42-597: The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore! (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Hue and Cry (1947)
84-412: A broader music hall tradition and had little in common with the later Ealing comedy films. Ealing made no comedy films at all in 1945 and 1946. T. E. B. Clarke wrote the screenplay for Hue and Cry (1947), about a group of schoolboys who confront a criminal gang, which proved to be a critical and commercial success. It was followed by three films with Celtic themes: Another Shore (1948), about
126-452: A detailed knowledge of electronics is essential, has, alternatively, been based at Wood Norton Hall , Evesham. With the BBC seeking to reduce costs and in particular studio facilities, a decision was taken to sell Ealing Studios on the open market. In 1993, a sale, for 6 million pounds, was agreed with BBRK Group Limited , a group of special effects businesses, chaired by David Malcolm Bill,
168-535: A film dubbing theatre and the Rank Film Laboratories at Denham (where a considerable quantity of BBC TV film programme content was processed and printed). The courses provided instruction to trainees, culminating in a written theory test, with each either being tailored to film photography, film sound or film editing skills for incoming trainees in these departments. The BBC Engineering Training Department, for training in video work and all aspects where
210-466: A former advertising art director. The BBC had inserted a buy-back clause so that in the event that BBRK (for whatever reasons) put the site up for sale then the BBC would have first option to purchase. In 1994, 18 months later, BBRK found it necessary to sell the site and the BBC repurchased the site and sold it on for £1.00 to the National Film and Television School , (NFTS). In mid-2000,
252-508: A gang of criminals rent a room from the elderly Mrs Wilberforce while they're pretending to be a string quintet looking for a space to practice. They plan to use the house to stage a robbery at nearby King's Cross railway station . On the brink of escape, they are thwarted by Mrs Wilberforce who discovers their true purpose. The gang agree that she has to be murdered before she can go to the police, but prove incapable of doing this, and begin turning on each other instead. Who Done It? (1956)
294-714: A physical sync cable to ensure the picture and sound ran in lock. In later years, Eclair NPR cameras replaced the Arriflex machines and Nagra tape recorders replaced the EMI units. The Nagras made use of 'crystal sync', a system that provided synchronisation between the camera and the tape recorder remotely, removing the need for a physical cable. There were also over 50 cutting rooms, equipped with Steenbeck editing tables, working on every genre except News and Current Affairs. The editing suites came complete with movable film trim bins and Acmade picsyncs (picture synchronisers) for synchronising
336-545: A rural setting, with a small community standing up for their local interests when their branch line is threatened with closure by British Railways in a forerunner of the Beeching cuts a decade later. The villagers join forces to keep their railway running, but face competition and sabotage from a rival bus company . Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953) follows a television set as it is passed on from one owner to another, causing dissatisfaction wherever it goes. The film serves as
378-517: A tenth of its productions. Conversely, Gainsborough Pictures is associated with the Gainsborough melodramas though it also produced many comedies. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, with Kind Hearts and Coronets ranked number 6, The Ladykillers ranked number 13 and The Lavender Hill Mob ranked number 17 (all three featuring Alec Guinness ) in
420-643: A variety of unexpected problems and diplomatic incidents with the British government. The Magnet (1950), set in Liverpool , is about a boy whose acquisition of a magnet leads to a series of adventures in the city. In The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) a timid bank clerk gets together an unlikely gang of accomplices to snatch a delivery of gold bullion . The armed robbery proves surprisingly successful, but things start to go wrong when they attempt to melt down their haul into model Eiffel Towers . The Man in
462-431: A warning about the effects of rapidly expanding television use. The Love Lottery (1954) sees a matinee idol Hollywood star, played by David Niven , agree to take part in a "love lottery ". The Maggie (1954) features a clash of culture and wills between a wily Scottish boat captain and a vigorous American business tycoon who has mistakenly contracted the boat to carry a cargo for him. In The Ladykillers (1955)
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#1732791012399504-436: Is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and Barnacle Bill (1957) the last, although some sources list Davy (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, and they also received international acclaim. In the immediate post-war years there was as yet no mood of cynicism: the bloodless revolution of 1945 had taken place, but I think our first desire
546-630: Is used by the Met Film School London, which has a purpose-built film school on the lot and use of the studios. ITV drama Downton Abbey filmed the kitchen and servants' quarters on stages 3A and 3B. The studio is also home to The Imaginarium , a production company and studio specializing in performance-capture , founded by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish . 51°30′33″N 0°18′27″W / 51.50917°N 0.30750°W / 51.50917; -0.30750 Gold bullion Too Many Requests If you report this error to
588-548: The BAFTA Award for Best British Film , and Guinness was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (his first Oscar nomination). Former North Korea leader Kim Jong Il was also said to have been a fan of Ealing comedies, inspired by their emphasis on team spirit and a mobilised proletariat. The Ealing Comedies , a documentary examining the films and featuring interviews with many key players,
