New Elstree Studios was a British film studio complex that was the main production centre for the Danziger Brothers from 1956 to 1962, and was one of several sites collectively known as "

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

". 60

B-movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

and 350 half-hour TV episodes were filmed there, for both British and American markets.

History

Edward and Harry Danziger were American-born brothers who moved to Britain in 1952 and began making television films, using resources at various facilities including London's

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

Shepperton Shepperton is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in north Surrey, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the River Thames, between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Tha ...

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

and Nettlefold. In 1955, the Danzigers decided to form their own studio base and founded the New Elstree Studios in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. They converted a former wartime aero-engine testing factory, west of the Aldenham Reservoir near the village of

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, which follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

, into a studio with six sound stages and exterior shooting facilities. The site employed 200 and was used mainly for

second feature A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

s and television series, to be sold in both Britain and America. The Danzigers' aim was to produce films as quickly and as cheaply as possible, regardless of quality. By the time of the studios' official opening in 1956, over twenty productions had already been filmed there. The studios operated as an assembly line, producing some 60 B-movies and 350 half-hour TV episodes between 1955 and 1961, typically producing two TV episodes a week, or a second feature in ten days. The site was closed in 1962 and sold to RTZ Metals in October 1965 for warehouse storage. Since the late 1980s, the site has been occupied by the Waterfront Business Park on the A411 Elstree Road.

List of films shot at New Elstree Studios

This is a chronological list of films (including television series on film) that were shot at New Elstree Studios. All were produced by Danziger Productions or Danziger Photoplays, except those indicated otherwise.

Other Danziger productions

The following films were produced by the Danzigers, and are therefore very likely to have been shot at New Elstree Studios, but it is possible that a small number were shot elsewhere.

References

{{reflist British film studios Television studios in England Hertsmere Demolished buildings and structures in Hertfordshire History of Hertfordshire History of television in the United Kingdom

History

List of films shot at New Elstree Studios

Other Danziger productions

See also

References