The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

October 1956 CINE TECHNICIAN 155 BOOK REVIEW TV PRODUCER J DIRECTORS' SECTION SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. An Autobiography by Mary Pickford (Heineman, 25s.). Driven by poverty as a child, what a hard, ambitious little thing Mary Pickford became. Early in her career she set herself a target of five hundred dollars a week by the age of twenty; she reached her goal when she was nineteen and from then on determined to double her salary as frequently as possible. And so she became one of the outstanding and richest characters in Hollywood. Yet her autobiography is not really a success story in the general acceptance of the phrase, for she was a money-success while still a girl, and her set-backs were not in this field. It was in her first two marriages that she had her disappointments and distresses, though now, married to Buddy Rogers, with two adopted children, she has settled down to being a happy human being. She deals frankly and interestingly with this phase of her life and in the process reveals how she has advanced from her hard obsession with making money, to being a person with considerable humanity. An illustration is the account of her generous atonement for a thoughtless generalisation about Jews. I have a feeling that if she returned to the screen in the right part, she would be a finer artist than when she was in her so-called prime — though she has never been a bad artist. But in many ways she has not changed. She had a middle-class upbringing; she was, and is, very religious, superstitious, conventional and emotional. In spite of all her experiences in life and the many people she has met, she does not seem to have had any intellectual influences. One result of the latter is that in recording past conversations, there is a general imprint of her commonplace, respectable home life. If you have 25s. to spare and a library of books about the cinema, you should add this one. Alas, it has no index, but it has over a hundred photos and many interesting references to Griffith, Chaplin and other pioneers. A.B. VIVIAN MILROY WRITES : In the Spring a disagreement between contractors led to the stoppage of network arrangements and each area had its own separate programme. But since then most of the contractors have reintroduced networking. Many of A.B.C.'s weekend programmes from Birmingham are being taken by A.T.V. in London and A.R.T.V. have agreements with Granada in Manchester for up to four hours networked programmes a day — that is up to two thirds of the total programme time. This is an inevitable move towards a more economic use of programme material and its effects on union relationships are two-fold. In the first place it quite obviously reduces the demand for trained personnel; but at the same time the standards demanded will necessarily be higher. The second effect of increased networking is to increase the vulnerability of programmes to any form of pressure from the Unions. A go-slow on a programme networked to three contractors would be felt three times as strongly as for a single contractor's programme, as indeed would be the case in B.B.C. Television. And in the view of the contractors, current unwillingness to negotiate a working agreement may be a factor of some importance. Certainly nobody working in television wants to use the weapons of working to rule or striking. But if they must be used it is better for them to be used forcibly, speedily and as universally as possible. Networking will be a factor in ensuring this. But let us hope that the contractors will reach a more reasonable frame of mind over the negotiations before this point can be tested. Cover Design Competition Toward the beginning of next year CINE TECHNICIAN will change its name. In order to give full recognition to the place which Television Technicians have in A.C.T.T. the journal will be called FILM AND TV TECHNICIAN. To mark this change we are seeking a new cover design which will show clearly that the journal is for technicians engaged in film production, television, film processing, stock and equipment manufacture, etc. The competition is open to all members of A.C.T.T. (though entries from other Trade Unionists will not be barred) and the Finance and General Purposes Committee offer a first prize of ten guineas and a second prize of three guineas for the best designs submitted. The decision of the General Council regarding awards will be final and A.C.T.T. will retain the right to use all designs submitted. Designs need not necessarily allow space for the printing of a still, but if they do, such space should be proportioned to allow for the normal shape of still and not a square as at present. Designs should allow for printing in black and one colour. All entries must be sent to the Editor at Head Office, the envelope marked " Cover Competition ". Final date for receipt of entries is FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16