I was watching the BFI release of "Silent Britain" (which I ordered before I found out it was also on the KINO DVD "A Cottage on Dartmoor") but I was very surprised by the contribution to silent cinema on the British end.
You always hear so much about silent films being created in New Jersey and Hollywood but the BBC documentary really shed some light on how fruitful silent cinema was in Britain until American companies and the distribution deals really squeezed British silent films from being screened.
But if anything, I was really impressed by Matthew Sweet's passion for British silent cinema and trying to make things right today, as many film critics dismissed anything silent created before 1930.
The BFI version contains a 20+ minute interview with silent-film composer Neil Brand and a 1925 short film titled "Cut It Out" by Adrian Brunel.
What I find interesting about "Cut It Out" is that near the end, with a train sequence, somehow this laugh was accidentally(?) recorded on the audio track.
Anyway, pretty cool documentary. Haven't compared the Kino version when it comes to quality but my feeling is with these Silent BFI DVD's now so cheap (esp. all region DVD players), they are definitely worth picking up.
Silent Britain
If anything, just watching the special feature with Matthew Sweet and Neil Brand, the fact that British silent films have gotten the shaft from film critics, let alone not being taught at British film schools, you can tell it ticks Sweet off.
But considering the power of the American studios and what they did to squeeze out the British silent films being shown was quite interesting. I'll need to do some reading up on the business practices of the studio back then because I've read about the practices that Mayer pulled while at MGM but during the silent era, they really exerted their power overseas. Granted, this was in Britain, curious if the American studio system did the same to France or Germany.
But considering the power of the American studios and what they did to squeeze out the British silent films being shown was quite interesting. I'll need to do some reading up on the business practices of the studio back then because I've read about the practices that Mayer pulled while at MGM but during the silent era, they really exerted their power overseas. Granted, this was in Britain, curious if the American studio system did the same to France or Germany.
He certainly has got a massive chip on his shoulder! It spoils the documentary for me and I feel it has led to a kind of desperate revisionism since, where people try to find new films to hail as British silent masterpieces.kndy wrote:you can tell it ticks Sweet off.
After the First World War Hollywood dominated the world market. It made the films that people wanted to see. That was the main source of its power.
Of course there was Hollywood imperialism, too, where studios bought up overseas talent simply to starve their rivals of it , but I guess business is business, And as we all know there is no business like show business.
"The greatest cinematic experience is the human face and it seems to me that silent films can teach us to read it anew." - Wim Wenders
It's a polemic piece.....he isn't really that upset...but it is certainly true, up to and including today, that silent British films are utterly ignored by many of those few that teach or show silent films in this country. It's a complicated history, but it goes right the way back to the silent era; to The Film Society and their ilk, who worshipped 1) Anything Soviet, regardless of quality 2) German Expressionism, regardless of quality 3) Documentary films regardless of quality and 4) DW Griffiths Bioscope work. These were the people who created The Canon that we are largely stuck with, here and internationally to an extent; their followers - and there is a family tree of personal links - added such as John Ford and Italian Neo-Realism and Nouvelle Vague as they came along....but the silent canon stays. And it stays because of the vicious cycle of knowledge/demand/availability. For instance, as we approach the end of the DVD era, only one of Anthony Asquith's silent features is publicly available.....few know of their quality, so no-one hammers at the doors to achieve a release, they aren't released, so few know of their quality. And because they aren't generally known, they don't get written about in the standard works.....and despite the best efforts of a handful of people only a small dent is being made in the inertia of 80 years of critical and public neglect. Survival is also an issue of course, like elsewhere, though there are some brilliant survivors still.....but with few exceptions you have to go to specialist festivals and shows to see them.....very few British silent features have been released on DVD; Hitchcock accounts for over 50% I'm sure. And we had other directors......
I could use some digital restoration myself...
Penfold, I am a little doubtful about this, as I am about any conspiracy theory. What would help me a lot is if you could give me a list of British silents to look out for to verify the claim.
I greatly admire A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR and some of Hitchcock's, like THE RING and the silent BLACKMAIL. Then there are some very good examples of British-German cooperation like SONG and PICCADILLY. But apart from these I struggle to think of British silents that have left a lasting impression with me.
I greatly admire A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR and some of Hitchcock's, like THE RING and the silent BLACKMAIL. Then there are some very good examples of British-German cooperation like SONG and PICCADILLY. But apart from these I struggle to think of British silents that have left a lasting impression with me.
