Screen Guilds Magazine (June 1936)

The Interchange Of Talent S EVERAL months ago, I returned from the latest of a series of visits to Hollywood. Each trip has been more delightful than the last; each time I ar¬ rive on the Coast, artistes, production- heads, executives of every kind seem to conspire more and more whole-heartedly to make my stay pleasant and my busi¬ ness easy and swift. The words “Raid”; “Talent-swoop”, “Plunder”, and so on, have, from time to time, stared at me from the headlines of articles purport¬ ing to describe the reasons of my visits; and on such occasions, your newspaper¬ men, from whom I have had nothing but the kindest and most enthusiastic treat¬ ment have, by the use of such words, perhaps somewhat confused some of their readers on the precise significance of my various sudden appearances in the Film City. I have, of course, been engaged in talent seeking. But as to “plunder” or “raid”, in the sense that these words mean piratical expeditions for the pur¬ pose of acquiring permanent possession, by means of direct capture or the subt¬ ler methods of allure, of other folk's property, as personified by your stars; to charges of such piracy, I can with a clear conscience plead “Not Guilty.” Why then, you may ask, my repeated visits, and my departure, as on this last occasion, with the names of four¬ teen stars and several directors and writers written in good California ink on the dotted lines of various documents in my brief case? If that is not “talent raiding”, say you, what is it? S IMPLY this. It is my belief, and that of the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation who employ me, that the constant interchange of talent between the English-speaking nations is neces¬ sary and beneficial to the film industry as a whole. I do not think that it is necessary any longer to troll forth in support of this view the already time¬ worn bromide which runs “Films are International.” Nowadays, this has be¬ come quite obvious. Hollywood itself has for years followed an international policy in film making; Hollywood pro¬ ducers have demonstrated past doubt¬ ing that the nationality of a player or a writer, a director or a cameraman, matters nothing provided the individual has something to offer the film industry. Hollywood, working on this system, has made its players and technicians world famous. We wish to do the same; that is all. The mutual benefit obtained by ex¬ change of talent must, I think, be great. By putting our British players into pic¬ tures featuring American stars, we bring them before the vast United States film¬ going public; who, on their side, will find pleasure in seeing their favourites in the new surroundings and atmosphere provided by the British type of picture. Thus a British picture will benefit by the inclusion of an American star in its cast by the enormously increased audi¬ ences assured it by its greater drawing power in America; while the American player coming to England to make pic¬ tures will secure the undoubted advan¬ tage of increased popularity with the British public, whose interest in films made in the home studios is steadily growing in importance and enthusiasm. Q UITE apart from the exchange of stars with America, the question of exchange of technical talent provides an even more striking example of mu¬ tual benefit, just as you have to offer us experts of tested skill and long ex¬ perience in the various departments of film production, from whom we are most ready to admit that we can learn much; so we, on our part, can send to Holly¬ wood increasing numbers of men and women possessed of great talent, whose fresh ideas, originality and enthusiasm can bring into your studios and your production that “new blood” which is so constantly necessary if films are to progress and not merely remain in a static condition. So far, you may think that the ad¬ vantages I have outlined are distinctly in favour of the British Industry. But By M. E. Balcon ... Who as general-manager of Gau¬ mont-British makes frequent trips here in search of talent. any American film industralist who has visited Great Britain lately, will as¬ sure you that this is by no means the case. Ours is a rapidly growing in¬ dustry, the importance of which, in the minds of our enormous film-going pub¬ lic is reflected in the growing promi¬ nence and volume of the space devoted to British film matters in our National Press. It is of the utmost importance to American producers to maintain their sales in this country; and this, I feel certain, can only be done by exchange of talent on a large scale. The day is past when work in England was re¬ garded by Hollywood stars as somewhat of a risk; nowadays it has become an op¬ portunity for increased prestige and all that that implies, eagerly to be grasped, not merely as a chance of a free trip to Europe but as a definite phase which will in time, I feel sure, become essential to a successful film career. One could of course expatiate at far greater length on this question of talent exchange, but I myself would prefer to let time prove my contention, as it un¬ doubtedly will. For the present, then, it is my earnest hope that our purposes in signing up American talent and in sending our own talent to America will be fully understood. Reciprocity of this sort, I would repeat once again, must ultimately prove of the greatest value to the film industry of both nations. 99 It is my belief, and that of the Gaumont- British Picture Corporation who employ me, that the constant interchange of talent between the English-speaking nations is necessary and bene¬ ficial to the film-industry as a whole. ... It is of the utmost importance to American producers to maintain their sales in this country; and this, I feel certain, can only be done by an exchange of talent on a large scale. 99 June, 1936 7 #