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Associated British Picture Corporation

February 20, 2024

"British National Pictures" redirects here. For a similarly named company, see British National Films Company.

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned approximately 500 cinemas in Britain by 1943,[1] and in the 1950s and 60s owned a station on the ITV television network. The studio was partly owned by Warner Bros. from about 1940 until 1969; the American company also owned a stake in ABPC's distribution arm, Warner-Pathé, from 1958. It formed one half of a vertically integrated film industry duopoly in Britain with the Rank Organisation.

Associated British Picture Corporation
IndustryFilm, television
Founded1927
Defunct1970
FateFolded into EMI-Elstree
SuccessorEMI-Elstree
Headquarters
England
Subsidiaries

History edit

From 1927 to 1945 edit

The company was founded during 1927 by Scottish solicitor John Maxwell after he had purchased British National Pictures Studios and its Elstree Studios complex and merged it with his ABC Cinemas circuit, renaming the company British International Pictures. The Wardour Film Company, with Maxwell as chairman, was the distributor of BIP films.[2] He appointed Joseph Grossman, formerly manager of the Stoll Studios, his Studio Manager.

During its early years the company's most prominent work was that directed by Alfred Hitchcock, including the film Blackmail (1929), usually regarded as the first British all-talkie. Hitchcock worked on a total of twelve pictures for the company before leaving in 1933 to work for the rival British Gaumont, due to his dissatisfaction with the projects he was assigned at British International.

Under Maxwell's paternalistic management the company prospered and during 1933 it acquired British Pathé, which as Associated British-Pathé now functioned as the distribution division.[3] The company was renamed Associated British Picture Corporation in 1933 and was now in a position to vertically integrate production, distribution and exhibition of films.[4]

After Maxwell's death in October 1940,[5] his widow Catherine sold a large number of shares to Warner Bros., who, although the Maxwell family remained the largest shareholders, were able to exercise a measure of control. The studio at Elstree was taken over by the government for the duration of the war. Film production was restricted to B-Pictures made at the company's smaller studio in Welwyn Garden City,[5] which closed in 1950.[6]

After the Second World War edit

Much of the output of the studio was routine, which restricted its success outside the UK, but after World War II, the company contracted with Warner (by now the largest shareholder, owning 40% of the studio)[7] for the distribution of its films in the United States.

Robert Clark was head of production for the company between 1949 and 1958, and insisted on tight budgeting and the use of pre-existing properties such as books or plays as these already had a demonstrated "public value". Of the 21 films made by ABPC during the 1950s, only two were derived from original screenplays.[8] German-born Frederick Gotfurt was Clark's scenario editor in this period, but his command of English was imperfect and the contracted actor Richard Todd doubted Gotfurt's ability to access the quality of the dialogue in a script.[9] "It was a dreadful place", said Richard Attenborough when remembering ABPC's Elstree facility. "It created nothing in terms of a feeling of commitment."[10] During this period though, the company produced its best remembered titles such as The Dam Busters (Michael Anderson, 1954), and Ice Cold in Alex (1958), whose director J. Lee Thompson was ABPC's most productive during the 1950s.[11][12]

In 1958, Associated Talking Pictures, the parent company of Ealing Films, was acquired.

Expansion into television edit

Main article: ABC Weekend TV

In 1955, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) awarded one of the four initial contracts for commercial television in the UK to ABPC (after original awardee Kemsley-Winnick Television collapsed). The contract was to provide programming on the new ITV network in the Midlands and northern England on Saturdays and Sundays. The board of ABPC had been unconvinced by the merits of entering the television market, but were eventually convinced by the ITA who believed they were the only acceptable option to take the contract. Former head of British Pathé Howard Thomas was appointed as the station's managing director.

Under the name ABC Television, the company came on the air in stages between February and November 1956. Among many television series ABC produced were Opportunity Knocks, The Avengers, Redcap, and the long-running Armchair Theatre drama anthology series.

