Kidco

Kidco
Theatrical poster
Directed byRonald F. Maxwell
Written byBennett Tramer
Produced byFrank Yablans
David Niven, Jr.
Starring
CinematographyPaul Lohmann
Edited byDavid E. McKenna
Music byMichael Small
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 13, 1984 (1984-04-13)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million[1]
Box office$125-500,000[1]

Kidco is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and starring Scott Schwartz, Clifton James, Charles Hallahan, Maggie Blye, and Vincent Schiavelli.

Although the premise sounds far-fetched, the film was based on the 1979 purchase of the public land in Gorda, California by Kidco Limited Ventures, a corporation owned by four children, all minors from Ramona, California, who were heirs of the family that owned the Cessna Aircraft company.[2] After funding the company, $500,000 was invested as a tax shelter to purchase the town's land. At the time, Dickie Cessna was 14 years old and the other three siblings were June (16), Bette (13) and Nene (11).[3][4] After the Cessna children were paid for the filming rights, a dramatized version of the events was made and distributed by 20th Century.

  1. ^ a b "'Kidco': The Right-Wing Children's Movie That Shouldn't Be Forgotten". Filmschoolrejects.com. April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "Life Is Mellow in a Town Owned by Four Youths; Came Here to Be Left Alone Town Bought as Tax Shelter", The New York Times, November 6, 1980, pA16
  3. ^ "A Place of Their Own", photo in Pittsburgh Press, June 6, 1979, pA-6
  4. ^ Kidco Isn't Kid Stuff— Children's Company Is Big Business Now", by Cilla Brown, Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1979, pI-12