Profile
Michael Balcon
Film Producer
Male
Born
May 19, 1896
Hometown
Birmingham
Died
Oct 17, 1977
Death Place
Hartfield
Other Names
Balcon, Michael E...
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.
Family
Discover the family history of Michael Balcon.
Michael Balcon
d.1977
children
News + Updates
Browse recent news and stories about Michael Balcon.
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Ces Cadavres Qu'on Ramasse à La Pelle Le FigaroGoogle News - Aug 30, 2011
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Entretien Avec John Landis à Propos De "Cadavres à La Pelle"… Et De Bien D ... CulturopoingGoogle News - Aug 26, 2011
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Seis Curiosidades Sobre Alfred Hitchcock Sexenio, Extraordinary LifeGoogle News - Aug 13, 2011
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Blu Ray Review: Whisky Galore – Ealing Studios Classic Still Holds Up Today! What Culture!Google News - Aug 09, 2011
Timeline
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Michael Balcon.
CHILDHOOD
1896
Birth
Born on May 19, 1896.
TEENAGE
1907
11 Years Old
Growing up in a respectable but impoverished setting, in 1907 Balcon won a scholarship to Birmingham's Dixon Grammar School known as George Dixon International School, where a plaque is erected, but had to leave in 1913 owing to his family's financial needs.
1915
19 Years Old
He worked as a jeweller's apprentice, was turned down for service in World War I because of defective eyesight, and joined the Dunlop Rubber Company's huge plant at Aston Cross in 1915, rising to become personal assistant to the managing director. After the war, Balcon's friend Victor Saville suggested a partnership to establish a film distribution company. The company, Victory Motion Pictures, led to them settling in London, and an office in Soho was opened in 1921.
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TWENTIES
1924
28 Years Old
On 10 April 1924, Balcon married Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988), daughter of Max Jacobs and Beatrice Leatherman, born in Middlesex, but brought up in Johannesburg.
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THIRTIES
1931
35 Years Old
Still, between 1931 and 1936, Balcon produced a number of classics, including a string of Hitchcock successes (like The 39 Steps) and Man of Aran, known as 'Balcon's folly' for going well overbudget.
1934
38 Years Old
He also helped individuals escape Nazi Germany, including the actor Conrad Veidt, who had starred in his 1934 film Jew Suss.
FORTIES
1936
40 Years Old
By 1936, Gaumont was looking for an entry into the American market, Balcon spent several months in the country forming links with the big Hollywood studios.
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1938
42 Years Old
When Balcon was invited to head Ealing Studios in 1938, he readily agreed.
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FIFTIES
1948
52 Years Old
Besides Hitchcock, he worked with Basil Dearden, Michael Relph, and many other significant figures of British film. He was knighted in 1948.
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LATE ADULTHOOD
1959
63 Years Old
In 1959 Balcon became chairman of Bryanston Films, a subsidiary of British Lion Films.
1963
67 Years Old
The firm went bankrupt in 1963 with Balcon taking over British Lion Films.
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1977
81 Years Old
Balcon was an avid theatre and opera goer, loved travel (especially to Italy), and had a wide circle of friends. In 1977, he died peacefully at Upper Parrock, the fifteenth-century house set on a Sussex hilltop near the Kent border where he and his wife had lived since the Second World War.
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Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Balcon.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.