The Cine Technician (1939)

70 T H E GIN E-T EC H NIC] A N |une-July. 1937 Ars Gratia Artis OX Friday, May 8th, 1931, Sir Arthur Crosfield, President of The Faculty of Arts, presented, on behalf of The Faculty of Cinema Art, the society's gold medal for the best film of 1930 to Carl Laemmle for his production of "All Quiet on the Western Front." Mr. James Bryson received the medal on behalf of The Universal Pictures Corporation, and novelty was introduced into the occasion by a speech of acceptance made over the transAtlantic telephone by Carl Laemmle himself, who said, "Let me say that your award is an inspiration, not only to my own company, but to moving picture producers throughout the world, and from this inspiration I feel that you have done much to bring the industry to an even higher standard than it possesses already. Rest assured that we are not content to rest on our laurels." The Derbyshire Advertiser was not so sure about this. It said : "There are, of course, films of considerable artistic merit, and films which, without any pretension to Art, have won enduring fame by their epic qualities alone. But to expect an enterprise which flourishes on its popularity with a class which is essentially unartistic to maintain these standards, is to expect too much ! " Time has proved The Derbyshire Advertiser to have been unduly pessimistic. In the following year a similar award was made to Pabst for his remarkable mining epic called "Kameradschaft," and it might be thought that since then the number of outstandingly artistic films has been so great that encouragement of this kind is no longer a necessity. However, it is unfortunately true that such films are still the exception rather than the rule. It would, of course, be futile tf) expect an industry which has to cater for the entertainment of every class of mind to produce nothing but artistic masterpieces. Nevertheless, it is not unfair to say, in view of the extraordinary popularity and long runs evidenced by some outstandingly artistic films, that the industry as a whole appears to underestimate the An explanation of the work of the Faculty of Cinema Art artistic judgment of its public. The Faculty intends to offer further encouragement in the form of similar awards in the future ; and at the same time, by extending its scheme of affiliation, to embrace a number of societies connected with the film profession and industry, will endeavour to stimulate a healthy spirit of self-criticism and creative urge in all those connected with the Film. The Society has embarked on a series of presentations of "Masterpieces of the Silent Screen." Three of these have already been shown — "Waxworks," 'Warning Shadows," and "General Line" — and will be followed by further examples such as "Mother," "Potemkin," and "The Crazy Ray." Must of the younger members of the profession have probably never seen these early masterpieces ; and The Faculty of Cinema Art is out to remedy this by inviting to its presentations representative audiences of producers and technicians. A further project, which will be of very special interest to present-day technicians, is a series of showings of such interesting relics as "The Great Train Robbery," "A Trip to the Moon," and an early composite newsreel of items filmed between 1900 and" 1905. The Society seeks to prove that the tenets of Art and commercial success are not always incompatible ; it remains to be seen whether their efforts to foster the improvement of the Film as an Art, will convince the Industry as a whole. There is still a considerable and influential section of opinion which is by no means accepting the screen as the desirable medium for entertainment and education that it should be. This section of the community, containing as it does leaders of many branches of thought, and particularly that profession which goes so far to mould the thoughts of many millions of our younger generation, is asking for a higher standard of artistic merit before it, too, adds its considerable regular patronage to the Industry. R. E. Bamford. A Year's Good Progress (unlimited from preceding page) increased subscriptions resultant upon the growing membership. Income from this source was £1300, an increase of £800 on the previous year. The growth of membership naturally means increased overheads and organisational expenditure, but as the final accounts show, this has always been well within the general income. A loss of £10 was sustained on the Journal, but in view of the merits of the production as a technical service to members, and from a publicity and prestige viewpoint generally, this gives no cause for concern. Conclusion The past year is the first to show important practical results to cine-technicians who are now almost 100 per cent, inside the Association on the studio side and joining in increasing numbers in the two other sections. The hard spade work which is so necessary a feature of a new organisation has been successfully completed and there is no reason why, during the forthcoming year, with the loyal co-operation ot all film technicians, in studio, laboratory and newsreel, much greater progress should not be made towards reasonable standardisation of conditions oi employment and salaries, and a general continuance of the many other important activities epitomised in this Report. Correspondence Appreciation of A.G.T. Production Unit Dear Sirs, "THE HIGH COMMAND" In view of the favourable impression made by this picture at its recent Trade-showing, and especially with reference to its technical and production qualities, I am sure it will interest you to know that the production unit was composed mostly of ACT. men.* This, of course, includes Mr. Thorold Dickinson, whose first directorial achievement promises a distinguished future. \ spirit of cheerful and efficient co-operation was very evident on the making of this picture and went far towards the final result. Yours very truly, Fanfare Pictures, Ltd., Gordon Wellesley, Producer. * \i T. members employed included the following: Dii Chief Cameraman and crew, Editor and assistants, Sound Recordist and crew, and Vrt Director. Editor.