View source for Michael Balcon

{{Short description|English film producer (1896–1977)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2010}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Sir]]
| name               = Michael Balcon
| image              =File:Becky Sharp (1935) 8.jpg
| caption            = [[Rouben Mamoulian]], [[Miriam Hopkins]], visitor Michael Balcon, and [[Kenneth Macgowan]] on the set of the film ''[[Becky Sharp (film)|Becky Sharp]]'' in 1935.
| birthname          = Michael Elias Balcon
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1896|5|19|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Birmingham]], [[Warwickshire]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1977|10|17|1896|5|19|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Hartfield]], [[East Sussex]], England
| occupation         = [[Film producer]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|Aileen Freda Leatherman|1924}}
| children           = 2, including [[Jill Balcon]]
| relatives          = [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] (grandson)<br />[[Tamasin Day-Lewis]] (granddaughter)
}}

'''Sir Michael Elias Balcon''' (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English [[film producer]] known for his leadership of [[Ealing Studios]] in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film studios of the day. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerged 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, and his guidance of young [[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 described in his obituary in ''[[The Times]]'' as a "pioneer of British films" who "had courage, energy and flair for showmanship".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=18 October 1977|title=Sir Michael Balcon|work=[[The Times]]|issue=60137|access-date=}}</ref>

==Background==
{{Moresources | section|date=February 2024}}
Born at [[Edgbaston]], [[Birmingham]], Balcon was the youngest son and fourth of five children of Louis Balcon {{circa|1858–1946}} and his wife, Laura (née Greenberg; c. 1863–1934), [[History of the Jews in Lithuania|Lithuanian Jewish]] immigrants from Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire) who had met in Britain. His father described himself as a tailor, but rarely worked in that capacity; he "preferred to travel", including to South Africa, where his brother-in-law had settled. His wife was left to raise the children as best she could, but the family experienced poverty. Despite what he called a "respectable but impoverished" childhood, in 1907 Balcon won a scholarship to Birmingham's [[George Dixon Academy|George Dixon Grammar School]], where he had an "undistinguished" academic career, and had to leave in 1913 owing to his family's financial needs. A commemorative plaque was subsequently placed at George Dixon Grammar School, marking his notability as a film producer.<ref>{{openplaque|1615}}</ref> He worked as a jeweller's apprentice, was turned down for service in the First World War because of defective eyesight, and joined the [[Dunlop Rubber Company]]'s huge plant at [[Aston#Aston Cross|Aston Cross]] in 1915, rising to become personal assistant to the managing director.<ref>{{cite ODNB | url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30787 | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30787 | date=2004 | last1=Kemp | first1=Philip | title=Balcon, Sir Michael Elias (1896–1977), film producer }}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{Moresources | section|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Green plaque Michael Balcon.jpg|thumb|[[Blue plaque|Green plaque]] on Balcon's house in Tufton Street, [[City of Westminster|Westminster]]<ref name="Green plaque">{{openplaque|3069}}</ref>]]

Balcon began 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 (1923 film)|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.

===Balcon and Hitchcock===
In 1924, he and [[Graham Cutts]] founded Gainsborough Pictures, which he presided over for twelve years, as director of production for Gaumont-British from 1931. During this time, Balcon oversaw Alfred Hitchcock's very first production titled [[The Pleasure Garden (1925 film)|The Pleasure Garden]]. The film was followed by Hitchcock's [[The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog]] as well as [[The Ring (1927 film)|The Ring]] showing that Hitchcock's talent was growing and diversifying. At first, Balcon was doubtful about 'The Lodger' but after a re-edit by [[Ivor Montagu]], he became confident in the production.

Balcon's independence had eroded and Gainsborough became an extension of the [[Gaumont Film Company]]. Still, between 1931 and 1936, Balcon produced a number of classics, including a string of Hitchcock successes, such as ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|The 39 Steps]]'' and ''[[Man of Aran]]''; directed by [[Robert J. Flaherty]] the latter was known as 'Balcon's folly' for going well over budget.

