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49-729: British Lion was founded in November 1927 by Sam W. Smith (brother of Herbert Smith ). By the end of the Second World War the company had released over 55 films, including In Which We Serve (1942), for which writer/producer Noël Coward received an Academy Award . It is best known for the period when it was managed by Sir Alexander Korda . Korda's company London Films bought the controlling interest in British Lion in 1946 and then acquired Shepperton Studios , basing its productions there. In 1949, due to financial problems,

98-482: A Horse , Around the Town , Home from Home and in 1939, All at Sea . At this time he was the production supervisor at Beaconsfield Studios. Smith often kept his name off the credits. As Executive in charge of Production, many films he controlled while at Denham Studios were uncredited, such as Henry V and Hamlet both with Laurence Olivier . In 1956 Smith was called by Sidney Box , who asked if he would make

147-704: A box office success. Also popular were Geordie (1955), The Green Man (1956), The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) and Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957). The Boultings made Josephine and Men (1955), Private's Progress (1956) (a big hit), Brothers in Law (1957) and Lucky Jim (1957). Other British Lion films from this period included John and Julie , Stolen Assignment (both 1955), Charley Moon , A Hill in Korea (both 1956), My Teenage Daughter (1956; from Wilcox), The Birthday Present (1957), Orders to Kill , The Salvage Gang , Behind

196-444: A chance was given to see human beings at their best and at their worst. I knew kindness as well as cruelty, understanding as well as brutality. My comrades, who did far more than I and suffered far more profoundly, are not here to speak. It is to their memory that this film has been made and I would like it to be a window through which may be seen those very gallant women with whom I had the honour to serve." Odette Churchill The film

245-549: A dividend; Shepperton Studios also announced a profit of £114,032, compared to £54,298 the previous year. Other films from this period included The Wind of Change (1961), Double Bunk (1961), Spare the Rod (1961), Offbeat (1961), and A Matter of Choice (1963). In March 1963, the company had profits of £468,910. In December 1963, the Conservative government bought a controlling interest in British Lion by forcing

294-475: A movie about Rock 'n' Roll . This led to The Tommy Steele Story , with music by Lionel Bart – his first movie score. Smith followed up with television series 6.5 Special , featuring pop stars of the period. His last film was Too Young to Love with Thomas Mitchell in 1960. He died on 4 February 1986 in Ramsgate , Kent. Odette (1950 film) Odette is a 1950 British war film based on

343-605: A one sixth interest from Walter Reade), the Boultings (who bought out a one eighth holding once owned by Tiberian Films), Launder and Gilliat, and Lord Goodman, with institutional investors owning the rest. In December 1968, British Lion Holdings went public with the Boulting Brothers on its board. The company made a profit that year of £247,000, its releases including the Boulting's Twisted Nerve (1968). In 1969,

392-566: A profit of £225,455. Wilcox was the most commercially successful filmmaker at British Lion at this stage, his movies including The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947), Spring in Park Lane (1948), Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948) and Maytime in Mayfair (1949). Black had been enormously successful at Gainsborough Pictures but died after only making one film for British Lion, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), directed by Kimmings, which

441-890: A quota of British-made films shown in cinemas in the UK. It also had a distribution deal with Republic Pictures . In 1944 the company reported a profit of £101,000. It acquired 50% of the Worton Hall studio in Isleworth. Korda joined with British Lion in 1945. He sold his shares in United Artists to buy into the company. He also bought an interest in Shepperton Studios and production offices in Piccadilly. British Lion distributed films made by Korda's London Films . He signed three production groups to make films for

490-491: A syndicate acquired a controlling interest in the company from the National Film Finance Corporation for $ 4,452,000 (£1.6 million). This syndicate consisted of Michael Balcon, Woodfall Films ( Tony Richardson and John Osborne ), the Boultings, Launder and Gilliat, Joseph Janni and John Schlesinger , and Walter Reade. It was intended that there should be five different production units within

539-408: Is related to Winston Churchill and that she was the brains of the network, while he was a playboy dilettante, and he is merely imprisoned. With Germany invaded and collapsing, on 16 April 1945, the camp commandant is ordered to execute his prisoners, but he orders a subordinate to see to Odette's safety. When the inmates learn that Hitler is dead, they riot. A guard comes for Odette; she believes she

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588-576: Is sent to France. She travels to Cannes , where she is met by Captain Peter Churchill, her superior. She also meets "Arnaud" ( Adolphe Rabinovitch ), another agent. Her first assignment is to go to Marseilles to pick up plans for the docks there. Barely warned in time of a raid organized by Abwehr Colonel Henri ( Hugo Bleicher ) in Cannes, Odette, Peter and Arnaud are forced to relocate to Annecy , where they rendezvous with Jacques. Learning of

