Ealing Studios

For the film, see Ealing Comedy (film). For the film comedies see Ealing Comedies.

Ealing Studios

Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London and is officially the oldest film studio in the world and was purposely built for the use of sound in early British films.

History

The site had been previously occupied by Will Barker Studios from 1896, but was acquired by theatre producer Basil Dean's newly-formed production company 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), Undercover (film) (1943), 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.

The BBC bought the studios in 1955, though productions bearing the Ealing name continued to be made at the MGM studio at Elstree for around two years. The BBC used the facilities at Ealing for filmed inserts where the electronic studio could not be used, such as for the excavation site in Quatermass and the Pit (1958-59), "The White Rabbit" (TV Miniseries, 1967)Colditz(1972-74) and the communal sequences in Porridge (1974-77). Programmes wholly shot on film were made there also, such as The Singing Detective (1986) and Fortunes of War (1987).

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 turn out theatrical films again, such as Lucky Break (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and Valiant (2005). Shooting has also just finished on a sequel to the highly rated 2005 horror film The Descent.

Ealing Studios films

Documentaries

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
• An Ungentlemanly Act (1992)

Later films

• An Ideal Husband (1999)
• Notting Hill (1999)
• A Christmas Carol (1999)
• Lucky Break (2001)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)
• Valiant (2005)
• I Want Candy (2007)
• St Trinian's (2007)
• St. Trinian's, The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009)
• Dorian Gray (2009)

Independent TV

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

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

External links

• Ealing Studios
• Ealing Studios at screenonline.org.uk

References

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

Coordinates: 51°30′32″N 0°18′26″W / 51.509016°N 0.307258°W / 51.509016; -0.307258