"The greatest cinematic experience is the human face and it seems to me that silent films can teach us to read it anew." - Wim Wenders
Okay.....you've made a good start if you've seen Piccadilly and Cottage....I would add, as a start, films that may impress you, two other Asquiths, Shooting Stars and Underground, Miles Manders' The First Born , any George Pearson's Squibs films, Maurice Elvey's Sherlock Holmes features, or his High Treason or Hindle Wakes Guy Newall's Fox Farm, or Lure of Crooning Water Henry Edwards' East Is East, any of the Rat trilogy, the original versions of The Ware Case, The Constant Nymph, The Skin Game.....you may notice I've deliberately avoided Hitchcock, and WW1 as a subject; there are many fine films to explore before crossing those bridges.Arndt wrote:Penfold, I am a little doubtful about this, as I am about any conspiracy theory. What would help me a lot is if you could give me a list of British silents to look out for to verify the claim.
I greatly admire A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR and some of Hitchcock's, like THE RING and the silent BLACKMAIL. Then there are some very good examples of British-German cooperation like SONG and PICCADILLY. But apart from these I struggle to think of British silents that have left a lasting impression with me.
So, how many of the above are available on legit DVD releases ???? Er, none of them, none whatsoever, as far as I know.....you mentioned Piccadilly and Cottage on Dartmoor; there is a very good DVD release of a rail-themed film called The Wrecker which is a reasonable, but not great film, and there is a DVD release of the documentary feature The Battle of The Somme from 1916.
Right now I can't think of any other legitimate, non-Hitchcock*, silent British feature film dvd releases.
* Although, bizarrely, Hitch makes a cameo in The Wrecker....
I could use some digital restoration myself...
Elvey's The Life Story of David Lloyd George is available from the National Library of Wales:Penfold wrote: Right now I can't think of any other legitimate, non-Hitchcock*, silent British feature film dvd releases.
* Although, bizarrely, Hitch makes a cameo in The Wrecker....
http://www.movinghistory.ac.uk/archives ... story.html
Fred
"Who really cares?"
Jordan Peele, when asked what genre we should put his movies in.
http://www.nitanaldi.com"
http://www.facebook.com/NitaNaldiSilentVamp"
"Who really cares?"
Jordan Peele, when asked what genre we should put his movies in.
http://www.nitanaldi.com"
http://www.facebook.com/NitaNaldiSilentVamp"
Okay, Penfold, I'll try to see as many of these as I can. I have access to decent copies of SHOOTING STARS, UNDERGROUND and the RAT trilogy, so I'll start with those.
I've seen THE FIRST BORN and - as we already discussed here a while ago - it left me underwhelmed, I'm afraid. In HINDLE WAKES I admire the Blackpool half, but find the second half stagey and disappointing. The art direction in HIGH TREASON is superb, but the plot is clunkier than that of METROPOLIS (and that's saying something!). I'm afraid I did not manage to sit through the LIFE OF LLOYD GEORGE. I'll give that one another try.
I'm not saying Britain did not produce competent films in the silent period, but I have not seen much to rival the astonishing output that came after World War II.
I've seen THE FIRST BORN and - as we already discussed here a while ago - it left me underwhelmed, I'm afraid. In HINDLE WAKES I admire the Blackpool half, but find the second half stagey and disappointing. The art direction in HIGH TREASON is superb, but the plot is clunkier than that of METROPOLIS (and that's saying something!). I'm afraid I did not manage to sit through the LIFE OF LLOYD GEORGE. I'll give that one another try.
I'm not saying Britain did not produce competent films in the silent period, but I have not seen much to rival the astonishing output that came after World War II.
"The greatest cinematic experience is the human face and it seems to me that silent films can teach us to read it anew." - Wim Wenders
LLoyd George is an odd one.....it's ahead of its time in 1918, but if you're judging it against most of the silent features we see, then it is going to clunk a bit....it's a biopic of a sitting Prime Minister, so is a tad deferential by our standards, and there is also the issue that it was never shown publicly, but suppressed, until its rediscovery in the last few years. But there are some stunning sequences; of the new pensioners coming out of workhouses (institutions that were basically labour camps for the poor elderly) or of the demobilisation of the army in '18.....
I could use some digital restoration myself...
I would say during WWII.....pardon the allusion, but it was our film industry's finest hour as well. But the last sentence illustrates the problem....it isn't just you that haven't seen them....very few have, including cineastes in this country. You really do have to hunt them out.Arndt wrote: I'm not saying Britain did not produce competent films in the silent period, but I have not seen much to rival the astonishing output that came after World War II.
I could use some digital restoration myself...
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missdupont
- Posts: 3124
- Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:48 pm
- Location: California
I agree with Penford on the Asquith titles, especially SHOOTING STARS, which is a behind-the-scenes filmmaking story, with a strong German Expressionist/film noir element. Other great/entertaining British silents include KIPPS, LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET, FOX FARM, THE GHOST TRAIN, THE INFORMER, and THE WOMAN IN WHITE from about 1916, or is that an American film?
