The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

20 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN Jan. -Feb., 1953 Cine Profiles Beginning a new series of short biographies of some of the men and women in Britain's film industry who are active in the film technicians' union, A.C.T. In this issue, ' Recorder ' reports on Frank Fuller and Steve Cox. FRANK FULLER learned some lessons on his way to school in the City of London. From his home in South London he used to cross Tower Bridge at eight every morning, and passed those dockers who were returning from the Pool of London unable to get a day's work there. Scraps of conversation about making ends meet and the worried look that the trial of casual labour brought impressed themselves on the mind of young Frank. So when at fifteen he started work, he was raring to join a Union. He also was keen to become an engineer, but the only employment that came his way was as a messenger in an office. In one of his first jobs he and a number of his mates joined an engineering union, and were promptly sacked; Frank was offered his job back, if he ceased being " a young hot-head." Frank's answer was typical of a man of principle— he immediately joined the strike pickets. Unemployment was rife in those days, and in 1921 he was fortunate to get a job with Pathe Labs, and there he has been employed to this day, except for the shut-down in 1949. The person who got him the job was the Negative Cutter — who later became Mrs. Louisa Fuller; she worked with Freddie Watts on the original Pathe Pictorial, exploring the technicalities of sound-film cutting. To write of Frank Fuller is to write a section of Pathe's history equally it is to write a section of A.C.T.'s history. With Bill Sharp, Frank Baker, Ernie Potter and others all still with Pathe Labs, he joined A.C.T. in 1935. In 1937 Frank was elected on to the Laboratory Negotiating Committee, since when he has been on every single lab negotiation. A.C.T. was still in its pioneering stage then, and it took until March 1939 before the first lab agreement was signed. m Frank Fuller In 1941 Frank helped to negotiate the first costof-living bonus for lab members. In 1942 he was elected shop steward at Pathe's Wardour Street labs — a position he held continuously until early 1952. when Ronnie Spillane was elected. In 1945 the lab employers refused to ratify the new agreement, an official overtime ban was imposed, and eventually the dispute went to National Arbitration for settlement; with George Elvin, Les Pryor and Sid Bremson, Frank represented A.C.T., and the best comment on their efforts that one can make is that they won complete victory for lab members. The 1946 annual general meeting elected Frank as Laboratory Vice-President. Later that year he went with Kay Mander, George Elvin, Ralph Bond and Ron Collins as A.C.T.'s contingent to the Prague Film Festival, visiting the Barandov studios and labs; there Frank was one of the first Englishmen to study the Agfacolor process the Czechs were using, and bring back details, which were published in our journal (Nov. -Dec, 1946), as well as in the Pathe house organ. During the serious fuel crisis of 1947. Frank, with Les Pryor and Ben Hipkins (then our Employment Officer), went to arrange with the Film Laboratory Association that our members be kept on full pay; Frank points out that it was an agreement that was scrupulously fair to the employers as well. In 1948 he accompanied George Elvin to the annual conference of the T.U.C. Following the successful negotiations on the current Lab Agreement, Frank had the pleasure of being in the Chair at the mass meeting in July 1951 at the Shepherds Bush Empire, when it was formally ratified; and to round off the main jobs. Frank has done for A.C.T. it should be recorded