964, he started a company called Amicus Productions with Max J. Rosenberg. "Amicus" means "friend" in Latin. Their company made many exciting science fiction and horror movies in the United Kingdom. These films were often made with a smaller budget.

Milton Subotsky's Early Life and Work

Milton Subotsky was born in New York City. His family had moved there from another country. During World War II, he worked for the Army Signal Corps. His job was to write and edit films that trained soldiers.

After the war, in the 1950s, he started working in television. This time was known as the "Golden Age" of TV. He wrote and produced shows like The Clock and Lights Out.

From TV Shows to Movies

In 1954, Milton wrote and produced a TV series called Junior Science. He then moved on to making movies. His first film was Rock, Rock, Rock in 1956. He even wrote nine songs for this movie!

Later, Milton moved to England. There, he produced his first horror movie, The City of the Dead (also known as Horror Hotel), in 1960. He also appeared on a BBC TV show called Juke Box Jury in the early 1960s.

Creating Amicus Productions

In 1964, Milton Subotsky teamed up with another producer, Max J. Rosenberg. They formed a new movie company called Amicus Productions. Their office was at Shepperton Studios in England.

Amicus Productions became famous for its science fiction and horror films. Some of their well-known movies include Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1964) and Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965). They also made Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) and Torture Garden (1967).

Other popular films from Amicus were Scream and Scream Again (1970) and The House That Dripped Blood (1970). They also produced Tales from The Crypt (1972), Asylum (1972), and From Beyond the Grave (1973). One of their last big films was The Land That Time Forgot (1974).

Milton's Later Film Companies

Amicus Productions closed down in 1975. But Milton Subotsky kept making movies. Around this time, he started a new company called Sword & Sorcery Productions, Ltd. He worked with Frank Duggan and later Andrew Donally.

They planned many exciting movies that didn't get made. These included films based on Lin Carter's "Thongor" stories and a live-action The Incredible Hulk movie. They also wanted to adapt stories from comic magazines like Creepy and Eerie.

Challenges with Movie Rights

Milton wanted to make a movie about Conan the Barbarian. But he couldn't get the rights to Robert E. Howard's stories. So, in 1976, he bought the rights to Lin Carter's "Thongor" stories instead.

Milton himself wrote the movie script for Carter's 1965 book The Wizard of Lemuria. The movie was going to be called Thongor in the Valley of Demons. In 1978, United Artists agreed to pay for the movie. However, they later changed their minds.

First Films from Sword & Sorcery

The first movie that Sword & Sorcery actually made was Dominique. In 1980, they also helped produce a TV series called The Martian Chronicles. This series was based on short stories by Ray Bradbury. During the making of this show, Milton and Andrew Donally stopped working together.

Milton Subotsky's Final Years

Milton Subotsky also helped produce several movies based on books by Stephen King. These included Cat's Eye (1985) and Maximum Overdrive (1986). He also worked on Sometimes They Come Back (a 1991 TV movie) and The Lawnmower Man (1992). The special "Director's Cut" version of The Lawnmower Man was made in his memory.

Milton Subotsky passed away in 1991 at the age of 69. He died from heart disease. His wife, Dr. Fiona Subotsky, is a well-known psychiatrist and historian in London.

Milton Subotsky's Filmography