He also helped individuals escape [[Nazi Germany]] as persecution of Jewish citizens increased, including the actor [[Conrad Veidt]], who had starred in his 1934 film ''[[Jew Suss (1934 film)|Jew Suss]]''. By 1936, Gaumont was looking for an entry into the American market. Balcon spent several months in the United States forming links with the big Hollywood studios.

On his return, he found Gaumont in financial ruin and joined [[MGM-British Studios]] that November. His assistant Edward Black took over the studio.<ref name="edward">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-ted-black/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=1 December 2024|access-date=1 December 2024|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Ted Black}}</ref> The year and a half Balcon spent at MGM British was a trying period for Balcon, who clashed frequently with studio head [[Louis B. Mayer]]. During this period, Balcon lived at 57a Tufton Street, Westminster. Today a commemorative plaque marks his former home.<ref name="Green plaque" />

==Ealing Studios==
{{Moresources | section|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Michael Balcon blue plaque.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|[[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]] on the front wall of the White Lodge at [[Ealing Studios]], [[Ealing]] Green.<ref>{{openplaque|111}}</ref>]]
When Balcon was invited by an old associate of his, [[Reginald Baker (film producer)|Reginald Baker]], to head [[Ealing Studios]] in 1938, he readily agreed. Under his benevolent leadership and surrounded by a reliable team of directors, writers, technicians and actors, Ealing became the most famous British studio in the world, despite turning out no more than six feature films a year.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

''[[Went the Day Well?]]'', ''[[Dead of Night]]'', ''[[Undercover (1943 film)|Undercover]]'' (1943), and the [[Ealing Comedies]] were released during his time there. Other films from the studio include ''[[Dance Hall (1950 film)|Dance Hall]]'' (1950) with [[Petula Clark]] and [[Diana Dors]]; and ''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (also 1950), whose lead character, George Dixon, was named after Balcon's grammar school. This character was later used in the long-running television drama ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]''.

In his 1969 autobiography, ''Michael Balcon Presents… A Lifetime of Films'', he wrote that his years at Ealing Studios were "the most rewarding years in my personal career, and perhaps one of the most fruitful periods in the history of British film production."{{page needed|date=January 2018}}

Besides Hitchcock, Balcon worked with [[Basil Dearden]], [[Michael Relph]] and many other significant figures of British film. He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1948 for his services to the industry.

In 1944, Ealing Studios was taken over by the [[Rank Organisation]]. In 1955 Rank sold the studio to the [[BBC]]. As a result, Balcon left Rank in 1956 and set up the production company Ealing Films, striking a distribution and production deal with [[MGM]]. Balcon's company would shoot films at [[MGM-British Studios]] in [[Borehamwood]] and MGM would handle the worldwide distribution of the films.

In 1959, Balcon became chairman of [[Bryanston Films (UK)|Bryanston Films]], a subsidiary of [[British Lion Films]].<ref>p. 220 Barr, Charles. ''Ealing Studios'', University of California Press, 1998</ref> The firm went bankrupt in 1963. Balcon took over British Lion Films.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/447085/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Balcon, Michael (1896-1977) Biography|website=screenonline.org.uk|access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>

He was proud to be associated with the [[British New Wave]]; the last film on which he worked as executive producer was ''[[Tom Jones (1963 film)|Tom Jones]]'' (1963), after which he continued to encourage young directors, serving as chairman of the [[British Film Institute]] production board and funding low-budget experimental work. He was later appointed to the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute.<ref>{{cite Hansard|title=Written Answers to Questions - Government Directors on Company Boards|jurisdiction=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|house=[[House of Lords]]|date=13 March 1967|volume=281|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-02-08/Writtens-1.html|column_start=161|column_end=162}}</ref> 

