British Lion Films Corporation is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Until 1976 they were also film distributors as British Lion Films Ltd, with a distributor filmography of 232 films. As a production company they are still active and have produced over 170 films[1]. Production company refers to a company responsible for the physical production of a motion picture. ... A Film distributor is an independent company, a subsidiary company or occasionally an individual, which acts as the final agent between a film production company or some intermediary agent, and a film exhibitor, to the end of securing placement of the producers film on the exhibitors screen. ... Film refers to the celluloid medium on which movies are printed. ...

British Lion Incorporated was founded in November 1927 by S.W. Smith. By the end of World War II, the company had released over 55 films including In Which We Serve for which writer/producer Noel Coward received an Academy Award. It is best known for the period when it was managed by Sir Alexander Korda. Korda's company London Films bought the controlling interest in British Lion in 1946 and then acquired Shepperton Studios, basing its productions there. In 1949, due to financial problems, they accepted a loan from the National Film Finance Corporation. Not being able to pay it back, the company went into receivership in 1955. As a result British Lion Films Ltd. was formed as a distribution complany in 1933. Until 1976 their distributor filmography includes 155 films[2]. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... In Which We Serve is a 1942 war film written by and starring Noel Coward, and directed by Coward and David Lean, both making their directorial debut. ... Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life) (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Alexander Korda (September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956) was a film director and producer, a leading figure in the British film industry and the founder of London Films. ... London Films was a British film studio founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda. ... Shepperton Studios at Shepperton, Surrey, England is a film studio with a long history of film making. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

British Lion Film Corporation was taken over by EMI in 1976, the collection was subsequently sold to Cannon, then Weintraub Entertainment, then Movie Acquisitions Corporation, which was renamed Lumiere Pictures, then UGC (DA), now with Canal + Image. The British Lion name continued post-1976 in an independent production capacity"[3]. The EMI Group is a major record label, based in Kensington in London, in the United Kingdom. ... Golan-Globus produced a distinct line of low-budget action films from 1979 to 1989. ... UGC is the largest European cinema operator with, as of October 2004, 92 sites and 929 screens across six countries: UK: 41 cinemas, 391 screens France: 40 cinemas, 365 screens Spain: 5 cinemas, 88 screens Belgium: 4 cinemas, 56 screens Ireland: 1 cinema, 17 screens Italy: 1 cinema, 12 screens... Canal Plus Group (Canal+) is a French film and television studio and distributor. ...

See also

• The British Lion Films Website
  
• BFI information
  
• Screen Online information