Radley Metzger

Who is Radley Metzger?

Radley Metzger is an American filmmaker and film distributor.

Metzger was born and raised in New York City. He received a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from City College of New York, where he studied with filmmakers Hans Richter and Leo Seltzer. He also studied acting privately with director Harold Clurman. During the Korean War, Metzger served in the U. S. Air Force with the 1350th Photographic Group, which interrupted his graduate studies at Columbia University.

In his early career, Metzger worked primarily as a film editor employed in cutting trailers for Janus Films, a major distributor of foreign art films, especially those of Ingmar Bergman. His directorial debut, Dark Odyssey was a drama concerning the experiences of a Greek immigrant arriving in New York. The film was favorably reviewed by the New York Times.

Along with film distributor Ava Leighton, in 1961 Metzger founded Audubon Films, a film distribution company that specialized in importing international features, some of which were marketed into the gradually expanding sexploitation film genre. Metzger's skills as an editor were employed in re-cutting and augmenting many of the features Audubon handled, including I Spit on Your Grave Twilight Girls, and I, a Woman. Audubon's first run-away success was Mac Ahlberg's I, a Woman.