Following a reallocation of the ITV franchises, ABC Television ceased to exist in 1968; however, unwilling to eject ABPC from the system, the ITA awarded the contract for weekdays in London to a new company that would be joint-owned by ABPC and British Electric Traction (parent company of outgoing franchisee Rediffusion), with ABPC holding a 51% controlling stake. Both companies were initially reluctant to this "shotgun merger", but eventually the new station, christened Thames Television, took to the air in July 1968 (two days after ABC's last broadcast). The 51% controlling stake passed to EMI upon its acquisition of ABPC the following year.

From 1958 onwards edit

Policies changed after Clark left in January 1958. New projects from the company were limited to those using contracted television comedy performers, and investment in independent productions. The use of Elstree for television production increased.[13] Later successful features from ABPC itself included several films built around the pop singer Cliff Richard, such as The Young Ones (1961) and Summer Holiday (1963).[11] The same year, ABPC acquired Associated Talking Pictures (parent of the original Ealing Studios) from The Rank Organisation (who had bought the studio in 1944).

In 1962, the company acquired 50% of the shares of Anglo-Amalgamated, and made an arrangement with the Grade Organisation to support the production of films by independent producers.[14] During the 1960s, however, the fortunes of the company declined, and in 1967 Seven Arts, the new owners of Warner, decided to dispose of its holdings in ABPC which was purchased in 1968 by EMI, who acquired the remaining stock the following year.[15] (For the subsequent history, see EMI Films.) The entire ABPC library is now owned by StudioCanal.[16]

Subsidiaries of Associated British Picture Corporation edit

Wholly owned edit

  • Associated British Productions Ltd. – Associated British Studios
  • Associated British Cinemas Ltd. – ABC Cinemas
  • Associated British-Pathé Ltd. – 1933
  • Associated Talking Pictures - 1958 - Ealing Studios
  • Associated British Film Distributors Ltd. – usually only known by its initials ABFD
  • British and Overseas Film Sales Ltd.
  • Pathé Laboratories Ltd.
  • Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd. – 1955 – ABC Weekend TV
  • A.B.C. Television Ltd. – c. 1957 – ABC Weekend TV
  • A.B.C. Television Films Ltd. – 1966[17] – Associated British Corporation

Jointly owned edit

  • Warner-Pathé Distributors Ltd. (50%) – from 1958[18]
  • Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (50%) – from 1962
  • Thames Television Ltd. (51%) – from 1968

Select filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ . Time. New York. 20 December 1943. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  2. ^ McFarlane, Brian (2003). The Encyclopedia of British Film. London: Methuen/BFI. p. 443.
  3. ^ "History of British Pathé: A Golden Age: 1933 to 1958". British Pathé. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  4. ^ Burton, Alan; Chibnall, Steve (2013). Historical Dictionary of British Cinema. Lanham, MD and Plymouth, England: Scarecrow Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780810880269.
  5. ^ a b Murphy, Robert (2000). British Cinema and the Second World War. London & New York: Continuum. p. 12. ISBN 9780826478979.
  6. ^ Warren, Patricia (2001). British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. B. T. Batsford. p. 182.
  7. ^ Davis, Ronald L. Just Making Movies: Company Directors on the Studio System Vincent Sherman Interview 2005 University of Kentucky Press, p.96
  8. ^ Porter, Vincent (2000). "Outsiders in England The films of the Associated British Picture Corporation, 1949–58". In Ashby, Justine; Higson, Andrew (eds.). British Cinema, Past and Present. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. p. 153. ISBN 9781135125158.
  9. ^ Porter, p.156
  10. ^ Porter, p.152
  11. ^ a b Alexander, Lou (2003–2014). "Associated British Picture Corporation (1933–70)". BFI screenonline. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  12. ^ Porter, p.161
  13. ^ Porter, p.163
  14. ^ "Company Meeting: Associated British Picture Corporation". The Spectator. 16 August 1962. p. 25. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  15. ^ Warren, Patricia (2001). British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. London: B. T. Batsford. p. 75.
  16. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (17 December 2012). "Network Distributing acquires rights to 450 films from StudioCanal library". Screen Daily. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. ^ Farmer, Richard (2019). Transformation and Tradition in 1960s British Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781474423120. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  18. ^ Luke McKernan "Pathé", BFI screenonline; Brian McFarlane Encyclopedia of British Film, London: Methen/BFI, 2003, p.511-12

