Merton park studios history book

History for earlier history see merton historic parish. Outside of london, studios congregated in three main areas, and i have grouped them according to shared territory, rather than the financial affiliations. Unlike many other studios, it remained open during world war ii. With merton park studios sorted by popularity ascending imdb. The 20 best british science fiction films in pictures. This film has been made available for noncommercial research and educational purposes courtesy the british council film collection. Rome2rio makes travelling from richmond to south merton easy. The studios continued making films into the early 1970s but the industry was changing and cinemas no longer had a need for the b films that the studio was so adept at making. Charting mertons military history, this collection is grouped into pre1914 images, the first world war, the second world war and post 1945 conflicts. Merton park studios, london produced by jack greenwood 01 urge to kill 1960 59 min. Do you live in merton park, or have you lived in merton park recently. Investigating are supt graham geoffrey keen and inspector lodge john warwick, two favourites of the scotland yard film series.

Sep 18, 2018 zienia merton obituary actor who found tv fame in the 1970s science fiction series space. And, lest we forget, surreys answer to king kong called konga, in which a 50 foot high, geneticallymodified ape rampages arthritically down croydon high street. Lights, camera, merton the films of merton park studios. In the 1940s, it was owned by piprodia entertainment, nikhanj films and film producers guild opened in 1929, many second features were produced there, and for a time it was home to radio luxembourg. Old rutlishians sports club in leafy london sw19 sees a helicopter drop in briefly and deposit an unknown guest making his way to wimbledon tennis. Wimbledon studios was established as the merton studios. My collectionsmerton park studios remembered by stanley. Its been one of the bestkept secrets in british film history, but now it can be revealed that merton park studios was used by some of the biggest names in the business from actors such as peter sellers, michael caine and rita tushingham to directors such as lindsay anderson, joseph losey and joan littlewood. Merton park is a place in the london borough of merton. I havent identified the film, but the location is the junction of wotton road and newton road, very close to the stoll studios on temple road the large building in this aerial photograph. The fact that the scene was wrapped up in one take the next day must have reinstated me in jacks good books, because i did six more films at mps after that. In the 1940s, it was owned by piprodia entertainment, nikhanj films and film producers guild.

To celebrate the film output from this south west london studio. Horrors of the black museum 1959, directed by arthur crabtree, merton park studios, 4 gails present of binoculars is a nasty booby trap she is blinded and killed by them. Its the olde how can you be in two places at once, if youre not anywhere at all gig. All praise to archivists like linda perkins who are not only keeping the memory of merton. It is a quiet and leafy suburb situated between wimbledon, morden, south wimbledon and wimbledon chase. The man in the hospital bed has been identified by delaney as dr. Its been one of the bestkept secrets in british film history, but now it can be revealed that merton park studios was used by some of the biggest names in the. An affectionate tribute to the home of many secondfeatures, serials and propaganda films, including reminiscences from many technicians at a reunion in the pub nearest the studio s former entrance. The actor stanley morgan, who appeared in one scales of justice, two scotland yard and five edgar wallace films, has kindly written a memoir of his time at merton park studios for the. The film producers guild at merton park with jack greenwood as producer were to make twenty, while independent artists with julian wintle and leslie parkyn were scheduled to make thirty. Find the perfect places to go with your kids and get out on your next adventure. Here you will find the story of hollywoods little brother its location, its history, its filmography, its actors. By 1910 their studios in mitcham proved too small and they moved to croydon, where they made popular crime and detective films. Here a staff of 15 made propaganda and patriotic shorts to cash in on the euphoria at the start of the first world war.

