The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

March 1956 CINE TECHNICIAN 39 A.C.T.'s 23rd Annual General Meeting was held on March 11th and 12th THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH IN his opening address to the crowded Annual General Meeting at the Beaver Hall, the President referred to the film debate in the House of Commons as one of the notable events of recent months. " With all due respect to Members of Parliament," he said, " we have generally suffered in the past from inadequate and ill-informed debates whenever they have turned their attention to our industry. This time there was the impression of a most informed debate, in fact it appears to have been so wellinformed that one trade paper announced its refusal as a matter of policy to report a single word of it!" The very existence of the industry was dependent upon the Cinematograph Films Act and such virility as British production had was largely conditioned by Government policy on such matters as the National Film Finance Corporation, the British Film Production Fund, the Anglo American Film Agreement and Entertainment Tax. QUOTA DEMAND All these facets were covered in the recent debate. There was a strong demand for British quotas to be raised when revision was next possible. Indeed, it was pointed out that next year's first feature quota had been fixed by the President of the Board of Trade at 30%, although it is estimated there will be 89 films available as compared with 65 in 1950-51 when the 30% was first fixed. There was, Mr. Asquith added, clearly a case for an upward revision. The President then reviewed other aspects of the debate, including the reference to the onesided nature of the Anglo American Film Agreement, the necessity of the National Film Finance Corporation to independent British production and the references to the need for removing doubts about the continuance of the British Film Production Fund. Referring to the Entertainment Tax, Mr. Asquith said, " I understand that an ' All Industry Tax Committee ' has recently made representations to the Government in this connection. I fail to appreciate how the Committee got its name as it seeks to be an allindustry without having any trade union representation on it. Indeed it is activities of committees such as this which have always kept A.C.T. outside active association with the tax campaigns. WHO IS TO BENEFIT ? " We would be the first to demand justice for the cinema industry but we have also to consider who is to benefit from any tax reduction, if it comes. "A.C.T.'s view has always been that the public and British film production should be the main gainers. We do not advocate a tax reduction campaign which would merely swell the profits of the big circuits and of the foreign interests who take money out of our industry. Of course, we must fight for equitable taxation but also let us see that the right people benefit from the measures necessary to obtain justice. Indeed, if a cinema owner is to gain from taxation adjustments I would favour something along the Italian lines, which fixes the value of the financial benefit to the exhibitor in proportion to the volume of native production shown." Turning to long-term policy, the President welcomed the invitation from the President of the Board of Trade to A.C.T., in common with other trade organisations, to submit its views on the economic problems of British film production. He was, however, a little worried about being asked to submit them to the National Film Finance Corporation because it might well be the case that the Government was going to hide behind the N.F.F.C. in order to avoid making the independent enquiry demanded, which was vital as a prelude to drafting a new Quota Act, and revising the other aids to British film production. " On the other hand," Mr. Asquith said, " let me make equally clear that we very much prefer an N.F.F.C. inquiry to a so-called voluntary trade inquiry as mooted in certain quarters which, we assume, like the all-industry tax campaign, would exclude the trade unions and, of course, exclude the public, who after all is the consumer." The President then reviewed the shrinkage of production facilities. He was unable to accept recent statements by the President of the Board of Trade that there was no evidence of shortage of studio space, no evidence that the sale of Ealing would lead to less film production and no evidence that the sale of studios would lead to less employment. He pointed out that as a result of the new combined operations of M.G.M. and Ealing 340 fewer film production workers would be required. TELEVISION Referring to Television, Mr. Asquith declared there was no valid reason why the same basic conditions could not apply to our members in television as we had been able to negotiate for our members in other fields. " It is a sad reflection," he added, " that within television generally, as indeed our friends of the Musicians' Union have learnt, commercial enterprises have been more happy to respond to the requirements of industrial policy and recognition of trade unions than the public corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation. In fact I could well commend to the B.B.C. a new motto, based on the Chinese proverb which says, 'Why be difficult when with a little more effort you can be impossible'!" After summarising A.C.T.'s main tasks for the coming year, to which we refer on our editorial page, the President ended on a personal note. " Two years ago," he said, " I told you that I did not intend to stand again for the Presidency. I had held office for a very long time and I could not help feeling that there were many younger and (Continued on page 40)