1934-12-22 — Page 13

THE HO

ATURDAY

DECEMBER

BRITAIN'S FORWARD LEAP IN CINEMA INDUSTRY

BY MILTON BRONNER Bebind all talk about the British dlm industry, thero stands one cold, stark fact-England at one bound, as it were, has taken a place in the film-making "world Becond only to that of the United Btates,

Moreover, the English film- makers are now producing pictures with a special eye on the rich: American market of 20,000 movie houses as against about 4,000 in their tight little island.

The now dignity of the English Alm industry is due partially to British initiative, partially to the triumph of the Nazis in Germany. Time was when Germany stood castly second to the United States As a maker of the canned amuse- ment.

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More than those of any other country outside of America, Ger- man films showed techhical skill, oyo for story and drama and abun- dant acting talent. At one blow the Nazis, by their anti-Semitic programme-rigidly applied In the Alm Industry-killed all that,

A swarm of Jewish film alata, technicians, writers and camera men emigrated. Many went to Prague, Vienna, and Paris. More went to Hollywood and to England.

ENGLAND'S GAIN

The Nazis completed Germany's film downfall by devoting, their energies very largely to Alms so heavily laden with propaganda that the outside world market be- "came practically closed to them.

Germany's loss became Eng land'e gain. And men with Brit- Ish money are seeing to it at last that the opportunity is not muffed.

In the Alm work, as everywhere else, the English were slow start- ern. In the days of the silent fime, their products elmply would not be touched in America. The English put out na inferior pro- duct. They had their eye merely on the British market and the empire market.

That Great Britain hun ganze into the movie business in as big a way as Hollywood is shown by the vast now studios of British and Dominions, shown above, at Borsham Wood. These studios are as modern in every way as any Hollywood has to offer. From them, and others, come the extensive productions that the British have begun to introduce to America.

They battled with bad climatic gan to follow. money. They had inferior studios. 12 miles from London, Others be showed they had come to stay, all conditions. The movie themselves were pretty poor build- houses ings.

FORCE USE OF BRITONS

The film producers saw all the good British money going into houses that exhibited American and other foreign films. So they secured the passing of the Cinema. tograph Films Act of 1927. This provided that British film renters and film exhibitors must take a fixed quota of British films.

Movie houses in 1920 had to show at least 5 per cent British Alms. By the end of this year, it will reach 16 per cent and by 1030 It will be maintained until 1938, when the law ends.

The hopes based upon this law were slow in maturing, Movie did the studion. houses Improved more rapidly than

In London and the other big cities of the United Kingdom enterprising men began building exhibition houses that compared favourably with some of the best in the United States und Germany.

Then the British and Dominions Film Corporation built the first of They were hampered In

the great modern, British studios in ways. They did not have much Boreham Wood, at Elstree, some

many

THEN CAME THE TALKIES Then along about 1928 came paralysing news from the United

made. Even In

Staten. The arst talkies were be people were dublous about them. But in Britain they were even more ut them. dubious, *

their houses for sound.

A few bold exhibitors wired They had full houses. The others It paid. had the empties.

Then began a wild scramble all over the Island to wire for sound. The American firma which had the Britain. patents enjoyed a boom in Great

Herbert Wilcox, then and still production manager for British take a chance. He could not make and Dominions, was the first to talkies in his own studios at Bore- ham Wood and there were at that date only 12 exhibition houses wired for sound..

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the main British production com panies now began to revamp and rebuild their studios so they could. make sound pictures,

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British and Dominions and Brit- International at Boreham Wood, and Gaumont-British at the don, all installed studios for the making of talkies. Shepherd's Bush suburb of Lon-

perience, the British film industry Profiting from the American ex-

of Film Censors. The present set up a voluntary British Board head of it is the Rt. Hon. Edward Shortt, a former cabinet minister, Just as was Will Hays the boss of the American film standards.

But the careful Britons went a atep further. They invented a label system. "Cortificale A means that the film must not be accompanied by their parents or shown to children under 16 unless guardians. "Certificate U" means that the film may be shown to all. regardless of age,

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A

THE CHANGE

BRITISH FILM IN HOLLYWOOD

Abundantly equipped with movlo Nevertheless, in the autumn of houses wired for talkies and with 1928, he took an all-British cast film production studios prepared out to Hollywood and made the for the making, of talkios, it "Black Waters." As, talkies soon Arst full-length British talkie-nevertheless looked a few years ago as if Britain was all dressed

The Rt. Hon. Edward Shortt, a former cabinet minister, above, is the Will Hays of the British film industry. Under his supervision, British Alms expect la compete bravely with America's product.

up and had no place in the world trade to go,

Alexander Korda is the man who changed all this. A fungarian, barely 40, he had worked as im wood. Then he decided to come to director in Germany and Holly. London and do his own producing.

to size up the possibilities of get- He was apparently, the first one ting dollars out of the Americas market. But also he realized that you cannot make a champagne pic ture out of a beer budget

Korda decided to spend big money. For his first venture he chose "The Private Life of Henry VII." You know what happened, The film packed the houses Britain and made a nice heap of dollars in America.

In

OTHERS FOLLOW

Korda's success was na revolu- tionary to the British film industry A was the coming of the talkies. The big English companies saw the light. They set themselves to making big pictures which cost heaps of money.

They outbid Hollywood for the services of outstanding directors and technicians, They borrowed

1934

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some of the best known Hollywood

stars.

British International's biggest picture to date is "Blossom Time," based upon the life story of Schu bert. For here they took the fa mous Austrian tenor, Richard Tau- bar, whose voice is familiar to thousands from his popular phonos

Lothar Mendes, big-time diree

tell and Thornton Freeland from tor at Hollywood, came and Ernst Lubitsch in coming. Alfred San- Hollywood are also here. Hein- Jewish scenario writer exiled from rich Frankel, famous German-graph records. his native land, settled here. So did Paul Graetz, famour German character actor,

Thus equipped the big British companies have already turned out some big flims and are planning more. British and Dominions, for instance, made "Nell Gwyn." fea turing Anna Neagle and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, one of the greatest stars of the London ange,

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GREAT ACTORS

Its biggest coup is the signing of a contract with one of the most famous actrezzes in the world- Elizabeth Berner. This Viennese Jewess, formerly the unquestioned queen of the German-speaking etage, barred from Germany by the Nazis last year had all London at her feet in the play "Escape Mo Never."

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MAKES MONEY

Korda, the dynamic force In London Film Productions, not. only madon hit and money with his Henry VIII, but followed it with another in "Catharine the Great," starring Elizabeth Bergner and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Then he made "The Private Life of Don Juan," starring Fairbanks, Seulor,

Korda at present renta studion from British and Dominiona.. Soon he Is going to build his own out at Boreham Wood. Ho has in hand now the manufacture. of two big filme-The Scarlet Pimpernel," starring tealle How ard and Merle Oberon, and "Sounders

of the River," based upon stories by Edgar Wallace. The stars will be Paul Robeson, Lezlie Banks, ona of the most the famous negro singer, and accomplished of English actors.

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