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Launder and Gilliat joined the company and made ''[[State Secret (1950 film)|State Secret]]'' (1950), ''[[Lady Godiva Rides Again]]'' (1951), ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1951) (a particular success), ''[[Folly to Be Wise]]'' (1953), ''[[The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan]]'' (1953) (a flop) and ''[[The Belles of St. Trinian's]]'' (1954) (a big hit).
Launder and Gilliat joined the company and made ''[[State Secret (1950 film)|State Secret]]'' (1950), ''[[Lady Godiva Rides Again]]'' (1951), ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1951) (a particular success), ''[[Folly to Be Wise]]'' (1953), ''[[The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan]]'' (1953) (a flop) and ''[[The Belles of St. Trinian's]]'' (1954) (a big hit).


The company had success with ''[[The Wooden Horse]]'' (1950).
The company had success with ''[[The Wooden Horse]]'' (1950). [[Joseph Janni]] made ''[[Honeymoon Deferred]]'' (1951).


Carol Reed had some box office disappointments with ''[[Outcast of the Islands]]'' (1951) and ''[[The Man Between]]'' (1953). [[Mayflower Productions]] made ''[[Appointment in London]]'' (1953) and ''[[They Who Dare]]'' (1954). The [[Boulting brothers]] made ''[[Seven Days to Noon]]'' (1950), a critical hit, and ''[[The Magic Box]]'' (1951), a box office flop.
Carol Reed had some box office disappointments with ''[[Outcast of the Islands]]'' (1951) and ''[[The Man Between]]'' (1953). [[Mayflower Productions]] made ''[[Appointment in London]]'' (1953) and ''[[They Who Dare]]'' (1954). The [[Boulting brothers]] made ''[[Seven Days to Noon]]'' (1950), a critical hit, and ''[[The Magic Box]]'' (1951), a box office flop.
Line 43: Line 43:
Matters were complicated when Korda died on 23 January 1956.<ref>FILM ACTIVITIES ALONG THE THAMES By STEPHEN WATTS. New York Times 19 Feb 1956: X5. </ref>
Matters were complicated when Korda died on 23 January 1956.<ref>FILM ACTIVITIES ALONG THE THAMES By STEPHEN WATTS. New York Times 19 Feb 1956: X5. </ref>


In January 1955, Launder, Gilliat and the Boulting brothers formed a new company, British Lion Films Ltd., which took over the running of Shepperton as well as British Lion's distribution business. They released ''[[The Constant Husband]]'' (1955) which became a box office success. Also popular were ''[[Geordie (film)|Geordie]]'' (1955), ''[[The Green Man (film)|The Green Man]]'' (1956), ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]'' (1957) and ''[[Blue Murder at St Trinian's]]'' (1957). The Boulting brothers produced a hit with ''[[Private's Progress]]'' (1956) and ''[[Lucky Jim (1957 film)|Lucky Jim]]'' (1957).
In January 1955, Launder, Gilliat and the Boulting brothers formed a new company, British Lion Films Ltd., which took over the running of Shepperton as well as British Lion's distribution business. They released ''[[The Constant Husband]]'' (1955) which became a box office success. Also popular were ''[[Geordie (film)|Geordie]]'' (1955), ''[[The Green Man (film)|The Green Man]]'' (1956), ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]'' (1957) and ''[[Blue Murder at St Trinian's]]'' (1957). The Boultings made ''[[Josephine and Men]]'' (1955), ''[[Private's Progress]]'' (1956) (a big hit), ''[[Brothers in Law (film)|Brothers in Law]]'' (1957) and ''[[Lucky Jim (1957 film)|Lucky Jim]]'' (1957).


