SOME WEEKS ago I crossed swords with the redoubtable Douglas
Fairbanks Jr. on whether or not his television films could justly be called 'British'; he contended that as they are made in Britain by Britons, they are; my argument was that as they aim at the American—or 'mid- Atlantic'—market, they do not deserve the name. We have since been continuing the argument outside the column; and have at least reached agreement on one main point, which is that a distinctively, recognisably ;British product ought to be the aim of the British tekvision industry if it is ever going to stand on its own feet. Where we differ is on how to achieve this end. Mr. Fair- banks has found from his experience that what might be called the Ealing approach, though it has made the reputation of British films among the cognoscenti abroad, is too highly specialised for general consumption on TV; the need first is to break in slowly and subtly so that appreciation, and then demand, for the identifiably British product is created. And the bleak record of attempts so far to sell British TV features abroad suggests he is right.
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