At the end of 1948, funds from Walt Disney Pictures stranded in foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, exceeded $8.5 million. Walt Disney decided to create a studio in Britain, Walt Disney British Films Ltd. or Walt Disney British Productions Ltd. in association with RKO Pictures and started production of "Treasure Island" (1950). With the success of "Robin Hood and His Merrie Men" (1952), Disney wanted to keep the production team to make a second film; he chose "The Sword and the Rose" inspired by the novel "When Knighthood Was in Flower" (1898) by Charles Major. This team consisted of the director Ken Annakin, producer Douglas Pierce, writer Lawrence Edward Watkin, and the artistic director Carmen Dillon.