Motion Picture Herald (Dec 1933–Mar 1934)

22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD February 17, 1934 FRANCO-GERMAN AGREEMENT GIVES AMERICAN PRODUCT COLD SHOULDER Import ResHclions Are Lifted on Short Product, Silent Films, Newsreels, Advertising Reels and Musicals Under Pact [By Special Berlin Correspondence] The German and the French fihn industry were always eager to create a situation which might satisfy both sides. But the attempts undertaken at several times did not satisfy the needs of one or the other country and led to a state of dissatisfaction. With the arrival of the new Government in Germany, which fundamentally reorganized the political and economical structure of the film industry, it was clear that the export branch of the industry would be reconsidered. The present calamity of the French film industry, which led to a shifting of the production activity insofar as the majority of films is made by minor film producers in this season, unintentionally has prepared the way for a cooperation with the German film industry. A film agreement built up strictly upon the principle of reciprocity, therefore, meant nothing else but to make both ends meet. In spite of several agreements, signed in previous years, film exchange between the two countries did not appeal to the demands of both industries. Americans the Losers The American film which was sufficiently represented in Germany as well as in France throughout the past seasons did not favor a Franco-German film agreement and the American film at all times has been at the top of the films imported into Germany. After the closing down of the Paramount studios at Joinville-Paris no American made film was shown in Germany in an original German version and the dubbed films reduced the popularity of the American film. But, and this is very important for the development of Franco-German film relations, the cessation of the American film production in France and, at the same time, of the production of German film versions, nonsynchronized, paved the way for a FrancoGerman film understanding. The wonderfully equipped French studios remained empty for months and minor producers came up and filled the place Paramount had left in Paris. The possibility of producing a remarkable number of German versions, shorts, newsreels and so on, which on the basis of a Franco-German film agreement would be absorbed by the German market, would fill the studios again and give work to the unemployed in the French industry. On the other side it was necessary for Germany, and a vital question for the future of the German film, to renew, especially under the prevailing conditions, film relations with a country which represents four thousand halls and Is accustomed to seeing German films. Under these circumstances both countries had a vital and keen interest to sign a film FRENCH PICTURE AIDS FRIENDSHIP In Paris last week opened a talking film, "From Wilson to Roosevelt," which reviews, for the edification of the French poptdation, Franco-American relations from 1914 to the New Deal and today. It is deliberately designed to promote friendship between the two countries and has received commendation from government officials. Opening with the war period, the film moves to prosperity, Calvin Coolidge and the Lindbergh flight. The economic crisis is pictured sympathetically, with the conclnsion showing the NRA flag fading into the American flag. agreement based on strict reciprocity which, in other words, means a preferential treatment of German films in France and French films in Germany, of course at the expense of the hitherto greatest film exporter to both countries — the LInited States. The Official Text The official text of the film pact runs as follows : M Twenty feature films of more than 900 ' • meters each with German dialogue (speech or songs) made in France by a French producing company or in cooperation with a German producer may be imported into Germany free from any restrictions, and may be shown in Germany. They must not be dubbed : picture and sound must have been recorded simultaneously. 2 Twenty German feature films may be ■ exported to France under the same conditions. 3 In addition to these films 15 French pictures of an average length in a postsynchronized German version may be shown in Germany under the condition that the synchronization has been performed in German studios. This decision remains subject to the conditions still in full force regulating the dubbing of foreign films in Germany. 4 Corresponding stipulations are made • for post-synchronized German films in France. i Shorts superior to 900 meters (2950 feet) — including silent films, news reels, advertising films and musical films — will be free from any import restrictions. 6 Films with German dialogue or song with superimposed French titles will be free from any import restriction, if they are shown in no more than 5 cinemas within the borders of Paris (Department of the Seine) and 10 cinemas in all French departments altogether. Changes in this direction can be approved by the French Government. 7 Films with French dialogue or song • with superimposed German titles will be free from any import restriction, if they Twenty Sound Versions and 15 Dubbed Films Are Admitted for Import Into Each Country; In Force Until July 3 1 are exhibited in only a corresponding numbers of cinemas in Germany and if the German Government should think it appropriate to make a similar arrangement for her country. 8 The German films to be shown in • France may be made subject to a provision, corresponding to the German law, according to which a foreign film must be exhibited in a public show before its distribution. Q In consideration of the fact that there is no restriction for the export of money in France and the present film pact is built up on the principle of strict reciprocity, the German Government will undertake suitable steps in this direction in order to provide those compam'es and distributors with a sufficient number of foreign currency export concessions to put to account with French producers sums which derive from the selling and the distribution of all films which are listed in the above mentioned paragraphs. This agreement will be in force to July 31, 1934. If, however, one of the partners of this pact should upset or overthrow the system of strict reciprocity, the other partner gets the right to withdraw from the pact with a two months' notice. U. S. Films Out of Consideration Several days after the signing of the pact by high French diplomatic leaders (President Albert Lebrun, Paul Boncour, minister for foreign affairs, and the ministers for commerce and industry, education, and interior, and on the German side by Mr. Foerster, German ambassador in Paris), the head organization of the French Industry, Chambre Syndicale de la Cinematographic Francaise, held a meeting in Paris and discussed the possibilities of the film pact with Germany. At the end of the conference a petition was sent to the ministries which had taken part in the elaboration of the agreement, protesting against the text of the pact and claiming that it would be inadvisable for French film producers to produce German versions of their films only on account of the signed film pact. The pact leaves the American film out of consideration and gives a pronounced preferential treatment to the French film in Germany and to the German film in France. The American film is furthermore subject to the existing quota restrictions and to the foreign money embargo prevailing in Germany. The result of the pact will be an increased production of German versions in France and vice versa. Edward Mehesy Dead Edward Mehesy, 65, one of the first film theatre operators in Salt Lake City, died in Los Angeles recently. He opened the Mehesy, now the Rialto, many years ago.