MORE ABOUT FILMS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 109, 4 November 1926, Page 8

MORE ABOUT FILMS

ALLEGED GERMAN "JUNK"

HOME PRODUCERS' ATTITUDE

VALUE OF OVERSEAS MARKETS.

(Fr*m Our Own C»rr«p«nd«nt)

LONDON; 22nd September,

As way to bo expected, strong com-, merits have,.been expressed by men. in tllo cinema business regarding the statements niadc'by'Mr. 0. ' Chrysta.ll, described as representing, the Southern International Mini Company bi: Now Zealand, to "Tlie Cinema and the ■'■ 'Daily■ ;Mirror." .It will be, remembered that among other things he said that prices for, British films were -so high that'he had'been obliged'to go, to Germany for present and future supjfiies for a'period pf twenty-one years ahead. . • .' . .■'.'■ ■ British . producers are not perturbed by Mr. Chrystall's experienco, ; ]>ut h.. number of thorn: have expressed their .opinions in "Cinema," wjiieh-,is the only film newspaper and is now. irt its .fifteenth-year of publication. ,"■■■ "Generally/"says "Cinema," "the attitude of the representative British producers interviewed has been one of dignified protest at tho attempt to imposo an absurd scale of prices on good films." Tho editorial comment runs!—" Bri- | ish producers have refused to allow themselves to be worried by Mr. Chrystall, the Australian buyer's 'threat,' that he will henceforth buy his films from Germany. If the British trade is a little angry, it is because producers regard it as something loss than, courteous to ask them to sell carefully-made productions at junk prices, and because this request should have been made at the point of a pistol that is certainly not likely to harmonise with their sense of patriotism. • A STIMULATING FACT. "Charles Ohrystall's tirado has had the effect of bringing to the fore one very stimulating fact—British producers arc not having any great difficulty in'placing their pictures in the colonies. Opinions differ as to whether the prices received are or are not advantageous so far as Australasia is concerned;1 but the necessity has not yet arisen to sell good pictures as junk, or to give them away—so to speak— with a pound of butter. And it is good to be reminded by producer after producer that ho really has nothing left to sell. Mr. Chrystall's pistol seems to have misfired. "It remains to see whether any harm can be done to the existing British trade in Australasia by the competition already operating, and now about, to be accelerated. Very much rests upon public opinion. If Australasian audiences are not prepared to see Germah films, the problem will not arise. On the other hand, if it be true, as Charlen Chrystall claims, that they judge pictures on their relative production merits only, then it would seem that the newly-stimulated activity in favour of German output may ultimately reflect ■ disadvantageous^ on the British market. Although no one would expect that the German films claimed to be bought for £50 and £100 are 'supers,' it is reasonable to suppose they may be equal to some British productions, because, as one leader in the British industry observed, the German producers would give their ears for the Australian market But, after al3, no one can blame British! producers for refusing en bloc to be'stampeded by Mr. ChryBtall's methods into throwing away a hard-earned source of income by ,:en-

tering into throat-cutting competition with a country that has nothing to lose and much .to.gain by a little preliminary generosity." WHAT FILM AUTHORITIES SAY. Mr. C. M. Woolf (chairman of W. and F.) observed that Mr. Chrystall had not paid them a visit, nor did ho wish to see him, as he had no pictures to offer for £40 or £50. He was not in the least interested in any profit-sharing scheme, and that it was a disgrace to ask any British producer to sell pictures at the price mentioned. Mr. .Teffrcy Bernerd said that he had somo British films to soil, which were worth more likely £3000 than, the price ..Mr. ' Chrystall was prepared -.to. pay. ObViously, the.. price dejjcndedl upon the relative merit's pi!, the; picture. Mr. .Chrystall .was "not right iii saying that there were,triists'in-South'Africa.which would pay no. more than £250, as lie, Mr. Beinefd, had received much more than" that '-ior" -TJie:-'Last Days of Pompeii. ,He wondered whether Mr. Ghrystall could buy lilois:like •Metropolis/ "Faust,' ''Dv Barry," "The Golden Butterfly," autl "Manon Lescaut"; for £50Veacli : ? Tile, pictures Mr. Chrystall was buying: at the'price named were rubbish. • ; •.It was the view oi>,Mr. Michael Baleon (Piccadilly 'Pictures, itdi), that if anybody had asked Mr. Chrystall £1500 for a good British picture, ho was getting it cheap. -INor a good British picture Australasia should be worth a lot more than that, and he was quite sure that when a big American firm distributed a picture is Australasia they got a great deal more money than. £1500 for it. He expressed surprise at Mr. Chrystall's comments since the latter had approached their firm ill connection with one picture on which negotiations were even then still pending after he had expressed his opinions to the Press. TANTASTIC PRICES. Mr. Gordon Craig (New Era) said people who wanted to buy films for £80 and £100 would have to go elsewhere for them. "Fortunately Mr. (Jhrystall'a organisation is unknown to us in Australia," said Mr. Craig. "If he is talking about New Zealand, well enough, but if he is talking about Australasia, his price is absurd. Eight times his price would be somewhere near the mark. -We-think our goods are at least equal to German films for bliowing in Australasia. We have not a foot of unsold films for Australasia among the whole of our product; in fact, we have recently had inquiries from such firms as Famous Players and Fox, and had nothing we could offer them. I can go across to Germany and pay £50 for a film for the English market; but I should bo very sorry to put it on the screen in this country; such films arc hopeless from the point of view of story value." Mr. Leon Wynbergen (foreign sales manager of the same company)—a man with many years' experience' of selling films abroad—observed that it was entirely against the Now Era's policy to have any dealings with anybody "who spoke along the line of prices suggested by Mr. Chrystall. They had no difficulty in disposing of the whole of their output to the Dominions. At the present time there was not a foot of, their film which had not been sold ail over the Dominions. He had asked Mr. Chrystall to call to discuss future business, but so far had received no reply Mr. T. C. Elder (Stoll Productions) was not inclined to take Mr. Chrystall too seriously. r "Oh, Mr. ChrystalH" he said, "he didn't come to see me. .. . Mr. Chrystall is correct in saying fiat there is a trust in South Africa, but his statement that we are asking exorbitant prices is absolute ■ nonsense. It is1 a. common grievance with, British produo-

ers that we cannot get anything like a reasonable price from South Africa or Australia. It is absurd to say Australia is worth only £2000 per picture. The 'Ten Commandments' in Australia took an enormous sum—something certainly approaching £100,000." OEaANIEATION NEEDED. Mr. Elder pointed out that the great tiling British producers lacked in the colonies was organisation; it was there that the Americans scored every time. American firms were able to offer exhibitors whole programmes. Exhibitors could hardly be bothered with small firms coining along and offering single films. . . j What he would desire to Beo, and what must come sooner or later, was u.n amalgamation of British producers to create an organisation to control distribution. There was no reason why such an organisation should not have the annual disposal of a hundred British pictures. There was already plenty of available studio accommodation for the produtcion of GO or 80 films annually in this country. , "After all," he added, "people seem to expect, that every British film mads should be a super, but how many supers does America put out in relation to her programmes? A big picture .by > one producer here, and another by a producer there, look a lot when taken together, but there are very few big prodnctions to each American producing organisation." To make a JJritish film pay it'was necessary to get £4000 or £5000 from sources outside Great Britain. .