External links edit

February 20, 2024
associated, british, picture, corporation, british, national, pictures, redirects, here, similarly, named, company, british, national, films, company, abpc, originally, british, international, pictures, british, film, production, distribution, exhibition, comp. British National Pictures redirects here For a similarly named company see British National Films Company Associated British Picture Corporation ABPC originally British International Pictures BIP was a British film production distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI ABPC also owned approximately 500 cinemas in Britain by 1943 1 and in the 1950s and 60s owned a station on the ITV television network The studio was partly owned by Warner Bros from about 1940 until 1969 the American company also owned a stake in ABPC s distribution arm Warner Pathe from 1958 It formed one half of a vertically integrated film industry duopoly in Britain with the Rank Organisation Associated British Picture CorporationIndustryFilm televisionFounded1927Defunct1970FateFolded into EMI ElstreeSuccessorEMI ElstreeHeadquartersEnglandSubsidiariesAssociated British Cinemas Ltd Associated British Pathe Ltd Associated British Cinemas Television Ltd Associated British Productions Ltd Contents 1 History 1 1 From 1927 to 1945 1 2 After the Second World War 1 3 Expansion into television 1 4 From 1958 onwards 2 Subsidiaries of Associated British Picture Corporation 2 1 Wholly owned 2 2 Jointly owned 3 Select filmography 4 References 5 External linksHistory editFrom 1927 to 1945 edit The company was founded during 1927 by Scottish solicitor John Maxwell after he had purchased British National Pictures Studios and its Elstree Studios complex and merged it with his ABC Cinemas circuit renaming the company British International Pictures The Wardour Film Company with Maxwell as chairman was the distributor of BIP films 2 He appointed Joseph Grossman formerly manager of the Stoll Studios his Studio Manager During its early years the company s most prominent work was that directed by Alfred Hitchcock including the film Blackmail 1929 usually regarded as the first British all talkie Hitchcock worked on a total of twelve pictures for the company before leaving in 1933 to work for the rival British Gaumont due to his dissatisfaction with the projects he was assigned at British International Under Maxwell s paternalistic management the company prospered and during 1933 it acquired British Pathe which as Associated British Pathe now functioned as the distribution division 3 The company was renamed Associated British Picture Corporation in 1933 and was now in a position to vertically integrate production distribution and exhibition of films 4 After Maxwell s death in October 1940 5 his widow Catherine sold a large number of shares to Warner Bros who although the Maxwell family remained the largest shareholders were able to exercise a measure of control The studio at Elstree was taken over by the government for the duration of the war Film production was restricted to B Pictures made at the company s smaller studio in Welwyn Garden City 5 which closed in 1950 6 After the Second World War edit Much of the output of the studio was routine which restricted its success outside the UK but after World War II the company contracted with Warner by now the largest shareholder owning 40 of the studio 7 for the distribution of its films in the United States Robert Clark was head of production for the company between 1949 and 1958 and insisted on tight budgeting and the use of pre existing properties such as books or plays as these already had a demonstrated public value Of the 21 films made by ABPC during the 1950s only two were derived from original screenplays 8 German born Frederick Gotfurt was Clark s scenario editor in this period but his command of English was imperfect and the contracted actor Richard Todd doubted Gotfurt s ability to access the quality of the dialogue in a script 9 It was a dreadful place said Richard Attenborough when remembering ABPC s Elstree facility It created nothing in