We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
DOCUMENTARY film IIVUS
VOL. 7 NO. 61 JANUARY 1948
EDITORIAL BOARD
STEPHEN ACKROYD DONALD ALEXANDER MAX ANDERSON EDGAR ANSTEY GEOFFREY BELL
KEN CAMERON PAUL FLETCHER SINCLAIR ROAD GRAHAME THARP BASIL WRIGHT
EDITOR
DAVIDE BOULTING
SALES & ACCOUNTS
PEGGY HUGHES
Cover design by james boswell
CONTENTS
This month's cover still is from A Siring of Beads reviewed on page_6
Editorial
Notes of the Month
Films in Germany Arthur Elton
Venezuela to Verdoux Edgar Anstey
The World is Rich
New Documentary Films
New Films from Canada
Survey of Films
No. 2. Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia
Recording Angel? Alex Shaw
Open Letter from a Schoolteacher
Correspondence
Nero Nonflam; Lucian Prechner
Correspondence
George Jones; H. E. Norris; Geoffrey Dando
Published every month by Film 4 cntro .'I i Soho Sq. London Wl
9
10
II 12
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 12. V.
SINGLE COPIES is.
CATS OUT OF BAGS
Q. When is a crisis not a crisis? A. When it's a rank crisis.
Several months ago a tax was introduced which is likely to reduce enormously the showing in Britain of American films and il was assumed that British production would be greatly increased to till the gap.
At the time of writing one member in li\e of the Association of Cine-technicians is unemployed and Mr Rank is being heavily criticized by the financial pundits for a productiondistribution deal alleged to resemble a pig sold in a poke. Meanwhile our exhibitors are grovelling about on their wellworn knees praying alternately to the Board of Trade and to the American industry for some guarantee that the) shall not be asked to bear, in the shape of a reduction of receipts, an) part of the British post-war economic burden.
To cap everything, the Rank Organization and Sir Alexander Korda claim that their established and leisurely production policies are sacrosanct and that chaos would follow any attempt to interfere with them.
Fortunately and most properly the Board of Trade is not deceived. Mr Harold Wilson has announced the formation of the National Joint Films Production Council 'to keep under review by the Industry and the Government the measures being taken to promote the fullest and best use of available film production resources'.
It is vital that the present spate of recriminations should be brought to an end at the earliest possible moment. An analysis of the situation appears to us to reveal the following key points.
(1) The tax on foreign films represents the greatest incentive the British film production industry has ever had.
(2) It may also represent a temporary threat to the revenue of exhibitors.
(3) The stability of the Rank Empire depends primarily on Rank as exhibitor and only secondarily on Rank as producer.
(4) Rank has made the fundamental mistake o\ allowing his interests as an exhibitor to remain dependent on a continuing supply of American films.
(5) As a result of this mistake and bispolic) of making a few lavish prestige films instead o\' more medium cost pictures which would both satisfy the exhibitors' needs and re their costs with the home market, most British producers have been caught bending.
(6) The tax is therefore turning out to provide less of an incentive than was expected. In the circumstances, the appearance of the White Paper on the neu I ilms Act ma) be handy, but it hardly touches the seat of the present crisis
(7) The Government has still to decide between (a) withdrawing the tax and thcicbv virtuallv handing back
trol of the British industry, togethei with a substantia] annual tribute of dollars, to the Americans or (/>) taking Mt active part in the rationalization in the national interest ol the British industry.