television genre film studio founded 1931 headquarters shepperton surrey england uk owner the pinewood studios group . parent the pinewood studios group . website www.pinewoodgroup.com our studios uk shepperton studios shepperton studios is a film studio located in shepperton surrey england with a history dating back to 1931 . it is now part of the pinewood studios group . during its early existence the studio was branded as sound city . contents 1 history 1.1 1930s 1960s 1.2 1970s to the present 2 stages and locations 3 selected film credits 4 selected television credits 5 references 6 external links history edit 1930s 1960s edit before shepperton studios was built there was littleton park which was built in the 17th century by local nobleman thomas wood . the old mansion still stands on the site . scottish businessman norman loudon purchased littleton park in 1931 for use by his new film company sound film producing & recording studios ; the facility opened in 1932 . the studios which produced both short and feature films quickly became successful and expanded rapidly . proximity to the vickers armstrongs aircraft factory at brooklands which attracted german bombers disrupted filming during the second world war as did the requisitioning of the studios in 1941 by the government who first used it for sugar storage and later to create decoy aircraft and munitions for positioning in the middle east . the ministry of aircraft production also took over part of the studios for the production of vickers wellington bomber components early in the war . after re opening in 1945 the studios changed hands . when sir alexander korda purchased british lion films he also acquired a controlling interest in sound city and shepperton studios . among the films in which he was involved during this period were the fallen idol 1948 and the third man 1949 which was shot both at the studios and on location and has been referred to as the best british film noir . 1 in spite of such successes british lion ran into financial difficulties in the 1950s when it was unable to repay a 1949 loan from the national film finance corporation and went into receivership on 1 july 1954 . 2 in january 1955 a new company british lion films ltd was formed and roy and john boulting took over at shepperton studios . their comedies such as i m all right jack 1959 were produced there as were dramas from other film makers such as j. lee thompson s the guns of navarone 1961 . the studio s other projects from the same decade include stanley kubrick s dr strangelove 1964 3 and the musical oliver 1968 which won the sound department s academy award . 4 1970s to the present edit street sign at shepperton studios despite the financial ups and downs of british lion and the changing of hands the studios remained active until the early 1970s . in 1969 the studios produced 27 films ; by 1971 this number had fallen to seven . production throughout the 1970s was erratic reaching a low of two films by 1979 . among the problems faced by shepperton studios during this time was the desire of new british lion director john bentley to sell the grounds for housing since re purposing the land would have nearly doubled its value . a compromise was proposed and in 1973 the area of the studios was reduced from 60 acres 240 000 m2 to 20 acres 81 000 m2 . the studios 1970s credits include kubrick s a clockwork orange and jimmy perry and david croft s dad s army 1971 richard attenborough s young winston 1972 and fred zinnemann s the day of the jackal . in 1975 the studios were again transferred to new ownership and in spite of sparse production schedules served as the filming site of some high budget productions including richard donner s the omen 1976 franklin schaffner s the boys from brazil 1978 ridley scott s alien 1979 david lynch s the elephant man 1980 attenborough s gandhi 1982 and david lean s a passage to india 1984 . in 1978 rock band the who filmed live concert scenes at shepperton especially for their documentary the kids are alright . in 1984 shepperton studios changed hands yet again coming under the control of brothers john and benny lee who renovated the studios but soon lost control as a result of the black monday of 1987 the 1988 writers guild of america strike and internal issues within their company lee international . bankers warburg pincus acquired the studios which became busy with the filming of tv shows as well as such films as franco zeffirelli s hamlet 1990 kevin reynolds robin hood prince of thieves 1991 and nicholas hytner s the madness of king george 1994 . in 1995 the studios were purchased by a consortium headed by ridley and tony scott which led to an extensive renovation of the studios as well as the expansion and improvement of its grounds . in 2001 shepperton studios underwent another merger to form part of the pinewood studios group which also owns pinewood and teddington studios in the uk as well as pinewood studio berlin in germany pinewood toronto studios in canada pinewood indomina studios in the dominican republic and pinewood iskandar malaysia studios in malaysia . stages and locations edit shepperton studios has 15 stages ranging in size from 3 000 square feet 280 m2 to 30 000 square feet 2 800 m2 five of which are equipped with interior tanks for water and underwater filming . although often described as the home of independent film and tv production in the uk the studios have also served as a production base for high budget films such as captain america the first avenger 2011 the filming for which used eight of the fifteen stages . the children s tv series thomas the tank engine & friends was shot on the t stage from 1984 to 2008 after which the live action models originally used were replaced with computer animation . the nearby little house and surrounding grounds have been used as a