630-598: The BFI Top 100 British films . These films were also an international success and received acclaim in the US. In 2005, Kind Hearts and Coronets was included in Time ' s list of the top 100 films since 1923. The Ladykillers won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . The Lavender Hill Mob won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay ,
672-589: The 35 mm projectors Kalee 21. The projection area was a long room (open plan) with projectors serving theatres E -J. There was a separate projection room in the same area for theatre K, which was 35 mm. There was also a dubbing theatre B, where 16 mm productions would be dubbed, and film dispatch and sound transfer suites, where the quarter-inch tape from Nagra tape machines would be transferred to 16 mm magnetic film. Film previews ran rushes, cutting copies, synch rushes, answer prints and transmission prints before going to telecine. Television Film Studios
714-710: The British period drama television series Downton Abbey were shot in Stage 2 of the studios. The Met Film School London operates on the site. The site was first occupied by Will Barker Studios from 1902. From 1929, it was acquired by theatre producer Basil Dean , who founded Associated Talking Pictures Ltd. He was joined on the management level by Stephen Courtauld and Reginald Baker . In 1931, they built Ealing Studios, transferring all production there in December of that year. When Dean left in 1938 to be replaced by Michael Balcon from MGM, about 60 films had been made at
756-603: The Dead and horror film The Descent (2005) were both shot on the lot. In 2007, Ealing revived the St Trinian's franchise, the second film, St. Trinian's, The Legend of Fritton's Gold was released in December 2009 and took over £7 million at the UK Box Office. Between these, Ealing released Easy Virtue (2008), directed by Stephan Elliott and Dorian Gray (2009), directed by Oliver Parker. Ealing Studios
798-491: The Studios for forty years from 1955 until 1995. Since 2000, Ealing Studios has resumed releasing films under its own name, including the revived St Trinian's franchise. In more recent times, films shot there include The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and Shaun of the Dead (2004), as well as The Theory of Everything (2014), The Imitation Game (2014), Burnt (2015) and Devs (2020). Interior scenes of
840-625: The White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since. It is the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world, and the current stages were opened for the use of sound in 1931. It is best known for a series of classic films produced in the post-WWII years, including Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955). The BBC owned and filmed at
882-418: The White Suit (1951) features the efforts of a zealous young scientist to create a new kind of clothing material that will never get dirty and never wear out – an invention that threatens the livelihoods of both big business and the trade unions who join forces to try to prevent the publication of this new discovery. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) echoes the theme of Passport to Pimlico , switched to
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#1732791012399924-455: The associated interview, at his table in the studio canteen he was surrounded by a large entourage of followers during the obligatory break period. In the 1980s, the BBC developed and expanded the use of electronic PSC (Portable Single Camera) location equipment and the use of 16 mm film on location gradually declined. The BBC also used the studio facilities at Ealing for filmed inserts where an electronic studio could not be used, such as for
966-710: The excavation site in Quatermass and the Pit (1958–59), The White Rabbit (TV mini-series, 1967), Colditz (1972–74) and the communal sequences in Porridge (1974–77). Programmes wholly shot on film were made there also, such as Alice in Wonderland (1966), The Singing Detective (1986), Portrait of a Marriage (1986), and Fortunes of War (1987). The BBC had preview theatres to run 16 mm sepmag film and 35 mm. The 16 mm machines were Bauer and
1008-539: The fantasies of a bored Dublin customs official, A Run for Your Money (1949), depicting the adventures of two inexperienced Welshmen in London for an important rugby international, and Whisky Galore! , (1949) about Scottish islanders during the Second World War who discover that a freighter with a large cargo of whisky has run aground. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) is a dark comedy in which
1050-628: The film and sound rushes, and working with the edited cutting copy. The latter was especially useful when splitting the sound track(s) and adding additional effects, atmospheres, music and commentary tracks in readiness for film dubbing. Many programmes came out of Ealing from Alistair Cooke 's America edited by Alan Tyrer and photographed by Kenneth MacMillan to Z-Cars edited by Shelia Tomlinson and many others and Cathy Come Home edited by Roy Watts, assisted by Roger Waugh. These programmes had post production support, viewing theatres, transfer suites, dubbing theatre, maintenance; all these staff and
1092-476: The film crews made up what was fondly known as the TFS Family. It was not unknown for major international film stars to visit the studios during BBC Television days. Shortly after The Eagle Has Landed (1976) was released in London on 31 March 1977, Michael Caine was present at the studios during his promotional tour for the film. Apart from the regular production staff and technicians involved with filming
1134-574: The previous decade. Two final comedies were released under the Ealing banner, but made at Elstree Studios . Barnacle Bill (1957) follows Captain Ambrose who, after leaving the navy, buys a run-down pier on the English seaside. Ambrose tries to revive the pier crossing swords with the local council who have a scheme to redevelop the entire seafront, personally enriching themselves while ruining him. Ambrose battles them by severing his connection with
1176-512: The rivalry between two brewing companies, one big and modernist, the other small and traditional, has been characterised as a prototype of later films. One of the few other films that can be seen as a direct precursor to the Ealing comedies is Saloon Bar (1940), in which the regulars of a public house join forces to clear the name of the barmaid's boyfriend who has been accused of murder. Other wartime comedies featuring actors such as Tommy Trinder , Will Hay and George Formby were generally in
