THE CINEMA
BRITISH FILMS, THE QUOTA AND -RECIPROCITY
THE first stage of the fight for a revival of British film pro- duetion is over. The Committee appointed by the film industry to enquire into the best means for the rehabilitation of native picture-making,- after innumerable meetings, waited upon. the President of the Board. of Trade. They were not at that time in entire agreement about anything except the necessity for the abolition of blind booking. Briefly this is the present system under which English cinema pro- prietors book unseen the entire output of certain American film companies, which output when it is contracted for may not even be manufactured. Everyone knows, of course, that the abolition of blind booking, though an essential reform, will do nothing to make even one additional British film. The question of the Quota has been put into the backgrouod for a little while, in the hopes that some other measure to,. which. fewer objections can be raised may in the. meantime be hit upon. Members of. the British film industry have consequently conferred with representatives
of American film companies to see whether an opening for good British pictures in the American market cannot be found.
It may not be immediately obvious why this should be essayed, but the deliberations of the Committee have clearly established that films cannot be produced in this country effectively or profitably for the home market alone, and that the first thing necessary is a foreign market for British films. No doubt there is a fairly strong feeling that as this country—always considered by the. Americans as the cream of their export market—takes American films to such a large
extent, merely as a matter of commercial good will the Americans might not be unwilling to accept a proportion of picked British films for their home market in exchange ; and, incidentally, if some such reciprocal arrangements were possible, then the Americans with their superior technical skill and ability to make successful films would be induced to lend a certain much-needed advice to British' producers, who, in some respects, have everything to learn.
Now, the agitation about the Quota has deeply concerned the Americans. It means to them, if it should come about, a definite restriction of the English market and the impression has certainly been given that, should a reciprocal arrange- ment for the interchange of films not be possible between this country and America, then inevitably the Quota will very definitely be considered again as a practical measure. The example of what Germany has done with a Quota system is a useful one. The English Quota in its suggested form called for cinema proprietors to show a definite proportion of British films in their halls. The objection to this was that it might encourage the production of poor pictures—a serious objection, for it is the poor quality and inefficiency of British films which has ruined them—but in effect by creating a definite market it would have the opposite effect. The system in Germany works differently. Before German film renters might offer for hire any foreign picture, they also had to offer for hire a German picture too. An official state- ment from the kinema proprietors of Germany establishes that their quota has been successful in operation. Partly as a result of the German Quota or Contingent system, two or more of the largest American film companies have contracted to accept a certain number of the best Germaii films for distribu- tion throughout America, and in return their product will be distributed throughout the Central European market. It therefore appears that the move in England towards a reciprocal arrangement with America is more on the lines of the German system than was the Quota scheme originally suggested for this country.
The Will Hayes organization which controls the destinies of the American film industry is even at this moment deliber- ating the question. There is a great deal of opposition to the preponderance of American films in a dozen countries, and at the same time the cost of film production in America has been forced up so high that they must depend on their foreign market to recover real profits. Also, the tendency is for the better film companies there to produce fewer and better films. Consequently they may not be unwilling to accept the best European pictures for distribution in the U.S. ; it is obviously better to give the American public good American films and good European ones too, rather than good, bad and indifferent American films only. If the recip- rocal arrangement is not agreed upon, it will probably be because the Americans still imagine that we do not mean business when we demand more and better British films for England. The President of the Board of Trade certainly gave the deputation from the British film industry reason. to believe that if necessary later the Government.would introduce legislation for a quota, though perhaps not in the original form. A period remains in which we can hope to see two things new blood in the industry and a greater friendliness between
the film industry of the and that of this country. For the
first there are signs that we need not despair. Already anew director in the person of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock has astonished everyone with his freshness and power in his first pictUre
" The Pleasure Garden," and other previously stagnant English directors seem to have woken up, to have looked round at what original work America and Germany have been doing, and to be taking• a new lease of activity.
As to the relations between the English and the American
film industries, these cannot but be better for a- thorough thrashing out of the difficulties. America particularly has always been admirably willing to learn from everyone, to take English and Continental actors and directors and to turn them to her uses. It is high time that we took a leaf from her book and profited by her undoubted flair for the cinema. Good films are good wherever they come from, and it will be to her advantage, as well as to ours, to have in existence bright and sincere English films, not only on the screens of this country, but all over the world ; and our Dominions, of course, ask for nothing better. I. B. * * * *
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