In 1956 the Conservative government invested an extra $1.68 million in the company and lost half of that within two years.<ref name="buy"/><ref name="one">The Years of the Lion-I
In 1956 the Conservative government invested an extra $1.68 million in the company and lost half of that within two years.<ref name="buy"/><ref name="one">The Years of the Lion-I
Line 54: Line 54:
Launder and Gilliatt, who had made ''[[Fortune Is a Woman]]'' (1957) for Columbia, returned to British Lion to make ''[[Left Right and Centre]]'' (1959). Although ''[[The Bridal Path (film)|The Bridal Path]]'' (1959) they had a series of successful comedies, including ''[[The Pure Hell of St Trinian's]]'' (1961) and ''[[Only Two Can Play]]'' (1962) with Peter Sellers.
Launder and Gilliatt, who had made ''[[Fortune Is a Woman]]'' (1957) for Columbia, returned to British Lion to make ''[[Left Right and Centre]]'' (1959). Although ''[[The Bridal Path (film)|The Bridal Path]]'' (1959) they had a series of successful comedies, including ''[[The Pure Hell of St Trinian's]]'' (1961) and ''[[Only Two Can Play]]'' (1962) with Peter Sellers.


The [[Boulting brothers]] had considerable success with ''[[I'm All Right Jack]]'' (1960) starring Sellers. They followed it with ''[[Suspect (1960 film)|Suspect]]'' (1960)
The [[Boulting brothers]] made ''[[Happy Is the Bride]]'' (1958), ''[[Carlton-Browne of the F.O.]]'' (1959), and ''[[A French Mistress]]'' (1960), and had considerable success with ''[[I'm All Right Jack]]'' (1960) starring Sellers. They followed it with ''[[Suspect (1960 film)|Suspect]]'' (1960).


In March 1960 British Lion recorded a profit of £126,771. The following year this was £318,285 then £426,098, enabling the company to pay a dividend. Shepperton Studios announced a profit of £114,032 compared to £54,298 the previous year.<ref>First preference dividend from British Lion: NO PAYMENT ON DEFERRED
In March 1960 British Lion recorded a profit of £126,771. The following year this was £318,285 then £426,098, enabling the company to pay a dividend. Shepperton Studios announced a profit of £114,032 compared to £54,298 the previous year.<ref>First preference dividend from British Lion: NO PAYMENT ON DEFERRED
Line 73: Line 73:
In March 1964 a syndicate acquired a controlling interest in the company from the National Film Finance Corporation for $4,452,000 (£1.6 million). This syndicate consisted of Michael Balcon, Woodfall Films (Tony Richardson and Josh Osborne), the Boultings, Launder and Gilliat, [[Joseph Janni]] and [[John Schlesinger]], and Walter Reade. It was intended that there be five different production units within the company.<ref>Walter Reade Sterling Joins The British Lion Syndicate New York Times 20 Mar 1964: 27. </ref><ref name="davetwo">British Lion-curing the mange Davenport, Nicholas. The Spectator; London Vol. 228, Iss. 7506, (May 6, 1972): 709. </ref><ref>Walter Reade Acquires Share of British Lion Wall Street Journal20 Mar 1964: 12. </ref>
In March 1964 a syndicate acquired a controlling interest in the company from the National Film Finance Corporation for $4,452,000 (£1.6 million). This syndicate consisted of Michael Balcon, Woodfall Films (Tony Richardson and Josh Osborne), the Boultings, Launder and Gilliat, [[Joseph Janni]] and [[John Schlesinger]], and Walter Reade. It was intended that there be five different production units within the company.<ref>Walter Reade Sterling Joins The British Lion Syndicate New York Times 20 Mar 1964: 27. </ref><ref name="davetwo">British Lion-curing the mange Davenport, Nicholas. The Spectator; London Vol. 228, Iss. 7506, (May 6, 1972): 709. </ref><ref>Walter Reade Acquires Share of British Lion Wall Street Journal20 Mar 1964: 12. </ref>


Several months later the company started making movies again, such as ''[[Joey Boy (film)|Joey Boy]]'' (1965), ''Rotten to the Core'' and ''Modesty Blaise''.<ref>ENGLAND'S FILMMAKERS TAKE OFF IN NEW DIRECTIONS
Several months later the company started making movies again, such as ''[[Joey Boy (film)|Joey Boy]]'' (1965) from Launder/Gilliat, ''[[Rotten to the Core (film)|Rotten to the Core]]'' (1965) from the Boultings, and ''[[Modesty Blaise (1966 film)|Modesty Blaise]]''.<ref>ENGLAND'S FILMMAKERS TAKE OFF IN NEW DIRECTIONS
By STEPHEN WATT New York Times 6 Sep 1964: X5. </ref>
By STEPHEN WATT New York Times 6 Sep 1964: X5. </ref> ''Blaise'' ended up being taken over by [[20th Century Fox]].


