In 1914 the movies came to Elstree and Borehamwood when Percy Nash and John East founded and built Neptune Studios in Clarendon Road. Neptune has since become the home of BBC Elstree.
Five more studios were to come and go over the years, including the ‘Rolls Royce ‘of film facilities, the MGM British Studios (no longer in existence).
Elstree Studios was immensely successful, discovering talent both behind and in front of the cameras. It launched the screen careers of stars such as Charles Laughton, Ray Milland, Laurence Olivier and Anna Neagle.
Alfred Hitchcock was the master at Elstree and came to the Studios in 1927. The impact of the Hollywood hit The Jazz Singer meant the race was on to produce Britain’s first talkie. New sound stages were built at Elstree and RCA Photophone equipment installed. Hitchcock’s ‘Blackmail’ was an instant hit. ‘See and Hear It, Our Mother Tongue As It Should be Spoken!’ screamed the posters. Hitchcock worked on many other Elstree thrillers in the thirties.
The MGM British Studios made many of the all-time classic pictures: Ivanhoe, Village of the Damned, The Dirty Dozen, 633 Squadron and in later years Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Television series made at the site included the cult Prisoner and UFO. MGM British closed in 1970. Many locations near to the studios have appeared on the big screen.
The film industry is still very important to Borehamwood and Elstree.
Elstree Studios Popular Filming History:
1408
2001 : A Space Odyssey
A Brief History of Time
A Clockwork Orange
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Amazing Grace
Atlantic
Avengers (TV), The
Big Brother
Blackmail
Bleak House (2005 version)
Bright Star
Closer
Confessions of a Window Cleaner
Dam Busters, The
Dark Crystal, The
De-Lovely
Devil Rides Out, The
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
Dirty Dozen, The
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents
EastEnders
Elstree Calling
Elstree Story, The
Enigma
Enigma, The
Flash Gordon
Flyboys
Gangster No. 1
Get Carter
Grange Hill
Great Muppet Caper, The
Greystoke : The Legend of Tarzan
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The
Holiday on the Buses
Ice Cold In Alex
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Invisible Man
Is Anybody There?
Ivanhoe (1952)
Ivanhoe (1997)
Labyrinth
Lost Prince, The
Made of Honour
Magic Box, The
Moby Dick
Mutiny on the Buses
Nicholas Nickleby
Notes on a Scandal
On The Buses
One Million Years B.C.
Other Boleyn Girl, The
Prisoner, The
Private Life of Henry VIII, The
Proof
Railway Children, The
Randall and Hopkirk Deceased
Satanic Rites of Dracula, The
School For Scoundrels
Secret Diaries Of A Call Girl Series 2
Shining, The
Sixty Six
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Son of Rambow
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Star Wars: Episode V – Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Summer Holiday
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
To The Devil A Daughter
Vanity Fair
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Wild Child
Young Sherlock Holmes