Roblematises This View, Focusing Instead on the Potential for Success of the Various Production Strategies Employed by Scottish Film-Makers
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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Why Not a Scots Hollywood? Fiction film production in Scotland, 1911-1928 Caroline Merz Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2016 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by me and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, for any other degree or professional qualification, nor has it been published in any form. Except where explicitly stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgement, the work presented is entirely my own. Signature ………………………………………….. 1 Abstract This thesis addresses a neglected area of British national cinema history, presenting the first comprehensive study of Scotland’s incursions into narrative film production before the coming of sound. It explores both the specificity of Scottish production and its place within the broader cultural, political and economic contexts of the British film industry at key periods in the ‘silent’ era before and after the Great War. Early film production in Scotland has been characterised as a story of isolated and short-lived enterprises whose failure was inevitable. The work problematises this view, focusing instead on the potential for success of the various production strategies employed by Scottish film-makers. It demonstrates that producers were both ambitious and resourceful in the manner in which they sought to bring their films to local, national and international screens. Previously unknown markets for these films are also identified. In 1911 the first British three-reel film, Rob Roy, made in Scotland by a Glasgow production company, reached audiences as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Scottish efforts in film production, including the development of synchronised sound systems, were not haphazard but mirrored trends in the British and worldwide film industries until the late 1920s. With the coming of sound, the costs of commercial film production represented too great a challenge for the limited resources of Scottish producers. The study encompasses a detailed exploration of efforts in feature film production; how far these productions travelled and for whom they were made; the presentation and treatment of Scottish-made films by the trade press and local newspapers and their critical reception both at home and overseas. The majority of these films are lost, but close scrutiny of contemporary publicity and archival documents including business records has enabled a detailed picture to emerge of their content, nature and production background. Scottish stories and the Scottish landscape were important to the British film industry from its earliest days, and feature films shot on Scottish locations by outside producers are also discussed. Were these the films Scots would have made, if they could? 2 Acknowledgements Special thanks go to my supervisor, Trevor Griffiths, for his encouragement, wisdom and good humour during the process of researching and writing this thesis - and for making it a more enjoyable experience than it might otherwise have been. Thanks are also due to my co-supervisor Ewen Cameron and to Annette Davison for their helpful comments and insights, which helped to stimulate new lines of enquiry. The Glasgow-based members of the Early Cinema in Scotland research team - Julia Bohlmann, John Caughie and Maria Velez-Serna - have been friendly and supportive colleagues from whom I have learned much. Their presence and the existence of the project, enabled by funding from the AHRC, has given a context for the work and a sense of purpose that I have valued. I am also particularly grateful to Janet McBain, whose extensive archival knowledge, combined with enthusiasm for this research, has been of great benefit. For similar reasons my thanks are due to Kay Foubister and Ruth Washbrook of the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive. Others who have helped me on my way include Charles Barr; Gordon Barr; John Burnett; Christine Gledhill; Janice Healey; Barry Robertson of the Aberdeen City Archives; Ronald Grant and staff of the Cinema Museum in Lambeth, and Catherine Koppe, Chris Otte and Belinda Washington, all of whom gave up their time to help me with formatting issues. Thank you, also, to Lindsay Scott for being a friendly face and a helpful presence in the School of History. I would also like to thank Stella and Theo Merz for their support and interest. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to John Hoare for many things which include bearing with me during the time I have spent working on this thesis. 3 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 2 List of Figures .............................................................................................................. 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 1: Rob Roy .................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: To the Great War and beyond .................................................................. 62 Chapter 3: Cinema colleges and Football Daft .......................................................... 95 Chapter 4: Made in Scotland .................................................................................... 140 Chapter 5: Glimpses from the Life of Maurice Sandground.................................... 198 Chapter 6: Scotland, Empire and the transition to sound ......................................... 237 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 274 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 282 4 List of Figures 1 Copyright registration form for Rob Roy (1911) 34 2 Six frames from the original film of Rob Roy (1911) 36 3 Advertisement for Rob Roy (1911) 44 4 Image from Whisper and I Shall Hear (1914) 90 5 Diagram of the Vocal Cinema operating system (1915) 92 6 Brochure for the Victoria Cinema College, London (1916) 102 7 Thornliebank film studio: set for The Harp King (1919) 112 8 Newspaper advertisement for Football Daft (1922) 128 9 Scene from The Stolen Document (1921) 133 10 Autographed postcard of Florence Turner (nd) 151 11 The Bailie Nicol Jarvie Hotel, Aberfoyle (nd) 164 12 Advertisement for Christie Johnstone (1921) 179 13 Poster for Gaiety Productions’ Kilties Three (1918) 203 14 ‘Why Not a Scots Hollywood?’ (1927) 222 15 Walter H B Sully, cinematographer (1926) 244 16 Lobby card for Huntingtower (1927) 262 5 Introduction ‘Everybody in the Trade knows, or can easily find out, the “history” of film production in Scotland. To hear some people talk one would imagine that you would need to be almost a centenarian to know the Trade’s “history.” Strictly speaking, it has no history. History can be made in a day, just as wine can, but before either history or wine can claim to be history or wine it must lie in bond for years and years. Renfrew, for instance, has a history. Clydebank hasn’t. The oldest native of Renfrew might be any age. The oldest native of Clydebank is not long out of his teens. What, then, is the use of discussing the history of the youngest Trade in existence? A hundred years hence it might be interesting, or worth discussing. To-day it isn’t.’ 1 It is now almost a hundred years since the editor of The Scottish Cinema expressed his views on the making of history, and the story of film production in Scotland has ‘lain in bond’, largely undisturbed, for most of the intervening period. The editorial was written in 1919: an optimistic time for those in Scotland wishing to begin, or resume, activities in film production after the hiatus caused by war. At various periods in the ten years that followed, Scottish companies were formed for the production of feature films and the manufacture of synchronised sound systems, and it is the story of these enterprises and their pre-war predecessors that is told in the following pages. The thesis examines recurrent attempts to develop a Scottish film industry in the period between 1911, when Britain’s first three-reel narrative film was produced in Scotland, and the advent of sound in 1929. Very few physical traces are left of the films that were made, but documentary evidence gathered from Scottish and British cinema trade journals, the British and overseas press, company records and other archival sources can be pieced together with the aim of giving an inclusive picture of fiction film