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The First Welsh Oscar

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Fourteen

Ribbon of Dreams

If I was to ask you who was the first Welsh actor to win an Oscar you'd probably say Anthony Hopkins (won two) or Richard Burton (nominated seven times - never won). But you'd be wrong because the first was won by Alfred Reginald Jones in 1946. 'Who he?' I hear you ask. Much better known as Ray Milland, he was born in Neath and started his career as an extra in two films at Elstree Studios in 1928.  He soon progressed to a leading role in The Flying Scotsman in 1929. Snapped up by MGM he moved to Hollywood in 1930 and never looked back. He won his Oscar for The Lost Weekend in 1945.

Here he remembers those early days in Elstree :

"Yes, I remember Elstree. Good Lord, I should. It was the first studio I ever saw! It was the first place I saw Joe Grossman - and the first place I ever saw an actor in broad daylight! It was the first place I ever did any acting - if you could call it that in those days.  It was there I got my first contract... And that's where I received my first fan letter. I still have it.

I remember the first picture star I worked with. Her name was Pauline Johnson.  It was the first place I met Hitchcock and Harry Lachman. I never got over it. I don't think I ever will. They're here in Hollywood with me as I write. Only Hitch is a hundred pounds lighter, and Lachman's mood is much lighter!

Last summer (1947) I bumped into Joe Grossman again - but he is still the same.  Nineteen years have made no difference to him, but I hope Elstree has changed since that first day when three pictures were shooting on the same stage : The Manxman with Carl Brisson; Blackmail with Anny Ondra; and the picture that I was in, The Flying Scotsman. We couldn't hear one another think. We went back a couple of months later and remade them with sound and dialogue. Yes, I remember Elstree.  I don't think I'll ever forget it."
Some film historians say that The Flying Scotsman was the first British talkie, and not Blackmail.

Ray Milland (1907 to 1986) made over 170 films and tv shows.

A Coach From Clacton

With only a dozen or so viewing days left for our current exhibition, it was great to host a coach of EastEnders fans on Saturday all the way from Clacton. We managed to squeeze them into our space, though not all 50 at once! Lots of selfies were taken and many a "Get Outta My Pub" quotes were heard.  Thanks for coming all this way everyone - hoped you enjoyed the visit!

Woman In A Dressing Gown

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Thirteen

Ribbon of Dreams

This week we dip into the mid-1950s and a film that caught my eye while watching an excellent history of Elstree made by David Puttman. Once again Elstree was in the vanguard of film history. Woman In A Dressing Gown was one of the first of the 'socially realistic dramas' that were to dominate British films for the rest of the decade and into the sixties. Filmed in 1956 and released in 1957, it was written by Ted Willis of Dixon Of Dock Green fame, and directed by the experienced J Lee Thompson, the film explored a tragic relationship. This was the first time a lower-middle or working class family had been the subject of such a film, and the producer Frank Godwin called it 'the first kitchen sink movie'.

Anthony Quayle and Yvonne Mitchell play the husband and wife. She is very disorganised and always in her dressing gown, while he is having an affair with a much younger work colleague played by the luminous Sylvia Syms. Things go from bad to worse, but you'll have to see the film to find out how it all turns out - one reviewer thought the ending 'rings entirely false'. No doubt it will be shown on TPTV if it hasn't already. The film earned some awards at the Berlin Film Festival and a nomination for a BAFTA for Sylvia Syms.  Once again Elstree was in the forefront.

100 Years of Promo

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Twelve

Ribbon of Dreams

Elstree Studios has always promoted itself in any way possible. After all it needs the business to keep on coming through the stages, and to keep its name in the forefront for any aspiring producers and directors.  Here are a couple of examples of adverts and flyers - one from 1932 and one from the last few years. Pretty easy to tell the recent flyer.

That Other Fire

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Eleven

Ribbon of Dreams

In Part Four of this series we showed the results of the devastating fire of 1936 which changed the direction of the film industry in Borehamwood.  But did you know there was another serious studio fire not that long ago?  Thanks to the Paul Welsh Archive we find out that on the evening of Wednesday 24th January 1979 a fire in Studio 3 broke out, and all the studio buildings were evacuated. Being filmed at the time were Star Wars - The Empire Fights Back, and The Shining.  15 fire appliances and 100 firemen were called for from Hertfordshire and London, including an 85 ft. hydraulic platform from St Albans.  The fire got into the roof of Studio 3 which was gutted, but the rest of the studios were saved. 

Although there were no major actors at the studios - filming having finished for the day - director Stanley Kubrick watched as some of the sets for The Shining were destroyed, including the Overlook Hotel entrance and staircase.  He was working next door in Studio 4 at the time.   Overall the damage was estimated at £1∙5 million (nearly £10 million today). No-one was sure what caused the fire.

Charles Laughton's New Venture

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Ten

In 1937 Charles Laughton was filming I, Claudius at Denham for Alexander Korda when the filming was cancelled, and he was free to explore a new venture with producer Eric Pommer. Laughton and Korda had had a huge worldwide hit in 1933 with The Private Life Of Henry VIII which was filmed in the B & D studios at Elstree, and Laughton won the Oscar for his performance.  But now, Laughton and Pommer formed Mayflower Pictures to create three films for ABPC, Vessel of Wrath, St. Martin's Lane and Jamaica Inn.

The Registered Films List from mid-1937 from The Paul Welsh Archive proudly advertises this new collaboration. Laughton was on a high from successes in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Les Miserables, and Mutiny on the Bounty with Clark Gable, and these three new films seemed a natural fit. Unfortunately they weren't as successful as his previous films, and Mayflower was declared bankrupt a couple of years later. Laughton was rescued by RKO who gave him the role of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939. ("The bells, the bells"). Then the war intervened.