637-547: Is to be executed, but the commandant instead takes her to the advancing Americans, believing another of her lies, that she is Peter's wife and therefore related to the British Prime Minister. Back in England, she is reunited with Peter. The end of the film contains a title card saying as follows: "It is with a sense of deep humility that I allow my personal story to be told. I am a very ordinary woman to whom

686-720: The Maquis , Peter requests arms, medicines, etc. for them. He is then recalled to London. A large airdrop of supplies is arranged. Later, however, Henri finds Odette in Annecy. From a captured agent, he has learned all about Odette's network and claims that he and others, disaffected with Hitler, wish to make contact with the British. However, she suspects otherwise and orders the other agents to disperse. Shortly after Peter returns to France, she and Peter are captured in Annecy by Henri and eventually taken to Fresnes Prison , near Paris; Arnauld

735-589: The National Film Finance Corporation to monitor that investment and loan money to other producers. The entire $ 9 million would be lost. Korda stepped down as managing director to become an adviser. Arthur Jarratt was appointed managing director. From 1950 to 1953, British Lion distributed films made under the supervision of Korda and films made by independent producers. In 1950, the NFFC loaned £500,000 to British Lion. The following year it

784-596: The Bride (1958), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), and A French Mistress (1960), and had considerable success with I'm All Right Jack (1959) starring Sellers. They followed it with Suspect (1960). Other movies from British Lion at this time included Expresso Bongo (1959), Subway in the Sky (1959), Make Mine a Million (1959), Model for Murder (1959), Honeymoon (1959; from Michael Powell ), Jet Storm (1959), Cone of Silence (1960), Light Up

833-481: The Bride , Neptune's Daughter , The Dancing Years , Red Light , Rogues of Sherwood Forest , Fancy Pants , Copper Canyon , State Secret , The Cure for Love , My Foolish Heart , Stromboli , Cheaper by the Dozen , Pinky , Three Came Home , Broken Arrow and The Black Rose . Wilcox later said it was his most profitable film. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther said that

882-503: The Bride , Sally Bishop , The Ringer and King of the Ritz . He was an assistant director on five films between 1930 and 1933, before the first 13 for which he was director (the last of them in 1940). Smith started to direct in 1930 with On The Air , In Town Tonight , Soft Lights and Sweet Music , Calling all Stars , It's a Grand Old World , Leave it to Me , and He's Got Everything , In 1938, he directed I've Got

931-645: The Islands (1951) and The Man Between (1953). Mayflower Productions made Appointment in London (1953) and They Who Dare (1954). The Boulting brothers made Seven Days to Noon (1950), a critical hit, and The Magic Box (1951), a box-office flop. In 1954, the NFFC loaned British Lion £1 million. In 1955, it loaned a further £969,000. The company suffered from the commercial failure of several films, in particular The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan and The Beggar's Opera (both 1953). In June 1954,

980-525: The Mask , and The Solitary Child (all 1958). In 1956, the Conservative government invested an extra $ 1.68 million in the company and lost half of that within two years. In March 1958, five producers were invited to run it with the intention of restoring British Lion's fortunes, and then, eventually, selling it back to the public. The producers invited were Launder and Gilliat, John and Roy Boulting and James Woolf . David Kingsley, former managing director of

1029-498: The NFFC it had lost its entire share capital of £1,208,000 and a substantial part of its government loan of £3 million. The NFFC made a reported loss of £1 million (US$ 2.8 million). In June 1954, the Conservative government effectively bailed out the company by placing it in receivership. The National Film Finance Corporation then wrote off nearly £3 million in loans and transferred the remaining assets to two new companies, British Lion Films Ltd and British Lion Studio Company Ltd. When

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1078-412: The NFFC, was appointed managing director and David Collins was appointed chairman. The NFFC had voting control and £600,000 in shares (at £1 per share). The producers were allowed to buy 180,000 deferred shares. James Woolf eventually retired, but the other producers formed the core of operations who turned around British Lion's performance. The government invested an extra $ 1.8 million. The new management

1127-412: The Sky! (1960) and The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960). The company also partnered with Bryanston Films to distribute such films as The Entertainer (1960), which was a commercial disappointment, and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), a huge hit. In March 1960, British Lion recorded a profit of £126,771. The following year this was £318,285, then £426,098, enabling the company to pay

1176-457: The award, and the only woman who has been awarded it while still alive. Anna Neagle plays Odette Sansom and Trevor Howard plays Peter Churchill , the British agent she mainly worked with and married after the war. Peter Ustinov plays their Jewish radio operator Alex Rabinovitch, Cr de Guerre, OBE, MiD . Colonel Maurice Buckmaster , who was head of the SOE 's French Section , played himself in

1225-546: The company accepted a loan from the National Film Finance Corporation . Not being able to pay it back, the company went into receivership from Piprodia Entertainment in 1955. As a result, British Lion Films Ltd. was formed as a distribution company in January 1955, with the Boulting brothers , Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat as directors. Until 1976 their distributor filmography included 155 films. British Lion Films Ltd

1274-462: The company and made The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950, a particular success), State Secret (1950), Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), Folly to Be Wise (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953, a flop) and The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954, a big hit). The company had success with The Wooden Horse (1950). Joseph Janni made Honeymoon Deferred (1951). Carol Reed had some box office disappointments with Outcast of

1323-521: The company announced a half yearly jump of profits from £82,000 to £218,000, mostly due to the strong box office performances of Morgan and The Great St Trinians Train Robbery / The Boulting's The Family Way (1966) was the only film made in Britain over a 12-month period financed entirely by British capital. In October 1967, five-sixths of the company was owned by Max Rayne (who recently bought

1372-464: The company made a profit of £575,679. The British industry suffered a crisis in the late 1960s due to a combination of factors, particularly the withdrawal of American film money from the UK, reduced funding for the NFFC and a decline in the cinema-going audience. British Lion attempted to diversify into other areas. Around £500,000 was spent on extra equipment to be hired to British television companies, only to discover an over-supply of such equipment on

1421-489: The company was reorganised, Korda was asked who should take over running. Korda replied, "This is a very difficult problem. You see, I don't grow on trees." Korda succeeded in raising fresh finance before dying in January 1956. In January 1955, Launder, Gilliat and the Boulting brothers formed a new company, British Lion Films Ltd., which took over the running of Shepperton as well as British Lion's distribution business. They released The Constant Husband (1955) which became

1470-515: The company would be Endless Night (1972) with Hayley Mills . For the year ended March 1971, the company made a profit of £137,273. In November 1971, British Lion, then valued £2.7 million, attempted a take over of the Star Cinema chain, valued £9.2 million. The bid was unsuccessful. Herbert Smith (producer) Herbert Smith (30 June 1901 – 3 February 1986) was a British film producer and director. He produced 69 films (including

1519-525: The company. Several months later, the company started making movies again, such as Joey Boy (1965) from Launder/Gilliat, Rotten to the Core (1965) from the Boultings, and Modesty Blaise . Modesty Blaise ended up being taken over by 20th Century Fox . In August 1965, the company announced that pretax profits fell from £280,543 to £194,741. In September 1965, Lord Goodman of the Arts Council

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1568-411: The company: Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle , Anthony Kimmins and Edward Black . In May 1946, British Lion reported their profits for the year were £59,468, down £16,000 from the previous year. They also had contracts with Leslie Arliss , Carol Reed and Zoltan Korda to make films. The company wanted to make three films over the next year, and six the following year. In 1947, the company reported

1617-546: The end of the film to get back to normal, she was more upset by doing that film than I was reliving the experience." Sansom said that she lobbied intensely for the film not to be made in Hollywood, for fear that it would be fictionalised, and that she was pleased by the result. It premiered at a Royal Command Film Performance before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the Plaza Cinema, London on 6 June 1950. The film

1666-409: The film portrays "a pretty punk secret agent" who "lacks the wit or caution to avoid a most obvious trap that is set for her" by Henri. Crowther wrote that "the point of the picture, so far as we can see, is to get Miss Neagle into prison, as quickly as possible, so she can suffer elaborately. And this she does, like the stalwart and noble lady-actress that she is. For the rest of the picture, Miss Neagle

1715-609: The film, as did Paddy Sproule, another FANY female SOE agent. In response to a radio broadcast request for photographs of France, mother of three Odette Sansom sends a letter to the Admiralty, but an addressing mistake brings her to the attention of the Special Operations Executive , who need French people to go back to their homeland as espionage agents. She completes her training in September 1942 and

1764-510: The majority of his director-credited films), for Denham Film Studios and British Lion Films from 1933 to 1963, including the war film They Were Not Divided in 1950. He was born on 30 June 1901 in London. He started in production with G.B. Samuelson. He joined Paramount British for the production of The Officer's Mess . In 1932 went to work for his elder brother Sam at British Lion Films . He served as assistant director on The Frightened Lady , The Calendar , Whiteface , There Goes

1813-473: The market. At attempt to enter the world of publishing was unsuccessful. They bought the cinema advertising business Pearl & Dean in August 1970, but it failed to make major profits. In January 1970, John Boulting was optimistic about the company but wanted an injection of government money of £5 million. In 1970, Gilliat stepped down as chairman of Shepperton Studios to focus on filmmaking. His last film for