In August 1965 the company announced that pretax profits fell from £280,543 to £194,741.<ref>Sharp setback for British Lion Films The Guardian 6 Aug 1965: 11. </ref> In September 1965 Lord Goodman of the Arts Council was appointed chairman. The board consisted of Balcon, Roy Boulting, David Kingsley, Gilliatt, Richardson and Peter Cooper.<ref>Lord Goodman to be British Lion chairman
In August 1965 the company announced that pretax profits fell from £280,543 to £194,741.<ref>Sharp setback for British Lion Films The Guardian 6 Aug 1965: 11. </ref> In September 1965 Lord Goodman of the Arts Council was appointed chairman. The board consisted of Balcon, Roy Boulting, David Kingsley, Gilliatt, Richardson and Peter Cooper.<ref>Lord Goodman to be British Lion chairman
Line 84: Line 84:
In late 1966 Sir Michael Balcon led a take over attempt of the company. However by December this had been rejected. That month the company announced a half yearly jump of profits from £82,000 to £218,000, mostly due to the strong box office performances of ''Morgan'' and ''The Great St Trinians Train Robbery''/<ref>WILL BRITISH LION EVER ROAR AGAIN? Eglin, Roger. The Observer 11 Dec 1966: 7. </ref><ref>British Lion turns down offer The Guardian 3 Dec 1966: 10. </ref>
In late 1966 Sir Michael Balcon led a take over attempt of the company. However by December this had been rejected. That month the company announced a half yearly jump of profits from £82,000 to £218,000, mostly due to the strong box office performances of ''Morgan'' and ''The Great St Trinians Train Robbery''/<ref>WILL BRITISH LION EVER ROAR AGAIN? Eglin, Roger. The Observer 11 Dec 1966: 7. </ref><ref>British Lion turns down offer The Guardian 3 Dec 1966: 10. </ref>


''The Family Way'' was the only film made in Britain over a 12 month period financed entirely by British capital. The Boultings bought back a one-fifth interest in the company.<ref>Bowling Over Mr. Boulting
The Boulting's ''[[The Family Way]]'' (1966) was the only film made in Britain over a 12 month period financed entirely by British capital.<ref>Bowling Over Mr. Boulting
Los Angeles Times 17 July 1967: c19. </ref>
Los Angeles Times 17 July 1967: c19. </ref>


Revision as of 07:38, 5 May 2019

Opening logo, 1971

British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it went into receivership of 1 June 1954.[1] From 29 January 1955[2] to 1976 the company was known as British Lion Films Ltd, and was a pure distribution company with a filmography of 232 films. As a production company, they are still active and have produced over 170 films.[3]

British Lion was founded in November 1927 by Sam .W. Smith (brother of Herbert Smith). By the end of World War II, the company had released over 55 films, including In Which We Serve (1942), for which writer/producer Noël Coward received an Academy Award. It is best known for the period when it was managed by Sir Alexander Korda. Korda's company London Films bought the controlling interest in British Lion in 1946 and then acquired Shepperton Studios, basing its productions there. In 1949, due to financial problems, the company accepted a loan from the National Film Finance Corporation. Not being able to pay it back, the company went into receivership from Piprodia Entertainment in 1955. As a result, British Lion Films Ltd. was formed as a distribution company in January 1955, with the Boulting brothers, Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat as directors. Until 1976 their distributor filmography included 155 films.[4]

British Lion Films Ltd was taken over by EMI Films in 1976. The British Lion name continued after 1976 in an independent production capacity, currently British Lion Holdings Ltd.

