La Cinématographie Française (1950)

rxr^f-rYTTTTgTXXXyrTTiTXIXXlXXXJ 0jjf£ LACiNÉMATOGRAPHiE FRANÇAÎSE CXXXXXX X XXXXXXXX rxtlïYlîtygYYi : A TRAVERS LE MONDE ★ ★ ★ GREAT BRITAIN 1949 : A TURNING POINT 5N THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY par François KOVAL In times to corne the year 1949 will probably be regardée! as a very important one : a year of decision, a turning point in the history of the British film industry. This year, in fact, shows the first signs of the break-up of the powerful combine built up by Mr. Bank and a definite trend towards the establishment of independent production units. Mr. Rank’s statement concerning his financial losses, the findings of the « Working Party on Film Production Gosts » and the « Plant Committee Report » will certainly stand ont in future as mile stones in this development. To appreciate properly the significance of these widely discussed events one has to consider carefully the strange set-up of the British cinéma industry and the background of the présent crisis. Let us consider the intricacies of production first. After several years of patient rebuilding and modernising tbere are at présent in [Great Britain 25 studios with 73 sound stages and a total of 632. 98G square feet (aboujt 200.000 lm2;) available for film making. But at the présent moment ten of those studios are not in use, and in most of the others not more than one film is on the floor, as compared with two or three at the beginning of 1948. After having recently sold Shepherds Bush, one of the oldest London studios to the B. B. C., Mr. J. A. Ranlc closes down at the end of this year his vast and famous Denham establishment, thus restricting his production to Pinewood only. Despite these bleak prospects this year’s production figures do not at first glimpse reveal the estent of the crisis. In fact, 66 first-feature films hâve been completed during the year (3 more than in 1948), and in addition 21 second features, of which 6 were produced by « Exclusive » in a country bouse adapted for use as a studio. But while in 1948 the Bank Organisation was responsible for 34 pictures out of 63, this year only 21 first features hâve been made in the Rank Studios, and of these 7 were made hy independent producers, only loosely linked with the Rank Group through a distribution contract. Something very similar happened within Sir Alexander Korda’s « London Films » : of the 8 pictures completed in his Shepperton and Isleworth Studios (the same number as last year) a greater proportion was produced b v American and independent producers. The greatest jump in production was shown by tbe third dangerous rival of Mr. Rank’s the « Associated British », whiefi after rebuilding the famous Elstree Studio, has turned out 7 films instead of last year’s 3. This firm is closely linked with « Warner Brothers », and as a resuit several Amerieans (Alfred Hitchcock among them) hâve been working in their studios. In ail 24 first features hâve been made this year by producers independent of the major groups, and this is certainly a record figure so far. The year 1949 brought another significant development to British production, namely the considérable number of pictures — eight in ail — made abroad, mostly in France and in Italy. This phenomenon is due not only to the attraction of a climate that John Mills dans L’ODYSSEE DU CAPITAINE SCOTT. (Cliché Gaumont Distribution.) makes ail the exterior shots easy, but also to the steadily rising cost of studio space in Britain. In fact, the average cost of a studio amounts at présent to something like 10 to 15.000 pound sterling per week. One unmistakeable sign of the crisis is found in the unusually high number of dismissals among the studio personnel. While in Mareh 1948 not less than 7.618 persons were employed in the British studios, at présent the total figure only slightly exceeds the 5.000 mark. The fact, however that this decrease in emploj’ment fias not resulted in a reduced output seems to indicate that many studios were overstaffed. So, the economy drive caused by the critical situation — painful as this may 'be to the workers and technicians concerned — seems to hâve been justified. The salutary effect of this drive is also reflected