Editing Pinewood Studios (section)

===1930s===
In 1935, millionaire flour magnate [[J. Arthur Rank]] (1888–1972) went into partnership with Boot and they transformed the estate into a film studio. Boot based designs for the studio complex on the latest ideas being employed by film studios in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California. Boot named the new studio Pinewood because "of the number of trees which grow there and because it seemed to suggest something of the American film centre in its second syllable". Construction began in December of that year, with a new stage completed every three weeks. The studios were finished nine months later, having cost £1&nbsp;million (approx. £{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|1000000|1936}}}} at {{Inflation-year|UK-GDP}} prices). Five stages were initially completed and there was provision for an enclosed water tank capable of holding {{convert|65,000|impgal|L}}, which is still in use. In the years that followed, he also undertook further work on both the Pinewood Film Studios and the [[Denham Film Studios]], both of which had by then become a part of the newly-formed [[Rank Organisation]].

On 30 September 1936, the studio complex was officially opened<ref>Patricia Warren ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History'', London: B.T. Batsford, 2001, p.119</ref> by Dr [[Leslie Burgin]], [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Board of Trade]]. The first film director to use the facilities was [[Herbert Wilcox]], completing ''[[London Melody]]'' (1937) featuring [[Anna Neagle]] (his wife), portions of which had already been filmed at [[British and Dominions Imperial Studios]] in Elstree, before a fire there halted production. The first film to be made entirely at Pinewood was ''[[Talk of the Devil]]'' (1936), directed by [[Carol Reed]].

There followed a prolific period of Pinewood and British film history, with Pinewood following the studios adopting the "unit system", an American industry practice. That enabled several pictures to be filmed simultaneously and, ultimately, Pinewood achieved the highest output of any studio in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/Pinewood-Studio |title=Pinewood Studio &#124; Home of British Films |publisher=Britmovie |date=30 September 1936 |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317133224/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/Pinewood-Studio |archive-date=17 March 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>