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Colonial Cinema 1, 1942-1944

Colonial Cinema 2, 1945-1954

Sample Issue of Colonial Cinema

Over twelve years and 62 issues, Colonial Cinema sought, as its first editorial states, ‘to provide a convenient means for the exchange of views on the production, distribution and exhibition of films for specialised audiences in the colonies.’ In doing this, the publication sought to standardise colonial film practice, whether theorising on the types of films suitable for African audiences or outlining the recommended structure of a mobile cinema show. As well as sharing information and practical advice, the magazine provides detailed information on more than 200 CFU films and reveals the origins of indigenous film production and exhibition in a range of territories.

Throughout this most dramatic period in British colonial history – from the height of war to the last rites of Britain’s Empire – Colonial Cinema responded to, and reflected, the Government’s shifting attitudes towards its colonies. While its broad aims remained the same – ‘our aim is to make Colonial Cinema a really useful magazine to the men in the field; and our hope is that they will make it their forum’ (March 1945, 3) – after the war the magazine increasingly focused on promoting ‘welfare and development’ within its colonies and, in its latter years, in paving the way towards ‘gradual’ self-government.

The final article, written by British film pioneer and CFU stalwart George Pearson in December 1954, acknowledges the ‘ages passed’ and mourns the loss not only of the magazine and unit, but more broadly of the Empire it served. It also though looks forward, suggesting that the development of personnel, equipment and networks within the colonies can provide a lasting legacy beyond political independence. ‘Since 1940 over a hundred students from some thirty overseas territories have attended Soho Square for instruction in the Visual Aids’, Pearson wrote, ‘They have listened to Theory, have applied Theory to Practice and have returned home determined to apply that knowledge to the benefit of their peoples.’ Pearson now wrote of the need to find ‘new disciples’, urging that ‘the good work must go on.’

This emphasis on training and instruction is evident throughout the pages of Colonial Cinema. We see reports of film schools in the Gold Coast (1948), Jamaica (1950) and Cyprus (1951), acknowledging a move towards decentralised film production that mirrored the government’s broader, tentative moves towards self-government. ‘One of the long-range objectives of the Colonial Film Unit and perhaps its most important one’, the magazine wrote in December 1948, ‘is the creation of an organisation in each colony to produce its own films’. Over the next few years, Colonial Cinema would contain reports on newly established local units in Malaya, the Caribbean and throughout Africa. Further reports discussed developments in production and exhibition across the Empire from Tanganyika and Sukumuland to Fiji and Mauritius.

Colonial Cinema provides a fascinating insight into the ways in which the British government sought to use film to promote, support and manage a rapidly decomposing Empire. It remains a rich and vastly untapped resource for both colonial and film historians, not least in examining the colonial antecedents in the cinema of modern states, whether in Africa, the Caribbean or Asia.

Tom Rice, University of St Andrews

About this digitisation

Colonial Cinema was digitised by the BFI in collaboration with University of St Andrews’ Cinema St Andrews project. Special thanks to Ian O’Sullivan, Librarian – Digital Collections, BFI. The Cinema St Andrews project is run by Dr Tom Rice and Dr Joshua Yumibe.

To find out more about Colonial Film, and to view a number of films produced by the Colonial Film Unit, visit Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire at www.colonialfilm.org.uk.

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St Andrews Film Society Documents

By 1941 the Dundee and St Andrews Film Society was reportedly ‘the largest active film society in the country’ with around 700 paying patrons. The society now contributed to the wartime effort by inviting members of the armed forces to attend screenings. As the society continued to grow, plans were announced to separate from Dundee and two years after the conclusion of war, the St Andrews Film Society convened its first session. By 1950, membership for St Andrews was recorded at 650.

