Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Group of many film and television studios |
Address | Elstree and Borehamwood, Hertfordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°39′29″N 0°16′34″W / 51.658°N 0.276°W |
Construction started | 1914 |
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.
Films shot at Elstree include: Britain's first sound film,
Television shows shot at Elstree include
Currently, two major sites remain in use in Borehamwood: Elstree Studios on Shenley Road and the BBC Elstree Centre on Eldon Avenue. A third, Sky Studios Elstree is currently under construction, whilst a fourth Millennium Studios still exists in a much reduced capacity where it trades as Studio 2000.
History and facilities
Studios
Elstree
Shown within Elstree and Borehamwood parish
Despite being called "Elstree Studios", only one studio has ever been located in Elstree itself, the remainder residing in the adjacent town of Borehamwood. When the studios were being established, Elstree was significantly larger than Borehamwood. Nowadays, Borehamwood is larger, but the old names have remained in use.
The
Eldon Avenue Studios, Borehamwood
The Neptune Film Company opened the first studios in Borehamwood in 1914. Production ceased during 1917, and the studio was sold to the Ideal Film Company who used the site up until 1924.
During 1928, the studio was sold to
During 1953, the studios were bought by
When ATV was restructured as
The BBC bought the Elstree site in 1984 to produce its new soap opera EastEnders (first aired on 19 February 1985). In addition to EastEnders, many other programmes have been made there including Top of the Pops, 'Allo 'Allo!, You Rang, M'Lord?, Grange Hill, Hangar 17 and Holby City. Most of the site is now devoted to EastEnders production, but Studio D is available for hire via BBC Studioworks.
Elstree Studios, Shenley Rd, Borehamwood
British National Pictures Ltd. purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land on the south side of Shenley Road and began construction of two large film stages in 1925. The first film produced there was Madame Pompadour (1927). The company was renamed British International Pictures (BIP) and a second stage was ready for production in 1928.
In 1946,
In 1974, Andrew Mitchell took over from Ian Scott as managing director of the studios but was almost immediately told to close the facility and lay off all the staff. This was halted, but only with significant job cuts and closure of some facilities. The studio's immediate survival was secured through the facilities being used for Star Wars (1977). This led to subsequent Lucas productions such as the Star Wars sequels and Indiana Jones franchise being made at Elstree and also brought in director Steven Spielberg. In 1979, Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI after EMI's debacle with its invention of the CT scanner, and the studios were renamed Thorn-EMI Elstree Studios.[7]
The studios were put up for sale in 1985. Acquired by the entertainment and property company
A "Save Our Studios" campaign mainly led by local writer and historian Paul Welsh
The studios at Shenley Road are used for both film and television production and are the permanent home of
Station Road Studios, Borehamwood
A single large stage was built in Station Road in 1928 by Whitehall Films Ltd, but the company was wound up in 1930. In 1935, Julius Hagen, the owner of Twickenham Studios, bought the site and formed a new company, JH Studios.
In 1937, financial difficulties forced Hagen to sell the studios to MP Productions owned by producer J Banberger.
During World War II, the studio was used by the government for storage.
In 1950, the site was bought by
Production ceased in 1957, and the site was sold to Andrew Harkness, a manufacturer of cinema screens. Harkness Screens moved out of the site in 2004 having established a global manufacturing base in France and the US and relocated its UK operation to a new production facility in Stevenage. The building in Borehamwood was demolished in 2006 to make way for apartments new properties, the development being named Gate Studios in homage to the former site.
Imperial Studios, Borehamwood
In 1930, the British and Dominions Film Corporation bought three new sound stages from British International Pictures Ltd on the adjoining site before their construction was completed, which they named "Imperial Studios". Alexander Korda made one of his greatest successes at the studio, The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), which starred Charles Laughton as the King. The film's success in the United States and elsewhere persuaded United Artists and The Prudential to invest in Korda's proposed Denham Film Studios.[13]
Film production continued until 1936 when fire destroyed the three stages.
MGM British, Borehamwood
Amalgamated Studios Ltd constructed a large studio on the north side of Elstree Way between 1935 and 1937, but its plans collapsed and the facility was soon sold to Rank, who never used it for making films. After a brief period owned by
Several stages were taken up with the sets for
Danziger Studios, Elstree
In 1956 the
Millennium Studios, Elstree Way, Borehamwood
Established in 1993, the Millennium Studios on the south side of Elstree Way (opposite the site of the former MGM-British studios) offered television and film production space together with associated services. Productions shot there include the first series of CBBC's
A single television studio, Studio 2000, remains on the Borehamwood site,[21] and has been used for Rude Tube.[19]
Sky Studios Elstree, Borehamwood
In December 2019, media conglomerate Sky announced plans to develop a new studio facility at Rowley Lane.[22] The new studios were expected to open in 2022,[23] and to have 13 stages with the smallest being approximately 1,800 m2 (19,000 sq ft).[24] The site is also expected to house post-production facilities and an on-site screening cinema.[25] A further 10 stages could be added in a proposal ("Sky Studios Elstree North") to extend the site northward.[26]
There is also a proposal for a separate 21-stage Hertswood Studios immediately to the north of the proposed Sky Studios Elstree North site.[27]
Timeline
The following table lists all the various names of studios over time.