=== Famous Ealing Studios films ===
*''[[San Demetrio London]]'' (d. [[Charles Frend]], 1943)
*[[Champagne Charlie (1944 film)|''Champagne Charlie'']] (d. [[Alberto Cavalcanti]], 1944)
*''The Overlanders'' (1946)
*[[Hue and Cry (film)|''Hue and Cry'']] (d. [[Charles Crichton]], 1946)
*''[[Saraband for Dead Lovers]]'' (d. [[Basil Dearden]], 1948)
*[[Scott of the Antarctic (film)|''Scott of the Antarctic'']] (d. [[Charles Frend]], 1948)
*''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (d. [[Basil Dearden]], 1949)
*''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (d. [[Robert Hamer]], 1949)
*''Eureka Stockade'' (1949)<ref name="stockade">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/wrecking-australian-stories-eureka-stockade/|access-date=15 March 2025|date=15 March 2025|title=Wrecking Australian stories: Eureka Stockade}}</ref>
*''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (d. [[Alexander Mackendrick]], 1951)
*[[The Cruel Sea (1953 film)|''The Cruel Sea'']] (d. [[Charles Frend]], 1952)
*''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (d. [[Alexander Mackendrick]], 1955)

==Balcon's Writings==
Balcon published one book and many articles, including:
*''Realism or Tinsel?'' (1943)
*''The Producer'' (1945)
*''Twenty Years of British Film 1925–1945'' (1947)
*''Film Production and Management'' (1950)
*''Michael Balcon Presents… A Lifetime of Films'' (1969) (his autobiography)

==Legacy==
A pub in Ealing is named in his honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-sir-michael-balcon|title=The Sir Michael Balcon|publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon|access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> The [[BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award|BAFTA for Outstanding Contribution to British Film]] is presented every year in honour of Balcon's memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/film/curzon-outstanding-british-contribution-to-cinema|title=Curzon &#124; Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema|date=31 January 2017|website=bafta.org}}</ref>

In 1938, Balcon wrote an article in ''The Cine-Technician'', the journal of the filmmakers union, titled 'I wish I could join' in which he criticised the working condition under which films were made and was instrumental in improving these conditions and increasing the salaries of people working on film sets.<ref>{{Cite news|date=27 October 1977|title=Letter: Sir Michael Balcon|work=[[The Times]]|issue=60145}}</ref>

Balcon was knighted in 1948.<ref name=":1" />

==Personal life==
On 10 April 1924, Balcon married Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988), daughter of Max Jacobs and Beatrice Leatherman, whose families were Jewish immigrants from Poland. She was born in [[Middlesex]], but brought up in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa. The couple enjoyed theatre and opera, loved travel (especially to Italy), and had a wide circle of friends. Lady Balcon was one of a series of society beauties photographed as classical figures by [[Madame Yevonde]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Madame Yevonde's Goddesses - in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2011/may/08/madame-yevonde-goddesses |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 May 2011 |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> They had two children: Jill (1925–2009), and Jonathan (1931–2012).

In 1946, Aileen was appointed an [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]] for her war work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp14492/april-aileen-freda-balcon-nee-leatherman-lady-balcon|title=(April) Aileen Freda Balcon (née Leatherman), Lady Balcon - National Portrait Gallery|website=npg.org.uk}}</ref>

Their daughter [[Jill Balcon]] became an actress.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/457365/|title=BFI Screenonline: Balcon, Jill (1925-2009) Biography|website=screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> She met Anglo-Irish poet, [[Cecil Day-Lewis]], and the two started a relationship, marrying in 1951. (He was twenty years older than she and already married when they met. He had two teenage sons, and a mistress.) Michael Balcon was deeply unhappy about the marriage, and became estranged from his daughter as a result.<ref name="obitguard">[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jul/20/jill-balcon-obituary "Obituary: Jill Balcon"],''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>

In 1977, Balcon died at [[Upper Parrock]], a 15th-century house set on a Sussex hilltop near the Kent border.<ref name=":1" /> He and his wife had lived there since the Second World War. He was cremated and his ashes buried there.

