The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

60 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN April 1954 Then George Elvin arrived, and by reason of A.C.T.'s five shares in Britain's largest labs he entered the lion's den and demanded from the management a fair deal for the workers. " Profits were up. The dividend was going up. Directors' fees were to be increased — but there was nothing for the workers but the sack." Reviewing all the demonstrations by the Technicolor members, Alf Hunter told me, "All these activities were organised by Rae Sharpe and the Shop Stewards' Committee, who have done a colossal amount of work." Rae was not standing still, for as the lock-out entered its second week, he was planning to visit the AEC works at Southall with loud-speakers and leaflets, a number of indus tries in Slough, and, in conjunction with Denlabs, the trading estate at Uxbridge. As I write, the first round of a tough battle to defend our Union is nearing its finish. Over two thousand A.C.T. members — far too many to be recognised individually in this rough notebook — have shown magnificent support for their leaders on the Executive and Head Office, as well as taking the initiative themselves. This record pays tribute to a few of them, and marks some of the lessons we all have learned, which will help us fight and win in the future. A.C.T. is nearly twenty-one years old. Truly we are coming of age as a strong and united Union of technicians. WE should, I feel, congratulate the Labour Party for utilising their TV time in a novel way instead of with the conventional broadcast by one of the leaders, which would have given us a series of close-ups from different angles, one or two medium shots (showing the desk, but avoiding of course the manuscript), and perhaps two long-shots to establish, at the beginning and end, the size, shape and style of the room run up as a set in the studio. The film was well planned. It gave us variety in personality as well as shots. Some of the arguments were effectively presented, but it seemed to me to lack spontaneity. The artists appeared to have learned their parts, indeed some of them were a little under-rehearsed. And I have been asking myself, as I know others in the Party have been doing too (for many have asked me), whether it had the persuasiveness to win over any voters from among those who delight in sitting on fences until almost the eleventh hour. After all, it is to them and not to the converted that we must appeal, however necessary it always is to delight and inspire our own supporters. LabOUr PttriU The outstanding person -,. TWT ality on the screen was of Mi MM €##f M r course the miner. He was real and convincing. The housewife ran him close. I wish I could say the same about the others. It was a good idea to get a 5 oung man to knit it all together with his questioning, but I am afraid our young student was shy and uneasy. John Irwin, who made this film for the Labour Party, will I feel sure do better the next time. It would not have been a bad idea if some members of A.C.T. who belong to the Labour Party had been called in to advise and help. Indeed, it might even have been a better idea if somebody outside the Party, like our President, Mr. Anthony Asquith, had been invited to undertake this, for he would have brought a freshness and a more critical approach to some of the arguments, which to many of us in the Party seem to be over-worn and just a little threadbare. In short, we had to appeal to the largest possible number and we could only achieve this by being consistently interesting. A technical understanding of the problems of film making would have assisted greatly in achieving this result. R. J. Minney.