filming location for films such as the omen 1976 and the young victoria 2009 . the studios also have two large backlots which have recently been used to create two castle compounds for the film 47 ronin . selected film credits edit many films have used shepperton studios including in date order the fallen idol 1948 the third man 1949 the holly and the ivy 1952 an inspector calls 1954 richard iii 1955 mysterious island 1961 lawrence of arabia 1962 dr. strangelove 1964 becket 1964 georgy girl 1966 2001 a space odyssey 1968 oliver 1968 scrooge 1970 dad s army 1971 young winston 1972 psychomania 1973 the omen 1976 star wars 1977 the boys from brazil 1978 superman 1978 alien 1979 the elephant man 1980 flash gordon 1980 saturn 3 1980 blade runner 1982 gandhi 1982 a passage to india 1984 out of africa 1985 the princess bride 1987 henry v 1989 hamlet 1990 robin hood prince of thieves 1991 chaplin 1992 the muppets christmas carol 1992 four weddings and a funeral 1994 the madness of king george 1994 judge dredd 1995 sense and sensibility 1995 muppet treasure island 1996 the wind in the willows 1996 evita 1996 101 dalmatians 1996 g.i. jane 1997 lost in space 1998 shakespeare in love 1998 the mummy 1999 notting hill 1999 sleepy hollow 1999 billy elliot 2000 chocolat 2000 gladiator 2000 bridget jones s diary 2001 gosford park 2001 spy game 2001 about a boy 2002 bend it like beckham 2002 love actually 2003 alexander 2004 harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban 2004 troy 2004 wimbledon 2004 batman begins 2005 harry potter and the goblet of fire 2005 sahara 2005 star wars episode iii revenge of the sith 2005 the da vinci code 2006 atonement 2007 elizabeth the golden age 2007 the golden compass 2007 inkheart 2009 moon 2009 nine 2009 the young victoria 2009 clash of the titans 2010 robin hood 2010 captain america the first avenger 2011 hugo 2011 anna karenina 2012 5 john carter 2012 fast & furious 6 2013 gravity 2013 jack the giant slayer 2013 thor the dark world 2013 guardians of the galaxy 2014 into the woods 2014 avengers age of ultron 2015 victor frankenstein 2015 alice through the looking glass 2016 doctor strange 2016 patient zero 2016 beauty and the beast 2017 selected television credits edit thomas the tank engine & friends 1986 2008 tugs 1988 1990 red dwarf 1991 99 ; 2009 ; 2012 rebecca 1997 dancing on ice 2011 the crystal maze 1990 russell howard s good news 2014 you bet 1988 1997 references edit official history shepperton studios biography see for example malcolm derek 16 march 2000 . carol reed the third man . the guardian . the third man ... carol reed s second collaboration with graham greene is probably the best film noir ever made out of britain . ; reprinted in derek malcolm a century of films london & new york i.b tauris 2000 p. 51 53 51 the times 2 june 1954 page 6 receiver for british lion film corporation found in the times digital archive subscription required 2014 07 25 the casting credits after the film indicate the studio . the 41st academy awards 1969 nominees and winners . oscars.org . retrieved 2011 08 25 . keira knightley ambitious visual experience for karenina . azcentral.com . retrieved 2012 06 20 . external links edit shepperton studios the pinewood studios group v t e pinewood group studios current pinewood studios list of productions 007 stage underwater stage pinewood studio berlin pinewood toronto studios shepperton studios teddington studios under construction pinewood indomina studios pinewood iskandar malaysia studios v t e borough of spelthorne towns villages and localities ashford ashford common charlton laleham littleton lower halliford lower sunbury shepperton staines upon thames stanwell stanwell moor sunbury on thames sunbury common upper halliford key parks ashford park rec . ground beechwood rec . ground bishop duppas park knowle green laleham park spelthorne sports ground long lane rec . ground shortwood common staines moor staines lammas staines park sunbury park town lane rec . ground walled garden sunbury large listed buildings churches all saints laleham st mary s staines st matthews ashford st mary stanwell st mary magdalene littleton st nicholas shepperton other halliford school laleham abbey littleton manor the old manor house shepperton shepperton manor st paul s college st james senior boys school sunbury court education the bishop wand church of england school halliford school matthew arnold school st james senior boys school st. paul s college sunbury on thames spelthorne college sunbury manor school thamesmead school railway stations ashford kempton park shepperton staines sunbury upper halliford buildings and structures kempton park racecourse kempton park reservoirs kempton park steam engines king george vi reservoir queen mary reservoir shepperton studios staines reservoirs wraysbury reservoir thames water ring main m3 motorway and thames crossing staines bridge chertsey bridge walton bridge sport football ashford town middlesex f.c. spelthorne sports f.c. staines lammas f.c. staines town f.c. rugby london irish rfc staines rugby football club other staines boat club sunbury cricket club west surrey racing destroyed landmarks ashford manor astleham church stanwell place kempton manor sunbury manor v t e academy award for best sound mixing 1929 1950 douglas shearer 1929 30 paramount publix studio sound department 1930 31 paramount publix studio sound department 1931 32 franklin hansen 1932 33 john p. livadary 1934 douglas shearer 1935 douglas shearer 1936 thomas t. moulton 1937 thomas t. moulton 1938 bernard b. brown 1939 douglas shearer 1940 jack whitney 1941 nathan levinson 1942 stephen dunn 1943 edmund h. hansen 1944 stephen dunn 1945 john p. livadary 1946 gordon e. sawyer 1947 thomas t. moulton 1948 thomas t. moulton 1949 thomas t. moulton 1950 1951 1975 douglas shearer 1951 london films sound