screen100

Hello,

This is my first ever post on this paticular site. I was hoping that some people could provide me with some answers to a paticular project I am compliling.

I am currently working at the screen cinema at Walton-On-Thames, we are looking to run a film festival later this year celebrating the history of the area.

I am currently researching films that were shot around this area, (of any paticular era). I would be most grateful if anyone could provide me with a difinitive list
of films that were shot in this region, or close by.

Also any names of famous actors or actresses connected with walton, so far i have
only managed to uncover two, Cecil M Hepworth and Juilie Andrews.

Your help on this matter would, of course, be greatly appreciated.

John

Rob Compton

A good starting place would be to look at Patricia Warren's book on British Film Studios.

See, for example:

Abebooks Search Results - Patricia Warren and British Film Studios

smudge

Hi John -

A good source of information on this would be Walton local history society - they have done a couple of articles on the studios, written by people who worked there. I have yet to see a definitive list of films from W-O-T. It's sadly not a well documented studio. One suggestion would be to look through the films of Cameraman Geoffrey Faithfull on IMDb - he worked at Walton for a very long time.

Weybridge museum also has a collection on the studio which might help a little more

The old 60s centre at Walton was used a few times as a location, but most of the films originated at Shepperton. Two titles which spring to mind are THE RISE AND RISE OF MICHAEL RIMMER (Peter Cook) and Don Sharp's cult horror flick, PSYCHOMANIA. Certain sketches for Monty Python were also filmed in the centre.

Of course ITV's long running 50s series ROBIN HOOD was based there throughout its run. As I recall, one of the stages from Walton went to Hammer's Bray Studios when W-O-T closed.

As to actors, you might be better off looking at St. George's Hill and the famous residents of Weybridge. I know character actor Ewen Solon lived at Addlestone as did Gerry Anderson's FX supremo Derek Meddings at the very start of his career.

I'd be very interested to come down for your festival, so do please keep us updated here.

SMUDGE

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dylan

Go to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) . Type in "Walton" (not Walton on Thames) and a list of films will appear. Click on each film and then on "filming locations" on the left hand side.

That should help.

D

smudge

THAT'S why I never saw a definitive list ; too thick !

SMUDGE

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DB7

Some information I cobbled together here from a few books (and some notes courtesy of Smudge); Nettlefold

DB7

Also Butchers productions from the '50's.

Scrooge (with Alastair Sim) would be the most famous. Also Losey's Sleeping Tiger.

penfold

I reckon, even after a hundred years, that the most famous film to come out of Walton on Thames would still be Hepworth and Fitzhamon's 'Rescued by Rover', a seminal plot-led kidnap thriller that sold huge quantities of prints all over the world, was hugely influential, and was filmed mostly on location in the mean streets of W.oT.....Hepworth's studio was a world leader back then, his films a byeword for cinematic quality until the early twenties saw his style go out of fashion.

screenonline: Hepworth, Cecil (1874-1953) Biography

Bit of a Bay Window, what??