The Society was a well-established part of the town by the 1960s and the society’s committee included prominent local residents, such as J.K. Robertson (Society Secretary and Editor of the St Andrews Citizen). In 1962-1963 the film society’s numbers breached the 1000 mark for the first time. This was a feat that the society’s Chairman J. R. Gray described as ‘extremely encouraging at a time when other societies were facing reduced membership and financial difficulties’. By 1964-65 membership was ‘limited to 1025’, giving some indication of the continued level of interest in the town. Also apparent within the film society’s programmes are the basic practicalities of dealing with this demand. The ‘How To Join’ section outlines the availability of Film Society registration at both the St Andrews Information Office and the University Students’ Union (reflective of the ‘Town and Gown’ dynamic of the society) to help ease congestion.

The programmes reveal that screenings were held throughout this period on Sundays at the New Picture House (N.P.H.) on North Street. However, this had not always been the case. In 1939 the St Andrews Magistrates refused to grant permission for film showings on Sundays. The society had offered to move its afternoon meeting from 2.30 to 3.30 in order to avoid clashing with church services, but the request was again denied. As a result, the society had been forced to move all meetings to Dundee.

The film society would fade in the 1970s. However, its longevity within the town is indicative of the town’s interest and engagement with international cinema and film culture. This interest has been fostered and consolidated by the more recent establishment of the Department of Film Studies at the University in 2004.

James Erwin & Tom Rice University of St Andrews

About the Digitisation

The Film Society programmes are housed at the University of St Andrews Special Collections and have been digitised as part of the Department of Film Studies’ Cinema St Andrews project. The Cinema St Andrews project is run by Dr Tom Rice and Dr Joshua Yumibe. Special thanks to Moira Mackenzie, Department of Special Collections, for overseeing the digitisation.

British Kinematography (1947)    10, 11    British Kinematograph Society    1947
British Kinematography (1948)    12, 13    British Kinematograph Society    1948
British Kinematography (1949)    14, 15    British Kinematograph Society    1949
British Kinematography (1950)    16, 17    British Kinematograph Society    1950
British Kinematography (1951)    18, 19    British Kinematograph Society    1951
British Kinematography (1952)    19, 20    British Kinematograph Society    1952
British Kinematography (1953)    21, 22    British Kinematograph Society    1953

Cinema Quarterly

The magazine was renamed World Film News and Television Progress in 1936. After changing its name for three issues to SEE: World Film News, the magazine ceased publication at the end of 1938.

Cinema Quarterly (1933 – 1934)    2    G.D. Robinson    1933 – 1934
Cinema Quarterly (1934 – 1935)    3    G.D. Robinson    1934 – 1935

World Film and Television Progress (1937 – 1938)    2    Cinema Contact Ltd.    1937-1938
World Film and Television Progress (1938)    3    Cinema Contact Ltd.    1938

Documentary News Letter (1940)    1    Film Centre    1940
Documentary News Letter (1941)    2    Film Centre    1941
Documentary News Letter (1942 – 1943)    3 – 4    Film Centre    1942 – 1943
Documentary News Letter (1944 – 1946)    5 – 6    Film Centre    1944 –1946

Documentary News Letter (1947 – 1949)    6 – 8    Film Centre    1947 – 1949

Illustrated Films Monthly (1913 – 1914)    1    F.F.W. Oldfield & Co.    1913 – 1914
Illustrated Films Monthly (Mar – Aug 1914)    2    F.F.W. Oldfield & Co.    1914

Cinema Progress (1935 – 1937)    1 – 2    American Institute of Cinematography    1935 – 1937
Cinema Progress (1938 – 1939)    3 – 4    American Institute of Cinematography    1938 – 1939

The Filmgoers’ Annual        Simkin Marshall Limited    1932

Picturegoer (1921)    1 – 2    Odhams Press    1921
Picturegoer (1922)    3 – 4    Odhams Press    1922
Picturegoer (1923)    5 – 6    Odhams Press    1923

The Cine-Technician    1 – 2    Association of Cine-Technicians    1935-1937
The Cine-Technician    3    Association of Cine-Technicians    1938
The Cine-Technician    4    Association of Cine-Technicians    1938 – 1939
The Cine-Technician    9 – 11    Association of Cine-Technicians    1943 – 45

The Cine Technician (1953 – 1956)        Association of Cine-Technicians    1953 – 1956

Film and TV Technician    23    Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians    1957