Pagewood Studios
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Founder | National Studios Ltd |
| Fate | Sold to Associated Television (1953); ownership passed to Holden manufacturing by 1959 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Film studio facilities |
Pagewood Studios operated as a film studio in Sydney, Australia, for two decades, facilitating the production of films from Australia, Britain, and Hollywood.
Creation
Established in 1935 by National Studios Ltd for National Productions, the complex was originally named National Studios. Its development was driven by expectations of expansion due to the NSW Film Quota Act, with National Studios Ltd having a capital of £250,000.
As the first Australian film studio constructed since 1912, its creation received financial backing and personnel assistance from Gaumont British. Within six months, the studio achieved a 26% profit margin. Despite this early success, it was soon eclipsed by Sydney's more established sound facilities, such as Cinesound and Figtree Studios located in Lane Cove. The studio ceased operations between 1937 and 1940 before reopening to produce That Certain Something (1940). During the Second World War, it was repurposed as a storage facility, training ground, and rehearsal and refitting center for the Australian Army Entertainment Unit.
Revival
The popularity of The Overlanders (1946) renewed interest among British firms in Australian film ventures. Ealing Studios utilized Pagewood to shoot Eureka Stockade (1949) and subsequently acquired the studio, appointing Eric Williams to oversee comprehensive renovations. Ealing produced Bitter Springs (1950) there and rented the premises for Wherever She Goes (1951) and Kangaroo (1952), although their intended adaptation of Robbery Under Arms did not come to fruition.
Closure
In 1952, Pagewood Studio temporarily shut down—a development Ken G. Hall described as "the worst blow the Australian film industry has ever received" and one that threatened its survival. The studio was sold to Associated Television the following year, and by 1959 ownership had fully passed to Holden manufacturing. Hall later remarked that Pagewood "never did turn out even one commercially successful Australian film."
Films shot at Pagewood
- Uncivilised (1936)
- The Flying Doctor (1936)
- Rangle River (1936)
- The Avenger (1936)
- Show Business (1938)
- Below the Surface (1939)
- Dad Rudd, MP (1940)
- That Certain Something (1941)
- The Power and the Glory (1941)
- Eureka Stockade (1949)
- Bitter Springs (1950)
- Wherever She Goes (1951)
- Kangaroo (1952)
- Long John Silver (1954)
- Smiley (1956)
- Robbery Under Arms (1957)
- Smiley Gets a Gun (1958)
- Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959)