New Elstree Studios
{{Short description|Former film studios in England}}
{{Infobox building
| name = New Elstree Studios
| native_name =
| former_names =
| alternate_names = Danziger Studios
| image =
| caption =
| location_country = United Kingdom
| altitude =
| building_type = Film studios
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| address = Elstree Road, Elstree, Hertfordshire
| client =
| owner = Danziger Brothers
| current_tenants =
| landlord =
| coordinates = {{coord|51.6427|-0.3146|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| start_date = {{start date|1955}}
| completion_date = 1957
| inauguration_date = 1956
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| floor_area = {{convert|7.5|acre}}
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}}
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". 60 B-movies 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, Shepperton, Borehamwood and Nettlefold.
In 1955, the Danzigers decided to form their own studio base and founded the New Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. They converted a former wartime aero-engine testing factory, west of the Aldenham Reservoir near the village of Elstree, into a studio with six sound stages and exterior shooting facilities. The {{convert|7.5|acre|adj=on}} site employed 200 and was used mainly for second features and television series,{{cite web |last1=Vahimagi |first1=Tise |title=Danzigers, The |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/773807/index.html |website=BFI screen online |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=12 February 2022}} to be sold in both Britain and America.{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=Dave |title=Britain's first TV/film crime series and the industrialisation of its film industry, 1946-1964 |date=2009 |publisher=Edwin Mellen Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7734-4763-9 |page=163}}
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.Mann (2009), p. 162 The studios operated as an assembly line, producing some 60 B-movies and 350 half-hour TV episodes between 1955 and 1961,{{cite web |last1=Amies |first1=Mark |title=From Aero Engines to Movie-making – Elstree's other studio |url=https://pastrewind.wordpress.com/2020/04/26/from-aero-engines-to-movie-making-elstrees-other-studio/ |website=Past<Rewind |access-date=4 February 2022 |date=26 April 2020}} typically producing two TV episodes a week, or a second feature in ten days.{{cite journal |last1=Mayne |first1=Laura Margaret Jayne |title=Whatever happened to the British 'B' movie? : Micro- budget film-making and the death of the one-hour supporting feature in the early 1960s |journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television |date=31 Aug 2016 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=559–576 |doi=10.1080/01439685.2016.1220765 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |issn=1465-3451|doi-access=free }}
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.{{cite news |title=From B-movies into b-roads |url=https://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/1263805.from-b-movies-into-b-roads/ |access-date=15 January 2022 |work=Borehamwood and Elstree Times |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Ltd |date=15 March 2007}}
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.
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
- Sailor of Fortune {{resize|(M.E. Films/Mid Ocean Productions for ITV; 1956; TV series shot on film)}}{{cite web |title=Sailor of Fortune (TV series) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4b979a555f9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101145046/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4f4b979a555f9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Satellite in the Sky {{resize|(1956)}}{{cite book |last1=McFarlane |first1=Brian |title=The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition |page=2009}}
- Atom at Spithead {{resize|(Sterling Films; 1956)}}
- The Depraved {{resize|(1957)}}{{cite web |title=The Depraved (1957) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8a9239 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310003639/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8a9239 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Quatermass 2 {{resize|(Hammer Film Productions/Clarion Film Productions; 1957)}}{{cite web |title=Quatermass 2 (1957) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3b6ffb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514030531/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3b6ffb |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 14, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Operation Murder {{resize|(1957)}}{{cite news |title=The New Elstree Studios |url=https://pastrewind.wordpress.com/2020/04/26/from-aero-engines-to-movie-making-elstrees-other-studio/ |access-date=5 February 2022 |work=Studio Review (supplement to Kinematograph Weekly) |publisher=Odhams Press |date=2 October 1957 |page=iv}}
- Three Sundays to Live {{resize|(1957)}}
- The Betrayal {{resize|(1957)}}
- Three Crooked Men {{resize|(1957)}}
- The Traitor {{resize|(Fantur Films; 1957)}}
- Count Five and Die {{resize|(Twentieth Century/Zonic Films; 1957)}}
- Saber of London {{resize|(1958; TV series shot on film)}}{{cite web |title=Blood in the Sky (1958) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ba8a30d |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527162104/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7ba8a30d |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 27, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Up the Creek {{resize|(Byron Film; 1958)}}{{cite web |title=Up the Creek (1958) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b98edd0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525214303/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b98edd0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 25, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- A Woman of Mystery {{resize|(1958)}}
- High Jump {{resize|(1959)}}{{cite web |title=High Jump (1958) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ac47ed0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309123724/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ac47ed0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Man Accused {{resize|(1959)}}{{cite web |title=Man Accused (1959) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aface8e |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309130022/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aface8e |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Crash Drive {{resize|(1959)}}{{cite web |title=Crash Drive (1959) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8206a5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201143913/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8206a5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 1, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- Date at Midnight {{resize|(1959)}}{{cite web |title=Date at Midnight (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b708a5cd4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911225656/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b708a5cd4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 11, 2018 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Escort for Hire {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=Escort for Hire (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a99b3c6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606063111/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a99b3c6 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- The Nudist Story {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=The Nudist Story (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b1c89a3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310004328/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b1c89a3 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- An Honourable Murder {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=An Honourable Murder (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfc2b1c |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606063048/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfc2b1c |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- The Tell-Tale Heart {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=The Tell-tale Heart (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b7c91e0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203020733/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b7c91e0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=29 January 2022}}