He was a life-long friend of director [[Charles Frend]] with whom he collaborated on a number of Ealing Studio films.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BFI Screenonline: Balcon, Michael (1896-1977) Biography|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/447085/index.html|access-date=8 June 2021|website=screenonline.org.uk}}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
===Producer===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Notes
|-
| 1933
| ''[[I Was a Spy]]''
|
|-
|1933
| ''[[Leave It to Smith]]''
|
|-
|1933
|''[[The Constant Nymph (1933 film)|The Constant Nymph]]''
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Princess Charming (film)|Princess Charming]]''
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Evergreen (film)|Evergreen]]''
| (uncredited)
|-
| 1934
| ''Along Came Sally''
| (uncredited)
|-
| 1935
| ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|The 39 Steps]]''
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Stormy Weather (1935 film)|Stormy Weather]]''
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Things Are Looking Up (film)|Things Are Looking Up]]''
|
|-
| 1936
| ''[[The First Offence]]''
|
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Secret Agent (1936 film)|Secret Agent]]''
|
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Tudor Rose (film)|Tudor Rose]]''
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Doctor Syn (film)|Doctor Syn]]''
| (uncredited)
|-
| 1938
| ''[[A Yank at Oxford]]''
|
|-
| 1940
| ''[[The Proud Valley]]''
|
|-
| 1941
| ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]''
|
|-
| 1941
| ''[[Turned Out Nice Again]]''
|
|-
| 1942
| ''[[The Foreman Went to France]]''
|
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Went the Day Well?]]''
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[For Those in Peril (1944 film)|For Those in Peril]]''
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Champagne Charlie (1944 film)|Champagne Charlie]]''
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The Halfway House]]''
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Dead of Night]]''
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Pink String and Sealing Wax]]''
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[The Captive Heart]]''
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[The Overlanders (film)|The Overlanders]]''
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]''
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[It Always Rains on Sunday]]''
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Saraband for Dead Lovers]]''
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Scott of the Antarctic (film)|Scott of the Antarctic]]''
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]''
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[A Run for Your Money]]''
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]''
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]''
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[The Magnet (film)|The Magnet]]''
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[The Blue Lamp]]''
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]''
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]''
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Mandy (1952 film)|Mandy]]''
|
|-
| 1953
| ''[[The Cruel Sea (1953 film)|The Cruel Sea]]''
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[The Maggie]]''
|
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]''
|
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Night My Number Came Up]]''
|
|-
| 1956
| ''[[The Long Arm (film)|The Long Arm]]''
|
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Shiralee (1957 film)|The Shiralee]]''
|
|-
| 1957
| ''[[All at Sea (1957 film)|All at Sea]]''
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Dunkirk (1958 film)|Dunkirk]]''
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Siege of Pinchgut]]''
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Scapegoat (1959 film)|The Scapegoat]]''
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[The Long and the Short and the Tall (film)|The Long and the Short and the Tall]]''
|
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Balcon, Michael (1969). ''Michael Balcon presents... A Lifetime of Films'' (autobiography). London. [[Hutchinson (publisher)|Hutchinson]] & Co
* Duguid, Mark and others (ed.) (2012). ''Ealing Revisited''. [[British Film Institute|BFI]]

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/447085/index.html Michael Balcon biography and credits at BFI Screenonline]
*[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30787 Michael Balcon] in the ''[[Dictionary of National Biography|Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''
*{{IMDb name|0049608}}
*[https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/jonathan-balcon Personal history of Sir Michael Balcon by his son, Jonathan Balcon on British Entertainment History Project]

{{Michael Balcon}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcon, Michael}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:British film studio executives]]
[[Category:English film producers]]
[[Category:British film production company founders]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:English people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Latvian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:People educated at George Dixon Academy]]
[[Category:People from Edgbaston]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Governors of the British Film Institute]]