Century 21 Productions
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Century 21 Productions was a British film and television production company of the 1960s and 1970s, created from Anderson's earlier company AP Films, which was originally founded in 1957 as a partnership between four independent British film-makers, Gerry Anderson, Arthur Provis, John Read and Reg Hill. Provis later left the company and was replaced by Anderson's wife Sylvia. As AP Films, the company produced a string of successful British children's TV series including Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray.
APF was purchased in 1962 by Lew Grade, the owner of ATV, and in 1964 the company name was changed to Century 21 Productions. However, the children's Supermarionation series Thunderbirds (1964-66) was still credited as AP Films (Gerry Anderson Productions for series two).
All of the Century 21 company's productions featured an opening title sequence of a red dart piercing a series of concentric white circles against a blue background. This was accompanied by a typical Barry Gray string glissando and the caption "A Gerry Anderson Century 21 Television (or Cinema) Production". This sequence was first seen on the two Thunderbirds feature films, Thunderbirds Are GO (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1967) and was later used on the television series Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons (1967) and Joe 90 (1968).
Century 21's first live action feature was the science fiction thriller Doppelgänger (1970), which was nominated for an Academy Award for special effects and was followed by its first live action TV series, UFO (1970), which proved to be its last production.
Although other companies made children's TV series using puppets or marionettes, the APF / Century 21 Supermarionation productions were by far the most successful and best-known programs of their kind They are notable for their imaginative plots, futuristic settings, high production values and their impressive miniature special effects.
Aside from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson -- who became world-famous -- other important collaborators in the company's productions were cinematographer and Director of Photography John Read and producer Reg Hill, whose many important contributions to the company's productions are often overlooked. Prominent production team members included puppet master Christine Glanville, special effects director Derek Meddings and his 2nd Unit director Brian Johnson and composer-arranger Barry Gray, who composed and produced the themes and incidental music for all Anderson's productions up to and including the first series of in 1975.
The company also assembled a regular team of voice actors who worked on many series, including Shane Rimmer, Ray Barrett.
| Gerry Anderson |
|---|
| Television |
| The Adventures of Twizzle > Torchy the Battery Boy | Four Feather Falls | Supercar | Fireball XL5 | Stingray | Thunderbirds | Captain Scarlet | Joe 90 | The Secret Service | UFO | The Protectors | | Terrahawks | Dick Spanner, P.I. | Space Precinct | Lavender Castle | New Captain Scarlet |
| Feature Films |
| Thunderbirds Are GO | Thunderbird 6 | Doppelgänger |
| Companies/Techniques |
| AP Films > Century 21 Productions | Supermarionation |
| Notable Collaborators |
| Sylvia Anderson > David Lane | Barry Gray | Reg Hill | Derek Meddings | John Read |
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