Surbiton Studios were a British film studio located in Surbiton, then on the outskirts of London. The studio was one of several opened during the boom in British production following the First World War. It was opened in 1918 and its first film was released in January 1919. Its owners were Stoll Pictures which became one of the largest British film company of the early 1920s. [1]
Because Surbiton's single-stage studio was considered too small for the company's ambitions, Stoll moved most of its production over to the much-larger Cricklewood Studios and rented Surbiton out to independent producers. Stoll films continued to be made there occasionally until 1923 when the studio was sold to British Instructional Films (BIF). [2] The following year Stoll took over BIF, and Surbiton came back under its control. [3] BIF eventually moved its production to the more modern Welwyn Studios, and Surbiton closed.[ citation needed ]
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios have been located in the area since 1914 when film production began there. Two sites remain in use in Borehamwood: Elstree Studios on Shenley Road and the BBC Elstree Centre on Eldon Avenue.
Sir Oswald Stoll was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pictures, which was one of the leading British studios of the Silent era. In 1912, he founded the Royal Variety Performance a now-annual charity show which benefits the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund.
MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquired in Borehamwood, which remained in use until it was closed in 1970.
Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned approximately 500 cinemas in Britain by 1943, and in the 1950s and 60s owned a station on the ITV television network. The studio was partly owned by Warner Bros. from about 1940 until 1969; the American company also owned a stake in ABPC's distribution arm, Warner-Pathé, from 1958. It formed one half of a vertically integrated film industry duopoly in Britain with the Rank Organisation.
Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, northwest London. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc.
Joseph Grossman was a pioneer of the British film industry, most famous as the charismatic Studio Manager of Elstree Studios. Born in Dartford, Kent, the son of Myer Grossman and Rosa Morris, who belonged to Jewish families originally from Germany and Poland, he was always known as "Joe" and was famous for his nervous twitches and his Cockney humour. Joe Grossman was a contemporary of Oscar Deutsch and Michael Balcon, both of whom lived near his grandparents in Birmingham. He is mentioned in Michael Balcon's autobiography.
Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950.
Walter Alabaster West was an English film director and producer. He was a partner in the film production company Broadwest Films.
Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studios are closely associated with Gainsborough Pictures which was based there for most of the studio's history. During its existence Islington worked closely with its sister Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush and many films were made partly at one studio and partly at the other. Amongst the films made at the studios were Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Will Hay comedies and Gainsborough Melodramas.
British Instructional Films was a British film production company which operated between 1919 and 1932. The company's name is often abbreviated to BIF.
The British Actors Film Company was a British film production company that operated between 1916 and 1923 during the Silent era. It involved a consortium of prominent stage actors that included figures such as A.E. Matthews and Leslie Howard. The actors often exchanged their salaries for a share of the profits. Many of its films were made at Bushey Studios to the north of London.
Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London which operated from 1920 to 1938. Run by Sir Oswald Stoll as the principal base for his newly formed Stoll Pictures, which also operated Surbiton Studios, the studio was the largest in the British Isles at that time. It was later used for the production of "quota quickies". In 1938, the studios were sold off for non-film use.
George Clark (1888-1946) was a British film actor and film producer during the silent era. For many years Clark worked with the British star Guy Newall, whom he had met during the First World War. Together they founded Lucky Cat Films and later George Clark Productions, securing a distribution arrangement with the larger Stoll Pictures.
Imperial Studios were the studios of the British and Dominions Film Corporation, a short-lived British film production company located at Imperial Place, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The studios were active from 1929 to 1936, when they were destroyed by fire.
Astra Films was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era. It was set up in Leeds following the First World War by the film director Herbert Wilcox, his younger brother Charles Wilcox and H.W. Thompson, a leading figure in film distribution in the North of England. After the company's initial success, Wilcox left the firm to set up on his own and rose to become one of the most successful independent producer-directors in the world. After a merger the company released films under the name Astra-National.
Stoll Pictures was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era, founded in April 1918.
The Conspirators is a 1924 British silent crime film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Betty Faire, David Hawthorne and Moore Marriott.
The Welsh-Pearson Company was a British film production and distribution company active during the silent and early sound eras. It was founded in 1918 by two pioneering film figures, George Pearson and Thomas Welsh, with the single-stage Craven Park Studios as their base. Because of the cramped conditions there, Welsh-Pearson had to use other studios such as Islington for larger scenes.
Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios, the Shenley Road studios originally opened in 1925.