Originally it made films to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming.
[2] The Foundation was formed in 1951 following the Wheare report that criticised the suitability of American programming for Saturday morning pictures.
[6] The films featured future British stars including Leslie Ash, Keith Chegwin, Phil Collins, Michael Crawford, Phil Daniels, Dexter Fletcher, Sadie Frost, Susan George, David Hemmings, Frazer Hines, Gary Kemp, Richard O'Sullivan, Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke, Sally Thomsett, Dennis Waterman, Carol White, Jack Wild and Matthew Wright.
[3] It also used established directors such as Charles Frend and The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972) was the last film production by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
[3][5] The films were also popular on US TV and in 16mm showings in public libraries in Germany, Japan, Canada and South Africa.