Virgin Films (1970s company)
Virgin Films was a British film production company in the 1970s established by Ned Sherrin and Terry Glinwood. It is not to be confused with the later Virgin Films.
Sherrin and Glinwood worked together on Every Home Should Have One and in 1970 established Virgin Films together. Sherrin wrote their policy was "making as many films as possible."[1] The company soon made a profit of £75,000 a year. In March 1972 Robert Stigwood bought a controlling interest in the company for £250,000.[2] Sherrin and Glinwood would stay with the company and if Virgin's profits exceeded £125,000 for the next three years Stigwood would buy out the rest of the company.[3][4] Sherrin wrote " This looked like giving us some security. It also meant that we had to keep active."[5] Virgin attempted to expand into bigger budgeted films but were unsuccessful in having any filmed and the company wound up after having made seven features, all comedies.[6]
Select films
- Up Pompeii (1971) - for EMI
- Girl Stroke Boy (1971) - for Hemdale
- Up the Chastity Belt (1972) - for EMI
- Rentadick (1972) - for Rank
- Up the Front (1972) - for EMI
- The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) - for Columbia
- The National Health (1973) - for Columbia
- The Cobblers of Umbrage (short)
Unmade films
- The Last Virgin Alive by John Fortune and Eleanor Bron based on the novel Jam Today by Susan Barrett[7]
- The Rise and Fall of Jake Sullivan from a script by E.A. Whitehead based on novel by Hunter Davies[8]
- Lord Malquist and Mr Moon based on novel and script by Tom Stoppard
- Tolstoy Lives in 12n B9 based on novel by Eric Green
- a "mad medieval romance" to star the Bee Gees and be directed by Ridley Scott
- Peter Pan from a book by Patrick Garland with songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
- The Bodyguard Man from a novel by Philip Evans
- adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
- Cage of Water by Allan Scott and Chris Bryant
- Raincoat to be directed Chris Mankiewicz from script by James Salter
- The Vicar's Wife by Alan Bennett
- Gentleman Abe, a comedy Western
- The Spoils of Poynton based on a novel by Henry James
- May We Borrow Your Husband? based on book by Graham Greene
Notes
- Sherrin, Ned (2006). Ned Sherrin : the autobiography. Time Warner.
References
- ^ Sherrin p 201
- ^ "Stigwood to control Virgin Films". The Guardian Journal. 23 March 1972. p. 10.
- ^ "Bids and deals". The Birmingham Post. 23 March 1972. p. 7.
- ^ "Super profits on the way for Stigwood". Manchester Evening News. 23 June 1972. p. 18.
- ^ Sherrin p 213
- ^ Sherrin pp 216-230
- ^ "Cinema". Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush Gazette. 14 May 1970. p. 28.
- ^ These unmade projects are detailed in Sherrin pp 216-230