Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.

Amicus is perhaps best known for Subotsky's own trademark portmanteau horror anthologies, inspired by the Ealing Studios film Dead of Night, though their first two films were musicals for the teenage market; *It's Trad, Dad! (1962) and Just for Fun (1963). However, prior to Amicus being created the two producers collaborated on the 1960 horror film The City of the Dead.

Amicus' portmanteau films included Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1964), directed by genre stalwart Freddie Francis, Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Tales from the Crypt (1972),and Vault of Horror (1973). The last two were based on stories from EC horror comics from the 1950s. These films, typically feature four or sometimes five short horror stories, linked by an overarching plot featuring a narrator and those listening to his story. The casts of these films are invariably composed of name actors, each of whom play small parts in the various stories. Along with the expected genre stars, such as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Herbert Lom, Amicus also drew its actors from the classical British stage (Patrick Magee, Margaret Leighton and even Sir Ralph Richardson), up-and-comers (Donald Sutherland, Robert Powell and Tom Baker), or former stars on the way down (Richard Greene, Robert Hutton, and Terry-Thomas). Some, such as Joan Collins, were in their mid-career doldrums when they signed on with Amicus.

Ramin Karimloo (born September 19, 1978) is an Iranian-born Canadian actor and singer, recognised chiefly for his work in London's West End. He has played leading male roles in both of the West End's longest running musicals; the Phantom and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera; and Jean Valjean, Enjolras and Marius in Les Misérables. He also originated the role of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, which continues the story of The Phantom of the Opera.

In Canada, Karimloo moved to Richmond Hill from Peterborough and graduated from Alexander Mackenzie High School. He began his performing career in rock bands and various theatre projects before moving on to perform in theatre companies for Airtours and P&O Cruises.

After moving to England, his first role was in a pantomime of Aladdin in Chatham, in which he played the title role. Following this, in 2001, he went on to join the UK national tour of The Pirates of Penzance, understudying and then playing the role of the Pirate King.

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), and Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002, 2005). He has collaborated with director Tim Burton in five films, most recently with Dark Shadows (2012).

Lee considers his most important role to be his portrayal of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998); however, he considers his best role to be that of Lord Summerisle in the British cult classic The Wicker Man (1973), which he also believes to be his best film. Lee is well known for his deep, strong voice and imposing height. He has performed roles in 275 films since 1946 making him the Guinness World Record holder for most film acting roles ever. He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011.

John Llewellyn Moxey (sometimes credited as John L. Moxey or John Moxey) (born February 26, 1925) is an Argentinian film and television director. He is best known for directing film The City of the Dead (also known as Horror Hotel) and directing episodes of The Saint, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.

Moxey was born in Argentina in 1925. His family operated a coal and steel business out of South America at the time. Before entering the film industry, He served in World War II. Beginning his career as an editor, he subsequently went on to direct episodes of the British series London Playhouse and The Adventures of Tugboat Annie.

In 1960, Moxey went on to direct the film The City of the Dead (also known as Horror Hotel), his feature film directorial debut. He also directed the film Circus of Fear (1966).

For much of his career he focused on directing television, directing episodes of the British series Man of the World, The Edgar Wallace Mysteries, Armchair Theatre, The Baron, The Saint and the American series Judd, for the Defense, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Kung Fu, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Miami Vice, Magnum, P.I., Murder, She Wrote and the pilot episode for Charlie's Angels. As well as directing a number television films such as A Taste of Evil (1971), Home for the Holidays (1972), Genesis II (1973) and No Place to Hide (1981).

Is He Dead? is a play by Mark Twain. It was first published in print in 2003, after Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin read the manuscript in the archives of the Mark Twain Papers at the University of California at Berkeley. The play was long known to scholars but never attracted much attention until Fishkin arranged to have it published in book form. She later played a primary role in getting the play produced on Broadway. Is He Dead? is now published and licensed for theatrical use by Playscripts, Inc.

Written in 1898 in Vienna, the play focuses on a fictional version of the great French painter Jean-François Millet as an impoverished artist in Barbizon, France who, with the help of his colleagues, stages his death in order to increase the value of his paintings, and afterwards dresses as a woman to keep his secret safe. Combining elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire, the comedy relies on such devices as cross-dressing, mistaken identities, and romantic deceptions to tell its story, which raises questions about fame, greed, and the value of art.