Gaumont British

Gaumont British

Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was originally the British arm of the French film company Gaumont. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British. In 1927, Ideal, one of the leading British silent studios, merged with Gaumont.

The company's Lime Grove Studios produced films such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version of The 39 Steps, while Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938) was made at their Islington Studios.

In the United States, Gaumont-British had its own distribution operation for its films until December 1938, when it folded that operation and outsourced distribution to 20th Century-Fox.

In 1941, Gaumont-British along with its sister company Gainsborough Pictures, was acquired by the Rank Organisation.