- The Spider's Web {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=The Spider's Web (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf3ad52 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606062930/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf3ad52 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Compelled {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=Compelled (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a7d7e22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131192429/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a7d7e22 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2022 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Sentenced for Life {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=Sentenced for Life (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b575797 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310195530/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b575797 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Night Train for Inverness {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=Night Train for Inverness (1960) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ade4820 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919032116/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ade4820 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 19, 2017 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Man from Interpol {{resize|(1960; TV series shot on film)}}{{cite web |title=Inside Job (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7bd9bd8a |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606063026/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7bd9bd8a |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Feet of Clay {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=Feet of Clay (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b71691360 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127173940/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b71691360 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- A Taste of Money {{resize|(1960)}}{{cite web |title=A Taste of Money (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfaa935 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323115927/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfaa935 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Two Wives at One Wedding {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=Two Wives at One Wedding (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b77f3547b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826073258/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b77f3547b |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2017 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- So Evil, So Young {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=So Evil, So Young (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b653103 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307163444/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b653103 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Highway to Battle {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=Highway to Battle (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ac4f209 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505111232/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ac4f209 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Middle Course {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=The Middle Course (1961) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b05f992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009141147/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b05f992 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Return of a Stranger {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=Return of a Stranger (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b73680e |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311134543/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b73680e |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 11, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Gentle Terror {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=The Gentle Terror (1963) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf8e58f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131192445/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf8e58f |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2022 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Strip Tease Murder {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=Strip Tease Murder (1963) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6c485cde |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310130734/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6c485cde |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Court Martial of Major Keller {{resize|(1961)}}{{cite web |title=The Court Martial of Major Keller (1964) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a810ecc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903233401/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a810ecc |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 3, 2018 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Operation Stogie {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=Operation Stogie (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b242146 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123090009/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b242146 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Pursuers {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=The Pursuers (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3ac1b8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606062905/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3ac1b8 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Three Spare Wives {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=Three Spare Wives (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b78046aba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026135257/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b78046aba |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Durant Affair {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=The Durant Affair (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70f88dfa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120140534/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70f88dfa |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 20, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Lamp in Assassin Mews {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=The Lamp in Assassin Mews (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73693d10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606062831/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b73693d10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Battleaxe {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=The Battleaxe (1962) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f24f3a7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606062811/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f24f3a7 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- The Spanish Sword {{resize|(1962)}}{{cite web |title=The Spanish Sword (1963) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfa7490 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030133714/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bfa7490 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}
- Richard the Lionheart {{resize|(1962–1963; TV series shot on film)}}
}}
=Other Danziger productions=
The following films were produced by the Danzigers,{{cite web |title=Danziger Productions Ltd |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b942c41c5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310132956/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b942c41c5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=Danziger Photoplays |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b95337e46 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814060647/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b95337e46 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=31 January 2022}} and are therefore very likely to have been shot at New Elstree Studios, but it is possible that a small number were shot elsewhere.
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
- Son of a Stranger {{resize|(1957)}}
- Innocent Meeting {{resize|(1958)}}
- Links of Justice {{resize|(1958)}}
- Moment of Indiscretion {{resize|(1958)}}
- No Safety Ahead {{resize|(1958)}}
- On the Run {{resize|(1958)}}
- The Great Van Robbery {{resize|(1958)}}
- A Woman Possessed {{resize|(1958)}}
- The Child and the Killer {{resize|(1959)}}
- Top Floor Girl {{resize|(1959)}}
- Web of Suspicion {{resize|(1959)}}
- Woman's Temptation {{resize|(1959)}}
- Identity Unknown {{resize|(1960)}}
- Transatlantic {{resize|(1960)}}
- The Cheaters {{resize|(Danziger Productions for ABC; 1960–1962; TV series shot on film)}}
- Fate Takes a Hand {{resize|(1961)}}
- Part-Time Wife {{resize|(1961)}}
- Tarnished Heroes {{resize|(1961)}}
- The Silent Invasion {{resize|(1962)}}
- What Every Woman Wants {{resize|(1962)}}
- She Always Gets Their Man {{resize|(1962)}}
}}
See also
- :Category:Films shot at New Elstree Studios
- :Category:Television shows shot at New Elstree Studios
- Lists of productions shot at the other Elstree studios:
- List of films and television shows shot at Elstree Studios
- List of films and television shows shot at Clarendon Road Studios
- {{section link|Gate Studios#Films shot at the studios}}
- {{section link|British and Dominions Imperial Studios#Films shot at Imperial Studios}}
- List of films shot at MGM-British Studios, Elstree