This week the trailer for Howard Berry’s documentary for the centenary of filmmaking in Borehamwood and Elstree went online.  From Borehamwood to Hollywood: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Elstree tells the story of the studios in the two towns from the opening of Neptune Studios in 1914 right through to the present day success stories of the BBC Elstree Centre and Elstree Studios.

Topics include the silent film era, Hitchcock’s “Blackmail”, the fires at British and Dominions and EMI Elstree Studios, the arrival of commercial television, Lew Grade’s ATV and ITC Entertainment, ABPC, Stanley Kubrick, EMI Films, Danziger’s New Elstree Studios, The Gate Studios, MGM-British Studios, the financial slump of the early 1970s, the arrival of LucasFilm, The Muppet Show, Star Wars, the BBC and EastEnders, the closure of Elstree Studios and the S.O.S. campaign and the rescue by Hertsmere Borough Council, recent successes including Big Brother, The Worlds End and Strictly Come Dancing.

Interviewees include cast, crew and studio staff as well as historians and experts: Christiane Kubrick, Jan Harlan, Kelvin Pike, Steven Spielberg, Brian Blessed, Walter Murch, Kenneth Cope, Bryony Dixon (BFI), Paul Welsh, Barbara Windsor, Simon Pegg, Dave Prowse, Brian Clemens, Sir Roger Moore, June Randall, and many more!

The film is produced by TheCurators! Productions for the University of Hertfordshire, School of Creative Arts, and is supported by Elstree Screen Heritage.  Howard Berry, Senior Lecturer at the University is Producing and Directing, with Paul Welsh interviewing and co-narrating with Barbara Windsor.

To see the trailer, visit our page here.