The film producers guild at merton park with jack greenwood as producer were to make twenty, while independent artists with julian wintle and leslie parkyn. Rayner is indeed at work, where he is supposed to be, but for some reason hes got bandages on his face, and a cockamamie story about being bumped from behind in his car and. The bill was a weekly tv police show on british television network itv, running from 6 october 1984 until 31 august 2010. So in our lqi we use all the available data on public transport, taxi services, parking places and the distance to the city center or the next borough when calculating the livability of a place. Merton park studios ltd angloamalgamated film distributors ltd. All praise to archivists like linda perkins who are not only keeping the memory of merton alive, but are spreading knowledge of it to those hitherto unfamiliar with its. In 19 a breakaway studio was set up in quintin avenue, merton park by a former partner of cricks. If so, let us know what you like about living in merton park. Unlike many other studios, they remained open during world war ii, producing films for the ministry of information. Merton park studios was iconic, a creature of its time. The last film was made in 1967, before merton park closed due to financial. The above series of films were all produced at the merton park film studios in london. About second feature films or bmovies, mostly crimebased, were made at the studios, with. Merton park studios was a british film production studio in south wimbledon, london.

Zienia merton obituary actor who found tv fame in the 1970s science fiction series space. There are 184 merton park parks and playgrounds to pick from. Opened in 1929, many second features were produced there, and for a time it was home to radio luxembourg. In early 1960, it was announced that anglo amalgamated had acquired the rights to ninety edgar wallace stories and had arranged for two companies to make them into films. About second feature films or bmovies, mostly crimebased, were made at the studios, with production reaching its peak in the early 1960s. Each episode will focus on six or seven inspiring projects that will provide read more. The exresidence of lady hamilton, merton park rolled out edgar wallace mysteries, edgar lustgarten police procedurals, government information shorts and the ovaltinees advert. The actor stanley morgan, who appeared in one scales of justice, two scotland yard and five edgar wallace films, has kindly written a memoir of his time at merton park studios for the site. Remembering mertons silver screen past your local guardian. Ctva uk edgar wallace mysteries merton park studios.

The bill was a weekly tv police show on british television network itv, running from 6 october 1984 until 31 august 2010 history of the bill before merton studios. Richmond to south merton 4 ways to travel via train, and. The annual merton heritage centre, local history sale has lots of books, postcards, maps and more on offer. With merton park studios sorted by popularity ascending. The book is of course excellent on the big studios. Merton park area guide what makes merton park so great. Sept 1960 uk theatrical release date merton park studios produced by jack greenwood.

Long since out of print though, so would be a booksearch job. Merton park studios were used by some of the biggest names in the british film business peter sellers, michael caine, rita tushingham, and many others. Merton park to london gatwick airport lgw 6 ways to. The films were all crime themed, usually a mixture of murder, blackmail, burglary, etc. In the 1940s, it was owned by the film producers guild. There were rockin clubs and cafes with cool jukeboxes, teen poolside parties with local bands, sometimes it was a seedy bar with a sleazy torch singer, a beatnik coffeehouse, maybe dancing somewhere in outer space. Still, the legacy of merton park studios lives on and if you tune into tv channels such as talking pictures today, youll likely spot a film made here. South of merton park station a long metal lattice footbridge spanned both lines and giving access to a local playing field. A brief history merton park studios was a british film production studio in south wimbledon, london. Jan 22, 2016 merton park studios was a british film production studio in south wimbledon, london. A 10 minute service is operating due to operational restrictions. A frustrated thriller writer wants accurate crimes for his next book so he hypnotizes his assistant to make him commit the required crimes. Dec 07, 2016 this film has been made available for noncommercial research and educational purposes courtesy the british council film collection. Why not explore some other local areas merton area guide wimbledon area guide raynes park area guide colliers wood area.

Its been one of the bestkept secrets in british film history, but now it can be. Books about wimbledon village and merton pubs, history. Buy lights, camera, merton the films of merton park studios by clive whichelow isbn. Investigating are supt graham geoffrey keen and inspector lodge john warwick. A brief history will be contained in patricia warrens british film studios but. The rapid development of wimbledon to the north encouraged innes to develop his land for housing. The films of merton park studios by clive whichelow. The studios were previously a winedistribution warehouse, which was acquired by thames television as a replacement for their barlby road base in north kensington in the early 1990s. Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Find all the transport options for your trip from merton park to london gatwick airport lgw right here. The area now known as merton park was farm land owned by city merchant john innes who was the local lord of the manor. A new book uncovers the story of wimbledons film heritage.

