Foreign Films For N.Z.?

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 24, 25 November 1938, Page 5

Foreign Films For N.Z.?

"Quite Confident They Would Find Support," Says R. L. Grant

a | FEEL quite confident that there is a public in this country for a certain type of foreign-made film,’’ says R. lL. Grant, well-known New Zealand film man, who has just returned after a six months’ trip ‘abroad to take up an executive position on the exhibition side of the business. Mr. Grant spent his six months studying film conditions in practically every large capital in the world. One of the subjects that had par-

Enthusiastic about the French. ticularly interested him was this question of bringing outstanding Continental films to New Zealand He was very enthusiastic indeed about a number of pictures which he had seen in Paris, Rome and Berlin-particularly Paris-said Mr, Grant. "Vou really don’t lose anything from these films being in a foreicn language. On the Normandie, for instance, there is a 70O0-seater theatre which screens pictures practically contindously from midday. Although } don’t speak qa word of French, ! always stayed on and enjoyed the Freach pictures, and the French people aboard stayed on and saw the English ones. "There are sub-titles, And after all; in. the silent days we were educated to understand films wiithout dialogue. The mere fact that it is easy. to follow these foreign films without understanding the —

language shows that production {s still Jargely based on the silent technique. This. is particularly true of the action type of pictureand many Continental productions are of that type. . "And think what a lot of stars know made their debut in foreign pictures-for instance, ‘Charles Boyer, Annabella, and Danielle Darrieux. And as a producer, Rene Clair is the tops. Those people still make foreign films, and they’re well worth seeing. : ‘Foreign films — particularly French ones-are getting a big hold in England, and not just at special theatres. -The French are now making a great number of very fine films which compare well with those from anywhere else. They emphasise the value of good direction: and are known as much by who directed them as who stars in them," Asked whether he = thought there would be any censorship difficulty in this country, Mr. Grant said he thought that if proper arrangements could be made to bring out good foreign films, he. doubted very much if there would be any such trouble. Admittedly, the French had a slightly different outlook on such a matter as sex, but. there was actually no ground for the belief that French films were more risque than those from anywhere else. Mr. Grant was particularly impressed with the extremely high artistic quality of short subjects, from Italy and Germany as well as France. But in general, German films would not be much use, as they were chiefly propaganda. There was, of course, some degree of propaganda in all films made to-day anywhere in the world-but most of all in Germany. Actually, it did seem that something was now being done to decrease the amount of propaganda and increase the entertainment, since the Germans were beginning to realise that: people had ‘to be attracted into theatres. "Naturally, a good deal of organisation would be needed to bring outstanding foreign films (particularly the French) to New Zealand," concluded Mr. Grant. "They would need to be tastefully pre sented and the right people interested. They might have to be shown in specialised theatres, or at Sunday night screenings.