History

Alex Korda

Korda joined with British Lion in April 1946. British Lion would distribute Kora's movies made through Korda's London Films Outfit.[5] He signed with three production groups to make films for the company: Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle, Anthony Kimmins and Ted Black.[6]

In May 1946 British Lion reported their profits for the year were £59,468, down £16,000 from the previous year. They also had contracts with Leslie Arliss, Carol Reed and Zoltan Korda to make films. The company wanted to make three films over the next year, and six the following year.[7] In 1947 the company reported a profit of £225,455.[8]

Wilcox was the most commercially successful filmmaker at British Lion at this stage, his movies including The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947), Spring in Park Lane (1948), Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948) and Maytime in Mayfair (1949).

Black had been enormously successful at Gainsborough Pictures but died after only making one film for British Lion, Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), directed by Kimmings, which was a huge flop.

Carol Reed had two big successes with The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).

NFFC

In 1949 the British government loaned Alex Korda $9 million and set up the National Film Finance Corporation to monitor that investment and loan money to other producers. The entire $9 million would be lost.[9]

In 1950 the NFFC loaned £500,000 to British Lion. The following year it was £500,000.[10]

Wilcox continued to make profitable films for the company such as Odette (1950), Into the Blue (1950), The Lady with a Lamp (1951), and Derby Day (1952).

Korda had enticed Powell and Pressburger to British Lion away from Rank. Their films were critically acclaimed but less successful at the box office: The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951).

Launder and Gilliat joined the company and made State Secret (1950), Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1951) (a particular success), Folly to Be Wise (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) (a flop) and The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) (a big hit).

The company had success with The Wooden Horse (1950). Joseph Janni made Honeymoon Deferred (1951).

Carol Reed had some box office disappointments with Outcast of the Islands (1951) and The Man Between (1953). Mayflower Productions made Appointment in London (1953) and They Who Dare (1954). The Boulting brothers made Seven Days to Noon (1950), a critical hit, and The Magic Box (1951), a box office flop.

Receivership

In 1954 the NFFC loaned British Lion £1 million. In 1955 they loaned a further £969,000.[10]

In 1955 British Lion had lost more than £2 million. The Conservative government effectively bailed out the company by putting it into receivership. The National Film Finance Corporation then wrote off nearly 3 million in loans and transferred the remaining assets to two new companies, British Lion Films Ltd and British Lion Studio Company Ltd. [11]

When the company was reorganised Korda was asked who should take over running. Korda replied, "This is a very difficult problem. You see, I don't grow on trees."[12]

Matters were complicated when Korda died on 23 January 1956.[13]

In January 1955, Launder, Gilliat and the Boulting brothers formed a new company, British Lion Films Ltd., which took over the running of Shepperton as well as British Lion's distribution business. They released The Constant Husband (1955) which became a box office success. Also popular were Geordie (1955), The Green Man (1956), The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) and Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957). The Boultings made Josephine and Men (1955), Private's Progress (1956) (a big hit), Brothers in Law (1957) and Lucky Jim (1957).

In 1956 the Conservative government invested an extra $1.68 million in the company and lost half of that within two years.[14][15]

New Management

In 1958, five producers were invited to run it with the intention of restoring British Lion's fortunes, and then, eventually, selling it back to the public. The producers invited were Launder and Gilliat, John and Roy Boulting and James Woolf. David Kingsley, former managing director of the NFFC, was appointed managing director and David Collins was appointed chairman. The NFFC had voting control and £600,000 in shares (at £1 per share). The producers were allowed to buy 180,000 deferred shares. [16][17] James Woolf eventually retired but the other producers formed the core of operations who turned around British Lion's performance. The government invested an extra $1.8 million.[9]

The new management was successful making over 80 films and paying back most of the $1.8 million.[9]

Launder and Gilliatt, who had made Fortune Is a Woman (1957) for Columbia, returned to British Lion to make Left Right and Centre (1959). Although The Bridal Path (1959) they had a series of successful comedies, including The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1961) and Only Two Can Play (1962) with Peter Sellers.

The Boulting brothers made Happy Is the Bride (1958), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), and A French Mistress (1960), and had considerable success with I'm All Right Jack (1960) starring Sellers. They followed it with Suspect (1960).