Clarendon Road / Eldon Avenue |
||||
1914–1917 Neptune Film | ||||
1917–1928 Ideal Films |
Shenley Road | |||
1925–1927 British National
Pictures | ||||
1927–1933 British
International Pictures |
Station Road | |||
1928–1934 Blattner |
1928–1934 Whitehall |
Imperial Place
| ||
1929–1936 British and Dominions'
Imperial | ||||
1933–1969 Associated British Picture Corporation | ||||
1934–1939 Rock |
1934–1935 Consolidated |
Elstree Way (north side) | ||
1935–1937 J.H. |
1935–1944 Amalgamated | |||
1937–1950 M.P. | ||||
1939–1953 British National
Films | ||||
1944–1970 MGM-British
| ||||
1950–1957 Gate | ||||
1953–1958 National (a.k.a. Fairbanks )
| ||||
Danziger | ||||
1956–1965 New Elstree | ||||
1958–1981 ATV | ||||
1969–1970 EMI
| ||||
1970–1973 EMI-MGM
|
||||
1973–1979 EMI
| ||||
1979–1986 Thorn-EMI | ||||
1982–1983 Central TV
| ||||
1984–present BBC Elstree Centre | ||||
1986–1988 Cannon
| ||||
1988–1996 Goldcrest |
Elstree Way (south side) | |||
1993–2006 Millennium | ||||
1996–2007 Elstree Film & TV | ||||
2007–2008 Elstree Film | ||||
2008–present Elstree Studios |
2009–present Studio 2000 | |||
Rowley Lane | ||||
2023–present (under construction) Sky Studios Elstree |
See also
- List of British film studios
- The Elstree Project, an oral history project capturing stories from crew members who have worked at the studios in Elstree and Borehamwood
- "Elstree" (song)
- Lists of productions shot at each of the Elstree studios:
- List of films and television shows shot at Elstree Studios
- List of films and television shows shot at Clarendon Road Studios, Elstree
- Gate Studios § Films shot at the studios
- British and Dominions Imperial Studios § Films shot at Imperial Studios
- List of films shot at MGM-British Studios, Elstree
- New Elstree Studios § List of films shot at New Elstree Studios
References
- ^ Purvis, Georg (2007). Queen: Complete Works. Reynolds & Hearn. p. 123.
- OL 11956311M.
- ^ Barfe Turned Out Nice Again, p.108
- ^ Brian Jay Jones Jim Henson: The Biography, London: Random House, 2013, p.126
- ISBN 9780810880269.
- ^ Warren, p. 71
- ^ a b c d Warren, p.76
- ^ Batty D. Bryan Forbes, acclaimed film director, dies aged 86. The Guardian. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013
- ^ "Stepford Wives film director Bryan Forbes dies aged 86". BBC News. BBC. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ Edwards, Richard (12 September 2018). "PRODUCTION DIARY #5: Paul Welsh MBE & the Campaign He Led to Save Elstree Studios in Late 90s". RABBIT & SNAIL. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Jake Bickerton (7 August 2012). "News & Comments". Televisual. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- ^ "Television Centre return delayed by two years". BBC News. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Patricia Warren British Film Studios: An Illustrated History, London: B. T. Batsford, 2001, pp. 26, 28
- ^ "British Film Studios at Elstree Destroyed in $2,250,000 Blaze". Calgary Daily Herald. 10 February 1936. p. 9.
- ^ "MGM Buy Film Studios at Elstree". The Guardian. 18 April 1944. p. 5.
- ^ Warren, p.85
- ^ a b Tise Vahimagi "Danzigers, The", BFI screenonline
- ^ "From B-movies into b-roads". Borehamwood and Elstree Times. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ a b Kempton, Martin. "Millennium Studios / Studio 2000 Borehamwood". TV Studio History. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ "Millennium Studios – The Story". Millennium Studios. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Welcome to Studio 2000". Studio 2000. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Sky to develop major new studio at Elstree". www.skygroup.sky. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Sky to build huge new Elstree film studio". BBC News. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (3 December 2019). "Sky to create 2,000 jobs with new Elstree TV and film studio". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Hazlegreaves, Steph (3 December 2019). "Sky reveals plans to develop 32-acre studio at Elstree". Planning, BIM & Construction Today. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Louis, Nathan (22 June 2022). "Sky Studios Elstree unveils expansion plans for Borehamwood site". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Davies, Alan (5 April 2021). "Plans for 'largest film studio in the UK' revealed for Hertfordshire". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
Sources
- Leslie Banks, The Elstree Story: Twenty-One Years of Film-Making. Clarke and Cockeran. 88 pages. With contributions by Douglas Fairbanks, Alfred Hitchcock, Ralph Richardson, Victory Saville, Googie Withers, Anna Neagle and John Mills.
- Castle, Stephen; Brooks, William (1988). The Book of Elstree & Boreham Wood. Buckingham, England: Barracuda Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0-86023-406-7.
- Peecher, John Phillip (1983) The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. ISBN 0-345-31235-X.
- Warren, Patricia (1983). Elstree: The British Hollywood. Columbus Books: London, ISBN 0-86287-446-7.
- Warren, Patricia, (1983). British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. ISBN 0-7134-8644-9.
- Welsh, Paul (1996). Elstree Film & Television Festival Programme. Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council.
External links
- The Elstree Project – "Oral history interviews, showcasing Elstree's rich cultural filmmaking heritage