Allied Film Makers was a shortlived British production company, formed in November 1959, which produced several films. [1] Producer Sydney Box came up with the idea of forming a consortium of film-makers that would distribute the films they made. Box had to drop out of the company owing to illness, but four partnerships agreed to join: Basil Dearden and Michael Relph; Jack Hawkins; Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes; and Hawkins's brother. Guy Green later joined the Forbes-Attenborough group. Each group put up £5,000 and the Rank Organisation guaranteed distribution. [2] John Davis of Rank, who had a generally poor reputation within the industry, was supportive of the scheme. [3]
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The formation of the company was announced on 2 November 1959 with a reported working capital of £1 million, half of which was provided by Rank. The company was similar to Bryanston Films which had started a few months earlier and the first movie was to be The League of Gentlemen. [4]
Several of Allied's films were financially and critically successful, including Whistle Down the Wind (1961). However, there were some financial failures, such as Life for Ruth (1962), and the company was unable to sustain its existence. [5]
The total negative cost of its films was £1,042,157, the distributors gross was £1,820,940, giving it a gross profit of £778,783, but the producers had to carry a loss of £142,934. [6]