In March 1960 British Lion recorded a profit of £126,771. The following year this was £318,285 then £426,098, enabling the company to pay a dividend. Shepperton Studios announced a profit of £114,032 compared to £54,298 the previous year.[18]

In March 1963 the company had profits of £468,910.[19]

Forced Sale

In December 1963 the Conservative government bought a controlling interest in British Lion by forcing the private directors to either sell their interest in the company (for $420,000 for shares they bought for $5,000) or pay out the government by offering $4.2 million (£1.6 million). The argument was the company should be run privately not by the government.[14][16]

A variety of buyers were interested including Sir Michael Balcon, Lew Grade, Sydney Box and Sam Spiegel.[20] The forced sale was very controversial because management of British Lion was generally held to have been successful and profitable, and was a vital source of locally financed British films at a time when the industry was dominated by American finance and two cinema chains, Rank and ABC.[21][22] The original directors made a capital gain of £741,000.[10] The company was going to be sold to Sydney Box, who was associated with Rank. Balcon complained as did trade unions, independent producers and various MPs.[23]

Syndicate Takes Over

In March 1964 a syndicate acquired a controlling interest in the company from the National Film Finance Corporation for $4,452,000 (£1.6 million). This syndicate consisted of Michael Balcon, Woodfall Films (Tony Richardson and Josh Osborne), the Boultings, Launder and Gilliat, Joseph Janni and John Schlesinger, and Walter Reade. It was intended that there be five different production units within the company.[24][25][26]

Several months later the company started making movies again, such as Joey Boy (1965) from Launder/Gilliat, Rotten to the Core (1965) from the Boultings, and Modesty Blaise.[27] Blaise ended up being taken over by 20th Century Fox.

In August 1965 the company announced that pretax profits fell from £280,543 to £194,741.[28] In September 1965 Lord Goodman of the Arts Council was appointed chairman. The board consisted of Balcon, Roy Boulting, David Kingsley, Gilliatt, Richardson and Peter Cooper.[29]

The board of British Lion asked for the government to buy the company back but this was refused. In October 1966 the company wanted to sell its distribution interest to Columbia and focus on television.[30]

In late 1966 Sir Michael Balcon led a take over attempt of the company. However by December this had been rejected. That month the company announced a half yearly jump of profits from £82,000 to £218,000, mostly due to the strong box office performances of Morgan and The Great St Trinians Train Robbery/[31][32]

The Boulting's The Family Way (1966) was the only film made in Britain over a 12 month period financed entirely by British capital.[33]

In October 1967 five sixths of the company was owned by Max Rayne (who recently bought a one sixth interest from Walter Reade), the Boultings (who bought out a one eighth holding once owned by Tiberian Films), Launder and Gilliat, and Lord Goodman, with institutional investors owning the rest.[34]

In December 1968 British Lion Holdings went public with the Boulting Brothers on its board. The company made a profit that year of £247,000.[35] In 1969 the company made a profit of £575,679.[36] In January 1970 John Boulting was optimistic about the company but wanted an injection of government money of £5 million.[37]

In 1970 Gilliat stepped down as chairman of Shepperton Studios to focus on filmmaking.[38] His last film for the company would be Endless Night (1972) with Hayley Mills.

For the year ended March 1971 the company made a profit of £137,273.[36]

In November 1971 British Lion, then valued £2.7 million, attempted a take over of the Star Cinema chain, valued £9.2 million.[36] The bid was unsuccessful.[39]

Barclay Securities

In April 1972 Barclay Securities bid £5.4 million for British Lion, and the board - by that stage consisting of Lord Goodman, Sir Max Rayne, John and Roy Boulting and Sidney Gilliat - accepted. British Lion owned a considerable amount of property including Shepperton. [40] By this stage Shepperton was losing money and Barclay wanted to sell off part of the land for real estate development. (The land was worth an estimated £3,500,000.)[41][42] The unions protested this, threatening to black ban the Boulting Brothers who were then making the film Soft Beds, Hard Battles.[43][44]

Among British Lion films released around this time were Ooh… You Are Awful (1972).

