This week we go back 58 years to Elstree Studios and it is 1960 when film production still reigned supreme on the sound stages. The stars were a mixture of home grown talent and Hollywood imports.

Tony Hancock was starring in his own film comedy entitled The Rebel and was riding high on the success of his television and radio shows from the previous decade.

However it was the beginning of a downward period in his life and career which tragically would end just a few years later when Tony committed suicide in a lonely hotel in Australia.

Ironically a guest star in The Rebel would also follow the same fate. George Sanders was due to begin his film career at the British & Dominions Studio in Borehamwood in 1936 but it burnt down so he tried his luck in Hollywood. There he soon became a popular screen villain with his sardonic manner and went on to win an Oscar for a classic film role in All About Eve.

In private life George suffered from depression, as did Tony, and when his health started to fail in 1972 he took himself to a hotel room in Spain and took an overdose leaving a note saying he was bored with life.

In both cases it shows that fame and fortune are not always a guarantee of happiness.

Another Hollywood star at Elstree was the 1950s tinseltown heartthrob Jeff Chandler, well known for his prematurely grey hair. He was making a biblical story movie called The Story Of David with Barbara Shelley.

Young and fit, it looked like Jeff was due to have a successful long term future but he would be dead a year later. He damaged his back in his next movie and was taken to hospital for corrective surgery. However, he died on the operating table and his family subsequently sued the hospital for negligence.

On a happier note, Richard Todd was to enjoy a long and full life and I the pleasure to know him in his later years. Richard had great success at Elstree with several films including Rob Roy, The Hasty Heart with Ronald Reagan and of course The Dam Busters. His film career began to wind down in the 1960s and the film he was shooting at the studio called Don't Bother To Knock did little to help. Richard enjoyed a successful career on stage.

A new star on the block was Laurence Harvey who had shot to fame in Room At The Top and Expresso Bongo. He was working on a war movie called The Long and the Short and the Tall.

Laurence was not well liked by his colleagues but made a successful move to Hollywood where he starred with John Wayne in The Alamo and married the widow of Columbia Studios founder Harry Cohn. To digress, Harry was a hated figure but when he died a large number of people turned up for the funeral. One colleague turned to another and commented: "I never knew he was so popular." His fellow worker replied: "He was not, but they are here to make sure he is really dead."

Well it is great that Elstree Studios is still going strong all these years later and has such an interesting history. I think that is enough for this week and it is time to watch Strictly Come Dancing. So until next time don't forget - keep dancing.