End of the Film War
The effect of the agreement signed between Mr. Eric. Johnston, for the Motion Picture Association of America and Mr. Harold Wilson, of the British Board of Trade, is that at least $17,000,000 a year will be remitted to the United States in the two years com- mencing June 14th, 1948, for American films shown in this country. After that every dollar sent to America must be balanced by a dollar earned by British films in the United States. Since British earnings are bound to be far below American, this means that American com- panies will pile up balances in this country. These they may spend in agreed ways, of which film production in this country will be one. For an independent business man dealing with a Government, Mr. Johnston has done very well for himself. Mr. Wilson drops the import duty imposed last year, agrees to pay out 17,000,000 precious dollars, and gets in return the gratitude of Hollywood. In view of the things which have-recently been said about Hollywood's products both here and in the United States neither gratitude nor the products seem to warrant so high a price.
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