The Cine Technician (1938-1939)

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Nov.-Dec, 1938 THE CINE TECHNICIAN 119 THE PRIMATE AND THE CINEMA At Lambeth Palace recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury. President of the Cinema Christian Council, referred to the radio and the cinema as perhaps the two most modern powerful agencies for moulding the outlook and character of our people. He paid a tribute to the B. B.C. The cinema had obviously developed on other lines, and while much was due to the British Board of Film Censors and the British Film Institute, yet only a measure of control could be exercised. While the technique was perfect and no guidance could be given in that direction, there still remained the task of raising the moral and by the immeasurable future it has before it. Keligious had a great opportunity. The Archbishop said: "The more I see of this tremendous art and its advance, the more impressed I am by the immeasurable future it has before it. Religious films, however, must be of the same sort of technical standard as that of the commercial cinema. The work of the C. C.C. may have been inadequate, but it has proved that some such Council is necessary if only to show that the moral and spiritual forces of the country are not indifferent to the development of this new and important influence on public life. " The officers of the Council were re-elected as follows : President, the Archbishop of Canterbury ; Vice-Presidents, the Archbishop of York, the President of the National Free Church Council, the .Moderator of the Federal Council of the Evangelical Free Churches; Chairman, the Bishop of Lichfield; V ice-Chairman . Mr. J. A. Bank; Hon. Treasurer, the Rt. Hon. Sir Montague Barlow, Bt., P.C. ; and the Secretary, .Mr. T. H. Baxter, F.E.G.S. The Annual Report stated that the Viewing Panel, which had been set up in collaboration with the British Film Institute, had viewed 36 films during the year, and their reviews had been published in the Monthly Film Bulletin. The advice of the Panel had also been sought as to flie suitability of other films for religious purposes. At the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury an ad hoi' Committee had been formed to advise him on the subject of the production and use of films by the Church of England. The date of the next Religious Film Summer School was fixed for May 30th to June 2nd, 1939. It is to be held again at High Leigh, Hoddesdon. TOO HOT! (Continued from page 12S) There are certain home truths in the film. For hist ance, the writer of this article, who is not employed in newsreel production, believed the scenes in the Company 's office were exaggerated. He is, however, assured by workers in newsreel companies that the apparent madness which is depicted on the screen is no sense an exaggeration, and that at any rate certain newsreel executives have been known to act as Walter Conolly behaves in the picture — sometimes with very good cause. A further important point which is brought out by this film is that the "scoop" is more important than the actual picture, and a newsreel colleague with whom 1 discussed the film tells me of a case when a cameraman in his firm reported to the Company that he was sorry he had completely missed the Royal Coach, which he had been sent out to get, but had got a picture of a policeman falling off his horse owing to the crush. As no other reel had got this picture his Company were quite satisfied. The publicity describes the film as a story of daring newsreel men who face death daily to bring the news of the world to the screen. We do not dispute this fact. We know it is all too true. But on the screen a story which at times gives a false slant on the work they do and typifies them as crooks is not one that will bring prestige to the newsreel business. We hope that one day Laurence Stallings and John Lei1 Mahin w ill write the story of which we know they are capable, and that it will be filmed as a true story ol the hazardous work of newsreel cameramen. Moreover, as the Cinema says, it does not appear to have been altogether w ise to place so much emphasis upon the faking of shots by cameramen unable to supply their chief's demands. OBITUARY It is with very great regret that we have to report the sudden death on November 7th of OSCAR F. WERNDORFF, leading British Art Director and A.C.T. member. Mr. Werndorff was born in Vienna but had worked in the British Film Industry for some while and for the past tew years has been a naturalised British subject. He began film work in Vienna in 1913. From 1921 he was in Berlin with Ufa and other companies. He came to England in 1926, commencing work at Gainsborough Studios, subsequently going to Gaumont. He has recently been working at Denham. His pictures included "City of Song," "Hark Red Roses" and "The Bells" at Wembley, in the days of the A.S.1M. company; and more recently "Secret Agent," "The Lady is Willing," "Rhodes," "The Tunnel" and "King of the Damned" tor ( 1 aumont-British. We extend our deepest sympathy to bis widow.