Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER No. 4 1944 43 The film trade alone, working on a basis of voluntary finance which must re-coup its costs and profits from distribution and exhibition, cannot meet these needs. Many educational films of great importance involve very high production expenditure, but, because of their specialised nature, are shown only to few and often very small audiences. You can't ask a voluntary producer to undertake them ; unless, of course, he has attained such a large measure of control of the whole field that he feels, from time to time, and maybe according to personal whim rather than national interest, that he can afford to throw away a few thousands rather in the same way as Hollywood affords to make shorts which are given away with a pound of features. This country cannot afford to deprive itself of hundreds of educational films because the profit-motive does not reside in them. Nor can it afford an unco-ordinated programme in visual education. For this, if for no other reason, the existing participation of the State in their making and dissemination must continue, And in order to continue, it must have the goodwill and backing, maybe for differing reasons, of the trade as a whole, and of the industrial sponsor. There are, of course, plenty of other reasons for State participation. Not least of these is the fact that Britain is under the urgent compulsion of finding a new and positive place for herself in the world. We shall publish an article in our next issue which will deal with this particular problem in its historical perspective. The projection of this country overseas can in part be attained by the export of first-class entertainment films (though this does not mean they must cost £500,000 each) ; and the British film industry today is achieving an output of essentially British films which is ; certainly better than ever before. This remains a fact, quite apart : from various pressing arguments as to the Tightness of the policy ■ being pursued by J. A. Rank. ; A Growing Market But we have other movie contributions to make than in terms of ' feature films for entertainment purposes. Britain's major gift to > world cinema has undoubtedly been the documentary film ; and j there is a growing market in the non-theatrical field overseas for British documentaries. In the United States alone the showings of British documentaries are already widely and efficiently organised ; and there are very few countries to which they are not sent. Now our documentaries are not despatched overseas for the purpose of making a cash profit. They are sent because it is our national policy to make and send them. During the next few years it is essential that this policy should be an enlightened one, and that it should not reduce itself to a form of national advertising as such. We in Britain have much to give the world in terms of special knowledges and skills and techniques which we have discovered and ' developed. Giving is the best method of national projection. Our overseas films should be contributions to the peoples of other countries in terms of activities and problems which today are common to all peoples. Activities and problems which concern agriculture, or machinery, or medicine, or trades union organisation, or nutrition, or any of the thousand and one urgencies which concern the world community today. In so far as this is a matter of national policy, it is a State concern, for how otherwise can policy be laid down? But here, too, as various public utilities have already proved in practice, is a wide and fertile field for industrial sponsorship. It remains to be seen how far it will be followed, or how far new sponsors will limit themselves to trying to advertise branded goods, or in general to provide background "interest" films of industrial processes. The opportunities are enormous, if sponsors will identify themselves with national policy in this respect. The brief survey of the situation contained in this article concerns more particularly all workers in the documentary field ; for people in documentary must be missionaries as well as film makers. That some period of confusion will ensue on the defeat of Germany seems inevitable. Equally inevitable is the fact that the documentary movement is on the verge of an even greater expansion NOTES OF THE MONTH Red Menace in Senate House Recent criticisms of the Films Division of the M.O.I, appearing in the Daily Telegraph seem to have been directed at the wrong target. Indeed the principal faults adduced — of delay in the release of military material, of inadequate coverage by the Services units, of poor British propaganda in neutral countries — these weaknesses seem to have their origin in the Services and in the British Council. As an ex-employee of Films Division the writer of the article must have known where to lay the blame. Tucked away amongst his complaints there is a suggestion that too much Films Division energy has been expended on "Left-wing propaganda pieces", and to allay any curiosity as to which M.O.I, films are held to warrant this description we are assured that the offending productions have never seen the light of day. Perhaps these skeletons in the Films Division cupboard rattle only in the imaginations of ex-employees. In any case we are not sure that a few so-called "Left-wing propaganda pieces" (visible ones) might not have achieved more in elucidation of the British cause and have been of more comfort and encouragement to our armies than the accounts of British military might which the writer calls for. Art for Terry Ramsaye's Sake The Motion Picture Herald, that journal of the aesthetes, is affronted. Objecting to the "intrusion of political ideologies" in the British reviews of The White Cliffs of Dover, M. P. H. concludes that "reactions and comment are nationalistic, rather than artistic". On behalf of the British press we apologise. — O, do with this little island what you will, dread Hollywood. From your Parnassian slopes, where Sinatra and the gentle Abbott gambol, where Costello calls and ever the horrid Karloff lankly pursues, do thou but mould our foibles into the super-special shape of some colossal feature. Visit us with thy art and we obedient to thy servant the ruddy Motion Picture Herald, will hearken his trumpet-note knowing that through the voice of Ramsaye the muses speak. Quota The Quota Act is due for renewal and a majority of short-film makers are pressing for the insertion of a "cost" clause for shorts. This would enable the Act to assist preferentially those short films on which sufficient money has been expended to permit of good quality. A similar provision for feature films introduced into the expiring Act had the effect of largely eliminating the cheap "quota quickie" and improving the average quality of British films. There seems to be no reasonable argument against a similar measure on behalf of shorts. than that which took place during the war. For, whatever methods of action may arise from the complex cross-issues and interests we have just discussed, one thing is quite certain, and that is that the wide use of film for education and national projection has come to stay. Only by a defection from duty on the part of the documentary movement can it be seriously endangered, for in that case the medium would be torn to bits or misused — perhaps with the most idealistic motives, perhaps with malice prepense — by groups and interests whose qualifications and intentions do not match the needs. The time has come for a close re-focussing and centralisation of documentary effort. Clear thinking, a quick political eye, and above all a basic loyalty to the documentary idea have never been more essential to all workers in this field. We must pool our experience, centralise our efforts, and, in a word, continue to act with that unanimity of purpose which not merely made documentary, but has ensured its continuous and successful growth for over fifteen years, and will, if it sticks to its conception of public service, continue to develop it as a national and international asset.