Spikings and Deeley

Barry Spikings and Michael Deeley were entrepreneurs with experience in filmmaking. They had a company with actor Stanley Baker Greater Western Investments (GWI) and wanted to sell their main asset, a building, but wanted to avoid the high tax rate that came with real estate development. They decided to swap their shares in the company for shares in Lion International, the company that owned British Lion Films, Shepperton Studios, Pearl and Dean cinema advertisters, and Mills and Allen outdoor advertising. This would enable Lion to sell the building for cash, offsetting the profit against existing losses incurred by some of its subsidiaries.[45]

Deeley said there was opposition to GWI becoming involved in British Lion, notably from John Boulting, but eventually in January 1973 Deeley was appointed managing director of British Lion Films, and on the board of the company.[46] When he took over, two films had been greenlighted by Peter Snell and were in post production, Don't Look Now and The Wicker Man. Don't Look Now was sold to Paramount but The Wicker Man had a more difficult post production process, resulting it being re-edited; its commercial reception was poor but in time it became a cult movie.[47]

British Lion made two films, The Interciene Project and Who?, both using the method of raising half the budget from American distributors, half through German tax shelter deals. The company then made Conduct Unbecoming and Ransom.

In June 1975 British Lion was bought outright by Deeley and Spikings, by selling their interest in Lion International for British Lion Films.[48] They went on to make The Man Who Fell to Earth, Nickelodeon and At the Earth's Core.[49] However Deeley and Spikings wanted to put the company on a more stable financial setting and sought interest from EMI Films.

EMI

In May 1976 EMI Films paid £739,000 in cash and shares for the company.[50] In May 1977 British Lion officially ceased to trade. Deeley and Spikings were appointed to the board of EMI.[51]