terms of a feeling of commitment 10 During this period though the company produced its best remembered titles such as The Dam Busters Michael Anderson 1954 and Ice Cold in Alex 1958 whose director J Lee Thompson was ABPC s most productive during the 1950s 11 12 In 1958 Associated Talking Pictures the parent company of Ealing Films was acquired Expansion into television edit Main article ABC Weekend TV In 1955 the Independent Television Authority ITA awarded one of the four initial contracts for commercial television in the UK to ABPC after original awardee Kemsley Winnick Television collapsed The contract was to provide programming on the new ITV network in the Midlands and northern England on Saturdays and Sundays The board of ABPC had been unconvinced by the merits of entering the television market but were eventually convinced by the ITA who believed they were the only acceptable option to take the contract Former head of British Pathe Howard Thomas was appointed as the station s managing director Under the name ABC Television the company came on the air in stages between February and November 1956 Among many television series ABC produced were Opportunity Knocks The Avengers Redcap and the long running Armchair Theatre drama anthology series Following a reallocation of the ITV franchises ABC Television ceased to exist in 1968 however unwilling to eject ABPC from the system the ITA awarded the contract for weekdays in London to a new company that would be joint owned by ABPC and British Electric Traction parent company of outgoing franchisee Rediffusion with ABPC holding a 51 controlling stake Both companies were initially reluctant to this shotgun merger but eventually the new station christened Thames Television took to the air in July 1968 two days after ABC s last broadcast The 51 controlling stake passed to EMI upon its acquisition of ABPC the following year From 1958 onwards edit Policies changed after Clark left in January 1958 New projects from the company were limited to those using contracted television comedy performers and investment in independent productions The use of Elstree for television production increased 13 Later successful features from ABPC itself included several films built around the pop singer Cliff Richard such as The Young Ones 1961 and Summer Holiday 1963 11 The same year ABPC acquired Associated Talking Pictures parent of the original Ealing Studios from The Rank Organisation who had bought the studio in 1944 In 1962 the company acquired 50 of the shares of Anglo Amalgamated and made an arrangement with the Grade Organisation to support the production of films by independent producers 14 During the 1960s however the fortunes of the company declined and in 1967 Seven Arts the new owners of Warner decided to dispose of its holdings in ABPC which was purchased in 1968 by EMI who acquired the remaining stock the following year 15 For the subsequent history see EMI Films The entire ABPC library is now owned by StudioCanal 16 Subsidiaries of Associated British Picture Corporation editWholly owned edit Associated British Productions Ltd Associated British Studios Associated British Cinemas Ltd ABC Cinemas Associated British Pathe Ltd 1933 Associated Talking Pictures 1958 Ealing Studios Associated British Film Distributors Ltd usually only known by its initials ABFD British and Overseas Film Sales Ltd Pathe Laboratories Ltd Associated British Cinemas Television Ltd 1955 ABC Weekend TV A B C Television Ltd c 1957 ABC Weekend TV A B C Television Films Ltd 1966 17 Associated British CorporationJointly owned edit Warner Pathe Distributors Ltd 50 from 1958 18 Anglo Amalgamated Film Distributors 50 from 1962 Thames Television Ltd 51 from 1968Select filmography editSpring Handicap 1937 Hold My Hand 1938 Jane Steps Out 1938 Star of the Circus 1938 Premiere 1938 Oh Boy 1938 Marigold 1938 Queer Cargo 1938 Hell s Cargo 1939 Murder in Soho 1939 Poison Pen 1939 The Outsider 1939 Just like a Woman 1939 The Gang s All Here 1939 Lucky to Me 1939 Bulldog Sees It Through 1940 The Middle Watch 1940 The House of the Arrow 1940 The Flying Squad 1940 