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
Elstree Studios Production during the redevelopment of Television Centre. Shows such as "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Pointless" are recorded there. A single large stage was built in Station Road in 1928 by Whitehall Films Ltd, but the company was wound up in 1930. In 1935, Julius Hagen, the owner of Twickenham Studios, bought the site and formed a new company, JH Studios. Financial difficulties forced Hagen to sell the studios to MP Productions in 1937. During World War II, the studio was used by the government for storage. In 1950, the site was bought by J. Arthur Rank, who renamed it Gate