Tony Tenser (10 August 1920 – 5 December 2007) was an English-born film producer of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. He specialised in producing Exploitation film movies and founded his own production company Tigon British Film Productions in 1966, which also made more mainstream films such as Witchfinder General and other horror films.Persuaded by his business partner in Compton Films, Michael Klinger, Tenser was responsible for producing Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-sac (1966). the first two films in English made by the Polish director Roman Polanski.
I didn't set out to be some kind of a saint in the film business by giving people chances. If I did give someone a chance, it wasn't only in their interest -- it was also in my interest. I wasn't making films for posterity -- I was making them for today. I made films that people would go to see. Otherwise, nobody would buy them, and I would have left the business. I did well with these films, but I didn't waste a lot of money making them. It wasn't a matter of pinching pennies, but of saving money to spend it where it was most efficient -- on the screen. By keeping the costs down, I didn't have to earn a fortune to make the movies pay.
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I wasn't trying to put any message across to the audience in my films. Making movies is like making furniture. You make the best product for the cheapest price, and get as much as you can for it. You don't care if you make shelves for the world's greatest books, or toilet seats. The only difference with the film business is that, because of the specific nature of my product, I had to have some concern about its content. Aside from that, I was just an honest journeyman making a living.
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There are only two things that are guaranteed to sell a movie; sex and horror
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I'd rather be ashamed of a movie that was making money than proud of one that was losing it.
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Fact
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Managing director of Tigon British Film Productions, which he founded in 1966.
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Former cinema manager and publicist.
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Educated at Central Foundation School.
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Served in the RAF as a repair technician during World War II.
$9 Million
