Michael Elias Balcon was born on 19 May 1896 in Birmingham. Leaving grammar school in 1913, he worked for the Dunlop Rubber Company during the First World War. After the war, he co-founded a film distribution company, producing his first film Woman-to-Woman in 1922. In 1924, he formed the film company Gainsborough, which was later merged into the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, and until 1936 Balcon was in charge of production. He was head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's production in Britain from 1936 until 1938, when he took charge of production at Associated Talking Pictures, renamed Ealing Studios soon afterwards, producing films during the 1940s and 1950s that achieved international success.
In 1948, the film Scott of the Antarctic was released, and in the same year, Balcon was knighted. After the BBC bought Ealing Studios, Balcon served as chairman of the Bryanston Company, a group of independent filmmakers, and as chairman of British Lion. He became a director of Border Television and served as governor of the British Film Institute. He died on 17 October 1977 at Upper Parrock, Sussex.
From the guide to the Sir Michael Balcon collection, 1948, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
