Bryanston Films was a British film company formed 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 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

and Maxwell Setton in mid-1959 following the collapse of

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

. Neither a production studio, nor a distributor, it released independent British films through

British Lion Films British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was k ...

In operation until 1963, it was intended to be an unofficial group of independent film producers.

History

The Bryanston

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

was composed of 12 to 15 members who bought their way in by putting up £5,000; the equity of the group guaranteed distribution through British Lion and financing from the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 20), a ...

, banks, and American producers. In addition to Balcon and Setton, members included Kenneth Shipman, John Bryan,

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

Julian Wintle Julian Wintle (1913–1980) was a British film and TV producer who had haemophilia. He is best remembered for his work on TV's '' The Avengers'', where he oversaw the transition of the series to film, the introduction of Emma Peel, and the sub ...

and

Ronald Neame Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missin ...

. Alliance Films, Denham Laboratories and Lloyds Bank were also investors. Producer-investors were meant to "vet" each other's scripts. Ronald Neame said that:

The old complaint of producers has always been that the distributors tend to ask us for old formula films. Many of us have said this has forced us to be less enterprising than we would wish to be. But now the onus is on us. If I submit a script to Bryanston, I know it will be vetted by fellow producers whose opinions I respect.

The company started off with £1,000,000. It was followed a few months later by

Allied Film Makers Allied Film Makers was a shortlived British production company, formed in November 1959, which produced several films. Producer Sydney Box came up with the idea of forming a consortium of film-makers that would distribute the films they made. Box ...

which tried a similar scheeme through Rank. Bryanston made six films in its first year. In November 1961 the company announced it would go into co-production with

Seven Arts Productions Seven Arts Productions was a production company which made films for release by other studios. It was founded in 1957 by Eliot Hyman, Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. Formation The company was formed in 1957. It came out of the company, Associa ...

, to make ''Sammy Going South'' and ''Tom Jones''. Bryanston distributed several films made by Woodfall Film Productions but refused to produce ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'' (1963) in colour, the success of which could have established the company for a long time. United Artists stepped in to finance the film instead. Bryanston released its last film in 1964 and the company was sold to

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

in 1965. Balcon later became head of

Selected films

*'' The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959) *'' Cone of Silence'' (1960) *'' Light Up the Sky!'' (1960) *''

The Entertainer ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1960) *'' The Big Day'' (1960) *''

The Boy Who Stole a Million ''The Boy Who Stole a Million'' is a 1960 British comedy thriller film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Maurice Reyna and Virgílio Teixeira. Plot When he learns that his father needs to find 10,000 pesetas (approximately £60) to fi ...

'' (1960) *''

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' is the first novel by British author Alan Sillitoe and won the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. It was adapted by Sillitoe into the 1960 film of the same name starring Albert Finney, directed by ...

'' (1960) *''

Linda Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...

'' (1960) *'' Double Bunk'' (1961) *'' Two and Two Make Six'' (1961) *'' Girl on Approval'' (1961) *''

Dangerous Afternoon ''Dangerous Afternoon'' is a 1961 British 'B' crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Ruth Dunning and Nora Nicholson. The screenplay was by Brandon Fleming based on the 1951 play of the same title by Gerald Anstruther. Plot On ...

'' (1961) *'' The Wind of Change'' (1961) *'' Spare the Rod'' (1961) *'' The Impersonator'' (1961) *''

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was adapted into an award-winning film of the same title in 1961. Set in Salford in North West England, it tells the story of Jo, ...

'' (1961) *''

Dilemma A dilemma () is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but distinguishing the dilemma from other kinds of p ...

'' (1962) *''

Lunch Hour ''Lunch Hour'' is a 1962 British romantic comedy drama film directed by James Hill and starring Shirley Anne Field, Robert Stephens and Kay Walsh. Written by John Mortimer based on his 1960 one-act play of the same name, it is about a man and a ...

'' (1962) *''

Strongroom A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...

'' (1962) *''

The Quare Fellow ''The Quare Fellow'' is Brendan Behan's first play, first produced in 1954. The title is taken from a Hiberno-English pronunciation of ''queer''. Plot The play is set in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. The anti-hero of the play, The Quare Fellow, is n ...

'' (1962) *''

A Prize of Arms ''A Prize of Arms'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell. It was written by Kevin Kavanagh and Nicolas Roeg. Set in 1956, the film follows a criminal gang ...

'' (1962) *''

Don't Talk to Strange Men ''Don't Talk to Strange Men'' is a 1962 black and white British 'B' crime thriller film directed by Pat Jackson and starring Christina Gregg, Janina Faye, Cyril Raymond and Gillian Lind. The screenplay was by Gwen Cherrell. Plot A driver giv ...

'' (1962) *'' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962) *''

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and frantic agitation consistent with a fight-or-flight reaction. ...

'' (1963) *'' Calculated Risk'' (1963) *'' The Small World of Sammy Lee'' (1963) *''

Sammy Going South ''Sammy Going South'' (retitled ''A Boy Ten Feet Tall'' for its later US release) is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, photographed by Erwin Hillier and starring Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland and Consta ...

'' (1963) *''

A Place to Go ''A Place to Go'' is a 1963 British crime drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham and Michael Sarne. It was based on the 1961 novel ''Bethnal Green'' by Michael Fisher. Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in ...

'' (1963) *''

Girl in the Headlines ''Girl in the Headlines'' (also known as ''The Model Girl Murder Case'') is a 1963 British detective film directed by Michael Truman and starring Ian Hendry, Ronald Fraser, Jeremy Brett, and Jane Asher. It was written by Patrick Campbell and ...

'' (1963) *''

Ladies Who Do ''Ladies Who Do'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards and starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett. It was written by Michael Pertwee and John Bignall. Plot Mrs. Cragg works as a charwoman f ...

'' (1963) *''

The Wild Affair ''The Wild Affair'' is a 1965 British comedy film written and directed by John Krish and starring Nancy Kwan, Terry-Thomas, Jimmy Logan, Gladys Morgan, and Betty Marsden. It was adapted from the 1961 novel ''The Last Hours of Sandra Lee'' by W ...

'' (1963) *'' The System'' (1964)

Notes

External links

Bryanston Films
at

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...

{{Cinema of the United Kingdom Film production companies of the United Kingdom