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In our case, however, he was not so successful. The contents of the engine-house, diesels and generators, the compressing plant, the travelling gantry and the switchboard, which last alone had cost £3,250, were all sold together for £950. The two studios, with the freehold land on which they were built, together with all accessories, the four printing and developing machines, the drying machines, the electric-lighting apparatus, cameras, and in fact everything there went for £4,000 as a going concern. The same sad story went right through the whole deal and in the end the debenture holders got only seven shillings in the pound!
It may perhaps be of interest to see how the rest of the trade in England was faring during the decline and fall of my company. It is no consolation — but it may be some little explanation — that other producers in the country were in similar straits, though their efforts to struggle through were more successful. It is an indication of the depth of worry in which I was submerged that I was quite unaware until years afterwards that others were at that time nearly as deeply under.
In spite of the fact that the Snowden budget, Labour being in power, remitted the strangling entertainment tax on all seats priced at sixpence and under, and that in many other respects the year opened well for the industry; in spite of the fact that the Prince of Wales' blessing upon British pictures, given in the previous November, supported by the Premier and many important leaders, was still having its beneficial effect upon all thoughtful people, the production of British films gradually declined during the year. Until at the end of it there came a time when not a single foot of film was being exposed in any British studio.
Nevertheless, there were at least two interesting events this year. One was the Kinematograph Garden Party at the Royal Botanical Gardens which not only was a great social success but resulted in a nice little sum of £2,500 for the Trade Benevolent Fund, by then truly and thoroughly on its feet. The other was the gathering together, at the instance of W. N. Blake, of all the old-timers in the industry since 1903 at the Holborn Restaurant on December 9th. This was so successful that there was a clamant demand for its repetition every succeeding year until the last of the veterans departed. That has not happened yet and the veterans are still meeting annually, under the skilful auspices of Tommy France, though some of us are beginning to get a little old. At the original
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