I would add EAST IS EAST (1916 d. Henry Edwards), with Edwards, Florence Turner and a cameo from Edith Evans; THE FLAG LIEUTENANT (1926 d. Maurice Elvey), with Henry Edwards; MOULIN ROUGE (1928, d. E.A. Dupont), with Olga Tschechowa; THE INFORMER (1929, d. Arthur Robison), available on DVD from Grapevine; LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN (1916. Fred Paul), which used to be available on VHS from the BFI.
There has been a concerted effort to raise the profile of British silents in recent years, of which Matthew Sweet's documentary is the climax, while the start was probably the reaction to Kevin Brownlow's 1996 Cinema Europe TV series, which was so clumsily dismissive of British films. But in truth, despite some heartfelt and dedicated critical revaluation, exemplified by the British Silent Cinema festival and Christine Gledhill's book Reframing British Cinema, 1918-1928: Between Restraint and Passion, we are still dealing with an impoverished, minor national cinema with a few highlights well worth championing (HINDLE WAKES, SHOOTING STARS, the Hitchcocks), some middling titles of interest (the Sherlock Holmes series, Guy Newall films), and rather too many films that are poorly stagely, cheaply lit and indifferently performed. But we're still rediscovering new titles to champion - such as the Anglo-German-India films of Franz Osten which are finding new audiences (e.g. THROW OF DICE), even if undiscovered masterpieces are a bit thin on the ground. Were a few more of the 1910s films directed byt Henry Edwards to come to light again, they might find acclaim - EAST IS EAST is a (minor) delight.
I wrote a post a couple of years ago listing British silents available on DVD - there's been one or two since then e.g. THE WRECKER and THE LIFE STORY OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, but it may be of interest:
http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/2008/05/ ... -dartmoor/
There has been a concerted effort to raise the profile of British silents in recent years, of which Matthew Sweet's documentary is the climax, while the start was probably the reaction to Kevin Brownlow's 1996 Cinema Europe TV series, which was so clumsily dismissive of British films. But in truth, despite some heartfelt and dedicated critical revaluation, exemplified by the British Silent Cinema festival and Christine Gledhill's book Reframing British Cinema, 1918-1928: Between Restraint and Passion, we are still dealing with an impoverished, minor national cinema with a few highlights well worth championing (HINDLE WAKES, SHOOTING STARS, the Hitchcocks), some middling titles of interest (the Sherlock Holmes series, Guy Newall films), and rather too many films that are poorly stagely, cheaply lit and indifferently performed. But we're still rediscovering new titles to champion - such as the Anglo-German-India films of Franz Osten which are finding new audiences (e.g. THROW OF DICE), even if undiscovered masterpieces are a bit thin on the ground. Were a few more of the 1910s films directed byt Henry Edwards to come to light again, they might find acclaim - EAST IS EAST is a (minor) delight.
I wrote a post a couple of years ago listing British silents available on DVD - there's been one or two since then e.g. THE WRECKER and THE LIFE STORY OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, but it may be of interest:
http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/2008/05/ ... -dartmoor/
Luke McKernan
http://www.lukemckernan.com" target="_blank
http://www.lukemckernan.com" target="_blank
Thanks Urbanora for the link to the "Cottage" post; I'll be investigating these films, as best I can, on this side of the pond.
I've long been curious about British silents, particularly as practically all of the ones I've seen from the period before 1914 are imaginative, brilliant and innovative. However when I first read -- in the 70s -- Brownlow's essay about his discovery of Jacques Tourneur's The Wishing Ring his comment about "one of those sopoforic British silents;" hardly an endorsement. At that time the only books I could find on British silent directors I could find were on Hitchcock and Anthony Asquith; I also read a book written by Herbert Wilcox which was chatty and amusing but not real detailed about his silent career as I recall.
American films in the period 1914-1921 are tremendously variable in the way they approach the transition of features, new formats such as newsreels, serials and animation, the degree to which they move away from the proscenium arch perspective common to very early dramatic films to more dynamic kinds of camerawork, special effects, stunts, editing etc. I get the impression -- and I hope I'm wrong -- that British cinema in the same time period settled into something of a routine. Your comments are both encouraging and a little not so; that there are exceptions well worth investigating and that hopefully new discoveries will yield more interesting titles to view.
