Euston Films

FounderDefunct1994; 30 years ago (1994) (original)Headquarters, United KingdomProductsTelevision programmesParentWebsiteOfficial website

Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston Films productions include Van der Valk (1977), The Sweeney (1975–1978), Minder (1979–1994), Quatermass (1979), Danger UXB (1979), and Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). The Sweeney had two feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2, which were also produced by Euston.

In 2014, Euston Films was revived as a production company by the owner of Thames, Fremantle.

History

The idea for Euston Films dated back to 1965, when writer Trevor Preston and directors Jim Goddard and Terry Green were working at ABC Television. They produced a detailed proposal for a specialist production unit that shot dramas on 16mm film, rather than standard videotape.^[1]

The company was founded in 1971 when three Thames executives, Lloyd Shirley, George Taylor and Brian Tesler realised there was a market for a new type of television drama. To facilitate this new-style of quick-changing action, Euston used two crews filming different scenes of the same programme at the same time, which ensured production times were quicker. Euston eschewed the studio videotape shooting more commonly used in British television drama at the time, and all material was filmed on location using the more expensive but higher-quality^{[dubious – discuss]} 16mm film stock.

Initial shows such as Special Branch gained reasonable praise, but it was The Sweeney that first gave the company critical and commercial success. Using a storyline style known as "kick, bollock and scramble", this formula continued in such shows as Fox and Widows. In 1979, the company created Minder as a vehicle for Sweeney star Dennis Waterman, giving the company its longest-running show. In September 1986, Euston Films announced it would increase its production of theatrical films in a joint venture with Film Four International.^[2]

With the demise of parent company Thames as an ITV broadcast franchise holder in 1992, Euston's output reduced. It continued to make Minder for ITV franchisee Central Independent Television, but when this series was axed in 1994, further work was not forthcoming.

Euston Films was based at Colet Court in Hammersmith, London.

List of Productions

Year	Title	Notes
1973	Special Branch	Series 3 and 4 only
1974–5	Armchair Cinema
1975–8	The Sweeney
1977	Van der Valk	Series 3 only
	Sweeney!	Theatrical Film
1978	Sweeney 2	Theatrical Film
	Out
	The Sailor's Return	Theatrical Film
1979	A Deadly Game	TV movie
	Danger UXB
	Quatermass
	The Knowledge	TV movie
	The Quatermass Conclusion	Theatrical Film
1979–94	Minder
1980	Fox
1981	Stainless Steel and the Star Spies	TV movie
	The Flame Trees of Thika
1983	Reilly: Ace of Spies
	The Nation's Health
1983–5	Widows
1985	Monsignore Quixote	TV movie
	Storyboard: King & Castle	TV movie
1986	Paradise Postponed
	Prospects
	The Fourth Floor
1987	A Month in the Country	TV movie
	Bellman and True	Theatrical Film
	Lost Belongings
1988	Jack the Ripper
	Consuming Passions	Theatrical Film
	The Courier	Theatrical Film
	The Fear
1989	Dealers	Theatrical Film
1989–90	Capital City
1991	Shrinks
	Selling Hitler
1992	Anglo Saxon Attitudes
1995	Carrington	Theatrical Film
2018	Hard Sun
2019	Because the Night	TV movie
	Dublin Murders
2020	Bagdad Central
	The Sister
2022–present	Wreck
TBC	Nightsleeper	In development
	Tina	In development

Revival

In March 2014, it was announced that FremantleMedia (who had relaunched the Thames brand two years earlier) was to revive Euston Films as a production company.^[3] Former BBC drama executive Kate Harwood was recruited to take charge of the company.^[3] In December 2015, Euston announced it had secured a commission of a new drama series titled Hard Sun, written by Neil Cross, the creator of Luther. Filming took place in and around London, and the series was transmitted in early 2018.^[4] In July 2017, Channel 4 announced a new crime thriller called Baghdad Central would be produced by Euston Films.^[5]

Euston North/Castlefield

Euston Films launched a second production company called Euston North in January 2017. While the company carries on with their work in London and the South of England, the MediaCityUK-based Euston North focuses on productions in Manchester and the North of England.^[6][7][8] On 7 June 2019, Euston North was renamed Castlefield.^[9]

References

External links

• Roddy Buxton Cinema for Television - TMC Behind the Screens.
• Ian Jones This article terminates here: A journey through Euston Films - offthetelly.co.uk. March 2006.
• John Williams Euston Films - BFI Screenonline.