Charting merton s military history, this collection is grouped into pre1914 images, the first world war, the second world war and post 1945 conflicts. Stephen rayner, and yet when investigated, its found out that dr. Weve rounded up the best parks and playgrounds in merton park in our quest to discover brilliant family attractions and places to visit near you. Its only a shame that some lost studio ledger could not have been discovered. His book about his experience has just been published and mentions that the motorcycle showroom was in wimbledon and the boys studies, with covered in memorable photocollages, were actually sets filmed late in the production at merton park studios. This series of films was made for the cinema at merton park studios. The merton abbey chord remained busy with freight, but the junction at the tooting end was severed on 10 march 1934, the up track was removed and the section was worked as a long siding from merton park, with control by telephone from instruments in the merton abbey goods office. We have a number of images from the two world wars, so the respective subcollections have been divided into relevant topics for ease of use. Welcome to the merton park studios tribute website. March 1960 uk theatrical release date merton park studios produced by jack greenwood 02 edgar wallace mysteries. The helicopter operator, apollo air services, runs a vip charter service.

Scotland yard detectives pursue the murderers of a hungarian girl found dead on an amusement park ride. Its been one of the bestkept secrets in british film history, but now it can be revealed that merton park studios was used by some of the biggest names in the business from actors such as peter sellers, michael caine and rita tushingham. Rome2rio makes travelling from merton park to london gatwick airport lgw easy. With clifford earl, patrick ashton, brian blamey, tony bray.

The footbridge remained intact for many years after closure of the tooting line but was eventually shortened in the 1980s so it just crossed the mitcham line. Until the last quarter of the 19th century, the parish of merton was mainly rural. Above left is a photograph reproduced in the picturegoers whos who and encyclopaedia 1933. Local events in merton park morden wimbledon chase. Horror, science fiction, fantasy, spy, superhero, jd, thriller and noir films, thats what we like, and a recurring theme in a lot of those kinds of movies has always been music. I think the timing was such that less was known about the likes of say merton park or southall when the book was written. There will never be anything like it again, and i feel truly honoured to have been a small contributor to its history. Feb 16, 2009 merton park studios 1937 to 1967 was the prolific producer of the edgar wallace series of supporting features released between 1960 and 1964, along with the similar scotland yard 19531961 and scales of justice 19621967 films. This was the lowbudget production world of a filmperweek schedule up to 14 camera setups a day. Opened in 1930, many second features were produced there, and for a time it was home to radio luxembourg.

You want to be free to go wherever you want, when you want. If the book were to be updated today they would have much bigger entries. My collectionsmerton park studios remembered by stanley morgan. Merton park studios was a british film production studio located at long lodge, 269 kingston road in merton park, south london.

Merton park studios 1937 to 1967 was the prolific producer of the edgar wallace series of supporting features released between 1960 and 1964, along with the similar scotland yard 19531961 and scales of justice 19621967 films. One of the last films made by merton park studios, based near wimbledon, 1966s invasion featured more crashlanded aliens in the home counties. The new halfhour tv show is produced by merton park film studios of toronto. Merton park studios was a british film production studio located at long lodge, 269 kingston road in south wimbledon, london. An impressive array of talent appeared at the merton park studios at long lodge in kingston road, a creative hub short on space but not on ambition. History of wimbledon studios merton studios the bill. The studios were also used for the channel 5 soap opera family affairs, which was produced by thames and had moved from a site in hayes. Information of this kind can be found in patricia warrens authoritative book on british film studios and at the various websites devoted to studio history that i have signalled in this post. Find all the transport options for your trip from richmond to south merton right here. Public transport should only be used for essential journeys. About bmovies, mostly crimebased, were made at the studios, with production reaching its peak in the early 60s. This talk will be given by clive whichelow, a merton park resident, to introduce his new book, lights, camera, merton.