Filmed Across the World, Made at Elstree : How television made at Elstree in the 1960s and 70s brought a global experience to the small screen

Abstract

The various studios of Elstree and Borehamwood were, in the 1960s and 70s, home to globetrotting adventurers including The Saint, Department S, Jason King, Danger Man, and The Baron. ITC Entertainment reached out to global audiences, winning the Queen’s Award for Export in the process, through the studios based in Elstree and Borehamwood. While many of the shows made featured the globetrotting exploits of their leading characters – Simon Templar, international playboy; Jason King, Interpol agent and novelist; and John Drake, spy and fixer for international organisations – the production crew rarely, if ever, left the confines of the TV sound stages and backlot, except for a brief dash down Borehamwood high street or into rural Hertfordshire. This paper will discuss the operations and technical methodologies used on a weekly basis by production crews in their attempts to recreate Rome, Paris, Madrid and even the Sahara Desert on small budgets, using stock footage and with limited materials.