Minutes of evidence taken before the Departmental Committee on Cinematograph Films (1936)

66 COMMITTEE ON CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS 19 May, 1936.] Mr. Paul Rotiia. [i 'onth versa? — I should suggest that the judgment of the Advisory Committee is the better one. 492. Would it not be fair to say that the renter knows pretty well what he can sell to t/he public and would frame his interpretation accordingly .whereas an Advisory Committee might tend to become rather viewy and to classify films on a basis which the average exhibitor might consider incomprehensible? — I see your point there. I do feel — if I may go into it in detail for one moment — that the renters, at the present moment, are trying to distribute documentary films about which they know very little. 1 think we are agreed on that point. In order to help the distribution of documentary films we have done a very great deal of good by getting publicity for documentary films in the national press and amongst the public itself. 493. You suggest in paragraph 5 of Part B that the decision as to quota should be made by a special sub-committee of the present Advisory Committee. I think I may say that I have already asked questions as to .whether the Advisory Committee is in all respects the right body to deal wTith that sort of thing at all, whether a special ad hoc body should not be formed. Have you got no particular opinions on that? — So long as the ad hoc committee is representative of documentary film interests I have no further opinions. 494. Supposing that such a committee was set up and did decide, as a matter of high policy, to give greater opportunity and greater recognition to documentary films, are the makers able to take immediate advantage of any change in the Act? — Yes, definitely. 495. In paragraph 6 (a) you say : " Documentary Films are capable of wide development. The advent of sound, for example, Bias greatly added to the entertainment appeal of Documentary Films." How far will colour which is not far off, as I understand, add to the documentary film from the point of view of intrinsic value and public appeal? — That is rather a difficult question to answer. My own opinion is that probably colour will provide great opportunities for experiment, provided sufficient finance is available (because colour is expensive). 496. The point is this, that colour is more likely to be applied to the studio films than to the documentary film which is not studio? — I think that is true until equipment and apparatus for colour cinematography become a great deal cheaper and a great deal more portable. 497. So that the advent of colour might naturally hamper the documentary film? — It might hamper the distribution because I think documentary films will continue for three or even five years to be made black and .white whereas they will have to be shown alongside fiction films perhaps made in colour. 498. What steps have makers of documentary films taken to interest the renters and distributors and to show them that a certain leavening of the programme with films of cultural interest and value is a commercial proposition? — It is difficult to say exactly what steps in so many .words, except that many meetings have taken place between producers of documentary films and well-known renters with a view to trying to persuade renters to widen their distribution of documentary films and to try and sell documentary films on their own merits, on their own quality as documentary films and not just as makeweights. 499. You put in an earlier stage the circuit manager and the independent exhibitor on much the same level as regards their readiness to receive documentary films? — Yes. .r)flO. What proportion do you think are prepared to admit that there exists a public readj to receive a proportion of creative rather than descriptive interpretations of natural life from tune to time? — Without a considerable amount of analysis it is difficult to answer you offhand. 501. What is your purely personal impression? — I should say at the present moment probably about 10 per cent, is aware that the documentary film is something different from the make-weight, but I do not think they have quite got the courage to experiment yet except in certain instances. 502. And there were not 5 per cent, four years ago? — I should say less than 5 per cent. 503. The proportion is growing? — Yes. 504. Your propaganda, your influence, is beginning to have a leavening effect? — Four years ago the film trade had never heard of the term " Documentary." Now they use it frequently. 505. You mentioned " The Song of Ceylon " which got the highest award. Do you consider that particular example was what one might call a producer's picture? Was it the sort of thing which producers would have done for themselves? — I think that is unlikely. The only equivalent I can think of is a film like " Man of Aran ", which falls into the documentary class which was produced by the Gaumont-British Company. That is a larger and a longer film than " The Song of Ceylon ". 506. What are the chief causes which have contributed to the growing reputation of the documentary film? — I think first and foremost their value from a national. Empire and cultural point of view and the fact that in the documentary film it was the first time that the people, the landscape, and the organisation of industries in this country, have been put on the screen. 507. What proportion of producers and renters care twopence for the British Empire or anything to do with it? — I should say a small percentage put Empire values before commercial values. 508. Even under the present regime are the prospects of documentary films brighter than at any other time? Do you feel that they are on the upgrade? — I think the movement is definitely on the upgrade. 509. Then in paragraph 7 of Part B you submit that all material should be admissible if treated in conformity with a certain scale of definite creative standards ? — Yes. 510. Would you net be willing that any particular body should lay down those standards? — I think the standards themselves are extremely difficult to define. It is a different thing from the assessing of the creative treatment of those things. 511. But you would be content that there should be an outside body which should lay down whether the finished product comes up to the standard? — Definitely, so long as that body is representative in some way of documentary interests. 512. And you think that could be done by a modification of the existing Act? — Yes. 513. And you would be prepared even to allow special entertainment values peculiar to documentary films to be assessed under rules to be laid down by the Board of Trade in conformity with the Act? — Yes. 514. But you continue in Clause (a) of the same paragraph to surest the admission of new subject* to quota. Surely that is liable to give rise to controversy and confusion in view of the fact that the major alien renting companies control the majority of newsreel organisations in this country? — There is a great deal of difference between a current event or an item of news presented in a documentary film and an item of news presented in a newsreel. No documentary director, for example, would take a current event happening this week and make a documentary film oul of it straighl away. It necessities that at least three weeks or a month should elapse. The mere tact that there is ;i creative breatmenl of that current event or news-item means thai i period of time must elapse. To give an example, from the film "Shi I " in which the launching of the liner " Orion " was depicted, the launching itseli was included as a news-item in the