Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios have been located in the area since 1914 when film production began there.
Films shot at Elstree include: Britain's first sound film, Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929), The Dam Busters (1955), Moby Dick (1956), Summer Holiday (1963), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Star Wars (1977), The Shining (1980) and the Indiana Jones films.
Television shows shot at Elstree include The Avengers, Danger Man, The Prisoner, UFO, Robot Wars, The Muppet Show, EastEnders, Holby City, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Big Brother. The music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was filmed at Elstree in November 1975.
Currently, two major sites remain in use in Borehamwood: Elstree Studios on Shenley Road and the BBC Elstree Centre on Eldon Avenue. A third, Sky Studios Elstree is currently under construction, whilst a fourth Millennium Studios still exists in a much reduced capacity where it trades as Studio 2000.
History and facilities
Despite being called "Elstree Studios", only one studio has ever been located in Elstree itself, the remainder residing in the adjacent town of Borehamwood. When the studios were being established, Elstree was significantly larger than Borehamwood. Nowadays, Borehamwood is larger, but the old names have remained in use.
The civil parish that contains the town was called "Elstree". The local railway station was originally known as "Elstree" (nowadays, it is called ""). The local telephone exchange was also called "Elstree".
Eldon Avenue Studios, Borehamwood
The Neptune Film Company opened the first studios in Borehamwood in 1914. Production ceased during 1917, and the studio was sold to the Ideal Film Company who used the site up until 1924.
During 1928, the studio was sold to Ludwig Blattner who connected it to the electricity mains and introduced a German system of sound recording. The Blattner Studio was leased to Joe Rock Productions during 1934, which purchased the site two years later. Rock Productions built four new large stages. The site was again sold, and taken over by the British National Films Company between 1939 and 1948, although during this period a large portion of the studio was taken over by the British government for war work.
During 1953, the studios were bought by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., mainly for television production and were later sold to Lew Grade's Associated Television (ATV). The Eldon Avenue centre became the main television production hub for ATV. The smaller Studios A and B were used for schools and sitcoms, while Studio C was a drama studio. Studio D, with permanent audience seating, was used for light entertainment programmes such as the ATV Morecambe and Wise series Two of a Kind (1961–68) and The Muppet Show (1976–81).
When ATV was restructured as Central Independent Television in 1982, one of the conditions of its licence renewal by the governing body of the ITV network, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, was that ATV should leave any London-centric facilities and become more focused on the Midlands, the part of the United Kingdom to which it broadcast ITV programmes. They remained in operation by Central up until July 1983.
The BBC bought the Elstree site in 1984 to produce its new soap opera EastEnders (first aired on 19 February 1985). In addition to EastEnders, many other programmes have been made there including Top of the Pops, 'Allo 'Allo!, You Rang, M'Lord?, Grange Hill, Hangar 17 and Holby City. Most of the site is now devoted to EastEnders production, but Studio D is available for hire via BBC Studioworks.
Elstree Studios, Shenley Rd, Borehamwood
British National Pictures Ltd. purchased of land on the south side of Shenley Road and began construction of two large film stages in 1925. The first film produced there was Madame Pompadour (1927). The company was renamed British International Pictures (BIP) and a second stage was ready for production in 1928.
Alfred Hitchcock made Blackmail (1929), the first British talkie at the studios in 1929. At the end of the silent-film era, six new sound stages were built; three of these were sold to the British & Dominions Film Corporation. BIP became Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1933. During World War II, the studios were used by the War Office for storage.