The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

90 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN July-August, 1952 A.C.T. News Compiled by 'Middy' ACT'S NINETEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING was held in the Town Hall, St. Pancras, on Saturday and Sunday, April 26th and 27th. In his opening speech, ACT President Anthony Asquith disagreed with those who talked as if the crisis in the film trade was receding. True, there were fewer people registered as unemployed. This was because two thousand ACT members, and many members of other unions, had been compelled to leave the industry and seek work elsewhere. In recent months, Teddington and Beaconsfield Studios had closed, and Denham Studios had now stopped production. In film-output and in numbers employed, the industry stood at one-third the level of fourteen years ago, when there were 10.000 technicians employed on the production in one year of 225 feature films, and 22 studios were working continuously. " The progress of the British film industry in recent years," he said, is a study in retrogression." OPENING DEBATES ON SATURDAY concerned the vexing problem of new admissions to ACT. The Sound Section resolution, moved by Sash Fisher, amended by the General Council, and carried by the meeting, laid it down that a minimum of four section members should sponsor all new applications. A resolution, moved by Raylton Fleming and seconded by John Rowden, both of World Wide. suggested the admission of a limited number of junior technicians into Short and Documentary Films. The Unemployed Section opposed, with an amendment laying down the proviso " providing that unemployed members a>-e absorbed." Ronald Horton moved this for the Unemployed Section, and after Ken Gordon of Pathe had areued for an amendment which fixed the figure of admissions for each department as " not exceeding the rate of one technicians a year," the Meeting supported the Unemployed Section's view by defeating the Pathe amendment, carrying the Unemployed Section's amendment, and defeating the original resolution, even after amendment. JOHN STAGG OF PARAMOUNT NEWS moved a resolution urging that the Association's legislation committee be " more representative of the political outlook of the membership." Seconded by Bill Weedon of British Films, it was opposed by Max Anderson of Basic and J. P. Napier Bell of Basic, with an amendment deleting offending paragraphs. John Stags and his supporters argued that the Communist Party members on the Committee could not faithfully represent the views of the majority of ACT's members, an opinion stoutly contested by Max Anderson, Ralph Bond and Napier Bell. Dan Birt suggested that what was wrong with the Legislation Committee was that it was " overweighted with Sound men." Basic's amendment was carried by 50 votes to 21. A resolution urging " some form of public ownership of cinemas " as " desirable in the public interest " was moved by Max Anderson for Ba«ic, and seconded by George Elvin on behalf of the General Council. Harold Hanscomb of Group 3 opposed, but the resolution was carried by an overwhelming majority. Resolutions calling for increased film production, a bigger return to British film producers, and protection against American film dumping, were carried unanimously after Eily Boland, Chris Brunei Peter Scott, Charles Wheeler and the General Secretary had spoken. R. L. Stanley of the Unem ployed Section complained that ACT Films Ltd. was " getting rather slack in its attitude towards the unemployed," but his criticism remained unanswered. The Treasurer's Report showed that expenditure in the last year had exceeded income by £1,400, due to rising costs and falling membership. Considerable economies had already been enforced at Head Office, and expenditure was being carefully watched all the time. It was thought that no further economies were possible without harming the essential functions of the Association. Treasurer Franklin Gollings' report was adopted. A resolution condemning the Government's decision to close down the Crown Film Unit and disband the mobile projection units of the COI, was moved by S. Napier Bell and seconded by Kenneth Gordon and carried unanimously. An emergency resolution dealt with the coming revision of the Wilson-Johnson Agreement, and called on the Government to revise along the lines of seeing that " British films have a greater share of screen time in their own country and that frozen credits are not used to obtain control of British Film production and exhibition." " OUR WAGES HAVE STOOD STILL," said Mary Kessel, moving the resolution for an interim wage increase to meet the rising cost of living, and " the cost of living has risen 33 points since 1947, when our present Agreement was signed." The resolution, supported by the General Council, was carried unanimously. Financial safeguards for units going on location was the subject of another resolution, moved bv Teresa Boland of the Continuity Section, carried, after amendment by the General Council. The need for it was vividly illustrated by Gladys Reeve's account of how, after signing a contract to work on a picture and borrowing the money for fare and the first week's expenses, she was paid by a cheque that bounced. She was unemployed again, and in debt for the borrowed money. PRODUCTION PUBLICITY must be handled by ACT members, was the gist of another resolution: on all first feature productions an ACT publicist must now be employed. Moved by Norman Huddis of Pinewood Studios on behalf of ACT's Publicity Section, and supported by the Producers. Directors and Associate Producers' Section and the General Council, the resolution was carried without dissent. High spot of the Sunday afternoon discussion was a resolution moved by John Sherman of British Transport Films suggesting a minimum crew of two instead of three sound technicians to operate the simpler kind of Tape Recorders. Sound man Norman Woolland found "it difficult to speak calmly " on the question, and described himself as " very incensed by the attitude of British Transport." Charles Wheeler was " happv " to oppose the resolution on behalf of the General Council, and Sash Fisher described the attempt to get the resolution passed at an AGM as " despicable." The Sound Section's case, which had the support of the General Council, was that the whole question of magnetic tape recording had been thoroughly examined by the Committee appointed by the General Council, and that the Sound Section was always ready to meet documentary units on special needs and problems connected with sound recording. The resolution was put to the vote and defeated bv 118 votes to 100