Paul Rotha is sometimes partly blamed for developing the canon to which Penrod objects so strenuously earlier in this thread. But I recall that one of his books -- which was mostly pictures, was that The Movie Parade? -- contained many interesting stills from British films, many of which I've never seen and one -- The Way (1923) by Brugière and Blakeston -- which was not a movie at all.
spadeneal
I've long been curious about British silents, particularly as practically all of the ones I've seen from the period before 1914 are imaginative, brilliant and innovative. However when I first read -- in the 70s -- Brownlow's essay about his discovery of Jacques Tourneur's The Wishing Ring his comment about "one of those sopoforic British silents;" hardly an endorsement. At that time the only books I could find on British silent directors I could find were on Hitchcock and Anthony Asquith; I also read a book written by Herbert Wilcox which was chatty and amusing but not real detailed about his silent career as I recall.
American films in the period 1914-1921 are tremendously variable in the way they approach the transition of features, new formats such as newsreels, serials and animation, the degree to which they move away from the proscenium arch perspective common to very early dramatic films to more dynamic kinds of camerawork, special effects, stunts, editing etc. I get the impression -- and I hope I'm wrong -- that British cinema in the same time period settled into something of a routine. Your comments are both encouraging and a little not so; that there are exceptions well worth investigating and that hopefully new discoveries will yield more interesting titles to view.
Paul Rotha is sometimes partly blamed for developing the canon to which Penrod objects so strenuously earlier in this thread. But I recall that one of his books -- which was mostly pictures, was that The Movie Parade? -- contained many interesting stills from British films, many of which I've never seen and one -- The Way (1923) by Brugière and Blakeston -- which was not a movie at all.
spadeneal
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Harold Aherne
- Posts: 2011
- Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:08 pm
- Location: North Dakota
Anyone interested in the history of British film should consult Denis Gifford's magnum opus The British Film Catalogue. The latest edition which I know of covers releases through 1994 and is split into fiction and non-fiction volumes; it is available new on Amazon, though it's hardly inexpensive (both volumes will set you back $505; the fiction volume alone is listed for $260). Still, those involved in researching any era of film production in Britain will find it indispensable and will want to have a copy they can consult whenever they wish.
-Harold
-Harold
In terms of books, for the business side of British silent films, Rachel Low's series remains definitive; for an account of the films themselves, Christine Gledhill's Reframing British Cinema deals with post-WW1 silent features, slightly academic in tone, but if I can cope with it... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reframing-Briti ... 200&sr=8-7 and the series of books of papers emanating from the British Silent Film Weekend are easily available too. For personal accounts, my favourite remains George Pearson's Flashback, and the more gossippy Nice Work from Adrian Brunel.
I could use some digital restoration myself...
What I also find quite interesting is that on Amazon UK, for silent cinema including certain silent film releases (Even from BFI), there are hardly any reviews. The book above was released in 2003, not one review. The R.W. Paul BFI DVD release, only two reviews.Penfold wrote:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reframing-Briti ... 200&sr=8-7 and the series of books of papers emanating from the British Silent Film Weekend are easily available too. For personal accounts, my favourite remains George Pearson's Flashback, and the more gossippy Nice Work from Adrian Brunel.
Needless to say, I enjoyed reading comments on this thread as I am more willing to watch more silents cinema from Britain. But I suppose it comes down to access and one can only hope that perhaps we see more British silents being released in the near future.
I'm actually curious which studio was responsible for many of the silents back then and who owns them now.
--spadeneal wrote:I'd buy that R.W. Paul set in a heartbeat if it wasn't Region 2.
spadeneal
Hi Spadeneal,
I actually started purchasing a few of the BFI silent DVD's because the region-free Phillips DVD players are Target and Wal-Mart (they usually go for $34-$59). Just a few button presses and you can disable region-encoding.
As a first step in my quest to find new silent British highlights I watched SHOOTING STARS today. How nice it is to succeed at the first attempt! SHOOTING STARS is easily as good as A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR, the other Asquith film I'd seen. It may even be better. It's hard to tell, because the copy I watched was rather washed out and dark and had no soundtrack.
But all of this could not hide what a delicious film SHOOTING STARS is. It is delicious in just about every way:
The plot is sparklingly intelligent. Like SHOW PEOPLE it is bitingly self-referential in its spoofing of the day to day workings of the movie industry. The thin line between comedy and drama this film treads is accentuated by some very clever intertitles ("Only one more shot, Mae, and you're finished" is my favourite).
The camera work and editing are as crisp and exciting as in COTTAGE or indeed in any 20s film I have seen. The many high-angle shots in the film studio beautifully establish the different worlds involved in the production of films there. The lighting effects at the climax might have taught Hitchcock a thing or two.
