page_title: Michael Balcon
section_title: Filmography
hierarchical_section_title: Michael Balcon / Filmography
caption_attribution_description: English: L. to R.&#160;: Rouben Mamoulian (director), Miriam Hopkins (actress), Michael Balcon (visitor) &amp; Kenneth Macgowan (producer) on the set of Becky Sharp - publicity still
context_page_description: Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, of Jewish heritage, known for his leadership of Ealing Studios from 1938 to 1955. He left after ownership had changed for a second time. Under his direction, it became the most notable British film studio. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerges as a key figure, and an obdurately British one too, in his benevolent, somewhat headmasterly approach to the running of a creative organization. He is known for his leadership, as well as his guidance towards first time Director Alfred Hitchcock.
  Balcon had earlier co-founded Gainsborough Pictures with Victor Saville in 1923; later working with Gaumont British, which absorbed their studio. Later still he worked with MGM-British. In 1956 he founded a production company known as Ealing Films, and later headed British Lion Films. He served as chairman of the British Film Institute production board to help fund and encourage new work.
  Balcon was a legendary figure in the British Film Industry, and his most famous style of films he produced were 'Post War Comedies.'
context_section_description: In 1920, Micheal had begun his career in filmmaking during the 1920s and, together with Victor Saville and John Freedman, he formed Balcon, Freedman & Saville. After the war, Balcon's friend Victor Saville suggested a partnership to establish a film distribution company for the new and growing industry. The company, Victory Motion Pictures, led to them settling in London, opening an office in Soho in 1921. In 1923, their first feature film was released, the successful melodrama Woman to Woman, starring Clive Brook and Betty Compson, and directed by Graham Cutts. They leased Islington Studios and formed the more long-lasting Gainsborough Pictures.
  The studio, recently vacated by the Hollywood company Famous Players-Lasky (later Paramount Pictures) was small but well equipped and fully staffed. A young Alfred Hitchcock was one of its employees. Balcon gave Hitchcock his first directing opportunity, and Gainsborough gained a reputation for producing high-quality films.
caption: Rouben Mamoulian, Miriam Hopkins, visitor Michael Balcon, and Kenneth Macgowan on the set of Becky Sharp (1935)
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