1218-399: The shore, registering his pier as a ship under a foreign flag, and marketing it as a tourist destination for those too seasick to go on cruises. In Davy (1958) a promising entertainer tries to decide whether to strike out on his own, or stay with his family's struggling music hall act. No further comedies were made by Ealing, and after the thriller Siege of Pinchgut (1959), the brand
1260-439: The son of an impoverished branch of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family murders eight other members, all of whom are played by Alec Guinness , in order to inherit the family dukedom and gain revenge on his snobbish relations. In Passport to Pimlico (1949), a newly uncovered mediaeval charter causes the inhabitants of the London neighbourhood of Pimlico to create their own independent nation state and end rationing , leading to
1302-448: The studios as a base for location filming of dramas, documentaries and other programmes; shot on 16 mm and occasionally 35 mm film. Led by a director, these crews usually consisted of a Lighting Cameraman, a camera assistant, a lighting technician (known as a 'spark'), and a sound recordist. Initially these crews were equipped with Arriflex ST cameras and EMI L2 quarter inch tape recorders that had to be tethered to one another with
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1344-484: The studios on Ealing Green in 1955, for £300,000, though productions bearing the Ealing name continued to be made at the MGM British Studios at Borehamwood for two years. In 1958, Associated British Picture Corporation acquired Ealing’s parent company, Associated Talking Pictures, together with its extensive film library. The BBC based its Film Department at the studios; and at its peak 56 film crews used
1386-490: The studios were sold again to a consortium led by Fragile Films' Uri Fruchtmann and Barnaby Thompson, Harry Handelsman and John Kao , with an intention to revive the fortunes of the studio. Handelsman's Manhattan Loft Corporation redeveloped the 3.8-acre site to include the existing Grade II listed sound stages. The studio has since begun to produce theatrical films again, such as Lucky Break (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and Valiant (2005). Shaun of
1428-611: 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, the facility as ATP and then Ealing Studios produced many comedies with stars such as Gracie Fields , George Formby , Stanley Holloway and Will Hay , who had established their reputations in other spheres of entertainment. The company
1470-465: Was Hue and Cry (1947) and the last Barnacle Bill (1956). The best remembered Ealing films 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), The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Ladykillers (1955) are all regarded as classics of British cinema. The BBC bought
1512-765: Was absorbed into the wider Rank Organisation . The previous year Rank had released Rockets Galore! , a sequel to Whisky Galore! , but its production was unconnected with Ealing. Many of the films were built around a repertory group of actors, screenwriters, directors and technicians. Directors were Alexander Mackendrick , Charles Crichton , Robert Hamer , Charles Frend , Michael Relph and Henry Cornelius . Composers included Ernest Irving and Georges Auric . Notable actors who became prolific in these films included Stanley Holloway , Alec Guinness , Joan Greenwood , Cecil Parker , Moira Lister and Peggy Cummins . A number of actors also appeared frequently in smaller roles such as Edie Martin and Philip Stainton . In what
1554-579: 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 (1943), and San Demetrio London (1943). In 1945, the studio made its chiller compendium Dead of Night . In the post-war period, the company embarked on a series of 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
1596-556: Was also the home before, during and after 1977, of the BBC TV Film Technical & Training Section run by the Senior Assistant, Training, Frank A. Brown. Courses were based in a lecture room at the studios, typically lasting 6 weeks, and comprised both theoretical training, with extensive information-sheet documentation being provided, plus day excursions for practical experience sessions to film cutting rooms,
1638-502: Was his first major film role, Peter Sellers starred opposite Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers . In Kind Hearts and Coronets Guinness had played multiple roles (which Sellers would later emulate). Sellers stated that during filming he "used to watch Alec Guinness do everything, his rehearsals, his scenes, everything. He is my ideal... and my idol." Though Ealing Studios has come to be remembered for its comedies, they were only
1680-531: Was screened as part of BBC1 's Tuesday Documentary strand in April 1971. Ealing comedies were adapted for radio and broadcast over BBC Radio 4 , including Kind Hearts and Coronets in 1990 starring Robert Powell and Timothy Bateson and in 2007 starring Michael Kitchen and Harry Enfield . Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London , England. Will Barker bought
1722-536: Was the final comedy made at Ealing Studios, before it was sold to the BBC . It parodies detective fiction with a young man setting himself up in business as a private detective after receiving a windfall of £100. His confused efforts to solve a crime lead to his becoming entangled in Cold War espionage. The film was closer in style to traditional 1930s comedy, rather than the type of films Ealing had become known for over
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1764-469: Was to get rid of as many wartime restrictions as possible and get going. The country was tired of regulations and regimentation, and there was a mild anarchy in the air. In a sense our comedies were a reflection of this mood, a safety valve for our more anti-social impulses. Ealing Studios head Michael Balcon , 1969 Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. The 1939 film Cheer Boys Cheer , featuring
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