John Maxwell, a Scottish solicitor or lawyer from
Glascow, saw the potential in the new cinema industry in 1912 while handling
the legal affairs of a number of small cinemas and, seeing the commercial
possibilities, acquired a stake in them. By 1922 his "Scottish Cinema
and Variety Theatres" had 20 cinemas and he had moved into production
with Waverley Films.
In 1925, the owners of British National Films were
having financial problems. They were also in the process of building a large
studio complex called British National Studio. After a disagreement between
Williams and Schlesinger, the founders, Maxwell provided legal services
and invested into the additional building of the studio. The following year,
as arguments escalated between Williams and Schlesinger, Maxwell went to
court and was able to take control of the company. With the company came
the British National’s 40-acre studio site at Shenley Road, Borehamwood
– a complex now known erroneously, as Elstree Studios.
Maxwell immediately renamed it British International
Pictures (BIP) and made it the umbrella company for his growing empire.
Being a lawyer, Maxwell was astute enough to know
that he knew very little about film production, so he surrounded himself
with knowledgable people. One of the first moves that he made was to bring
in a promising young director from Gainsborough
Studios named Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock was given a 3 year, 12 film
contract.
He then acquired Walter Mycroft, a founding member
of the London Film Society and film critic for the Evening Standard as editor.
By 1928, Maxwell had acquired 43 cinemas with 5 more
under development in 3 different circuits: Scottish Cinema and Variety Theatres,
Savoy Cinemas and Favourite Cinemas. He consolidated the 3 chains to form
the Associated British Cinemas (ABC).
Realizing the importance of sound, Maxwell installed
RCA Photophone recording equipment in April of 1929 in the rush to be the
first studio to provide sound. Historians constantly disagree which was
the actual first 'all talkie' to be released..The contenders being British
and Dominion's Wolves; British Lion's Clue of the New Pin; British Sound
Film's Crimson Circle; Neo-Art Productions White Cargo.... but the one most
talked about is BIP's Blackmail directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
To help recoup his huge investment into sound distribution,
Maxwell became head of Wardour Films which became the distribution arm of
BIP. Maxwell also acquired British Instructional Films and their studios,
Welwyn.
Maxwell's cinema chain had grown to over 120 cinemas,
and with other recent acquisitions, Maxwell decided to reorganize his empire
in 1933. He changed the name of the studios to Associated-British
Picture Corporation (ABPC) and made Mycroft head of production.
In 1936, when Gaumont-British,
Maxwell's major rival, had major financial problems, Maxwell went to negotiate
a take-over of Gaumont-British. While Maxwell negotiated with the board,
Isidore Ostrer was negotiating a secret deal with 20th
Century Fox which would bail out Gaumont-British and eventually turn
them over to the Rank Organization.
Angry and disappointed, Maxwell sued but lost in his
attempt. Instead he purchased another chain of 130 cinemas. Maxwell also
initiated a new building program to develop new movie palaces going under
names of Regal, Savoy and Ritz.
Shortly afterward, the disasterous fire next door
at the Imperial Studio left British
and Dominions in desperate need of help. Unfortunately, Maxwell had
just spent his investment money acquiring the new theater chain and British
and Dominions was also acquired by the Rank Organization.
In 1939, Amalgamated Studios in Elstree also became
debt-ridden. While Maxwell negotiated, Rank AGAIN purchased Amalgamated
just to keep Maxwell from acquiring it.
With the outbreak of the war, the studios at Elstree
were requisitioned by the government and ABPC's production was moved to
Welwyn Studios which they had acquired in 1930.
Unfortunately, John Maxwell passed away in 1940 ending
a brilliant rise to power through hard work and drive.