I have seen the lampooning of formulaic genre films many times before, but hardly ever as good as it is here. The zooming out from the initial scene from "Prairie Love" is hilarious. My favourite element, however, is the merciless spoofing of Sennett and Chaplin, complete with bathing beauties, a fat guy with a ridiculous beard in a stripey bathing costume and a painfully unfunny little tramp.
What a great film! And what a great start of my quest. UNDERGROUND is next. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
But all of this could not hide what a delicious film SHOOTING STARS is. It is delicious in just about every way:
The plot is sparklingly intelligent. Like SHOW PEOPLE it is bitingly self-referential in its spoofing of the day to day workings of the movie industry. The thin line between comedy and drama this film treads is accentuated by some very clever intertitles ("Only one more shot, Mae, and you're finished" is my favourite).
The camera work and editing are as crisp and exciting as in COTTAGE or indeed in any 20s film I have seen. The many high-angle shots in the film studio beautifully establish the different worlds involved in the production of films there. The lighting effects at the climax might have taught Hitchcock a thing or two.
I have seen the lampooning of formulaic genre films many times before, but hardly ever as good as it is here. The zooming out from the initial scene from "Prairie Love" is hilarious. My favourite element, however, is the merciless spoofing of Sennett and Chaplin, complete with bathing beauties, a fat guy with a ridiculous beard in a stripey bathing costume and a painfully unfunny little tramp.
What a great film! And what a great start of my quest. UNDERGROUND is next. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
"The greatest cinematic experience is the human face and it seems to me that silent films can teach us to read it anew." - Wim Wenders
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mrbertiewooster
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 3:26 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia
LAEMMLE TALKS ON EUROPEAN CONDITIONS
By Chester J. Smith
Motion Picture News
21 October 1922, p2005
CARL LAEMMLE, president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, just back from a trip to Europe where he went to investigate conditions in general, has no fear of an imminent menace to the industry in the United States from any European source. At the same time he is not willing to admit the impossibility of such a menace some time in the distant future. In England he found the greatest possibility of producing films that will go in this country.
At present in Europe they are doing everything possible to imitate American pictures, according to Mr. Laemmle. The imitation is still a long way from the original. The ultimate success, according to Mr. Laemmle, lies in the ability of the actor and actress to so perfect the imitation of the American actor and actress on the screen and make it undiscernable to the naked eye of the American audience. That's how remote the menace is from that quarter.
"The English are trying in every way to imitate us, and are having more success at it than any other country in Europe," said Mr. Laemmle. "It is customary over there for the young men to wear moustaches or small beard. Not only is the English actor appearing clean-shaven, but he is affecting the American style of clothing and carriage. He is not doing the latter with marked success, but he is trying. They just naturally do not carry themselves or wear their clothes as the American does.
"I do not think an English cast will be able to make pictures for some time that will successfully compete in this country against American made pictures.
"If the time comes when any of these foreign countries can produce a modern story as it is produced in America, then it will be time to worry. In fact, at that time it will be a case of run for cover, for we cannot begin to produce pictures here to compete with costs of production there.
"As an indication of their production costs as compared to ours, stars in Europe get salaries about one-tenth of what we pay our stars. At one plant in Europe, I do not care to say in which country, the president told me they were paying studio laborers tbhirty cents a day and that tghe men glad to get it. For the same labor in this country we pay from six to eight dollars a day.
"In Germany they can make a production for $20,000 that we could not duplicate here for $100,000. We could not produce for the same costs there, of course, because of the salaries we pay our stars and the costs of getting them there and maintaining them while there. That would more than offset other reduced expenses."
According to Mr. Laemmle, Germany is getting along at a great rate of speed in the matter of production and is doing its best to produce pictures that will appeal to the American market. Realizing that its modern pictures are not saleable here, the German producer is turnning his attention to costume plays in the hope that he might popularize them with the American people.
"I tried for three weeks in both Berlin and Vienna to make a picture," said Mr. Laemmle, "but found it impossible to get either a studio or a cast. Every studio is working to capacity and there are no actors or actresses available at the present time.
"Whyile over there I heard of probably fifteen big spectacular costume productions which the Germans have made in the hope of disposing in America, but I doubt if more than two or three of them at the outside will ever be seen here."
Excessive tax conditions in Europe were reiterated by Mr. Laemmle, who declared that the tax was by no means popular with either exhibitors or the theatregoing public.
"The French tax is almost prohibitive for us to compete with any other country," continued Mr. Laemmle. "The French, of course, favor their own pictures, but their export business is not big enough for them to produce even enough to supply their own demand. Under these conditions there is no money in the production end of the game there. They like our pictures in France, as they do in every country in Europe, but we must think twice, of course, before sending our pictures over there, because of the excessive tax. The French make good pictures for their own people, but not until they learn to please Americans will they have achieved much in the industry.
