Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

156 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER WIDESPREAD INTEREST AND CONFLICTING PRESS REACTIONS FOLLOWED THE REMARKABLE SPEECH MADE BY SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS at the Annual Luncheon of the ASSOCIATION OF SPECIALIZED FILM PRODUCERS We print it in full below the earliest line of film production in which we as a people made our mark was the short documentary film. British documentaries were widely recognized as being in a class of their own but unfortunately the general public either failed to appreciate this fact or having appreciated it were unable to give due encouragement to the carrying on of the good work. As a result the specialized film producers and other short film producers have found it difficult to maintain their output. During the war the position was different because the demands of the Government through the Ministry of Information were large and continuous and managed to keep all the available units pretty fully occupied. Now that the expenditure upon all Government propaganda has had to be cut down the need has arisen for alternative forms of production for a number of Film Units who cannot any longer expect to work full time on Government contracts. To some extent this can be made good by the private sponsored films which some industrialists are enlightened enough to demand as part of their general advertising programme. I hope, too, that some of the new nationalized industries and services will be using this method of publicity to put across the ideas which they need to communicate both to their own employees and to the public. All these are most useful functions which the specialized film producers can perform for the country but they will not in themselves, I believe, be sufficient to maintain in stable circumstances the number of units that are capable and willing to do the work. , Sooner or later we must somehow or other give the public an opportunity of seeing the output of these units, an output which I am convinced the ordinary person would enjoy more than many of the second features which now disgrace our screens. As your chairman knows this is a matter upon which I have been very keen for a long time, but it is easier to be keen about it than to devise a means of bringing it about. Several conditions will have to be observed if we are to accomplish what I would like to see, which is that high quality British shorts should replace a lot of the low quality second features which are at present being shown. The first is that the producers of the shorts should be quite convinced that what they produce for this purpose must be entertainment and not education. You cannot and should not try to force down the throats of people who have paid to be entertained what you consider is good for them by way of education. That does not mean debasing the quality of short films — for on the whole the public has good judgment as to quality, much better I believe than some of the exhibitors give them credit for! It is a curious fact that whether you are dealing with film exhibitors or buyers of consumer goods they all tend to place the taste of the public much lower than it really is and they are often surprised and slightly resentful when they discover that they are wrong. I am not, of course, referring to all exhibitors, but to a widespread tendency amongst exhibitors. I, myself, believe that the best will always justify itself in the public estimation provided it is not used to deceive the public — as for instance by pretending you are out to entertain them when really your design is to educate them. The first point then is that you must produce genuine entertainment. This does not debar you from the documentary technique — indeed it is that very element which can in itself make the entertainment value especially when it can form a pleasant contrast to the feature technique in a single programme. Second, a proper place must be found in the programmes for shorts — British or otherwise — of this nature. So long as the second feature is insisted upon and no one will build up a programme on any other basis it is almost impossible to put a short into the programme. Two features and the newsreel fill up the whole programme. My own belief is that a more attractive programme could be made — at least from time to time — by replacing the second feature by two or more really good shorts. Third, there must be enough of the receipts left over after paying for the first feature to allow a reasonable sum to pay for the shorts. We don't want quickies or bad shorts, nor do we need short films on which extravagant sums have been spent. We do need, however, to recognize that good shorts must cost a certain amount and that they cannot be made unless a reasonable return can be obtained by the producers. The latter two of these requirements are a matter for the exhibitors primarily and for the renters and I hope very much that one of the large circuits may lead the way in this encouragement of the peculiarly British capacity for making good short films. I have sought, as you know Mr Chairman, to bring together the circuits and the producers of short films on some such basis as I have sketched out but I fear that so far my aims have not succeeded. I know that some of you — in fact probably all of you — feel that a great deal could be done towards this end by legislation. I think it is true that something can be done but not, I fear, everything. It is not any easy matter to balance out the interests of the very many competing interests in exhibition, renting and production while at the same time guarding the interest of the public and the economic interests of the nation. However much I, as an individual, might desire to assist one particular branch of the whole cinema organization I must, as a Minister and as responsible to Parliament, try to give a fair deal to all the conflicting interests. I hope, however, when you see the draft of the new Bill you will not be wholly disappointed with our intention and it will, of course, always be possible for Parliament to amend the Bill when it comes before it. It may be that some of our present difficulties as to dollar payments will not react too unfavourably upon your organization for we certainly must do all we can to produce in this country as many dollar savers as possible and I shall also hope that some of your productions will find their place amongst our exports to other countries.