TELEVISED FILMS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21974, 24 December 1936, Page 9

TELEVISED FILMS

EFFECT ON THE CINEMA INDUSTRY DIFFERENT GROUND COVEREDj The British Broadcasting Corporation has spent approximately £IBO,OOO on the erection of a television station at Alexandra Palace, says Sydney Hurst, in the British Screen Pictorial. Trailers of Gaumont British and London Films were transmitted by the new medium, and received clearly enough to suggest to some critics that they will now be able to write about films in their own homes, instead of struggling in the atmosphere of first nights. It is only to be expected that the cinema industry regards these experiments in television with some suspicion, What would be the position of the local cinema if the latest Joan Crawford-Clark Gable film could be televised and seen in every home possessing a cheap and practical receiving set? Would the cinema be a gloomy theatre with rows of empty seats, the organ dirging through untenanted gloom? So far the film industry dislikes the mention of television. Assuming that television continues and, by experimentation, is able to show films as clearly as a home cinema. I do not think the film magnates need worry unduly. I have not noticed that the promenade concerts at the Queen's Hall are less attended because the music is being broadcast to millions of homes. Gramophone records have not lessened their sales because certain dance hits have been broadcast by the BritishJ3roadcasting Corporation dance orchestra. Neither do the big boxing fights attract smaller crowds because the news reel men are photographing phases of it with their cameras, and will be showing it on the screens within a few hours. Cinema May Benefit Actually, the cinema industry should benefit tremendously by the televising of films. There are still several millions of people in this country who do not go into cinemas. This greater public can be reached with the televised film. They are potential filmgoers. No doubt if they saw a selected programme of the best films of last year, they would be found flocking to

the cinemas to see the best films of this year. It is unlikely that the film companies will permit the televising of their latest films. There is no reason why they should not permit the televising of old films. It will be impossible, financially and for other reasons, for the British Broadcasting Corporation or other televising corporations to make their own films. It is possible that they will compete with the news reels in the televising of actual events such as the Coronation, the Derby, the Boat Race, and so forth. But even in these events it has been proved that a developed film televises better than the actual vision of the television camera. I believe the televised arrival of the Queen Mary at Southampton, seen by the thousands at Olympia, was based on a news reel picture of the event. Television will develop the business pf documentary films. These are admirably suited for the British Broadcasting Corporation and their sedate outlook on the world. For the rest, the British Broadcasting Corporation will be dependent upon the film companies as never before. There will be something like a battle of prices for films to be televised, and one or two companies may be encouraged to set about producing Aims purely for televising throughout the country. And what of events being shown direct on the screens at special television cinemas? Already there has been talk of television theatres being installed in the big railway stations of London. There is no doubt that the difficulties of projecting large television pictures on to screens have now been overcome. Engineers of Scophony, Ltd., have demonstrated pictures, 4ft 6in by 3ft 6in, while apparatus Jor cinema-screen size television is nearing completion. Development of Television It is to the credit of the British Broadcasting Corporation that they have since changed their attitude and by their experiments at Alexandra Palace and demonstrations at Olympia, proved that television is developing more rapidly in Britain than in any other part of the world. In the United States, the cinema industry is still powerful enough to prevent television from becoming a great popular institution. This may be considered shortsighted policy, but it must be remembered that the United States has suffered too many financial shocks recently to accept without a struggle a new medium in the field of entertainment Attached to the staff is Major L. G. Barbrook, who is responsible for the televising of films. "One of my biggest

jobs," said Major Barbrook, in an interview, "will be choosing films that we can adapt for television, which means seeing numbers of films right through. I think we are going to find it best to avoid strong contrasts and keep to softly defined prints. "Then we hope to collaborate with the film companies and run a series of •Films in the Making,' showing the big coming feature films in production. People will be able to sit at home and see all the work 'behind the scenes,' and when they go and see the film at the cinema they will have a new interest in it. "News reels will not be exactly the same as those you can go round the corner and see in the local cinema for ninepence. They will be a picking of all the news events. More like the American periodical news film, 'The March of Time,' which is now shown over here." Everybody is asking whether television is going to interfere with films. There was the same fear for the theatre when films came into being, and when broadcasting followed it was thought it might ruin both. But nothing of the kind happened in either case. On Major Barbrook's own reassurance I learned that television will never steal the cinema audiences. It would not be in anybody's interest for the television authorities to cover the same ground as the cinema. Besides, they are working side by side with the film industry and helping each other. The film companies provide material to be adapted for television, and television is giving them very good publicity, as well as a commercial propostion. "Nobody," said Major Barbrook. "wants to' go to the expense of buying a television set to see what they can get in the local cinema for a fewpence. Also I think it would prove too tiring to concentrate on a television programme for a long period, and so we are keeping everything very short. And people will want to see much more intimate, specialised films."