Edward L. Montoro was an American film producer and distributor known for releasing exploitation films and B-movies during the 1970s and 1980s through his company Film Ventures International. Montoro became notorious for producing and promoting films such as Beyond the Door (1974) and Grizzly (1976) which were highly derivative of the 1970's blockbuster hits The Exorcist and Jaws.

Montoro formed Film Ventures International (FVI), a small-scale independent movie production and distribution company, in 1968 in Atlanta, Georgia. His first effort was the soft-core adult comedy Getting Into Heaven, which he wrote, produced and directed with a budget of $13,000. The film grossed almost 20 times its cost. Montoro expanded FVI and began churning out successful B-movies, among them acquisitions of foreign films from Italy including the spaghetti western Boot Hill in 1969.

Grizzly was one of the first films Montoro financed and distributed himself. Produced on a $750,000 budget, the animal horror thriller became the most successful independent motion picture of 1976 earning more than $39 million worldwide. Montoro followed this success producing and releasing such films as The Day of the Animals (1978) starring Christopher George and Leslie Nielsen; The Dark (1979) starring William Devane; The Visitor (1979) starring Glenn Ford; Kill and Kill Again (1981); Pieces (1982); Pod People (1983); Mortuary (1983) starring Bill Paxton; Vigilante (1983) starring Robert Forster; and Mutant (1984) starring Bo Hopkins.

In 1980, after acquiring the Italian film Great White, another movie regarded as a Jaws rip-off, Montoro was sued by Universal Pictures because it was too derivative of the Steven Spielberg-directed hit. Great White had a large advertising budget of $4 million and achieved commercial success during its first week at the theaters. Never-the-less, Universal Pictures won the law-suit and the film was immediately pulled from theatrical release.

In 1984, Film Ventures International was on the verge of collapse due to financial issues including the release failure of Great White, the poor box office performance of Montoro's final film Mutant and his pending divorce settlement. Montoro eventually took one million dollars from FVI and vanished never to be seen again. Film Ventures International officially closed its doors in 1985. To this day, Montoro's whereabouts remain unknown, though it is believed he fled to Mexico. The unusual disappearance and the collapse of FVI have further contributed to Montoro's notorious legacy.

Edward L. Montoro is probably one of the most notorious filmmakers in the motion picture industry. Montoro's original career future was to be a commercial airline pilot, but that dream ended in 1968, when he was in a major plane crash and then decided to change career options from pilot to filmmaker. Montoro founded his production company, Film Ventures International (FVI) in 1969 original situated in Atlanta, Georgia. Montoro directed and produced his first film, an adult film entitled "Getting into Heaven", which had some impact with audiences. Montoro continued his lengthy career as a filmmaker usually distributing exploitation films and B-Movies worldwide, also making impressive box office results in drive-in cinemas. Montoro's first major hit film was the spagetti western "Boot Hill" and four years later, Montoro hit big again with the "Exorcist ripoff", "Beyond the Door" starring Juliet Mills. Although the film was a hit with audiences earning $9 million at the box office, Warner Brothers filed suit aganist Montoro and FVI claiming copyright infrigment, however the law-suit was eventually dropped after learning that Warner Brothers had no rights to some of the key scenes depicted in their film, "The Exorcist". Montoro's most successful effort as a producer was "Grizzly", a 1976 Jaws rip-off, starring Christopher George and Richard Jaeckel. The film, directed by William Girdler, became one of the most successful independent films of that year earning over $30 million dollars, three times its budget cost worldwide. However, Montoro's decision to keep the profits for himself, lead director Girdler and the film's co-producers to file-suit. Girdler returned the following year to direct "Day of the Animals" with an all-star cast, also produced by Montoro. The film wasn't a major hit as "Grizzly" was, and Girdler and Montoro parted ways after the film was released. Montoro continued making some impression with films such as "Beyond the Door II", "Hometown USA" and "The Dark", all of which sparked little release efforts and played only to limited theatres. In 1980, Montoro picked up the release of the Italian film "Great White" and it was released in the United States. Although Montoro spent several millions of dollars into advertising, Universal Pictures felt that the film was too derivative of "Jaws". Universal filed suit and won, and "Great White" was pulled from theaters. Although the law suit costed several millions of dollars, it wasn't enough to cause Montoro and FVI to go bankrupt. Montoro still had such successful films that were getting impressive box office results that included "The Incubus", "Vigilante", "They Call Me Bruce" and "Kill and Kill Again". In 1982, Montoro formed a 'sister' company to FVI, Artists Releasing Corporation, which helped pick up the releases for such films including "Mortuary" and "The House on Sorority Row" which had little box office results. "Mutant" was the last film produced by Edward Montoro. The film opened in 1984, to some success, but it was the budget of the film, which caused the demise of Film Ventures International. After the release of "Mutant", Montoro was in a major divorce settlement from his wife, Joan, and she was entitled to half of what he owned including Film Ventures International. Montoro was also very ill for several months and stayed at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Shortly after his recovery, Montoro took several millions of dollars from Film Ventures International and vanished never to be seen again. The company was left into the hands of four executives who tried desperatly to keep the company running until its collapse in 1985. People still wonder and speculate what happened to Montoro and why his movie empire started with such a big dream and ended in tragedy.