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388 Rotuid the Studios
old Barker studio, a red-brick and tin hangar which was one of the first fihn studios in Great Britain.
Contrasted with its neighbour, the A.R.P. studio looks almost impossibly modem. Viewed by itself, it stands out as a typical product of up-to-theminute thought. From the framed cartoon in the blue-and-white entrance hall (depicting two horses which, tethered together, try in vain to drink from separate troughs) to the glowing cubes of light set in the ceiling, the place breathes modernity and forcefulness.
" Co-operation " is the title of that sketch — for the two horses eventually go together to the one trough,
Basil Dean has caused that word to be emblazoned in foot-high letters on every blank wall. Even the iron cross girders of the £25,000 powerhouse bear the word in huge lettering. The watchword is carried throughout the studio lay-out itself. The cutting-room connects with the projection chamber, and this in turn \vith a full-sized preview theatre.
The complete sound installation of the two huge floors is interconnected by an elaborate system of microphone lines. On the main floor itself is a squat, compact affair of engine-turned aluminium called the " organ " which, with its rows of stops on a sloping panel, does, indeed, resemble a strange harmonium console. By manipulating the switches and knobs of the " organ " one man can control the camera, lock the studio doors before a " take," mark the film, illuminate the " silence " signs throughout the building, and mute all telephone bells whose sudden whirr might reach the sensitive ear of the microphone.
The comfort of players and staff is well considered. There are rows of softly-lit dressing-rooms, each one with gleaming white bathroom, cheerful walls, and attractive furniture in unstained oak.
The A.R.P. studio restaurant is probably the finest in England. It is known as the " Inn " and, in addition to the scarlet-and-yellow tables and chairs with which it is furnished, it is equipped with a long " snack counter " at which dozens of extras and technicians can lunch quickly and comfortably when time presses.
Next door to the restaurant another big building houses the rehearsal room, fitted with floor of pohshed parquet, pianos, radio-gramophone, and dais for a band.
The studio block itself is faced by huge iron drop-screen doors, which are frequently raised between " takes," so that plenty of fresh air reaches the sets. Outside an enormous camera tower, originally built for tlie tenement scene in Looking On the Bright Side, allows camera and crew to be raised or lowered for " new angle " shots above the heads of the crowd on the " lot."
There is a particularly attractive board-room leading out of the cafe. It is decorated in the modern style which characterizes the whole place. The scenario department is another finely planned and decorated section of the organization, and here the A.R.P. script writers work in comfort and quiet.
Gloria Swanson herself, who considered almost every British studio when looking for a centre for her first British film, chose A.R.P. as being the most suitable studio for her purpose. And with her coming a British studio saw. for the first time, indications of the veneration in which great