"Because of the scarcity of pictures in France there has been a falling off in business. Good American pictures that are being shown go from the first run houses down to the little fellows and then are brought back again to the first runs.
"European producers, I believe, do not feel that they are being discriminated against by the United States. I think they have come to a realization of the fact that while their stories please their own people they are not suitable for the American motion picture house patron. They know we have bought their pictures whenever we thought they had a good market value here, and consequently they know we are not refusing to buy from them because we fear their competition. If they had that thought they would not now be trying to hard to please us in their productions.
"Everywhere I went the American picture was well patronized. Of course Universal was the earliest company organized there, and our pictures are naturally popular because the people know our product. But both Paramount and Fox are doing a nice business in England as well as on the Continent.
"Foolish Wives" made one of the big hits of the London season. It is now playing aat the Oxford theatre, one of the largest and the highest class of the legitimate houses. We played to a $2 top and prices ranged from that down to 50 cents to the gallery seats. We are playing to capacity business.
"Just how nearly impossible it is to produce pictures in America for distribution in Germany may be judged when I tell you that the admission price for the first run German houses is 1000 marks. That in American money is equivalent to about six cents. If we could pay for our productions in marks we might put the product on a money-making basis in Germany, but under such conditions as these it is practically an impossibility.
"These first run houses are no larger than ours in the way of seating capacity. The average capacity, I should say, was about 1,200. Why, in some of the smaller houses the admission price is fifteen marks, or about one cent in American money.
"The trouble with the exhibitors on the other side is that they are not sufficiently progressive. I should say that the average theatre in Europe is about ten years behind the times as compared with theatres in the United States. They don't use our exploitation methods over there. In fact, they do very little in the way of exploitation. What usually is done is to run a little notice in the newspapers to the effect that such and such a picture is coming to such and such a house next week, and let it go at that. England is quite an exception in this respect.
"Italy, once among the producing centers of the world, is now very quiet in the way of production. Ten or twelve years ago it was right up with the leaders, and now it gets about 60 per cent of its pictures from the United States. It also imports from France and Germany."
Next year Mr. Laemmle proposes to produce a modern picture, or several of them, in England with an American and English company. Until that time Mr. Laemmle, like others of the leaders in picture production in thhis country, is not going to lose any sleep over foreign competition.
By Chester J. Smith
Motion Picture News
21 October 1922, p2005
CARL LAEMMLE, president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, just back from a trip to Europe where he went to investigate conditions in general, has no fear of an imminent menace to the industry in the United States from any European source. At the same time he is not willing to admit the impossibility of such a menace some time in the distant future. In England he found the greatest possibility of producing films that will go in this country.
At present in Europe they are doing everything possible to imitate American pictures, according to Mr. Laemmle. The imitation is still a long way from the original. The ultimate success, according to Mr. Laemmle, lies in the ability of the actor and actress to so perfect the imitation of the American actor and actress on the screen and make it undiscernable to the naked eye of the American audience. That's how remote the menace is from that quarter.
"The English are trying in every way to imitate us, and are having more success at it than any other country in Europe," said Mr. Laemmle. "It is customary over there for the young men to wear moustaches or small beard. Not only is the English actor appearing clean-shaven, but he is affecting the American style of clothing and carriage. He is not doing the latter with marked success, but he is trying. They just naturally do not carry themselves or wear their clothes as the American does.
"I do not think an English cast will be able to make pictures for some time that will successfully compete in this country against American made pictures.
"If the time comes when any of these foreign countries can produce a modern story as it is produced in America, then it will be time to worry. In fact, at that time it will be a case of run for cover, for we cannot begin to produce pictures here to compete with costs of production there.
"As an indication of their production costs as compared to ours, stars in Europe get salaries about one-tenth of what we pay our stars. At one plant in Europe, I do not care to say in which country, the president told me they were paying studio laborers tbhirty cents a day and that tghe men glad to get it. For the same labor in this country we pay from six to eight dollars a day.
"In Germany they can make a production for $20,000 that we could not duplicate here for $100,000. We could not produce for the same costs there, of course, because of the salaries we pay our stars and the costs of getting them there and maintaining them while there. That would more than offset other reduced expenses."
According to Mr. Laemmle, Germany is getting along at a great rate of speed in the matter of production and is doing its best to produce pictures that will appeal to the American market. Realizing that its modern pictures are not saleable here, the German producer is turnning his attention to costume plays in the hope that he might popularize them with the American people.
"I tried for three weeks in both Berlin and Vienna to make a picture," said Mr. Laemmle, "but found it impossible to get either a studio or a cast. Every studio is working to capacity and there are no actors or actresses available at the present time.
