The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

'-.I CINE TECHNICIAN June 1956 UNIONS* POLICY (Continued) making all types of films, must never be overlooked. British films ought to form a substantial proportion of the pictures shown in British cinemas and therefore a quota system is essential. Financial assistance is essential for British films, too. It can take one or more forms: "a British Film Production Fund. tax remission part of which goes bai k to the producer, fairer trading conditions for British producers or, maybe, other ways which ensure thai a bigger proportion of box office takings conies back to the makers of films." At all costs the life of the National Film Finance Corporation needs to be continued. There are two main reasons for this. In the first place it is the only channel through which a production which has not its own financial resources can be got going. And in the second place the N.F.F.C. is the only bulwark against the monopoly of the two big combines. The N.F.F.C. ought to become a permanent institution. ". . . it should not be dependent for its existence upon Parliamentary decisions every few years. Broadly speaking, it has done an excellent job. Criticism lies in its limited scope. It should be enabled i" operate on a much broader basis." State Circuit Needed What is needed is that the N.F.F.C. should be given sufficient powers to act in a more enterprising way so that it can initiate policy rather than follow it. If it is going to do that it must have power to set up its own distribution organisation. There must be a State circuit. " If we are to have a large and virile British film product ion. action mast be taken by Parliament to extend the powers of the N.F.F.C. or by other suitable methods to enable the state to acquire a circuit "I cinemas equal in size and booking-power to the present main circuits." The N.F.F.C. is not responsible for the fact that it is one thing to finance a production and quite another thing to get it adequately distributed and exhibited. What the N.F.F.C. requires is to be given power to expand into a vertically integrated combine which can, where necessary, compete with the existing combines. The Government comes in for very strong criticism on its attitude to entertainment duty. A.C.T. and till tlic other unions concerned record their view that the Government has lamentably failed to respond to the approaches from the industry to lessen the grossly unfair burdens of this tax. What is needed is a new approach aimed at benefiting the cinema owner who shows British films, and the production company that makes them. A new approach to the whole question of exhibitors' and renters' quota is needed, too. The whole present basis is wrong. "Instead of there being a British quota there should be a foreign quota . . . adjusted so that, as in commercial television, the bulk of the programmes is British, while a strictly limited remainder is foreign." Differences Resolved Past differences in attitude to renters' quota have been ironed out and all the unions now feel that the reintroduction of renters' quota is essential because it is impossible to enforce compulsory exhibition without compulsory production which renters' quota ensures. The functioning of the British Film Production Fund also comes in for attention. The fund should be continued but if it is to be the sole means of making good on a rough and ready basis the difference between production costs and basic receipts the scale needs to be revised upwards so that, " apart from the obvious flop ", all other producers shall recoup at least their production costs. " Make the fund compulsory " is the Unions' demand. This is essential because some cinema owners consistently refuse to pay the levy while others are not averse to using the threat to cease payments to the fund as a bargaining weapon when trade politics are involved. Monopoly Tendencies When the report of the committee appointed by the Cinematograph Film Council in 1944 to consider tendencies to monopoly was issued, as our members will recall, the Unions welcomed it and supported it. Today the conclusions in that report are as valid as they were when they were issued. In fact the situation at the present time is worse than it was then, for it was never intended when the Government gave authority for the establishment of the Circuits Management Association that Odeon and Gaumont-British should book as one. This situation is strongly criticised. " We cannot considi r as desirable anj situation whereby two in iln iduals 1 1 be bookei ill films for ib. C.M.A. and the booker of Mms I'oi A JMM'.i shall he the sole winters as to what films shall or shall not be shown. This is in fa. t th.ir position, as without a circuit release no British film can possibly hope to recoup its production costs, This is one big argument for supporting the advocates of an additional powerful circuit." Among the many questions on which the N.F.F.C. asked the Unions to give their views was one on overseas sales. On the American side of this particular problem the answer is sharp and to the point: " From the days of the Ostrer Brothers onwards individual organisationhave been trying without success to establish themselves in the American market and we can well understand their failure because the Americans must know that the more British films they show the less revenue there will be for American films. The only way. therefore, in which this matter can be ta.kled is. we believe, on a Government basis, probably tied up with the next revision of the AngloAmerican Film Agreement." Readers of the Cine Technician will recall that at the time of the last revision of this Agreement we were strongly critical of the Government for their failure to grasp this opportunity of helping British films. This is what the six unions have to say now: "Asa start the British Government should sa\ that American companies can only take out of Britain a sum equivalent to what British companies can take out of America. This type of reciprocal arrangement could he established further when. in the next revision of the Cinematograph Film Act distribution bv American companies of films in Great Britain should only be permitted to the extent that" the same companies distribute British films in the United States of America." Embassies Must Help Another way to help British films abroad is through the various British Embassies. They appear to be giving less help to the British film industry than foreign embassies in London give to their native industries. British embassies should be instructed by the Government to give much greater help and in addition a British Film Centre should be established in the United States and support should be given to the establishment of an Anglo-American Films Council. Among a large number of other items in the questionnaire there was one on " Trade Union Restrictive Practices." The Unions evidently enjoyed this one. Their reply was brief. "We assume," they said. " that the Trade Unions are not required to answer this question. We therefore reluctantly suppress our impish desire to do so."