Dead Man s Shoes 1940 Spring Meeting 1941 East of Piccadilly 1941 My Wife s Family 1941 Banana Ridge 1942 It Happened One Sunday 1944 I Live in Grosvenor Square 1945 Herbert Wilcox Quiet Weekend 1946 Piccadilly Incident 1946 Temptation Harbour 1947 My Brother Jonathan 1948 Brighton Rock 1948 Private Angelo 1949 Pilgrim The Queen of Spades 1949 Silent Dust 1949 Landfall 1949 For Them That Trespass 1949 The Hasty Heart 1949 Murder Without Crime 1950 No Place for Jennifer 1950 Portrait of Clare 1950 The Dancing Years 1950 Laughter in Paradise 1951 The Franchise Affair 1951 Young Wives Tale 1951 Castle in the Air 1952 Father s Doing Fine 1952 Top Secret 1952 The Woman s Angle 1952 The Yellow Balloon 1953 Marble Arch Productions Will Any Gentleman 1953 The House of the Arrow 1953 Isn t Life Wonderful 1953 The Good Beginning 1953 The Weak and the Wicked 1954 Happy Ever After 1954 For Better for Worse 1954 Kenwood Productions The Dam Busters 1955 You Can t Escape 1956 Yield to the Night 1956 It s Great to Be Young 1956 Marble Arch Now and Forever 1956 The Good Companions 1957 These Dangerous Years 1957 Everest No Time for Tears 1957 Woman in a Dressing Gown 1957 Small Hotel 1957 Welwyn A Lady Mislaid 1958 Welwyn I Was Monty s Double 1958 Ice Cold in Alex 1958 The Young and the Guilty 1958 Wonderful Things 1958 Everest Chase a Crooked Shadow 1958 The Moonraker 1958 Girls at Sea 1958 The Lady Is a Square 1958 Herbert Wilcox No Trees in the Street 1959 Operation Bullshine 1959 The Siege of Pinchgut 1959 Ealing The Rebel 1960 School for Scoundrels 1960 Sands of the Desert 1960 Too Hot to Handle 1960 Hell Is a City 1960 Follow That Horse 1960 The Long and the Short and the Tall 1961 Petticoat Pirates 1961 Hand in Hand 1961 The Young Ones 1961 Don t Bother to Knock 1961 We Joined the Navy 1962 Guns of Darkness 1962 Go to Blazes 1962 Summer Holiday 1963 The Punch and Judy Man 1963 West 11 1963 The Cracksman 1963 The World Ten Times Over 1963 Crooks in Cloisters 1964 The Bargee 1964 Wonderful Life 1964 Mister Ten Per Cent 1967 References edit Foreign Trade Cinemonopoly Time New York 20 December 1943 Archived from the original on 23 October 2012 McFarlane Brian 2003 The Encyclopedia of British Film London Methuen BFI p 443 History of British Pathe A Golden Age 1933 to 1958 British Pathe Retrieved 18 March 2019 Burton Alan Chibnall Steve 2013 Historical Dictionary of British Cinema Lanham MD and Plymouth England Scarecrow Press p 43 ISBN 9780810880269 a b Murphy Robert 2000 British Cinema and the Second World War London amp New York Continuum p 12 ISBN 9780826478979 Warren Patricia 2001 British Film Studios An Illustrated History B T Batsford p 182 Davis Ronald L Just Making Movies Company Directors on the Studio System Vincent Sherman Interview 2005 University of Kentucky Press p 96 Porter Vincent 2000 Outsiders in England The films of the Associated British Picture Corporation 1949 58 In Ashby Justine Higson Andrew eds British Cinema Past and Present Abingdon and New York Routledge p 153 ISBN 9781135125158 Porter p 156 Porter p 152 a b Alexander Lou 2003 2014 Associated British Picture Corporation 1933 70 BFI screenonline Retrieved 17 July 2015 Porter p 161 Porter p 163 Company Meeting Associated British Picture Corporation The Spectator 16 August 1962 p 25 Retrieved 17 July 2015 Warren Patricia 2001 British Film Studios An Illustrated History London B T Batsford p 75 Mitchell Wendy 17 December 2012 Network Distributing acquires rights to 450 films from StudioCanal library Screen Daily Retrieved 24 April 2015 Farmer Richard 2019 Transformation and Tradition in 1960s British Cinema Edinburgh University Press p 44 ISBN 9781474423120 Retrieved 27 May 2022 Luke McKernan Pathe BFI screenonline Brian McFarlane Encyclopedia of British Film London Methen BFI 2003 p 511 12External links editDocuments and clippings about Associated British Picture Corporation in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Associated British Picture Corporation amp oldid 1200206790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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