MAKING FILMS CHEAPLY

Southland Times, Issue 23794, 17 April 1939, Page 11

MAKING FILMS CHEAPLY

SECRET DISCOVERED IN BRITAIN GOOD PICTURES AT LOWER COST Britain has discovered a secret of filin' making of which Hollywood is unaware—that pictures made with brains need not necessarily cost a lot of money to be a success. During the past few costing in the neighbourhood of Izb.uuu have beaten the £250,000 epics and have also done excellent business in America. , . One fine example of this was that lovely tale of Cumberland life,. To the Victor.” Another is “This Man is News (to be released through Paramount), which the London critics are comparing favourably with “The Thin Man. Itis a brisk tale of London newspaper life, with a murder to keep it lively, quite charmingly acted by Barry K. Barnes and Valerie Hobson as a reporter-hus-band and his young wife, and it cost £18,750 to produce. The story was written by two young men from Glasgow, Roger MacDougall and Allan MacKinnon, who, after having written college shows for their university, done a few odd radio jobs, lyrics and revue sketches, decided to write an original movie story together. They chose a setting they knew, the newspaper game, made their story melodramatic, because they felt that what British pictures lacked most was action, and threw in a lot of neat gags and wisecracks of their own invention. They wrote the story in a few nays and sold it in a few more to be made into a quota quickie at a cost of about £8750. Then the new Firns /Act was passed, and the picture had to be made on a more elaborate scale. Another Scot, David MacDonald, who graduated in Hollywood, and has made some promising British pictures during the past year, was brought in as director. As a result of the picture s instantaneous success, Messrs MacDougall and MacKinnon have been added to Michael Balcon’s scenario staff at Ealing, where they are now at work on a successor to ‘‘This Man Is News, in which the same young couple will again appear.

ECONOMICAL FILMS Partly as a result of this picture s reception, two major British film studios—Pinewood and Ealing—are combining their resources in order to sponsor the making of economical British films, “of essentially nationax appeal and possessing sincerity of purpose.” The directors of the organization are the managing director of Pinewood (Captain Richard Norton), Reginald Baker, of A.T.P.-Ealing Studios; producers Anthony Havelock Allan ana Michael Balcon and Arthur Rank and Stephen Courtauld, who built Pinewood and A.T.P.-Ealing respectively. The success of “Pygmalion” in Venice and at various American previews has led Leslie Howard to continue as star, producer and director in this country, and he will concentrate more in future on the production side. \ “There is far greater scope for the independent, experimental producer in England than in Hollywood, and ‘Pygmalion’ has proved that it is possible to make independent British films , that will be internationally successful,” he said. . “I have already formed a company of my own and shall soon begin work on my first picture—a newspaper story—at Pinewood. Diana Wynyard will be my leading lady, and Anthony Asquith my director. In the spring, I hope to play Nelson for Gabriel Pascal.”