Once the biggest distributor, now the smallest, Gaumont-British has started the rolling Sandwich Film Festival to provide an outlet for independant British films. Submit your film here, or on Filmfreeway.
Our aim is to build an audience for, and provide a regular outlet for, small films. Read about it here
Gaumont-British Films
Gaumont-British was founded in 1898 as the British subsidiary of the French Gaumont Film Company. It became independent of its French parent in 1922 when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British. In 1927 the Ideal Film Company, a leading silent film maker, merged with Gaumont.
The company's Lime Grove Studios was used for film productions, including Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of The 39 Steps (1935), while its Islington Studios made Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). In the 1930s, the company employed 16,000 people.
In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it outsourced distribution to 20th Century Fox.
In 1941 the Rank Organisation bought Gaumont-British and its sister company Gainsborough Pictures. Rank also took control over rival cinema chain, Odeon Cinemas, the same year.
Gaumont-British and its sister company Gainsborough Pictures are now owned by Gregory Motton.
Gaumont once owned 343 buildings, and was one of the largest film distibutors. It was taken over by Rank in 1941, and then merged with Odeon. The last cinema bearing the name Gaumont, in Doncaster, became an Odeon in 1987.
The Gaumont Cinema Kilburn seated 4004 people and was one of the largest auditoria in Europe.
The Foyer.
