Group 3 Films was a short lived British film production company that operated from 1951 to 1955. [1] [2]
Group 3 Films was a short lived British film production company that operated from 1951 to 1955. [1] [2]
It was set up by the National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) to help finance movies from newer filmmakers. [3] Its films were to be distributed by the Associated British Film DIstributors (ABFD) subsidiary of Associated British Picture Corporation and mostly financed by the NFFC with ABFD to make up the balance of finance. Michael Balcon and James Lawrie sat on the board and the company was run by John Grierson and John Baxter. [4]
They produced over 20 films and lost half a million pounds before the NFFC brought the company to a halt. [5]
John Grierson was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's Moana. In 1939, Grierson established the all-time Canadian film institutional production and distribution company The National Film Board of Canada controlled by the Government of Canada.
Donald Herman Sharp was an Australian film director.
Oscar Boetticher Jr., known as Budd Boetticher, was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott.
Kenneth Graham Hughes was an English film director and screenwriter. He worked on over 30 feature films between 1952 and 1981, including the 1968 musical fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. His other notable works included The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), Of Human Bondage (1964), Casino Royale (1967), and Cromwell (1970). He was an Emmy Award winner and a three-time BAFTA Award nominee.
British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was known as British Lion Films Ltd, and was a pure distribution company.
Cyril Solomon Israel Frankel was a British film and television director. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990. He directed many episodes of popular British TV shows, such as The Avengers, and the pilot episodes of the ITC Entertainment shows Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Department S in 1969. In 1970, he directed "Timelash", an episode of UFO, which he described as a very interesting script and one of his personal favourites.
Raymond Egerton Harry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty.
Robert Lenard Lippert was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in San Francisco, and at his height, he owned a chain of 139 movie theaters.
Man of Africa is a 1954 British documentary drama film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Gordon Heath, Frederick Bijurenda and Violet Mukabureza. It was written by Frankel and Montagu Slater, and produced by John Grierson for Group 3 Films. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.
Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "
Wolf Peter Rilla was a film director and writer of German background, who worked mainly in the United Kingdom.
Adelphi Films Limited was a British film production company. With its sister company Advance, it produced over 30 films in the 1940s and 1950s and distributed many more. Adelphi linked Gainsborough Pictures and the raw “kitchen sink” dramas of the early 1960s.
Stuart Legg was a pioneering English documentary filmmaker. At the 14th Academy Awards in 1941, Legg's National Film Board of Canada film Churchill's Island became the first-ever documentary to win an Oscar.
The Black Rider is a 1954 British crime thriller film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Jimmy Hanley, Rona Anderson, and Leslie Dwyer. It was written by A. R. Rawlinson and produced as a low budget second feature for release by Butcher's Film Service.
John Guillermin was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
Conflict of Wings is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. The film is based on a novel of the same title by Don Sharp who later became a noted director. Villagers in Norfolk rally to prevent the RAF from attempting to use an island for target practice.
The Blue Peter is a 1955 British film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Kieron Moore and Greta Gynt. It was written by Don Sharp and John Pudney. It was released in the United States in December 1957. The film is about youth seamanship at the original Outward Bound in Aberdyfi, Wales, a program similar to Sea Scouting or Sea Cadets.
The End of the Road is a 1954 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Finlay Currie, Duncan Lamont and Naomi Chance. It was produced by Group Three Films as a second feature with funding from the NFFC and distributed by British Lion. It was made at Beaconsfield Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Michael Stringer.
Independent Artists was a British production company of the 1950s and 1960s. It specialised in making second features.
Make Me an Offer is a 1952 comedy novel by the British writer Wolf Mankowitz. It was his debut novel and was a success. The plot revolves around an antique dealer. It was published in the United States by Dutton. He followed it up with another success A Kid for Two Farthings in 1953.