"Whyile over there I heard of probably fifteen big spectacular costume productions which the Germans have made in the hope of disposing in America, but I doubt if more than two or three of them at the outside will ever be seen here."
Excessive tax conditions in Europe were reiterated by Mr. Laemmle, who declared that the tax was by no means popular with either exhibitors or the theatregoing public.
"The French tax is almost prohibitive for us to compete with any other country," continued Mr. Laemmle. "The French, of course, favor their own pictures, but their export business is not big enough for them to produce even enough to supply their own demand. Under these conditions there is no money in the production end of the game there. They like our pictures in France, as they do in every country in Europe, but we must think twice, of course, before sending our pictures over there, because of the excessive tax. The French make good pictures for their own people, but not until they learn to please Americans will they have achieved much in the industry.
"Because of the scarcity of pictures in France there has been a falling off in business. Good American pictures that are being shown go from the first run houses down to the little fellows and then are brought back again to the first runs.
"European producers, I believe, do not feel that they are being discriminated against by the United States. I think they have come to a realization of the fact that while their stories please their own people they are not suitable for the American motion picture house patron. They know we have bought their pictures whenever we thought they had a good market value here, and consequently they know we are not refusing to buy from them because we fear their competition. If they had that thought they would not now be trying to hard to please us in their productions.
"Everywhere I went the American picture was well patronized. Of course Universal was the earliest company organized there, and our pictures are naturally popular because the people know our product. But both Paramount and Fox are doing a nice business in England as well as on the Continent.
"Foolish Wives" made one of the big hits of the London season. It is now playing aat the Oxford theatre, one of the largest and the highest class of the legitimate houses. We played to a $2 top and prices ranged from that down to 50 cents to the gallery seats. We are playing to capacity business.
"Just how nearly impossible it is to produce pictures in America for distribution in Germany may be judged when I tell you that the admission price for the first run German houses is 1000 marks. That in American money is equivalent to about six cents. If we could pay for our productions in marks we might put the product on a money-making basis in Germany, but under such conditions as these it is practically an impossibility.
"These first run houses are no larger than ours in the way of seating capacity. The average capacity, I should say, was about 1,200. Why, in some of the smaller houses the admission price is fifteen marks, or about one cent in American money.
"The trouble with the exhibitors on the other side is that they are not sufficiently progressive. I should say that the average theatre in Europe is about ten years behind the times as compared with theatres in the United States. They don't use our exploitation methods over there. In fact, they do very little in the way of exploitation. What usually is done is to run a little notice in the newspapers to the effect that such and such a picture is coming to such and such a house next week, and let it go at that. England is quite an exception in this respect.
"Italy, once among the producing centers of the world, is now very quiet in the way of production. Ten or twelve years ago it was right up with the leaders, and now it gets about 60 per cent of its pictures from the United States. It also imports from France and Germany."
Next year Mr. Laemmle proposes to produce a modern picture, or several of them, in England with an American and English company. Until that time Mr. Laemmle, like others of the leaders in picture production in thhis country, is not going to lose any sleep over foreign competition.
Anyone would think Europe had lost a generation of young men in a four-year conflict destroying the continent's economies.......mrbertiewooster wrote:LAEMMLE TALKS ON EUROPEAN CONDITIONS
By Chester J. Smith
Motion Picture News
21 October 1922, p2005
CARL LAEMMLE, president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, just back from a trip to Europe where he went to investigate conditions in general, has no fear of an imminent menace to the industry in the United States from any European source.
Next year Mr. Laemmle proposes to produce a modern picture, or several of them, in England with an American and English company. Until that time Mr. Laemmle, like others of the leaders in picture production in thhis country, is not going to lose any sleep over foreign competition.
I could use some digital restoration myself...
So...UNDERGROUND. First things first - it is easily as good as SHOOTING STARS and A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR. That shone through even though my copy had obviously been filmed with a handheld and rather shaky video camera off the viewing screen in some archive. Shudder!
A drama of love and petty jealousy filmed in impeccable style and incorporating not just the eponymous tube, but also Battersea power station into the action. Great, visually stunning and thrilling cinema.
Penfold, I can well understand your frustration that these films are not out on commercial DVD. There really ought to be an Asquith box set. Come on, bfi!
A drama of love and petty jealousy filmed in impeccable style and incorporating not just the eponymous tube, but also Battersea power station into the action. Great, visually stunning and thrilling cinema.
Penfold, I can well understand your frustration that these films are not out on commercial DVD. There really ought to be an Asquith box set. Come on, bfi!