1862-412: The private directors either to sell their interest in the company (for $ 420,000 for shares they bought for $ 5,000), or to pay the government by offering $ 4.2 million (£1.6 million). The argument was the company should be run privately not by the government. A variety of buyers were interested, including Sir Michael Balcon , Lew Grade , Sydney Box , Morecambe and Wise and Sam Spiegel . The forced sale

1911-472: The real Odette suggested Neagle play her, Neagle agreed. Both Odette Sansom (by then Odette Churchill) and Peter Churchill served as technical advisors during the filming, and the film ends with a written message from Odette herself. Sansom and Neagle spent considerable time in France, visiting locales associated with the story. Sansom later said that Neagle "was absolutely into it. In fact it took one year after

1960-604: The true story of Special Operations Executive French agent, Odette Sansom , living in England, who was captured by the Germans in 1943, condemned to death and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp to be executed. However, against all odds she survived the war and testified against the prison guards at the Hamburg Ravensbrück trials . She was awarded the George Cross in 1946; the first woman ever to receive

2009-417: Was a huge flop. Carol Reed had two big successes with The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949). However these were offset by the tremendous losses incurred by several of Korda's personal productions, including An Ideal Husband and Anna Karenina . Korda borrowed £250,000 from British Electric Traction. In 1949, the British government loaned British Lion $ 9 million (£3 million) and established

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2058-461: Was appointed chairman. The board consisted of Balcon, Roy Boulting, David Kingsley, Gilliatt, Richardson and Peter Cooper. The board of British Lion asked for the government to buy the company back but this was refused. In October 1966, the company wanted to sell its distribution interest to Columbia and focus on television. In late 1966 Sir Michael Balcon led a take over attempt of the company. However, by December this had been rejected. That month

2107-502: Was away when the hotel where they were staying was raided. Odette is tortured by the Gestapo, but does not break and is sentenced to death. An apologetic Henri visits her; at her request, he arranges for her to see Peter one last time, though she hides her fate from him. She is then taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp on 26 July 1944 and immediately placed in solitary confinement. The Germans believe Odette's lies about Peter, that he

2156-628: Was controversial because management of British Lion was generally held to have been successful and profitable, and the company was a vital source of locally financed British films at a time when the industry was dominated by American finance and two cinema chains, Rank and ABC . The original directors made a capital gain of £741,000. The company was going to be sold to Sydney Box, who was associated with Rank. Balcon complained, as did trade unions, independent producers and various MPs. Films from this period included The Comedy Man , Ring of Spies , and Do You Know This Voice? (all 1964). In March 1964,

2205-415: Was directed by Herbert Wilcox , and the screenplay by Warren Chetham-Strode was based on Jerrard Tickell 's non-fiction book Odette: The Story of a British Agent . It was jointly produced by the husband and wife team Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle. Neagle was originally reluctant to play the role so Wilcox offered it to Michèle Morgan and Ingrid Bergman , both of whom turned it down. Eventually when

2254-471: Was successful making over 80 films and paying back most of the $ 1.8 million. Launder and Gilliatt, who had made Fortune Is a Woman (1957) for Columbia, returned to British Lion to make Left Right and Centre (1959). Although The Bridal Path (1959) was a disappointment, they had a series of successful comedies, including The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1961) and Only Two Can Play (1962) with Peter Sellers. The Boulting brothers made Happy Is

2303-420: Was taken over by EMI Films in 1976. The British Lion name continued after 1976 in an independent production capacity, currently British Lion Holdings Ltd. A British Lion films was established in 1918 and operated for a number of years before going broke. It revived in 1927 under the chairmanship of Edgar Wallace . In the 1930s, British Lion focused on distributing " quota quickies ", films produced to fulfill

2352-571: Was the fourth most popular movie at the British box office in 1950. According to Kinematograph Weekly the 'biggest winners' at the box office in 1950 Britain were The Blue Lamp , The Happiest Days of Your Life , Annie Get Your Gun , The Wooden Horse , Treasure Island and Odette , with "runners up" being Stage Fright , White Heat , They Were Not Divided , Trio , Morning Departure , Destination Moon , Sands of Iwo Jima , Little Women , The Forsythe Saga , Father of

2401-562: Was £500,000. Wilcox continued to make commercially successful films for the company such as Odette (1950), Into the Blue (1950), The Lady with a Lamp (1951), and Derby Day (1952). Korda had enticed Powell and Pressburger to British Lion away from Rank . Their films were critically acclaimed but less successful at the box office: The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth , The Elusive Pimpernel (both 1950), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). Launder and Gilliat joined

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