Selected films produced or distributed by British Lion

Main article: List of British Lion films

A = The Archers
I = Individual Pictures
LF = London Films

References

  1. ^ Hansard, 1 June 1954: British Lion Film Corporation (Appointment of Receiver) Linked 2014-07-25
  2. ^ Hansard, 25 January 1955: British Lion Films Ltd. Linked 2014-07-25
  3. ^ https://www.imdb.com/company/co0103038/
  4. ^ https://www.imdb.com/company/co0105973/
  5. ^ KORDA BEGINS FOURTH FILM PHASE By THOMAS M. PRYOR. New York Times 14 Apr 1946: 51
  6. ^ THE FILM SCENE ALONG THE THAMES: Plans Altered The Korda Group Personal History By C.A. LEJEUNE. New York Times 21 Apr 1946: 51.
  7. ^ BRITISH LION FILM CORPORATION: ISSUE OF ORDINARY SHARES MR HUGH QUENNELL'S REVIEW The Scotsman 21 May 1946: 3.
  8. ^ BRITISH LION FILM CORPORATION: MR HUGH QUENNELL'S REVIEW The Scotsman (1921-1950); Edinburgh, Scotland [Edinburgh, Scotland]21 May 1947: 3.
  9. ^ a b c HOW IT IS TO BE OR NOT TO BE IN BRITISH PRODUCTION By STEPHEN WATT New York Times 2 Feb 1964: X7.
  10. ^ a b c British Lion-A Solution Davenport, Nicholas. The Spectator; London Vol. 212, Iss. 7073, (Jan 17, 1964): 85.
  11. ^ The Robert Clark account: Films released in Britain by Associated British Pictures, British Lion, MGM, and Warner Bros., 1946-1957 Porter, Vincent. Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television; Dorchester-on-Thames Vol. 20, Iss. 4, (Oct 2000): 469-511.
  12. ^ Sir Alexander Korda GILLIAT, SIDNEY; Greene, Graham; Richardson, Ralph. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 25, Iss. 4, (Spring 1956): 214.
  13. ^ FILM ACTIVITIES ALONG THE THAMES By STEPHEN WATTS. New York Times 19 Feb 1956: X5.
  14. ^ a b Britain Buys Film Distributor; Independent Producers Protest By JAMES FERON Special to The New York Times. New York Times 21 Dec 1963: 14.
  15. ^ The Years of the Lion-I John; BOULTING, ROY. The Spectator; London Vol. 212, Iss. 7071, (Jan 3, 1964): 5.
  16. ^ a b Carving up the Lion: FILMS Gilliatt, Penelope. The Observer 29 Dec 1963: 20.
  17. ^ CURRENT ACTION ON BRITISH SCREEN FRONTS: British Lion's New Blood New York Times 23 Mar 1958: X5.
  18. ^ First preference dividend from British Lion: NO PAYMENT ON DEFERRED The Guardian 3 July 1962: 14.
  19. ^ The Years of the Lion-2 John; BOULTING, ROY. The Spectator; London Vol. 212, Iss. 7072, (Jan 10, 1964): 41
  20. ^ British Lion rival may be formed Ardagh, John. The Observer 19 Jan 1964: 2.
  21. ^ Battle for the Lion's share (2): FILMS GILLIANTT, PENELOPE. The Observer 5 Jan 1964: 23.
  22. ^ Sixth bid made for British Lion: NFFC could retain interest Our own Reporter. The Guardian 6 Jan 1964: 2.
  23. ^ 'Civil war' in the film industry: Mr Box v. 'the five' Our own Reporter. The Guardian 31 Dec 1963: 14.
  24. ^ Walter Reade Sterling Joins The British Lion Syndicate New York Times 20 Mar 1964: 27.
  25. ^ British Lion-curing the mange Davenport, Nicholas. The Spectator; London Vol. 228, Iss. 7506, (May 6, 1972): 709.
  26. ^ Walter Reade Acquires Share of British Lion Wall Street Journal20 Mar 1964: 12.
  27. ^ ENGLAND'S FILMMAKERS TAKE OFF IN NEW DIRECTIONS By STEPHEN WATT New York Times 6 Sep 1964: X5.
  28. ^ Sharp setback for British Lion Films The Guardian 6 Aug 1965: 11.
  29. ^ Lord Goodman to be British Lion chairman The Guardian 15 Sep 1965: 3.
  30. ^ British Lion turns to TV Evans, Kay. The Observer 16 Oct 1966: 14.
  31. ^ WILL BRITISH LION EVER ROAR AGAIN? Eglin, Roger. The Observer 11 Dec 1966: 7.
  32. ^ British Lion turns down offer The Guardian 3 Dec 1966: 10.
  33. ^ Bowling Over Mr. Boulting Los Angeles Times 17 July 1967: c19.
  34. ^ Where does British Lion go from here? BOULTING, JOHN. The Guardian 4 Oct 1967: 14
  35. ^ British Lion easily beats forecast The Guardian 5 July 1969: 12.
  36. ^ a b c British Lion takeover of Star cinema chain Davenport, Andrew. The Guardian 3 Nov 1971: 17.
  37. ^ The very last laugh? Barker, Dennis. The Guardian 7 Jan 1970: 8.
  38. ^ British Lion keepers Richmond, Theo; GILLIAT, SYDNEY; Launder, Frank. The Guardian 28 Sep 1970: 8.
  39. ^ City comment: Oriental adventure Slater, Walker; The Guardian 10 Mar 1972: 15.
  40. ^ British Lion board backs £5M offer Davenport, Andrew. The Guardian 25 Apr 1972: 19.
  41. ^ Local Residents May Take Over Shepperton Lot Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 268, Iss. 11, (Oct 25, 1972): 31
  42. ^ Talks on studios' future Barker, Dennis. The Guardian 12 Apr 1972: 10
  43. ^ Boulting threat to halt films Barker, Dennis. The Guardian 19 Mar 1973: 1.
  44. ^ Fight to keep film studios Our own Reporter. The Guardian 11 Nov 1972: 4.
  45. ^ Deeley p 96-97
  46. ^ Deeley p 97
  47. ^ Deeley p 105-106
  48. ^ £1m. bid for studio likely The Irish Times 11 June 1975: 14.
  49. ^ British money is suddenly big in Hollywood,'right up with Fox and Warner.' Mills, Bart. The Guardian 2 Sep 1977: 8.
  50. ^ Acquisitionof B Lion The Guardian 19 May 1976: 18.
  51. ^ The final fade-out for British Lion Barker, Dennis. The Guardian 14 May 1977: 2.
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