Highbury Studios

The Highbury Studios were a British film studio located in Highbury, North London which operated from 1937 until 1956. The studios were constructed by the producer Maurice J. Wilson. During its early years, the studio was hired out to independent production companies.

Highbury Studios
General information
Type	Film studios
Address	Melody Lane, Highbury, London
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51.552°N 0.097°W / 51.552; -0.097
Inaugurated	1933 (1933)
Demolished	1961 (1961)
Owner	Maurice J. Wilson (1937-1945) Rank Organisation (1945-1948) Norman Collins (1950-1955) Associated Broadcasting Company (1955-1961)
Height	Stage 1: 35 ft Stage 2: 18 ft
Technical details
Floor area	Stage 1: 6600 ft Stage 2: 1800 ft
References
[1]

Credits

• Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard^[2]

Highbury Productions

Following the Second World War, Highbury was acquired by the Rank Organisation which used it to make low-budget second features featuring the company's rising actors.^[3] The studio was run by the producer John Croydon, who had previously worked at Ealing. Its aim was to make 50 minute "curtain raisers" for Rank's features. John Croydon was head of production.^[4] It frequently used members of Rank's Company of Youth.^[5][6]

In December 1948 the studio operation was shut down as part of a series of cuts made throughout the Rank Organisation, which had suffered heavy financial losses.^[7][8]

Select credits

• A Song for Tomorrow (1948) – directed by Terence Fisher
• Trouble in the Air (1948)
• Penny and the Pownall Case (1948) – with Diana Dors, Christopher Lee
• Colonel Bogey (1948) – directed by Terence Fisher
• To the Public Danger (1948) – directed by Fisher, with Dermot Walsh and Susan Shaw
• Fly Away Peter (1948)
• Love in Waiting (1948) – with David Tomlinson
• A Piece of Cake (1948)
• Badger's Green (1949)
• Stop the Merry-Go-Round (1952)

Later use

Occasional films were still made there by other companies, and it became increasingly used as a television studio.^[9] It made a number of commercials.^[10]

Bibliography

• Macnab, Geoffrey. J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry. Routledge, 1994.
• Warren, Patricia. British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. Batsford, 2001.