The British Film Catalogue Volume 2 NON-FICTION FILM, 1888-1994 The British Film Catalogue Volume 2 Denis Gifford NON-FICTION FILM, 1888-1994 First published 2000 by Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers This edition first published in the UK and USA 2001 Published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright C!c') Denis Gifford 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Editor: Claire Chandler British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Typeset by Tradespools Ltd, Frome, Somerset Cover designed by Sign ISBN 13: 978-1-57958-200-5 (hbk) FOR FITZ and Pandora Jane They would have loved each other. CONTENTS page Preface ix How to Use the Catalogue xi Abbreviations and Other Indicators xv Denis Gif ford, 1927-2000 xviii The British Film Catalogue: Non-Fiction Film, 1888-1994 1 Index 541 PREFACE This is the first attempt to compile a catalogue of every American trade weekly Variety was left reviewing the British non-fiction film produced primarily for cinema occasional British film in this genre. The annual British showings since the invention of cinematography. It forms a National Film Catalogue, a vital source for British non-fiction companion to my British Film Catalogue of fiction (en­ films when it started in 1963, included few film entries by tertainment) films, first published in 1973 (covering the years 1985. It changed its title to include the words and Video to 1895-1970), updated in a new edition in 1986 (covering the suit its contents, which, by the end of its run (1991), were years up to 1985), and now revised, updated to the end of virtually all available on video cassette only. 1994, and published in a third edition by Fitzroy Dearborn Quite a number of registered British films have had to be alongside this volume. Between them, the two volumes left out of this catalogue as the original Board of Trade catalogue virtually the entire history of over one hundred definition included Empire-made subjects that had no years of British films, separated into the two main lines of connection with British film-makers at all. Thus 'British'- cinema, fact and fiction. The third line, the animated film, registered productions of the 1930s from Australia, Canada, was dealt with in my catalogue British Animated Films, New Zealand, and India are not listed. There was also an 1895-1985, published only in the United States by McFar- 'Exempt' category for newsreel and compilation films made land (1987). from early material, about which nothing could be found. This volume has been particularly difficult to assemble. However, first editions of British newsreels, normally weekly Although every available company catalogue has been or twice-weekly releases, are included where found. This is scoured for the silent years, there are many catalogues that because many of the early factual and topical items, released have not survived. A few, fortunately, found their way into as individual films in the pre-newsreel age, became items in the official copyright deposits, but this was not a requirement the newsreels after this type of cinema was invented. by law as the books or pamphlets were not produced for My original plan was to include only those non-fiction public sale, only for information restricted to the trade. films that were shown in cinemas. This meant that the However, thanks to the National Film and Television dominant format had to be the standard 35mm film. Thus Archive, to the British Film Institute's National Library 16mm films ('substandard', as the format was known) made (where the main research for this volume was conducted, as for travelling shows, schools, church hall shows, etc., have well as the British Library Newspaper Library), and to fellow not been included for the greater part of the catalogue. ephemera collectors, I have been able to see many of these However, as cinema reached its centenary, non-fiction films catalogues that otherwise would have been lost for ever. seem increasingly to have been shot on 16mm stock, so these Another major difficulty was deciding which films to films have been included in the later years covered by the include, as 'British' films were not always the main selling catalogue to illustrate the sharp decline in cinema production. point. It was not until the passing of the Cinematograph Films produced purely for television or video release are not Films Act of 1927 (the 'Quota Act') that registration of title included. and footage information by British companies was made a The definition of 'non-fiction' may seem superficially legal requirement by the Board of Trade (BOT; later the simple, but in fact has had to be interpreted more widely than Department of Trade and Industry - DTI, then Department expected. This was done chiefly to embrace in their period all of Trade - DOT, and now once more the DTI). Even this the official, dramatised films produced during times of war, suddenly ceased at midnight on 25 May 1985 with the usually under the aegis of the Ministry of Information (MOI; introduction of the Films Act 1985, leaving British films (of later Central Office of Information - COI). all kinds) without any official reason for their production. The basic arrangement of the catalogue is chronological so The decline in non-fiction was rapid. The Monthly Film that it may be read through, in whole or in part, to give a Bulletin, which began as a review magazine for the clear picture of the development of cinema film production. educational and informational film in 1934, was duly An alphabetical index of film titles is provided for those who dominated by the entertainment film, and finally disappeared know what film they are looking for. Finally, may I as a publication in its own right after dispensing with recommend that the reader initially studies the section virtually all short film reviews, and even its version of the 'How to Use the Catalogue', which should add considerably Board of Trade Registration Lists. The trade press, down to to the enjoyment of the book. the single weekly Screen International, also abandoned its reviews of non-fiction and short films, until finally, only the Denis Gifford IX HOW TO USE THE CATALOGUE This catalogue is divided into years. Films are arranged suit from the start of 1962, and there is a note to this effect in chronologically in order of first advertisement, review, or the catalogue. To obtain running-times from footages, note exhibition from 1888 to the end of 1994, with each year that the earliest films ran at approximately one foot (16 starting on a new page. The year featured is printed at the top frames) per second. This speed rose during the 1920s until late inside edge of each page. Within each year, entries are arranged silent films were almost matching the new speed required by in date order according to day and month or just month. sound films of 1.5 feet (24 frames) per second. The only To find information on a particular film, whether short or alternative speed was that required by films made in the feature length, silent or sound, locate the title in the Kinemacolor system (red and green record frames), which ran alphabetical title index at the back of the book. Immediately at twice the normal speed, i.e. 32 frames per second, through preceding the title is the catalogue number of the film. The special projectors. The published Kinemacolor lengths have position of a film in the book can be found by checking the been halved in this catalogue to give a correct comparison with catalogue number at the top outside edge of each page. Every 'normal' films of the period. Mutoscope and Biograph films entry has been assigned a catalogue number purely for the were designed to be run at 24 frames per second, 50 per cent purpose of finding a specific title using the index; the numbers faster than normal for the time, and their footages, compared run consecutively throughout the volume, starting at 00001 to other companies' films in the same years, reflect this. for the earliest film in the book. Where films are issued in Where footage is given in rounded hundreds or thousands series, each episode title has the same catalogue number as the (500, 1000, 2000, etc.), this should be taken as an series title, but is followed by a progressive decimal point. See approximate figure, as more accurate footage cannot be the paragraph on 'Series' below. traced. One thousand feet is the accepted standard length of one reel of film. INFORMATION As much information as could be discovered from available Censor's Certificate published sources (see 'Review Sources' in the 'Abbreviations This information is given, where known, for films passed by the and Other Indicators' section) is given for each film, British Board of Film Censors since the BBFC came into being information on early films being naturally less than with on 1 January 1913.