Editing AP Films (section)

{{Short description|UK film and television production company}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Anderson Provis Films
| logo             = AP Films logo.png
| logo_alt         = The letters "A P F" in upper case, contained within an oval
| logo_caption     = Logo used by the company until 1966
| trading_name     = <!-- d/b/a/, doing business as - if different from legal name above -->
| type             = 
| former type      = 
| traded_as        = 
| industry         = {{plainlist|
* [[Television production]]
* [[Film production]]
}}
| genre            = {{plainlist|
* [[Science fiction]]
* [[Fantasy]]
* [[Adventure fiction|Adventure]]
}}
| fate             = Dissolved {{Circa}} 1972<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = La Rivière | first1 = Stephen | title = Filmed in Supermarionation | author1-link = Stephen La Rivière | year = 2014 | edition = 2nd | orig-year = 2009 | publisher = Network Distributing | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-992-9766-0-6 | chapter = A Wonderland of Stardust: ''Fireball XL5'' | page = 333}}</ref>
| predecessors     = {{plainlist|
* Polytechnic Films
* Pentagon Films<ref name = "Archer&Hearn2002">{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon | author1-link = Simon Archer (author) | last2 = Hearn | first2 = Marcus | title = What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson | year = 2002 | publisher = [[BBC Books]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5 | pages = 34–37}}</ref>
}}
| successors       = {{Plainlist|
*Group Three Productions
*{{Nowrap|Gerry Anderson Productions}}
}}
| founded          = 1957 ([[Maidenhead]], UK)<ref name="Archer&Hearn2002"/>
| founders         = {{plainlist|
* [[Gerry Anderson]]
* [[Arthur Provis]]
}}
| hq_location      = {{plainlist|
* Islet Park, Maidenhead
* (1957&ndash;1959)
* [[Slough Trading Estate]]
* (1959&ndash;1971)<ref>{{Cite book | title = Thunderbirds: The Vault | last1 = Hearn | first1 = Marcus | year = 2015 | publisher = [[Virgin Books]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-753-55635-1|page=237}}</ref>
}}
| key_people       = {{plainlist|
* [[Sylvia Anderson]]
* [[Reg Hill]]
* [[John Read (producer)|John Read]]
}}
| owner            = [[Lew Grade]] (from 1962)
| num_employees    = Over 200 (at its peak)
| parent           = [[Century 21 Organisation]]<br>(from 1966)<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon | author1-link = Simon Archer (author) | last2 = Hearn | first2 = Marcus | title = What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson | year = 2002 | publisher = [[BBC Books]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5 | page = 143}}</ref>
| subsid           = {{plainlist|
* Arrow Productions<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon | author1-link = Simon Archer (author) | last2 = Hearn | first2 = Marcus | title = What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson | year = 2002 | publisher = [[BBC Books]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5 | pages = 84–85}}</ref>
* {{Nowrap|[[Century 21 Merchandising|AP Films (Merchandising)]]}}
}}
}}

'''AP Films''' or '''APF''' (renamed '''Century 21 Productions''' in 1966) was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette television series&nbsp;– most significantly ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]''&nbsp;– produced for British [[ITV (TV network)|ITV network]] companies [[Associated-Rediffusion]], [[Granada Television|Granada]], [[ABC Weekend TV|ABC]] and [[Associated Television|ATV]]. At its height, the company employed more than 200 staff.{{sfnp|Archer|Nicholls|1996|p=120|ps=}}