Bray Film Studios | |
---|---|
Former names | Down Place Bray Studios |
General information | |
Type | Film and television studios |
Address | Windsor Road, Water Oakley, Windsor, Berkshire |
Country | England, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°29′28″N0°40′37″W / 51.491°N 0.677°W |
Website | |
Bray Film Studios |
Bray Film Studios is a British film and television facility in Water Oakley near Bray, Berkshire. It is best known for its association with Hammer Film Productions.
Down Place, a large Thamesside house in the Berkshire hamlet of Water Oakley, was built in the 1750s for Richard Tonson, the Member of Parliament for Windsor and relative of publisher Jacob Tonson. [1] After Tonson's death in 1772, the house was owned by the Dukes of Argyll and subsequently by John Barker Church. [2] A later owner, Mr Hudleston, sold the property to Henry Harford in around 1807. [3] The Harford family continued to occupy the house at the time of the 1901 census. [4] At some point after this, the house was owned by the Davies family. [5] Subsequently, the main building largely fell into dereliction. [6]
In 1951, [lower-alpha 1] Hammer Film Productions bought Down Place, a location they had used in 1950 to film The Dark Light . [6] [5] The premises were largely derelict, and Hammer used the building's interior for filming before constructing a sound stage on the estate in 1952. [6] [5] The first full production at the studios was the 1951 film Cloudburst . [7]
In 1959, Columbia Pictures bought a 49% share in the studios worth £300,000 (£7,030,974 in 2019); the agreement saw a co-production deal whereby Columbia would produce five films a year at the studios. As this five-year agreement ended, Hammer founder James Carreras sold shares in the company to Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC). This deal, made in 1963, saw Hammer obligated to move their production to Elstree Studios. [8] At this time, the studio complex of Bray consisted of four sound stages ranging from 1,900 square feet (180 m2) to 5,400 square feet (500 m2); one of the stages contained a 360-cubic-foot (10 m3) water tank. Other facilities included a stills department, dressing rooms, set design and construction departments, production offices and administration departments. [9] Audio recordings at Bray suffered as a result of the studios being within the flight path of Heathrow Airport. [9]
The final Hammer film produced in full at Bray was 1966's The Mummy's Shroud ; [10] by November 1966 the move to Elstree was complete. [8] In 1968, the last member of the Davies family left the house and the wing was converted into luxury flats. [5] At the suggestion of EMI, as ABPC had become, Hammer sought to sell Bray Studios. Initially valued at £250,000 (£4,051,298 in 2019), Hammer sold the site in November 1970 for approximately £70,000 (£1,090,738 in 2019). [8] [5]
Following their purchase, the premises were renamed the Bray International Film Centre and a fifth sound stage was constructed. Production continued at Bray, including special effects for series such as Doctor Who and Space 1999 . [6] In 1984, Redspring sold the complex to the Samuelson Group for £700,000 (£2,266,459 in 2019). Samuelson provided the complex with a £2,000,000 (£6,475,596 in 2019) investment before selling the site to a property development company who planned to demolish the sound stages and convert Down Place into office buildings. In 1991, television producer Neville Hendricks bought the complex and allowed film production to continue. [11] At this time, the soundstages at Bray were used as a rehearsal facility for large musical events and touring acts, including the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert [12] and on numerous occasions by Pink Floyd and Roger Waters. [13] [14]
In 2014, Hendricks announced his intention to sell the site, explaining that it was not economically viable citing competition from the studios at Pinewood and Shepperton, as well as Bray's location in a green belt. [15] He sold the complex to a property development company who submitted a planning application in 2015 for luxury apartments and demolition of the sound stage buildings; demolition of buildings at Bray began in 2017. [11]
Filming resumed at Bray in 2019 with all three episodes of the BBC's Dracula having scenes filmed at the complex. [16] In June 2020, Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council approved plans to expand the complex with new studios and workshops. [17]
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.
Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.
The Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 film directed by Freddie Francis. The third instalment in Hammer's Frankenstein series, it stars Peter Cushing, Sandor Elès and Kiwi Kingston.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British gothic supernatural horror film directed by Terence Fisher. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions, and is the third entry in Hammer's Dracula series, as well as the second to feature Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the titular vampire. It also stars Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, and Barbara Shelley.
Barbara Shelley was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than a hundred films and television series. She was particularly known for her work in horror films, notably Village of the Damned; Dracula, Prince of Darkness; Rasputin, the Mad Monk and Quatermass and the Pit.
The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley.
A Stranger Came Home is a 1954 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paulette Goddard, William Sylvester and Patrick Holt. It is based on the 1946 novel Stranger at Home, credited to actor George Sanders but ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett. The film was released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
Shatter is a 1974 action film starring Stuart Whitman, Lung Ti, Lily Li, Anton Diffring and Peter Cushing. It was the second and final international co-production between Hammer Film Productions of England and Shaw Brothers Studio of Hong Kong. The film was shot entirely on location in Hong Kong. Godfrey Ho was assistant director in this movie.
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film produced, written and directed by Michael Carreras, starring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark and introducing Jeanne Roland.
Maniac is a 1963 British psychological thriller film directed by Michael Carreras and starring Kerwin Mathews, Nadia Gray and Donald Houston.
Montgomery Tully was an Irish film director and writer.
Taste of Fear is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Seth Holt. The film stars Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, and Christopher Lee in a supporting role. It was released in the United States as Scream of Fear.
Sir James Enrique Carreras was a British film producer and executive who, together with William Hinds, founded the British company Hammer Film Productions. His career spanned nearly 45 years, in multiple facets of the entertainment industry until retiring in 1972.
The Damned is a 1961 British science fiction horror film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors and Oliver Reed. Based on H.L. Lawrence's 1960 novel The Children of Light, it was a Hammer Film production.
Paul Dunlap was an American composer. He wrote music for over 200 films during his 30-year career. He is best known for his work with Western movies.
Mandy Miller is an English former child actress who made a number of films in the 1950s. She is also remembered for her recording of the 1956 song "Nellie the Elephant".
Raymond Greenleaf was an American actor, best known for All the King's Men (1949), Angel Face (1952), and Pinky (1949).
The World of Hammer is a British television documentary series created and written by Robert Sidaway and Ashley Sidaway, and produced by Robert Sidaway.
Jan Miller is a former British actress, known mainly for film and television work in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in particular her role as WPC Alex Johns in Dixon of Dock Green, from 1962 to 1964.
Delayed Flight is a 1964 British low-budget 'B' thriller film directed by Tony Young, and starring Helen Cherry and Hugh McDermott. The screenplay was by Dail Ambler.