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Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough 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 located on the south bank of the
Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in e ...
, in Poole Street,
Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...
in the former
Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borough ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
between 1919 and 1949. The studios are closely associated with
Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...
which was based there for most of the studio's history. During its existence Islington worked closely with its sister Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush and many films were made partly at one studio and partly at the other. Amongst the films made at the studios were
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
thrillers,
Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''Oh ...
comedies and
Gainsborough Melodramas The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 which conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline British Film Ins ...
.


History

The studios were originally built as a
power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...
for the
Great Northern & City Railway The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branc ...
, and were acquired by the major American company
Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...
which wanted to set up a British subsidiary. The building was converted into a two-stage studio, and production began in 1920. During this era
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
made his start in films, when he was employed as an
intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
writer at Islington. In 1924 the Hollywood company sold off the studios which were bought by
Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...
's
Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...
. The company enjoyed some success turning out
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
s during the 1920s, at a time when other British companies were struggling. In the late 1920s Gainsborough merged with the larger
British Gaumont The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 1 ...
which owned the Lime Grove Studios. The conglomerate had ambitious plans to challenge Hollywood and produce more than twenty films a year. The larger Lime Grove complex was selected to make expensive films while Islington was designated the cheaper films, particularly comedies. However, during these years it served as an overflow studio and many films scheduled for Shepherd's Bush were made partly at Islington. During the Slump of 1937, British Gaumont shut down production. Although it considered giving up filmmaking completely, it was decided to continue
Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...
making slightly cheaper films. Shepherd's Bush was shut down and all production switched to Islington. The success of some of these late 1930s Islington productions such as ''
The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...
'' helped Gainsborough to keep in business. Unlike many other studios, Islington was not requisitioned when war broke out and production continued there, but the studio was temporarily closed because it was feared that a direct hit from a German bomb during an air raid would make the large chimney collapse. All production was switched to re-opened Lime Grove. Both studios came under the control of 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 ...
when it bought Gainsborough in 1941. Following the war, Islington were re-opened. In 1946
Betty Box Betty Evelyn Box, (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer, usually credited as Betty E. Box. Early life and career Born in Beckenham, Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journa ...
was placed in charge of the studios when her brother
Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...
was appointed by Rank to run Gainsborough Pictures. Over the next three years the studio turned out a large number of thrillers and comedies. In 1949 both Islington and Shepherd's Bush were closed when Rank concentrated production at Pinewood Studios. Today a block of flats stand where the studio used to be. The block's courtyard features a large sculpture of Alfred Hitchcock's head, by sculptor Anthony Donaldson.


See also

* List of Gainsborough Pictures films


References


Bibliography

* Macnab, Geoffrey. ''J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry''. Routledge, 1994. * Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain, 1939–1949''. Routledge, 1992. * Warren, Patricia. ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History''. Batsford, 2001.


External links


''London’s Hollywood: The Gainsborough Film Studio’s Silent Years''
article a
Brenton Film
{{coord, 51, 32, 6.2, N, 0, 5, 15.791, W, display=title British film studios Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney