Adelphi Films: Difference between revisions

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<blockquote></blockquote>{{Infobox company

| name = Adelphi Films Limited

| logo = Adelphi Films Limited Logo.png

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}}

'''Adelphi Films Limited''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] film production company. With its sister company Advance, it produced over 30 films in the 1940s and 1950s and distributed many more. Adelphi linked [[Gainsborough Pictures]] and the raw “[[Kitchen sink realism|kitchen sink]]” dramas of the early 1960s.

Adelphi Films was founded in 1939 by Arthur Dent and is now managed by his granddaughter Kate Lees.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Adelphi Films story|url=http://www.adelphifilms.com/default.asp|publisher=Adelphi Films|accessdate=14 April 2011}}</ref>

==Films==

Adelphi is an archive of British feature films. The Adelphi film collection comprises over 40 [[British films]], stored for decades in a London suburban garage. Dating mainly from the 1940s and 1950s, the Adelphi film collection features many British stars of the period, including [[James Mason]], [[Max Bygraves]], [[Spike Milligan]], [[Diana Dors]], [[Peter Sellers]], [[Petula Clarke]], [[Prunella Scales]], [[Sid James]], [[Wilson, Keppel and Betty]] and [[Rolf Harris]]’ screen debut. [[Dorothy Squires]]’ only film appearance was in ''[[Stars in Your Eyes]]'' (1956) which was co-scripted by [[Talbot Rothwell]] before he wrote scripts for the ''[[Carry On (film series)|Carry On]]'' movies.

The collection holds many long unavailable films including featuring [[The Goons (The Goon Show)|The Goons]], first released in 1951, with [[Peter Sellers]], [[Spike Milligan]], [[Harry Secombe]], [[Bill Kerr]] and [[Alfred Marks]] (''[[Penny Points to Paradise]]'' and ''[[Let's Go Crazy (film)|Let's Go Crazy]]'').<ref>{{cite news|last=Brooks|first=Richard|title=Lost Peter Sellers films on screen after 50-year intermission|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6493736.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005210913/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6493736.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 5, 2009|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=June 14, 2009}}</ref> These films were released on [[DVD]] in August 2009.

Adelphi owns the [[copyright]] of the collection, (although several were released by other associated companies). In 2009, the company donated 30 reels of film to the [[BFI National Archive]] for [[Film preservation|restoration]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Outing for restored comedy films|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8100947.stm|newspaper=BBC News|date=15 June 2009}}</ref> Mainly shot in [[black and white]], the [[film]]s generally run between 80 and 90 minutes.

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==People involved==

The list of players reads like a ‘who's-who’ of [[United Kingdom|British]] [[acting]] and [[comedy]] talent of the period – [[Ronnie Corbett]], [[Dennis Price]], [[Hermione Baddeley]], [[Fred Emney]], [[Cardew Robinson]], [[Freddie Frinton]], [[Ted Ray (comedian)|Ted Ray]], [[Dora Bryan]], [[Rachel Roberts (actress)|Rachel Roberts]], [[Tommy Trinder]], [[Brian Rix]], [[Vera Day]], [[Joan Hickson]], [[Joan Sims]], [[Harry Fowler]], Diana Dors [[John Gregson]], and [[David Tomlinson]].

==History==

Aldephi was founded in 1939. In 1949 it was acquired by Arthur Dent, who ran it with his two sons, Stanley and David. Arthur Dent had been a salesman for Famous Players-LaskyPlayers–Lasky and worked for producers and Sam Goldwyn, and produced ''Comin' Thro the Rye'' (1947) for Advance.

==Select Films==

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*''[[Melody in the Dark]]'' (1949) - written by John Guillermin

*''[[The Bait (1950 film)|The Bait]]'' (1950)

*''[[A Ray of Sunshine (film)|A Ray of Sunshine]]'' (1950)

*''[[Let's Go Crazy (film)|Let's Go Crazy]]'' (1951) (short) - with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan

*''[[Penny Points to Paradise]]'' (1951) - with Sellers, Milligan and Harry Secombe

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*''[[The Kilties are Coming]]'' (1952)

*''[[Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?]]'' (1953) - directed by Maurice Elvey with Doris Dors

*''[[Disobedient (film)|Disobedient]]'' (1953) - as Advance aka ''Intimate Relations''

*''[[The Great Game (1953 film)|The Great Game]]'' (1953) - as Advance, with Diana Dors

*''[[Alf's Baby]]'' (1953) for ACT Films - with Pauline Stroud

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*''[[He Done her Wrong]]'' (1953)

*''[[The Slappiest Days of Our Lives]]'' (1953)

*''[[Hands of Destiny (1954 film)|Hands of Destiny]]'' (1954)

*''[[Shop Spoiled]]'' (1954) aka ''The Crowded Day'' - directed by John Guillermin with John Gregson

*''[[Don't Blame the Stork]]'' (1954) - as Advance-Objective

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==External links==

*[https://adelphifilms.com/ Official website]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190622231105/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b96746aee Adelphi Films] at BFI

*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1405736/index.html Adelphi Films] at BFI Screenonline