Documentary News Letter (1940)

16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS HISTORIES {This feature presents at regular intervals detailed resumes of the progress of various Film Societies.) No. 2: Tyneside The Tyneside Film Society came into being at a public meeting convened in Newcastle in December, 1932, by Ernest Dyer, whose tragic death last year was a blow, not only to the Tyneside Film Society, but to the Film Society movement in general, as we think his many friends will testify. The volunteer Committee set up on that occasion worked for over a year before it finally overcame the various obstacles which confronted it. Chief amongst these obstacles was the difficulty in securing licences for Sunday exhibitions of films, for which there was no precedent on Tyneside. This difficulty was eventually surmounted by the preparation of a lengthy memorandum signed by a number of more or less wellknown and "respectable" people on Tyneside, copies of which were duplicated, and sent to each member of the Watch Committee. This memorandum, which contained a number of effective quotations from "The Film in National Life : the report of the Commission on Educational and Cultural films", and which generally stated the case for a Film Society, did the trick, and by January, 1934, the Society was able to announce its first short season. With an initial membership of about 350, the Society was just able to pay its way, and from that time it has not looked back, until, of course, the outbreak of war. The peak membership of the Society was achieved in the last season, i.e. the season 193839, when there were just under 1 ,600 subscribing members. With the growth in membership, the value for money offered by the Society increased proportionately. The following table may be of interest to members of other Film Societies ; it indicates how, with the growth of membership, the number of exhibitions steadily increased, without any increase in the rate of subscription. Member Exhibi Sub Season Year ship tions scription 1st 1934 350 3 6s. 2nd 1934-5 771 7 125. 3rd 1935-6 743 8 12.?. 4th 1936-7 961 9 I2s. 5th 1937-8 1,200 9 \2s. 6th 1938-9 1,583 10 lis. During its history, the T.F.S. has organised a number of public art exhibitions on Tyneside. In September, 1935, it arranged an exhibition of original drawings and transparencies made by Walt Disney. In June 1936, the Society organised what is understood to be a pioneer exhibition of its kind, namely original sketches and paintings by cinema art directors, including work by Alfred Junge, Erno Metzner, Andre Andreiev, and Vincent Korda. In December, 1936, the Society arranged an exhibition of still photographs taken by Mrs. Robert Flaherty, and, in May, 1937, an exhibition of the work of cinema costume designers, sketches and paintings by Rene Hubert and Ernst Stern. The Society has also co-operated with various local bodies — the local branch of the Modern Language Association in the provision of French films for local students, with the Newcastle-uponTyne Educational Authority in the provision of children's matinees — and has acted generally as a local information bureau on filmic topics. The last major activity sponsored by the Society prior to the outbreak of war was the Northern Counties Children's Cinema Council, the initiative in which was also taken by the late Ernest Dyer. A copy of the pamphlet published on that occasion will gladly be sent to any interested person, but it may be said briefly that the three chief objects of the Council were : — 1. To foster interest in and to promote the use of the film and other visual aids in education. 2. To encourage the training of film taste and discrimination in children. 3. To act generally as a clearing house of experience in film matters amongst Educational Administrators, Teachers, Parents and Social Workers. To-i Unfortunately, with the outbreak of war, and the consequent evacuation of school teachers and school children from Tyneside, the work of the Council has temporarily lapsed. This is doublyA^ unfortunate, as the monthly film guide circu-i m: lated under the auspices of the Council was( I*' already beginning to win widespread local i* support. The Society has never regarded itself as an esoteric body, but has taken every opportunity that presented itself of improving the quality ofilaii)ii films publicly exhibited, either by promising local i f. managers support for "minority" films which they have booked, or, in some cases, by per-< jst suading film managers to include specific contin-< il»ii ental films in their programmes. The 1939-40 season concluded on June 2nd,i4tMi on which date the thirteenth exhibition of the( «n season took place. Naturally, no definite plans! tare are being made for the autumn, but like other#raii Film Societies, we hope it will be possible toi carry on. A notable event in the Society's history took place last autumn when it was decided tofce^ii put the Society's affairs on a firm legal footing f; by converting it into a company limited by guar-, antee. The present organisation is therefore that the Tyneside Film Society continues to function under its own name, but the management of Jined the Society and its financial control are vested inftnon the members of the Tyneside Film Association Limited, to which members of the Film Society? may belong on signing an undertaking to pay 5s.\ ik in the event of the Association being obliged tO! i wind up. Any Film Society official who may be; x interested in this move may have, on application to the Secretary, Tyneside Film Society, care of^iit Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastleupon-Tyne, 1, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Tyneside Filmlx, Association Limited, and a copy of the newi a; Rules of the Tyneside Film Society. (Editorial Note: At the time of going to pre there are no new Foreign Films being shown iS London. Reviews will be resumed when and if] new films appear.) ''^' ilJCtl mm Ml WORLD FILM NEWS A Limited Number of Bound Volumes for Sale Volume I £2 0 0 Volume 2 £1 10 0 Volume 3 £10 0 (Issues No. 2 of Volunw 1 and No. 6 of Volume 2 are no longer available.) Obtainablp from Vll.M TENTKE. Hi SOIIO S^IIJAIIE. W.l Single Copies Volume 1 3/6 Volume 2 2/6 Volume 3 2/