Gaumont-British Picture Corporation

Gaumont-British, a subsidiary of  French production company Gaumont, bought land for a studio at Shepherd’s Bush in 1912 and began producing by 1914. It was a solely British company from 1922 (run by the Ostrer brothers),. By the late ‘20s, it had 280  cinemas. With its distribution interests as well, it was a prime example of the vertical integration at work in the film industry.

In 1927 Gaumont-British teamed up with Michael Balcon‘s Gainsborough Pictures, with Balcon becoming director of production for both companies. Gaumont-British, the mother company based at Shepherd’s Bush, produced ‘quality’ pictures, while Gainsborough’s studios at Islington were dedicated to lower-status fare.

Source: ScreenOnline http://www.screenonline.org.uk

Films starring Charles Ashton made by Gaumont-British:

The Woman Juror (1926)

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