Minutes of evidence taken before the Departmental Committee on Cinematograph Films (1936)

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE 109 30 June, 1936.] Mr. S. Rowson. [Continued. SIXTH DAY Tuesday, 30th June (Morning Session) Pkesent : The Rt. Hon. Lord MOYNE, D.S.O. (Chairman). Mr. A. C. CAMERON, M.C., M.A. The Hon. ELEANOR M. PLUMER, Lt.-Col. Sir ARNOLD WILSON, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., C.M.G., D.S.O. , M.P. Mr. W. H. L. PATTERSON {Secretary). Mr. S. Rowson called and examined. The Committee had before them the following memorandum by Mr. S. Rowson, who desired that the recommendations made in an earlier memorandum dated July, 1932*, should be regarded as additional to those now made: — 1. My experience of the film business dates from 1910. Since that time I have been actively interested in exhibition, production and distribution, and a close student of the many problems affecting either sectional or inter-sectional interests in the trade. Some of these problems were without parallel in any other industry known to me, and others called for entirely novel solutions. I was president of the Kinematograph Renters' Society in 1926 and took an active part in the deliberations and negotiation's that preceded the passing of the Films Act. I was an executive member of the British National Film League in 1923, a member of the Films Act Advisory Committee from 1927 until my resignation in 1933, president of the British Kinematograph Society since its inception in 1929, and chairman of the Entertainment Panel of the British Film Institute since the commencement. Having regard to this record I am assuming that you would prefer that the evidence I proffer to the Committee should be from the point of view, not of one advocating any sectional interest, but rather from the point of view of the trade as a whole and, occasionally perhaps, from the point of view of the general public. 2. I take the liberty of reminding the Committee, although it is probably fully apprised of the fact, that the film is primarily an article of commerce. From the day, now over 40 years ago, when the public was first permitted to view the startling novelty of " pictures in motion " commercial consideration alone has been responsible for the continuous progress, the steady expansion and the extraordinary development to which the industry bears ample witness to-day. The world at large, and the best informed public opinion in particular, readily acknowledge the merit and public value of this new contribution to the people's amenities ; and the present achievement is such that the finger of reproach is now lowered, and the voice of criticism is now stilled — in eloquent contrast to the experience of but a few years ago. 3. It is conceivable, of course, that the cinema might have developed in the same way as broadcasting. Commercial interests would in that case have been confined to the sale of apparatus of various kinds, and a quasi-public authority would have supplied the programmes. Had this been the case, there is no room for doubt that the development would have been along totally different lines, and none of those lines would have led to the cinema with which we are all familiar. Instruction and nonentertainment would have been the dominating principle of the programmes, and the devotees would have been numbered by thousands instead of millions. Chaplin, Disney, Garbo, Shearer, Laughton would probably have been names unknown, whilst the great * Printed with the Report on short films included as Appendix B to the Report of the Cinematograph Films Advisory Committee. 3787:; mass of pleasure which millions of people of all classes throughout the world have felt would not have been experienced. The guiding conception of all those who have been responsible for its development is the same as was described by the late Mr. Heriry Labouchere in connection with the novel : It is not intended to instruct or improve — only to amuse ! 4. I stress this concept in order to explain the known consequences of the commercialised system under which the development has taken place. If there be any who think that the non-commercial film of every kind has been sacrified I can only urge they are mistaken. There is much greater likelihood that — for want of a better term — what I call the " intellectual " film has a better chance of being realised now than ever it did. The instruments, technique, experience — all of these the culmination of exceptionally costly research — are now freely available for the making of educational and other similar films. They might not be available, and certainly no further technical progress would he possible, if the commercial aspect of the business was ever lost sight of. As it is we may expect with confidence the increasing use of films for education, scientific research, medical instruction, military surveys, political and social propaganda, advertising and industrial salesmanship. 5. Commercial success is measured by the number of admissions to the cinemas and the average prices paid for each admission. The product of these two quantities gives a measure of the total fund out of which every proper expense must be met before any commercial profit can be realised. It is arguable that the same final product might be realisable by increased admissions and smaller average prices; or by reduced admissions and higher average prices. This may be theoretically true, but in practice it is found that average prices have become standardised and could be varied, if at all, only with great difficulty. Under normal conditions these prices will yield audiences for which the present accommodation of seats is comfortably sufficient. It follows that commercial interests are concerned mainly with maintaining and increasing the present total of admissions. Experience shows that this in turn depends on the attractiveness of the programmes in the commercial cinema. 6. The commercial aspect of the production problem consists, then, in overcoming the difficulty of making a series of pictures which, when shown to the public, will provide the exhibitors with a fund out of which they will be able to pay to the distributors, as agents of the producers, a sum exceeding the cost of the pictures. The sums so paid by the exhibitors musl . in the long run, also satisfy the condition that fchej leave them with a commercial profit. For present purposes we can ignore the incessant struggle B