"The greatest cinematic experience is the human face and it seems to me that silent films can teach us to read it anew." - Wim Wenders
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mrbertiewooster
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Another outsider's perspective on the mid-Twenties UK film industry. As Carl Laemmle was railing against Brit actors for having the audacity to shave off their moustaches in order to pass themselves off as Americans, Marcus Loew was observing the behaviour of British exhibitors ...
LOEW FINDS ENGLAND INTERESTING
Electric Sign Stops London Traffic; Exploitation Methods Conservative
Motion Picture News
23 September 1922
MARCUS LOEW, who recently returned from seven weeks in Great Britain, this week gave out his first interview on conditions as he found them there.
"The one fault I have to find with English exhibitors," says Mr. Loew, "is that they are too conservative in their advertising methods. Such advertising as they do we would not consider advertising here at all. They have their programs a year ahead and they proceed along set lines.
"This block system of booking I think to be faulty, as the new product does not reach the English screens until it has become old and of less value.
"Metro hopes to relieve this situation, providing the proper co-operation is forthcoming from the exhibitors in retiring some of the old product and supplanting it with new material. This will not only bring the foreign market up to date, but determine proper value for the new product.
"Presenting super-features in legitimate theatres or in a method we know as 'road show,' is somewhat new to English exhibitors, and proved quite satisfactory with our presentation of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" at the Palace theatre, in London. The results were and are continuing to prove beneficial beyond all expectations.
"The English taste for pictures leans to the drama, with an occasional comedy-drama as relief. American productions are, of course, the most popular because of the limited scope afforded a 'home-made' product.
"The admission prices to motion picture theatres of the same calibre as our Broadway houses are much higher in England. Five shillings, or the equivalent of one dollar and a quarter in American currency, is charged for mediocre productions. This refers to orchestra seats, the balcony prices being graded in proportion.
"There are about 3,500 cinema theatres in all Great Britain, and I discovered that the very best elements are interested financially in the industry. Lord Ashley and Lord Beaverbrook I found to be actively interested in the motion picture industry.
"I had been lamenting the lack of electrical advertising display among European exhibitors when Sir William Jury, who represents our enterprises in England, advised me that there was a huge electric sign in the course of construction nearby and invited me to have a look.
"As we approached the sign, which was bare of any advertising material but held only the outer edge of bulbs in place, the power was turned on. The police were quite right about it blocking traffic. It seemed that everyone forgot all else but that sign, which, though only a feeble illumination on Broadway, was the one bright spot of that London street.
"In another minute the power was turned off and the next day I was advised of the cause."
LOEW FINDS ENGLAND INTERESTING
Electric Sign Stops London Traffic; Exploitation Methods Conservative
Motion Picture News
23 September 1922
MARCUS LOEW, who recently returned from seven weeks in Great Britain, this week gave out his first interview on conditions as he found them there.
"The one fault I have to find with English exhibitors," says Mr. Loew, "is that they are too conservative in their advertising methods. Such advertising as they do we would not consider advertising here at all. They have their programs a year ahead and they proceed along set lines.
"This block system of booking I think to be faulty, as the new product does not reach the English screens until it has become old and of less value.
"Metro hopes to relieve this situation, providing the proper co-operation is forthcoming from the exhibitors in retiring some of the old product and supplanting it with new material. This will not only bring the foreign market up to date, but determine proper value for the new product.
"Presenting super-features in legitimate theatres or in a method we know as 'road show,' is somewhat new to English exhibitors, and proved quite satisfactory with our presentation of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" at the Palace theatre, in London. The results were and are continuing to prove beneficial beyond all expectations.
"The English taste for pictures leans to the drama, with an occasional comedy-drama as relief. American productions are, of course, the most popular because of the limited scope afforded a 'home-made' product.
"The admission prices to motion picture theatres of the same calibre as our Broadway houses are much higher in England. Five shillings, or the equivalent of one dollar and a quarter in American currency, is charged for mediocre productions. This refers to orchestra seats, the balcony prices being graded in proportion.
"There are about 3,500 cinema theatres in all Great Britain, and I discovered that the very best elements are interested financially in the industry. Lord Ashley and Lord Beaverbrook I found to be actively interested in the motion picture industry.
"I had been lamenting the lack of electrical advertising display among European exhibitors when Sir William Jury, who represents our enterprises in England, advised me that there was a huge electric sign in the course of construction nearby and invited me to have a look.
"As we approached the sign, which was bare of any advertising material but held only the outer edge of bulbs in place, the power was turned on. The police were quite right about it blocking traffic. It seemed that everyone forgot all else but that sign, which, though only a feeble illumination on Broadway, was the one bright spot of that London street.
"In another minute the power was turned off and the next day I was advised of the cause."