La Cinématographie Française (1950)

>TTTiixrrtxxïxxxxixxxxxxrrrrxx3 LA CINEMATOGRAPHIE FRANÇAISE Duvallès et Dorette Ardenne sont, avec Marcel Vallee, André Bréhars et Michel Barbey, les principaux interprètes de TROIS MARINS DANS UN COUVENT. (Cliché S.E.L.F.) the general principle t liât no British pieture lias a chance of recovering its production cost (not to speak about profits), unless il is assured tlie showing by one of llie three big circuits. In other words, the fate of every British featurc film dépends on the decision of two groups, each of which is actively engaged in the production of feature films, and consequently bas no particular interest to encourage tilmrnaking by « outsiders ». If, however, a pieture is accepted by one of the big circuits, it is ( wi th few exceptions) automatically barred from getting a « first run » showing in ali the other cinémas, which means that its box-office potentiaiities may rest unexploited, especially under the présent System in which a six-day run only is accepted as a rule in the circuit cinémas. Âlso, there is no guarantee that an independently produced film will be shown in al! !he cinémas of the circuit in question, or that it will be given attractive booking dates. This is a highly unsatisfactory state of a flairs, and certainly harmful to the British film industry as a whole. The « Plant Committee » hâve clearly recognised this and declared that « the introduction of more active compétitive trading at each stage in the process of film distribution and exhibition would place the whole industry upon a much healthier basis ». The obvious conclusion to be drawn from this statement would be to follow America’s exemple, where in 1948 the Suprême Court declared the control of cinémas by film producers inadmissible. But although the « Plant Committee » seem to admit the desirability of sueh a development, they are reluctant to recommend in their Report appropriate législation for a break-up of the major circuits and their divorcement from production and distribution, pointing ont that in présent circumstances such a « precipitate change » would not be practicable. In fact, the British Government is at présent a few months before the General Election not likely to interfère with the film industry one way or another. tt has so far adopted one measure which has greatly encouraged independent producers, when in July 1948 it installed the « Film Finance Corporation » with a capital of ü million pounds. This money is dostined to finance the production of such British films as appear likely to recover their cost, even without the additional benelit of an overseas distribution. The Corporation, after a careful scrutiny of the production plan and budget submitted by an applicant, usually ad van ces 10 % to 50 % of the estimated expenditure, even without and this is a very important point — a distribution guarantee of one of the big' circuits, otherwise indispensable. The support of the Corporation makes it then easier for the producer to obtain additional bank crédit. Until now £ 4.500.000 hâve been invested by the Corporation in film-making and so far 44 pictures owe their production to this state-supported institution ; 35 of them hâve been made during 1949, others are on the floor or in préparation. The activity of the « Film Finance Corporation » useful as it is at the présent moment does not meet with approval in certain quarters. Its eritics, with womewhat narrow-minded approaeh, violently attack the Corporation’s policy of granting loans to ' companies making part of their pictures abroad and to producers of télévision films. This latter reproacli is, of course, based on the same kind of short-sighted hostility of Wardour Street toward télévision, that 30 vears ago the grammophone industry showed with regard to radio. As a matter of fact, the Cinéma Exhibitors Association has already some finie ago pa.^sed a resolution forbidding ils members to accept for exhibition any film which had been televised or was intended to be. Mr. Rank’s recent complaints about the Entertainment Tax hâve drawn public attention to the problems of the Exhibitors which are aggravated by the existence of the big circuits with their monopolistic tendencies. Il must be reinembered that the cinemagoing habit is comparati vely widespread in Great Britain, a highly industrialise!! country. 28 million cinéma visits each week is an estimated average, and a recent survey showed lhat one third of the adult population went to the cinéma at leasl once a week. To meet the requirements of this vasl public most cinémas (in fact 94 %) show usually a programme composed of two features, supplemented by short filins such as newsreels, eartoons or documentaries. In 87 % of the cinémas of the United Kingdom the programme is changed at least twice a week. As the British conception of Sunday rest excludes ail spectacles, spécial permission of the local authority is required for every cinéma that wants to show films on Sunday. Since the war the number of localities admitting this practice has grown considerably. Even so, at présent less than 60 % of ail the cinémas are open on Sunday, and more than 90 % of these exhibit on Sundays not their week-day programme, but old pictures acquired at a cheap rent, thus profiting by the lack of other entertainments. One of the exhibitor’s main head-aches during the last two years were the Quota Régulations made by the Board of Trade under pressure of the big producing companies. In the year ending September 1945 45 % of British films had to be shown by every exhibitor. At the finie when this quota was introduced, it was already obvious to ail impartial observers that il 51 rrTXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxYxxx^mcxx7 Georges Marchai que l’on voit ici au milieu des riches vignobles de la région d'Oran a campé dans le film LA SOIF DES HOMMES un personnage rude, dur au travail, amoureux de la terre qu’il cultive, mais aussi accessible à l’amour. C’est Serge de Poligny qui assura la mise en scène de cette importante production française. (Photo L.P.C.-Ciné Sélection.) could hardly be met, and that if it would influence the output of the British studios at ail the quality would suffer for the sake of quantity. Now that the quota has been redueed to 40 % (and a further réduction is likely), we find that in fact 380 quota exemptions and 1.478 quota reliefs were granted... And in the « Plant Report » we find the statement hat « most exhibitors find themselves compelled to book almost ail the British films offered to them, good, had and indiffèrent. The public, however, are not compelled to go to see them, and box-office takings record their discrimination ». After the 9-month long import-ban on American pictures caused by the unfortunate introduction of the 75 % import tax, in 1949 the American product began to flood the British market. Hollywood films were offered at very cheap rentals (in some cases 30 % of box-office receipts), and this made the compétition by British films still more difficult. In this connection it is worth stressing that the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association has imposed on its members the obligation to refuse any pieture offered a! a rental exceeding 50 % of box-office receipts. To assess the financial situation of the exhibitors we hâve to take as a basis the total box-office takings which in 1948 amounted to 110 million pounds. Of these 39 millions were paicl in Entertainment Tax. Taking into account the above mentioned 28 million cinéma visits per week, it may be deduced that the average priee paid for admission was roughly lsh. 6 l/2d (about 75 francs), of which Entertainment Tax took 6 l/2d. Translating this into the average exhibitor’s budget we will find that in 1947-1948 his net takings amounted to 12.7 % as compared with 15.2 % in 1938-1939. With regard to the very heavy weight of the Entertainment Tax Mr. Wilson, the President of the Board of Trade said recently in Parliainent that the sudden outery against it coming from ail branches of the industry at once bears signs of « sinister unanimity ». If bj’ this lie meant to attribute to the complaints a certain political significance, lie might hâve been justifîed, because after ail in these days of British austerity the burden of taxation is equally heavy on spirits, cigarettes a: « ail luxury or near-luxury articles.