Gaumont British
Encyclopedia
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was the British arm of the French
film company Gaumont
. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British.
The company's Lime Grove Studios
produced films such as Alfred Hitchcock
's 1935 version of The 39 Steps
, and his 1938 film The Lady Vanishes
.
In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it folded that operation and outsourced distribution to 20th Century-Fox.
In 1941, Gaumont-British along with its sister company Gainsborough Pictures
, was acquired by the Rank Organisation
.
, for entertainment before the show, during the intervals, or after the show. The name 'Gaumont' was adopted to describe the style of the 'flat top' organ console case (originally for the Pavilion Theatre, Shepherds Bush), for some organs built from October 1931 to 1934 by the John Compton Organ Company of London.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film company Gaumont
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British.
The company's Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...
produced films such as Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1935 version of The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
, and his 1938 film The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
.
In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it folded that operation and outsourced distribution to 20th Century-Fox.
In 1941, Gaumont-British along with its sister company Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
, was acquired by the Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
.
Theatre organs
Many of the theatres had a theatre organTheatre organ
A theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
, for entertainment before the show, during the intervals, or after the show. The name 'Gaumont' was adopted to describe the style of the 'flat top' organ console case (originally for the Pavilion Theatre, Shepherds Bush), for some organs built from October 1931 to 1934 by the John Compton Organ Company of London.