Laughton remembered his time at Elstree : "I always think of Elstree as the great taking off place, the starting point for all of us who were to make contact with the films in the British industry, and then go on from there to other work elsewhere.  How could one list all those one remembers from Elstree, Joe Grossman and the rest? Or even just those who got their starts there? One of the latter was Maureen O'Hara, to whom I had occasion to give her first day's film work in Jamaica Inn, and a cold and snowy day it was, as I recall..."

The Studio And The War

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Nine

Between 1941 and 1948 only one film was shot in the studios.  Although 8 films had been produced in 1940, including the patriotic Old Mother Riley Joins Up which was shot in August 1939 and released in February 1940, Elstree closed down for the duration and after.  It wasn't until 1949 that production returned to pre-war levels.

The studios were occupied by the Royal Army Ordnance Corp and Pioneer Corps and so became targets for German bombers.  Good job that the activities at The Thatched Barn were secret, or a few bombs may well have gone that way. Thanks to an article from the Borehamwood Times from February 1995 that we found in The Paul Welsh Archive, we have an insight into the fire teams guarding Shenley Road and the studios.  Borehamwood resident Lillian Penny was the warden for Post 8 which covered Shenley Road. With her team of fellow volunteer wardens they were responsible for the safekeeping of the buildings along the road. Working by day making shells at Smiths Industries in Elstree Way, her shift as a warden was at night.

BIP received an unexploded device that landed in front of the building. "It didn't do any damage to the studios but the windows of the shops opposite were broken costing about £2,000" she remembered.

Interestingly, the article mentions that her father, Freddie Winter, was a stagehand at BIP from 1928, and was part of the studio fire brigade. He attended the major 1936 fire which gutted several studios - see Part Four of this series. We've had this photo of the brigade with leader Joe Grossman in our archive for many years so it's good to be able to name one of the fighters - see the caption to the photo below.

Star Wars - The Early Days

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Eight

We mentioned Star Wars a couple of weeks ago, and you can't really help it when talking about the Elstree Studio story. At the time in early 1976 George Lucas and Gary Kurtz had spent three years after their hit American Graffiti developing the film, and found Elstree had nine empty stages which were needed for all the interior sets. After filming for 2 to 3 weeks in Tunisia from March 22nd 1976, Elstree became the base for the film for the next few months.

Thanks to the Paul Welsh Archive, we have the original Press Releases sent out by Brian Doyle, the film's publicist. In one, the casting of Mark Hamill is announced in the role of "Luke Starkiller". Now there's a pub quiz question for you. Unfortunately the Releases aren't dated, but we can work out that the one concerning the Tunisian filming is from March 15th 1976, and explains that not all the casting is finished yet. Then we have one explaining that Sir Alec Guinness has been confirmed in the role of "Ben Kenobi" with his "lethal laser-sword" and will "have a long and awesome laser-sword-battle with Vader, the story's malevolent arch-villain".  No mention of Obi-Wan or Darth at this stage.  George Lucas was still developing the film down to the wire - this explains why many of those involved had little understanding of the film, and were dubious of its future.  Seems it turned out quite a significant film in the end.

The Anniversary and the Elstree Back Lot

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Seven

The great thing about 100 years of film-making history is that you can jump in and out at any point. Today we are in 1967, 40 plus years since Elstree was founded. Thanks to an ABC Press Release from the Paul Welsh Archive, we have the story of the making of The Anniversary in Elstree Studios.  Starring the great Bette Davis, ably accompanied by Sheila Hancock and Jack Hedley, the film was adapted from a stage play and was directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer films.

The story involved the building of a housing estate by Bette's deceased husband with some dubious cheapjack housing. Because local firms didn't want the filmmakers to use real houses in the area, a new estate was built from scratch on the Studio's back lot. The 2 bedroomed semis were laid out and cramped together. According to the press release they were 'much overpriced at £4, 950'! (About £120,000 today) - see our still from the film. The estate was so realistic that neighbours of the studios started worrying about their house prices.  Maybe you worked on the site? Let us know!

The film is a good starring role for Bette Davis' typical hard-faced matriach of three wayward sons, with plenty of over-acting from all concerned, and rates 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB. And the Back Lot was the real star of the film.

Thanks to ReelStreets for the photos : find all the locations for the film here - including Shenley Road and The Chantry in Barnet Lane

The Making Of A Thirties Film

100 Years of Elstree Studios - Part Six

It's easy to concentrate on recent happenings at Elstree Studios. Memories of film-making seem to begin at Star Wars and Indiana Jones these days. But when the Studios have been going for 100 years, there are many stories hidden away and ripe for exploration. Take this film from 1935 called I Give My Heart. One of the many 'quota quickies' filmed at Elstree, it did have some interesting features. Its stars such as Gitta Alpar, Patrick Waddington and Owen Nares are not known today, while its cinematographer, Claude Friese-Greene, was the son of film pioneer William Friese-Greene.  The director was Marcel Varnel who later made many comedy films for Gainsborough Pictures with Will Hay, Arthur Askey and George Formby.

Thanks to the Paul Welsh Archive we have a copy of Weekly Illustrated from July 1935 which features BTS shots of the making of the film in Elstree. This scene was recreating one of the first animal balloon flights in 1783 by the Montgolfier Brothers, while Louis XV and Madame du Barry looked on. The scriptwriters happily ignored the fact that Louis had died in 1774. Never mind, the shots below look like it was a fun outing for all. There is clip from the film on YouTube.