French Make Good Films In Chaos

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 99, 20 January 1939, Page 14

French Make Good Films In Chaos

TOHN LODER has been home to make a picture in England. He has been busy making a name and a place for himself in French films. “It’s still a hand-to-mouth business,” he said, talking about the industry in France. "French film finance is even more chaotic than most. “A producer reads a story and asks for an option on it. He takes it to a director and gets an option on his services. Options are also taken on a few name players. “Then with only options to offer, be goes to the distributors for backing. The backing is given partly in cash, and partly in bills on the various distributing regions. That is how the actors get paid. “You get as much money down as you can on signing. The rest comes in bills spread over as much as eighteen months.

“That isn’t the end. Films are always falling ‘en panne’—getting stuck for three or four weeks while more money is found. / “That has created a special profession of ‘depanneurs’—men who wait to buy up such productions and finish them off cheaply. “An actor can only get about half as much as in England—and then some of it may be in dud cheques. The very top stars, like Darrieux, get 500,000 francs—about £-1000 a film.” Even in this chaos the good films are made: and made so that Loder says it is a joy to work in them, because of the live atmosphere of enthusiasm. “For one thing, they stick rigidly to the 40-hour week. We work from twelve to eight, and not at all on Saturdays. There’s no question of staying ‘just to get this right.’ All the lights go out. “Of course, it’s a blessing to the actors, because we all fee] fresh. But it also means the work gets done much more quickly.

“There is no such thing as a standin in French studios. Even Darrieux didn’t have one when she came back from Hollywood. It’s no strain, because the lighting is all done so much more quickly.”