Ealing Studios

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Ealing Studios, a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London, claims to be the oldest film studio in the world.

Contents

[edit] History

The site had been previously occupied by Will Barker Studios from 1896, but was acquired by theatre producer Basil Dean's newly-formed Associated Talking Pictures in 1929, and reopened as Ealing Studios in 1931. In 1933, the company was renamed Associated Talking Pictures. When Dean left in 1938, to be replaced by Michael Balcon from MGM, about 60 films had been made at the studios. Balcon discontinued the ATP name and began to issue films under the Ealing Studios name. In 1944, the company was taken over by the Rank Organisation.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Ealing produced many comedies with stars such as George Formby and Will Hay, who had established their reputations in other spheres of entertainment. The company was also instrumental in the use of documentary film-makers to make more realistic war films. These included Went the Day Well? (1942), The Foreman Went to France (1942) and San Demetrio, London (1943). In 1945, the studio made its influential chiller compendium Dead of Night.

In the post-war period, the company embarked on a series of celebrated comedies which became the studio's hallmark. These were often lightly satirical, and were seen to reflect aspects of British character and society. The first was Hue and Cry in 1947, and the last Barnacle Bill in 1956. However, the most famous in the series were produced between 1948 and 1955. Whisky Galore! (1948), Passport to Pimlico (1949), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) and The Ladykillers (1955) are now seen as classics of British cinema.

The BBC bought the studios in 1955 and created television productions there such as Colditz, The Singing Detective and Fortunes of War. In 1995, the studios were purchased by the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and yet again acquired in mid-2000 by Uri Fruchtmann, Barnaby Thompson, Harry Handelsman and John Kao, with a view to reviving the fortunes of the studios.

[edit] Ealing Studios Films

  • Birds of Prey (1930)
  • A Honeymoon Adventure (1931)
  • Sally in Our Alley (1931)
  • Looking on the Bright Side (1932)
  • Love on the Spot (1932)
  • Nine Till Six (1932)
  • The Bailiffs (1932)
  • The Impassive Footman (1932)
  • The Sign of Four (1932)
  • The Water Gypsies (1932)
  • Loyalties (1933)
  • Perfect Understanding (1933)
  • The Fortunate Fool (1933)
  • The House of Trent (1933)
  • The Right to Live (1933)
  • This Week of Grace (1933)
  • Three Men in a Boat (1933)
  • Tiger Bay (1933)
  • To Brighton with Gladys (1933)
  • Autumn Crocus (1934)
  • Love, Life and Laughter (1934)
  • Rolling in Money (1934)
  • Sing As We Go (1934)
  • The Perfect Flaw (1934)
  • The Secret of the Loch (1934)
  • Honeymoon for Three (1935)
  • It Happened in Paris (1935)
  • Look Up and Laugh (1935)
  • Lorna Doone (1935)
  • Midshipman Easy (1935)
  • No Limit (1935)
  • Play Up the Band (1935)
  • The Dictator (1935)
  • The Public Life of Henry IX (1935)
  • The Silent Passenger (1935)
  • A Woman Alone (1936)
  • Calling the Tune (1936)
  • Cheer Up (1936)
  • Dreams Come True (1936)
  • Guilty Melody (1936)
  • Keep Your Seats Please (1936)
  • Laburnum Grove (1936)
  • Olympic Honeymoon (1936)
  • Queen of Hearts (1936)
  • The House of the Spaniard (1936)
  • The Lonely Road (1936)
  • Tropical Trouble (1936)
  • Whom the Gods Love (1936)
  • Brief Ecstasy (1937)
  • Feather Your Nest (1937)
  • Keep Fit (1937)
  • Secret Lives (1937)
  • Take a Chance (1937)
  • The Girl in the Taxi (1937)
  • The High Command (1937)
  • The Show Goes On (1937)
  • Who's Your Lady Friend? (1937)
  • I See Ice (1938)
  • It's in the Air (1938)
  • Penny Paradise (1938)
  • The Gaunt Stranger (1938)
  • The Ware Case (1938)
  • Let's Be Famous (1939)
  • Trouble Brewing (1939)
  • The Four Just Men (1939)
  • There Ain't No Justice (1939)
  • Young Man's Fancy (1939)
  • Cheer Boys Cheer (1939)
  • Come on George (1939)
  • Return to Yesterday (1940)
  • The Proud Valley (1940)
  • Let George Do It (1940)
  • Convoy (1940)
  • Saloon Bar (1940)
  • Sailors Three (1940)
  • Spare a Copper (1940)
  • The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941)
  • Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
  • Ships with Wings (1941)
  • The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
  • The Big Blockade (1942)
  • The Foreman Went to France (1942)
  • Next of Kin (1942)
  • The Goose Steps Out (1942)
  • Nine Men (1943)
  • The Bells Go Down (1943)
  • Undercover (1943)
  • My Learned Friend (1943)
  • Went the Day Well? (1943)
  • San Demetrio, London (1943)
  • The Halfway House (1944)
  • For Those in Peril (1944)
  • They Came to a City (1944)
  • Champagne Charlie (1944)
  • Fiddlers Three (1944)
  • Johnny Frenchman (1945)
  • Painted Boats (1945)
  • Dead of Night (1945)
  • Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945)
  • The Captive Heart (1946)

[edit] Documentaries

  • All Hands (1940)
  • Dangerous Comment (1940)
  • Food for Thought (1940)
  • Now You're Talking (1940)
  • Salvage with a Smile (1940)
  • Sea Fort (1940)
  • Guest of Honour (1941)
  • Yellow Caesar (1941)
  • Young Veterans (1941)
  • Find, Fix and Strike (1942)
  • Go to Blazes (1942)
  • Raid on France (1942) (adapted fron Next of Kin)
  • Greek Testament (1943)
  • Return of the Vikings (1944)
  • Man - One Family (1946)

[edit] BBC TV Productions

[edit] Later Films

and more

[edit] Independent TV

  • The Royle Family (Granada)
  • Bedtime (HatTrick)
  • Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (Ghost)
  • Emma Brody (20th Century Fox)

and more

[edit] Music videos

and more

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Reference

  • Forever Ealing by George Perry, published by Pavilion, 1981, ISBN 0-907516-60-2; A history of Ealing Studios from its origins in 1902.
In other languages