EALING STUDIOS

'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

History

Ealing Studios films

Documentaries

BBC TV productions

Later films

Independent TV

Music videos

See also

External links

Reference

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!'' (1949), ''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. A large number of the Ealing films were photographed by Douglas Slocombe, who went on to shoot the three Indiana Jones films for Steven Spielberg.
The BBC bought the studios in 1955 and created television productions there, such as ''Colditz'', ''The Singing Detective'' and ''Fortunes of War''. After the studio at Ealing had been sold to the BBC, productions bearing the Ealing name continued to be made at the MGM studio at Elstree for around two years. In 1995, the studios were purchased by the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and yet again in mid-2000 by Uri Fruchtmann, Barnaby Thompson, Harry Handelsman and John Kao, with a view to reviving the fortunes of the studio. The studio has since begun to churn out hits again, ''Lucky Break'' (2001), ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (2002), and ''Valiant'' (2005). In 2007, Ealing is releasing ''I Want Candy'' and producing a new film based on the St Trinian's series.

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) ★ ''The 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)

★ ''The Overlanders'' (1946) - produced by Ealing but filmed on location in Australia ★ ''Hue and Cry'' (1947) - generally considered to be the first of the "Ealing Comedies" ★ ''Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947) ★ ''The Loves of Joanna Godden'' (1947) ★ ''Frieda'' (1947) ★ ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' (1947) ★ ''Against the Wind'' (1948) ★ ''Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (1948) - Ealing's first Technicolor film ★ ''Another Shore'' (1948) ★ ''Scott of the Antarctic'' (1948) ★ ''Eureka Stockade'' (1949) ★ ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) ★ ''Whisky Galore!'' (1949) ★ ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) ★ ''Train of Events'' (1949) ★ ''A Run for Your Money'' (1949) ★ ''The Blue Lamp'' (1950) ★ ''Dance Hall'' (1950) ★ ''Bitter Springs'' (1950) ★ ''Cage of Gold'' (1950) ★ ''The Magnet'' (1950) ★ ''Pool of London'' (1951) ★ ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951) ★ ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) ★ ''Where No Vultures Fly'' (1951) ★ ''His Excellency'' (1952) ★ ''Secret People'' (1952) ★ ''I Believe in You'' (1952) ★ ''Mandy'' (1952) ★ ''The Gentle Gunman'' (1952) ★ ''The Titfield Thunderbolt'' (1953) ★ ''The Cruel Sea'' (1953) ★ ''The Square Ring'' (1953) ★ ''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) ★ ''The Love Lottery'' (1954) ★ ''The Maggie'' (1954) ★ ''West of Zanzibar'' (1954) ★ ''The Rainbow Jacket'' (1954) ★ ''Lease of Life'' (1954) ★ ''The Divided Heart'' (1954) ★ ''Out of the Clouds'' (1955) ★ ''The Night My Number Came Up'' (1955) ★ ''The Ship That Died of Shame'' (1955) ★ ''Touch and Go'' (1955) ★ ''The Ladykillers'' (1955) ★ ''The Feminine Touch'' (1956) ★ ''Who Done It?'' (1956) ★ ''The Long Arm'' (1956) ★ ''The Man in the Sky'' (1957) ★ ''The Shiralee'' (1957) ★ ''Barnacle Bill'' (1957) ★ ''Davy'' (1957) ★ ''Dunkirk'' (1958) ★ ''Nowhere to Go'' (1958) ★ ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' (1959)

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 from ''Next of Kin'') ★ ''Greek Testament'' (1943) ★ ''Return of the Vikings'' (1944) ★ ''Man - One Family'' (1946)

BBC TV productions

★ ''Colditz'' (inserts only; programme was predominantly videotaped)

★ ''Doctor Who'' (ditto)

★ ''Fortunes of War''

★ ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (inserts only; programme was otherwise live)

★ ''The Singing Detective''

Later films

★ ''An Ideal Husband'' (1999)

★ ''Notting Hill'' (1999)

★ ''Lucky Break'' (2001)

★ ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (2002)

★ ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004)

★ ''Valiant'' (2005)

★ ''I Want Candy'' (2007)

Independent TV

★ ''The Royle Family'' (Granada)

★ ''Bedtime'' (HatTrick)

★ ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' (Ghost)

★ ''Emma Brody'' (20th Century Fox)
and more

Music videos

★ ''Walk Away'' by Franz Ferdinand

★ ''Talk'' by Coldplay

★ ''The Drowners'' by Suede (US video only)

★ ''Crazy Beat'' by Blur

★ ''The Moment You Believe'' by Melanie C

See also

★ UK topics

External links

★ Ealing Studios

★ Ealing Studios at screenonline.org.uk

★ John Gregson - Website dedicated to the British actor

★ Interactive video talk by UK TV personality Jonathan Ross on Ealing Studios for the British Film Institute

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.