AP Films
Encyclopedia
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British
independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. The company became world-famous with its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette shows - most notably Thunderbirds
- produced for British independent broadcasting
companies Associated-Rediffusion
, Granada
, ABC Weekend TV
and ATV
. At its height, the company employed over 200 staff.
and cinematographer Arthur Provis
, following the liquidation of their employer Polytechnic Films, AP Films (for Anderson Provis Films) was set up (according to a previous draft of this article possibly as Pentagon Productions, initially). They took with them producer Reg Hill
, cinematographer John Read
and secretary Sylvia Thamm
(who would later become Anderson's second wife). Anderson was already an experienced editor and director, and Provis a cinematographer. The company was created with the intention of becoming a conventional film production house.
With work not forthcoming and funds running low, APF were approached with the offer of collaboration with children's author Roberta Leigh
and her colleague Suzanne Warner to produce the children's puppet programme The Adventures of Twizzle
for Associated-Rediffusion. With some reluctance, the company took on the commission and the programme was such a success that it immediately led to a further collaboration with Leigh for the first series of Torchy the Battery Boy
also for Associated-Rediffusion, after which Arthur Provis left the company amicably in 1959 following disagreements with Anderson over future strategy. APF then went on to make its first wholly independent production of Four Feather Falls
, a puppet western created by Barry Gray
(better known for his musical contributions to the company's productions), for Granada Television.
In 1960 APF made a live-action thriller feature film entitled Crossroads to Crime
for Anglo-Amalgamated
, and a series of television advertisements for a London travel company.
" by Anderson) resulted in the company's best known productions - a succession of futuristic sci-fi action adventure shows, all made for ATV. Supercar
screened in 1960-61, Fireball XL5
(1962), Stingray
(1964) — the first British children's TV series to be made in colour — and Thunderbirds
(1964–66), which was, by far, their most famous and successful production. After the completion of Fireball XL5
, ATV owner Lew Grade
had purchased the company, becoming managing director, with the Andersons, Hill and Read remaining as directors.
All of the Century 21 company's productions featured an opening title sequence of a red dart piercing a series of concentric white circles against a blue background. This was accompanied by a typical Barry Gray
string glissando
and the caption "A Gerry Anderson Century 21 Television (or Cinema) Production". This sequence was first seen on the two Thunderbirds feature films (Thunderbirds are GO
- premiering December 12, 1966 - and Thunderbird 6
), and two more Supermarionation series for ATV, Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons
(1967–68) and Joe 90
in 1968. Its video game logo said "A Gerry Anderson/Century 21 Interactive Production". Its first video game, Thunderbirds: The Videogame was released on Wii
, Xbox 360
, PlayStation 3
, PSP
and Nintendo DS
(only In Japan).
In 1969, the company made its last puppet series, the rarely seen The Secret Service
(which mixed live action with puppetry), after which the puppet studios closed, and the merchandising and publication businesses contracted rapidly.
This was followed by the live-action feature film Doppelgänger
(aka Journey To The Far Side of the Sun) and was followed by its first, and only, live action TV series, UFO
(1970), which proved to be its last production. A second series of UFO was planned, but the project failed to progress beyond substantial pre-production work.
buy-out, Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, and Reg Hill went on to form another company called Group Three Productions (named for the group of three being the founders) with Gerry in the role of chairman, which continued their close relationship with Grade.
Barry Gray
composed and arranged the scores for all Anderson's independent productions up to and including the first series of Space: 1999
in 1975.
Derek Meddings
joined the staff in the earliest days as a special effects assistant, painting miniatures on scenery, but would go on to become special-effects director, developing significant advances in miniature special-effects technology. Before his death in 1995, he would rise to become one of the film industry's premier special effects experts (contributing to several James Bond
films, the Superman films, and many others).
Second unit director Brian Johnson
would also go on to become a leading special-effects talent in Hollywood.
Christine Glanville
, already an experienced puppeteer, joined the expanding company in the early days to supervise puppet operations, progressing into production management toward the end of the company's existence.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. The company became world-famous with its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette shows - most notably Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
- produced for British independent broadcasting
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
companies Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
, Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, ABC Weekend TV
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
and ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. At its height, the company employed over 200 staff.
Beginnings
Established in 1957 by editor-director Gerry AndersonGerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and cinematographer Arthur Provis
Arthur Provis
Arthur Provis is an English cinematographer and producer, best known for co-founding AP Films with Gerry Anderson.As a former Navy photographer forging a career operating rostrum cameras, he met Anderson filming a series called You've Never Seen This about unusual circus acts...
, following the liquidation of their employer Polytechnic Films, AP Films (for Anderson Provis Films) was set up (according to a previous draft of this article possibly as Pentagon Productions, initially). They took with them producer Reg Hill
Reg Hill
Reginald E. Hill was a British television producer and was most prominently associated with the work of puppet animator Gerry Anderson.-Professional life:...
, cinematographer John Read
John Read (producer)
John Read is a British television producer, cinematographer and director.He is widely associated with the productions of Gerry Anderson. Having served as director of photography on Four Feather Falls , Crossroads to Crime , Supercar , Stingray and Thunderbirds , Read worked on the latter series'...
and secretary Sylvia Thamm
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
(who would later become Anderson's second wife). Anderson was already an experienced editor and director, and Provis a cinematographer. The company was created with the intention of becoming a conventional film production house.
