Details about the origins of Lincoln International Pictures are as mysterious as the founders themselves, brothers Bishop and Deacon Lincoln, who, two decades into their careers, gained public attention in 1966 when both Warner Brothers and MGM both sued them over their sex comedy “Jane Bond Meets Bat Woman.“
While this event made the headlines, such lawsuits were not news to Lincoln Studios, which, for the majority of its tenure, had made tidy profits by closely copying, at times perhaps too closely, popular films and television produced by other studios.
The Lincoln Formula
That success came from the company’s ability to take risks and, at times, brazenly use other people’s property. Thanks to cheeky marketing, gimmicks and making the film for the lowest price they could.
This also made them a popular “hired gun” filmmaking company for would-be financiers and promoters. Which results in a never-ending search for lost films and projects.
No matter the genre, no matter the continent, Lincoln was there. Their film catalogue boasted everything from bawdy British sci-fi spoofs to Japanese crime dramas and even Mexican wrestling films, shot in Uruguay.
When “The Stepford Wives” was still in theatres, the drive-in crowds were staring into the dead robotic eyes of “The Cheerful Family.“
The anti-hero biker movie “The Ballad of Big Bad John” was so similar to the Billy Jack movies that it was marketed as “Billy Jack 4” in Italy and the UK.
The insane “Astro-Simians” series of films aired on the People’s Republic of China’s TV decades before the actual Planet of the Apes movies.
Hammer-esque
Perhaps the studio’s most successful and at times wholly original endeavours were its horror films. Launched by the release of “The Blood-A-Rama Shock Fest,” which featured their epics “The Evil of Count Dracula” and “The Power of Frankenstein.“
Based on the success Hammer was having with their early 70s horror offerings, LIS shot the films back-to-back (though some argue simultaneously at times) in Eastern Europe during two blisteringly hot summer weeks.
Above: Actors Azrak and Helga Bongers in a lobby card from “The Power of Frankenstein”
These two films (produced by future rival Mac Tomland) had all the earmarks of Hammer: Mod Teens, ample cleavage, monsters dripping with stage blood, and the eerie music, but as a viewer, you knew something was a little off about the whole affair.
Spectra-X was a marketing gimmick cooked up by the brothers, meant to enhance the gory scenes by making them day-glo colours through a pair of special glasses. It became an unexpected hit thanks to teenagers enjoying the films while on LSD trips.
By the early 1970s, Lincoln had released its take on not only the classic monsters but also other horror trends, including zombies, Ghostly Spectres, mutant creatures, and oh, so many murderous maidens.
By the 1980s, the Lincoln film library had swelled to thousands of titles, including many television series and independent films. An incredible time as the home video boom was thirsty for product
Dungeon Video
1985 Dungeon Video ad for Lincoln Monsters
In early 1985, a bold trade ad for four new titles from a new player in the home video industry, Dungeon Video, appeared. This ad showcased the first four releases, including “Space Wolf” and “Death Maiden.“
The boxes displayed strange, generic art, and the prints were fuzzy, second-generation reproductions that often lacked scenes. Like the films themselves, these tapes had a bootleg quality. It’s long been rumoured among fans that the company was merely another shell for the brothers.
The rest of the 20th century would see the Lincoln Studios catalogue plagued by lawsuits, ownership disputes, fires, and just plain theft. At the same time, the majority of the films themselves have never been released on home video or are now just considered lost media.
We here at Lincoln Monsters are happy to announce that, while we don’t have the films themselves, we do have the master toy license for all the wonderful creations from this maverick studio.
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