The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

186 CINE TECHNICIAN December 1956 'FOCUS' y a new regular contributor, opens a can of RUSHES A PLEASANT way to start a £*■ new column, by wishing a Merry and I hope Prosperous Christmas to all members, long locations and short redundancies in 1957. A sincere hope, too, that before much of 1957 has passed, George Elvin is back, fit and well, in his office at No. 2 Soho Square. In the Agreement? Feature Vice-President and Shepperton Shop Steward, Charlie Wheeler, is now well on the way to recovery following a very nasty attack of arthritis of the spine. Middy tells me the following story of Charlie's illness before it was properly diagnosed (Charlie assures me there isn't a word of truth in it) : When he first went to the doctor, the latter shook his head sadly and told him a specialist would be necessary, so Charlie goes to Harley Street and after a searching examination the specialist looked grave. " I fear . . ." he said. " Cut out the shilly-shally," says Charlie, " tell me the worst." The specialist continued, " Mr. Wheeler, you have a week to live." " Oh, well," says Charlie, " I'll keep going for my last seven days." The specialist become apoplectic. " Seven days," he roared, " seven days nothing. The five-day week you fought for, the five-day week you get! " Food and Figures With turkey-time upon us it seems ironically appropriate to look at the studio canteen set-up. A recent press report that Miss Maureen Swanson kept her delightful figure within bounds by dancing was provoked, so the article said, by the sight of her tucking into " those creamy sweets " in the Pinewood canteen. Those of our members who need to, or care about the same problem, tackle it by looking at the pricelist or indulging in a ten-minute daily exercise known as queueing. At M.G.M. our members face an additional problem — finding clean cutlery. These comments do not, of course, apply to the M.G.M. restaurant, where the highest standards apply, including the price — 6s. 6d. Shepperton can take the palm for having the gloomiest canteen. A few warders in evidence and there's a ready-made set for Riot U.S. market, and in some cases, to help the director with " artistic direction ", whatever that may be. In one studio — it shall be nameless— , when an organiser queried the employment of one of these gentlemen, he was told he was Irish. When the relevance of this to the U.S. market was pursued, the organiser was asked, " Well, aren't nine-tenths of the American population Irish? " During the time of a subsequent Dialogue Director, this line was uttered on the set, " We are respectable, peaceable people." Try it out. This might be an A.C.T.T. member who believed them when they said that five guineas would cover the cost-of-living in Patagonia. Hut who is it? In which film, made by whom and when? ( See page 190). in Cell Block 11. Here, action by Joint Works Committee has helped to halt the rise in prices. One of the best meals in the business is to be had in the Bray Studio restaurant. For four shillings a really excellent threecourse meal, plus coffee, is served. Helpings are generous, the food is tasty and hot and the surroundings pleasant. True, it's a small studio, but that's no reason why the big boys shouldn't try and take a leaf out of the Bray book. Ireland, U.S.A. One of the latest fashions in some studios is to have a dialogue director. The purpose is to tailor the script and dialogue to fit the Short takes B.B.C. producer Mrs. Naomi Capon gets high credit from The Times for her work presenting ballet for children on television. . . . Full-scale TV is expected in Bulgaria by 1958, says Professor Popov, head of his country's experimental TV centre. At the moment Sofia has two hundred TV sets and no redundancy problem. . . . Presburys have opened a new studio in the basement of Kemble House, Dean Street, W.l. If they ever need a top-flight director in a hurry, Maurice Elvey, one of our oldest members, lives a few floors above. . . . " FOCUS."