With work not forthcoming and funds running low, APF were approached with the offer of collaboration with children's author Roberta Leigh
Roberta Leigh
Janey Scott Lewin , well known as Roberta Leigh is a British author and artist. She wrote romance fiction and children's stories as Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, and Janey Scott....
and her colleague Suzanne Warner to produce the children's puppet programme The Adventures of Twizzle
The Adventures of Twizzle
The Adventures of Twizzle is the very first television show produced by AP Films and specifically Gerry Anderson, after being approached by author Roberta Leigh and her colleague Suzanne Warner. Sources vary as to who directed the series...
for Associated-Rediffusion. With some reluctance, the company took on the commission and the programme was such a success that it immediately led to a further collaboration with Leigh for the first series of Torchy the Battery Boy
Torchy the Battery Boy
Torchy the Battery Boy was the second television series produced by AP Films and Gerry Anderson, running from 1958–1959. It was another collaboration with author Roberta Leigh and was directed by Anderson, with music scored by Barry Gray, art direction from Reg Hill and special effects by...
also for Associated-Rediffusion, after which Arthur Provis left the company amicably in 1959 following disagreements with Anderson over future strategy. APF then went on to make its first wholly independent production of Four Feather Falls
Four Feather Falls
Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television, from an idea by Barry Gray.-Production:The show was made on a tight budget and could not afford sophisticated special effects...
, a puppet western created by Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
(better known for his musical contributions to the company's productions), for Granada Television.
In 1960 APF made a live-action thriller feature film entitled Crossroads to Crime
Crossroads to Crime
Crossroads to Crime is a 1960 British crime film, the directorial debut of Gerry Anderson and the only motion picture of his production company, AP Films...
for Anglo-Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy that operated from 1945 to the 1970s. Much of the output was low budget and often second features, many produced at Merton Park Studios...
, and a series of television advertisements for a London travel company.
Success
Returning to puppets, but with a change in direction and the adoption of a technique synchronising their mouths to the recorded dialogue (dubbed "SupermarionationSupermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
" by Anderson) resulted in the company's best known productions - a succession of futuristic sci-fi action adventure shows, all made for ATV. Supercar
Supercar (TV series)
Supercar was a children's TV show produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis's AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment. 39 episodes were produced between 1961 and 1962, and it was Anderson's first half-hour series. In the UK it was seen on ITV and in the US in syndication...
screened in 1960-61, Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol...
(1962), Stingray
Stingray (TV series)
Stingray is a children's marionette television show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment from 1964–65. Its 39 half-hour episodes were originally screened on ITV in the UK and in syndication in the USA. The scriptwriters included Gerry and...
(1964) — the first British children's TV series to be made in colour — and Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
(1964–66), which was, by far, their most famous and successful production. After the completion of Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol...
, ATV owner Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
had purchased the company, becoming managing director, with the Andersons, Hill and Read remaining as directors.
Century 21
Immediately following completion and the first television screening of Thunderbirds in 1965 AP Films was renamed Century 21 Productions to align it with its growing merchandising sister companies Century 21 Merchandising, Century 21 Toys and Century 21 Music.All of the Century 21 company's productions featured an opening title sequence of a red dart piercing a series of concentric white circles against a blue background. This was accompanied by a typical Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
string glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
and the caption "A Gerry Anderson Century 21 Television (or Cinema) Production". This sequence was first seen on the two Thunderbirds feature films (Thunderbirds are GO
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
- premiering December 12, 1966 - and Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6
Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science-fiction and adventure film written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, directed by David Lane and produced by Century 21 Cinema...
), and two more Supermarionation series for ATV, Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
(1967–68) and Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
in 1968. Its video game logo said "A Gerry Anderson/Century 21 Interactive Production". Its first video game, Thunderbirds: The Videogame was released on Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
(only In Japan).
In 1969, the company made its last puppet series, the rarely seen The Secret Service
The Secret Service
The Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, made as a Century 21 production for ITC Entertainment and broadcast in 1969...
(which mixed live action with puppetry), after which the puppet studios closed, and the merchandising and publication businesses contracted rapidly.
This was followed by the live-action feature film Doppelgänger
Doppelgänger (1969 film)
Doppelgänger is a 1969 British science-fiction film directed by Robert Parrish and starring Roy Thinnes, Ian Hendry, Lynn Loring and Patrick Wymark. Outside Europe, it is known as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, which is now the more popular title...
(aka Journey To The Far Side of the Sun) and was followed by its first, and only, live action TV series, UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
(1970), which proved to be its last production. A second series of UFO was planned, but the project failed to progress beyond substantial pre-production work.
End of the line
On completion of their contracted tenure stemming from the Lew GradeLew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
buy-out, Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, and Reg Hill went on to form another company called Group Three Productions (named for the group of three being the founders) with Gerry in the role of chairman, which continued their close relationship with Grade.
Other notable figures
Although most notable for its link with the Andersons, the company features other notable figures in its history.Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
composed and arranged the scores for all Anderson's independent productions up to and including the first series of Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
in 1975.
Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings was a British television and cinema special effects expert, initially noted for his work on the "Supermarionation" television puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the 1970s James Bond films and the Superman film series.-Early years:Both Meddings' parents had...
joined the staff in the earliest days as a special effects assistant, painting miniatures on scenery, but would go on to become special-effects director, developing significant advances in miniature special-effects technology. Before his death in 1995, he would rise to become one of the film industry's premier special effects experts (contributing to several James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films, the Superman films, and many others).
Second unit director Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (special effects)
-Biography:Johnson's work on Space: 1999 set the tone for the Star Wars films to follow. George Lucas visited Johnson during the series production because he was so impressed with his work. Lucas asked Johnson to supervise the special effects for the first film but his prior commitment to Year 2 of...
would also go on to become a leading special-effects talent in Hollywood.
Christine Glanville
Christine Glanville
Christine Glanville was a British professional puppeteer and spent most of her working life on television programs produced by Gerry Anderson....
, already an experienced puppeteer, joined the expanding company in the early days to supervise puppet operations, progressing into production management toward the end of the company's existence.