World Film News and Television Progress (Apr 1936-Mar 1937)

DOCUMENTARY BRUCE WOOLFE'S JUBILEE Twenty-five years in cinema Once upon a time a young man worked in an office, found there were no prospects, and went into the film business. This was Bruce Woolfe. Managing Director of Gaumont British Instructional, committee member of this and that, with fingers in all sorts of film pies, Bruce Woolfe confesses to the paternity of British documentary film, and is now an outstanding Wardour Street personality. Around 1911, in his exhibiting days, a religious film brought him success. It happened like this. Joseph and His Brethren, starring Beerbohm Tree, was playing at His Majesty's Theatre. Bruce Woolfe, with brilhant opportunism, got hold of a French film called Joseph. Outside his cinema, a converted shop in Commercial Road, there suddenly appeared some Beerbohm Tree posters. Nobody seemed to know how they got there . . . Bruce Woolfe smiles at the recollection of this mystery . . . but there they were, and the cinema takings were colossal. The war cut short his career as distributor, but four years later he was back making patriotic films and a lot of money. In 1919 he made history by laying the foundation stone of Elstree's film colony with British Instructional Films. Later the company moved from Elstree to a converted mansion in Surbiton. Its success prompted a still further move to a large new studio at Welwyn Garden City. There Bruce Woolfe carried on the tradition of the British Secrets of Nature films until 1931, when the of documentary people must come down to earth. Film is film, not a poem, an oratorio, a symphony. If documentary is to be successful it mustn't be above the heads of the public. Interest films must be interesting not mystifying. We can't teach the entertainment makers anything . . . look at pictures like First a Girl . . . but we can get our market. G.B.I, films catch on. France, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden take all we can give them. Even Lancashire and Yorkshire, the most critical of British counties, appreciate what we send them. To be successful we must give the public what they want . . . it's they who pay the money. With the British Film Institute and the Federation of British Industries, Bruce Woolfe is fighting to get quota for documentaries. It is not a personal matter — he can distribute on the G.B. circuit. But Bruce Woolfe, with the creation of the great Secrets of Nature series behind him, has the best interests of our actuality films at heart. control went over to John Maxwell, of British International Pictures. Bruce Woolfe, with camera-man Percy Smith and director Mary Field, then formed British Independent Pictures. It lasted one month. Gaumont British had invited them over. Bruce Woolfe has opinions: The younger school MONSEIGNEUR IN EDINBURGH Scotland's first news theatre, the Monseigneur, occupies the site of the former Princes Cinema in Princes Street, Edinburgh, where Continental films were customarily shown. Its coming was welcomed by those to whom the popular cinema made little appeal. During the past five months it has shown an eighty-minute programme ordinarily composed of an extended British Movietonews reel, Pathetone Weekly, one-reel travel film, musical short and cartoon. This poUcy met with comparative success, while the venture still had the glamour of novelty; but recently there have been signs of dissatisfaction, the programmes being criticised for their scrappiness, for their failure to present a real alternative to those of the popular theatres. DOCUMENTARIES FEATURED The management is aware of some at least of these shortcomings, and has been experimenting in recent weeks with a programme in which a two-reeler documentary is the feature. Many well-known documentaries, including, for example, O'er Hill and Dale, Country Comes to Town, Contact, Shipyard, Face of Britain. New Generation and Weather Forecast have been shown publicly in Edinburgh, and it is probable that those and others will receive exhibition at the Monseigneur, thus removing eventually the charge that the Scottish capital is one of the blackest spots in the country for doctimentary. There is no doubt that the enlightened execution of such a policy would be followed by more generous and more loyal support than has been accorded the venture up till now. Andrew Buchanan's Gaumont-British Magazine is now included regularly in the programmes and the monthly issue of The March of Time is shown. The Edinburgh Film GuUd, which for years urged the opening of a news theatre in the city, has made its headquarters (apart from exhibitions) at the theatre and the agreement made to work as far as possible in association, ought to be to the benefit of both. ANTI-SLUM FILM A British film company has taken a courageous and constructive step to help the clearance of the country's slums. Pathe Pictures has made a film. The Great Crusade, and has secured official aid in doing so. The film, which seeks to show housing conditions all over the country, has been made to help the national slum clearance campaign. The film owes its inception to a number of disinterested persons and has not been inspired by any political party. The initiative came wholly from these persons and Pathe. KINGSLEY WOOD ASKS LOCAL CO-OPERATION In order to secure accuracy, however, they have been in consultation with the housing officers of local authorities throughout the country and have received invaluable help from Sir Kingsley Wood and the housing staff of the Ministry of Health. Sir Kingsley Wood, in a letter, has expressed himself to be so impressed with the film as portraying in its stark reality the evil effects of housing conditions that he hopes every Member of Parliament will take an opportunity of seeing it and of using his inffuence locally when this film is shown in the provinces, as it will be in the immediate future. DEATH ON THE ROAD FILM MOTORING PRESS PROTESTS Some papers demand more horror. "Too mild," says Daily Express, "we must copy the more harrowing style of the United States." "It is not so horrible as it sounds," complains Motor Transport. "Why should we not see imaginary . . . horrors on the screen?" asks the C.T.C. Gazette. More significant is the angle taken by Motoring Press. The leader writer in Commercial Motor admits not to have seen the film, but dubs it "Railway Propaganda." "It is difficult," he writes, "to see how much farther this veiled propaganda for the railways can be carried now that it has gained an entree into broadcasting and oflttcial documentary films." (This because victim of accident in film is a railwayman.) MINISTRY ACCUSED OF BLUFF The Motor comes straight out with: "The film lends strength to the theory that the Minister of Transport's campaign against road accidents is a deplorable piece of bluff skilfully aimed at discouraging motoring in favour of railway travel." PoUtics lie behind the attitude of the Daily Mirror: "It is a strange film for a Government Department to sponsor, for it will cause resentment through class distinction." To express the depth to which its social pride is pricked. The Motor blares a headline: "Propaganda Film Which Will Stir Up Class Feeling" and adds ". . . it is a foul piece of anti-motoring cant, calculated to instil class enmity." 19