British Films

For some time British cinema companies have been having a thoroughly unhappy time of it. Most of their difficulties arise from the difficulty experienced in competing with imported U. S. films. Britain herself has scarcely enough of a movie public to support domestic film production; as compared with America's 25,000 cinemas, Britain has only 6,000.

U. S. producers can spend large sums in producing films for the home market alone; whatever sales or leases are made abroad are considered as surplus earnings. After yielding handsome returns in the U. S. over its cost, Charlie Chaplin's The Kid is said to have brought $350,000 returns in Britain. On the other hand, a successful British film exhibited in Britain, British Colonies and continental countries (but not in the U. S.) yielded a total return of only $100,000. A successful picture can scarcely be made for so small a sum, capable of competing with even the average U. S. film. Unless British films can successfully exhibit in this country, the English film industry seems doomed.

An interesting feature of the situation to British businessmen lies in the fact that U. S. films have proved, mainly unintentionally, a rich publicity and sales agent for U. S. goods abroad. In consequence, since the Baldwin Government's subsidy to the coal industry, British film producers are now demanding a similar subsidy for their business. They declare that this step is necessary if British colonies are not to be slowly but surely Americanized by our exported films.