Petula Clark and Diana Dors; and The Blue Lamp (also 1950), whose lead character, George Dixon, was named after Balcon's grammar school. This character was later used in the long-running television drama Dixon of Dock Green. In his 1969 autobiography, Michael Balcon Presents… A Lifetime of Films, he wrote that his years at Ealing Studios were "the most rewarding years in my personal career, and perhaps one of the most fruitful periods in the history of British film production." Besides Hitchcock, Balcon worked with Basil Dearden, Michael Relph and many other significant figures of British film. He was knighted in 1948 for his services to the industry. In 1944, Ealing Studios was taken over by the Rank Organisation. In 1955 Rank sold the studio to the BBC. As a result, Balcon left Rank in 1956 and set up the production company Ealing Films, striking a distribution and production deal with MGM. Balcon's company would shoot films at MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood and MGM would handle the worldwide distribution of the films. In 1959 Balcon became chairman of Bryanston Films, a subsidiary of British Lion Films. The firm went bankrupt in 1963. Balcon took over British Lion Films. He was proud to be associated with the British New Wave; the last film on which he worked as executive producer was Tom Jones (1963), after which he continued to encourage young directors, serving as chairman of the British Film Institute production board and funding low-budget experimental work. Famous Ealing Studios films San Demetrio London (d. Charles Frend, 1943) Champagne Charlie (d. Alberto Cavalcanti, 1944) Hue and Cry (d. Charles Crichton, 1946) Saraband for Dead Lovers (d. Basil Dearden, 1948) Scott of the Antarctic (d. Charles Frend, 1948) The Blue Lamp (d. Basil Dearden, 1949) Kind Hearts and Coronets (d. Robert Hamer, 1949) The Man in the White Suit (d. Alexander Mackendrick, 1951) The Cruel Sea (d. Charles Frend, 1952) The Ladykillers (d. Alexander Mackendrick, 1955) Balcon's Writings Balcon published one book and many articles, including: Realism or Tinsel? (1943) The Producer (1945) Twenty Years of British Film 1925–1945 (1947) Film Production and Management (1950) Michael Balcon Presents… A Lifetime of Films (1969) (his autobiography) Legacy A pub in Ealing is named in his honour. The BAFTA for Outstanding Contribution to British Film is presented every year in honour of Balcon's memory. In 1938, Balcon wrote an article in The Cine-Technician, the journal