MGM-British Studios Meanwhile, Amalgamated Studios Ltd constructed a large studio on the north side of Elstree Way between 1935 and 1937. A January 1937 deal for eight films to be made for the American studio Columbia Pictures soon collapsed. The company was unable to meet the cost of building work, and sold the facility to the Rank Organisation, which was not interested in using the studios itself, but wanted to stop John Maxwell's rival British International Pictures (BIP) from being able to compete more effectively with its own new Pinewood Studios. During the war, the studios were leased from Rank by the
The Amateur Gentleman (1936 film) The Amateur Gentleman (1936 film) The Amateur Gentleman is a 1936 British drama film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Elissa Landi, Gordon Harker and Margaret Lockwood, with music by Richard Addinsell. It is based on the 1913 novel "The Amateur Gentleman" by Jeffrey Farnol. In an effort to prove his father's innocence of a charge of stealing, a young man disguises himself as a gentleman and travels to Regency London. It was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by Edward Carrick. The story was previously filmed in the silent era in Britain "The Amateur Gentleman"