The Highbury Studios were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

located in

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

which operated from 1937 until 1956. The studios were constructed by the producer Maurice J. Wilson. During its early years, the studio was hired out to

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

production companies.

Credits

*'' Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard''

Highbury Productions

Following the Second World War, Highbury was acquired by the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

which used it to make low-budget second features featuring the company's rising actors. The studio was run by the producer

John Croydon John Croydon (3 November 1907 – February 1994) was a British film producer and Unit production manager, production manager. He was employed at Ealing Studios for a number of years during the Michael Balcon era. He then moved to Highbury Studio ...

, who had previously worked at

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

. Its aim was to make 50 minute "curtain raisers" for Rank's features. John Croydon was head of production. It frequently used members of Rank's Company of Youth. In December 1948 the studio operation was shut down as part of a series of cuts made throughout the Rank Organisation, which had suffered heavy financial losses.

Select credits

*''

A Song for Tomorrow ''A Song for Tomorrow'' is a 1948 second feature drama film directed by Terence Fisher in his directorial debut. It stars Evelyn Maccabe and Ralph Michael. The screenplay concerns a World War II fighter pilot who suffers amnesia. It was made at ...

'' (1948) – directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

*''

Trouble in the Air ''Trouble in the Air'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Freddie Frinton, Jimmy Edwards and Bill Owen.Chibnall & MacFarlane p. It was made at Highbury Studios as a second feature. The film's sets were desig ...

'' (1948) *''

Penny and the Pownall Case ''Penny and the Pownall Case'' is a 1948 British second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended fo ...

'' (1948) – with Diana Dors, Christopher Lee *''

Colonel Bogey The "Colonel Bogey March" is a Music of the United Kingdom, British March (music), march that was composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945) (pen name Kenneth J. Alford), a British Army bandmaster who later became the director ...

'' (1948) – directed by Terence Fisher *''

To the Public Danger ''To the Public Danger'' is a 1948 British drama short film directed by Terence Fisher and produced by John Croydon. It stars Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts, and Frederick Piper. The film was made at Highbury Studios as a second featur ...

'' (1948) – directed by Fisher, with Dermot Walsh and Susan Shaw *'' Fly Away Peter'' (1948) *''

Love in Waiting ''Love in Waiting'' is a 1948 in film, 1948 British comedy film directed by Douglas Peirce, and starring David Tomlinson. It was made at Highbury Studios as a second feature for release by the Rank Organisation. Plot In a busy restaurant during ...

'' (1948) – with David Tomlinson *'' A Piece of Cake'' (1948) *'' Badger's Green'' (1949) *'' Stop the Merry-Go-Round'' (1952)

Later use

Occasional films were still made there by other companies, and it became increasingly used as a television studio. It made a number of commercials.

Bibliography

* Macnab, Geoffrey. ''J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry''. Routledge, 1994. * Warren, Patricia. ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History''. Batsford, 2001.

References

External links

Highbury Productions
at BFI
Highbury Productions
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

British film studios Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Highbury {{coord missing, London