Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, who is in charge of the Bill,
met the objections of the Opposition so far as to fix a time limit of ten years for every part of the Bill. He also postponed the full restriction of advance booking. In other words, the legislation is to be experimental for a comparatively short period. Parliament has yet to approach the difficult question of defining finally what a British film is. The Bill, of course, as amended in Committee, already provides definitions, but they do not quite cover the ground. It seems to us that it is much more important to ensure British control over the character of productions than to ensure that the Capital is all British or that the capital, wherever it comes from, is paid mainly to British subjects. Films which are called British should be true to character and shoUld not have to be apologized for or disowned in the Empire or anywhere abroad. If this can be secured there need be no objection to foreign money or foreign talent being enlisted under British control.
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