Two Cities Films

Two Cities Films is a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as operating both in London and in Rome, and this fact gave the company its name.

Opening logo from This Happy Breed

The driving forces behind the company were the flamboyant, Italian-born Filippo Del Giudice,^[1] and his partner the multitalented Mario Zampi,^[2] born in Sora, Italy, who often worked in the dual role of director and producer. Two Cities produced a number of quintessentially English^[3] film classics including the most popular British film from the wartime period, In Which We Serve (1942).^[4]

The Two Cities films This Happy Breed, The Way Ahead, Laurence Olivier's patriotic epic Henry V (all 1944), The Way to the Stars, and Blithe Spirit (both 1945) contributed significantly to the high critical reputation acquired by the British cinema of the time.^[5][3]

In the mid-1940s Two Cities Films became part of the Rank Organisation. Earl St John became managing director.^[6]

Filippo Del Giudice had found himself forced to surrender the company's independence because of the strain on its finances produced by raising more than £470,000 for the production of Henry V.^[1] Under Rank the company produced key films such as Odd Man Out (1947), Hamlet (1948), and Vice Versa (1948).

Two Cities Films is now owned by Gregory Motton.^[7]

New production

The company went back into production in 2017 with the shooting of The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah, a quartet of films: The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah, part one: A Voice Crying In The Wilderness, The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah part two; Conquering Death, The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah part three, The Seducer, The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah part four is to be released in January 2022,^[8][9] Lilith (2022), Dracula (2022)

Select filmography

• French Without Tears (1939)
• Unpublished Story (1942)
• In Which We Serve (1942)
• The Demi-Paradise (1943)
• The Flemish Farm (1943)
• The Gentle Sex (1943)
• The Lamp Still Burns (1943)
• This Happy Breed (1944)
• The Way Ahead (1944)
• Henry V (1944)
• Blithe Spirit (1945)
• The Way to the Stars (1945)
• The Way We Live (1946)
• Men of Two Worlds (1946)
• Odd Man Out (1947)
• Vice Versa (1948)
• Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill (1948)
• Hamlet (1948)
• Trottie True (1948)
• Madness of the Heart (1949)
• Prelude to Fame (1950)
• Personal Affair (1953)
• Trouble in Store (1953)
• The Purple Plain (1954)
• The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah (2019)
• Dracula (2022)
• Lilith (2022)