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
Highbury Studios Highbury Studios The Highbury Studios were a British film studio located in Highbury, North London which operated from 1937 until 1956. The studios were constructed by the producer Maurice J. Wilson. During its early years the studio was hired out to independent production companies. Following the Second World War, Highbury was acquired by the Rank Organisation which used it to make low-budget second features featuring the company's rising actors. The studio was run by the producer John Croydon, who had previously worked at Ealing. In 1949 the studio operation was shut down as part of a series of cuts made