1. OTHER STUDIO SYSTEMS GREAT BRITAIN'S “GOLDEN AGE”

2. EARLY BRITISH CINEMA  Early silent era similar to that of the US Same kinds of technical & narrative experimentation Film very popular with the public  With rise of US studios, British film industry had difficulty competing; couldn't afford high production values

3. EARLY SOUND CINEMA  US films still dominated British screens  Common language gave US films advantage  Hollywood had much larger market  British actors & directors defected to Hollywood Had theater backgrounds, sought after in Hollywood HITCHCOCK began in British silent films, came to US late 1930s

4. Blackmail (Alfred Hitchcock, 1929)

5. EARLY SOUND CINEMA  Quota Act of 1927 & “quota quickies” Designed to limit importation of US films, stimulate British film Required companies to distribute & finance British films Produced cheap films, never shown or shown during “off hours” to fill quota requirements

6. EARLY SOUND CINEMA  British cinema of early & mid-1930s dismal  Alexander Korda Native of Hungary, limited success in Europe & Hollywood before coming to Great Britain In 1933 directed low-budget The Private Life of Henry VIII  Starred Charles Laughton  Huge success in US

7. The Private Life of Henry VIII (Alexander Korda, 1933)

8. EARLY SOUND CINEMA  Led to films based on literary works or historical events Attempts cash in on market in US Effects & spectacle of British films inferior to those of US, Americans disliked British accents & slow pace

9. EARLY SOUND CINEMA  QUOTA ACT OF 1938 Required studios to increase money spent on native productions Eliminated “quota quickie”, increased quality of average British film Restored pride among British filmmakers

10. DOCUMENTARY FILMS  Most significant contribution until 1950-60s Many filmmakers left narrative film for documentary in 1930s Mostly funded by government  Early films (late 1920s, early 1930s) Designed to teach English about British Empire Celebrated common man & ordinary labor Socially committed, didn't enforce capitalism JOHN GRIERSON  Drifters (1929)  Industrial Britain (1932)

11. John Grierson (1898-1972)

12. DOCUMENTARY FILMS & WW II  Government documentary film unit Staffed with filmmakers in employ of government Quiet, dignified, emphasized solidarity & perseverance  HUMPHREY JENNINGS Most important of these filmmakers Listen to Britain (1941)  Music & images of common people give sense of nobility & dignity  Low ‑ key, poetic instead of argumentative

13. Fires Were Started (I Was a Fireman; Humphrey Jennings, 1942)

14. THE RETURN OF BRITISH FILMMAKING  Quota Act of 1938 Filmmakers returned, bringing new ideas & “Hollywood professionalism” Technicians returned, bringing ideas from documentary  Respect for “realism” & skills at realistic filmmaking  Interest in social issues: domestic problems & Fascism  These factors & WW II led to films that dealt with real problems in a fairly realistic way  Many quite good, despite restrictions