Transformation and Tradition in Sixties British Cinema

The 1960s in Britain is remembered as a time of great change, not least at the cinema. But how did this all come about? Laura Mayne previews a new three-year AHRC project studying the phenomenon.

About the Author: Dr. Laura Mayne is a postdoctoral research associate working on the 3-year AHRC funded Transformation and Tradition in Sixties British Cinema project led by Professor Duncan Petrie. In 2014, she completed her doctoral thesis on the industrial impact of Film4 on British cinema as part of the AHRC-funded Channel 4 and British Film Culture project based at Portsmouth University. She has contributed to such works as the Journal of British Cinema and Television and has written numerous reviews for the BUFVCs Viewfinder journal. Her recent published papers include Mythologies of Chance: Historicising Luck  in the Film and Television Industries (2015) and Assessing Cultural Impact: Film 4, Canon Formation and Forgotten Films (2014).

Overview

The sixties have long been considered an era of political, social, and artistic change. Arthur Marwick has argued that the decade constituted nothing less than a ‘cultural revolution’, an opinion which is widely shared by both enthusiasts and detractors of the period. However, this view has been challenged, most notably by Dominic Sandbrook, who has argued that the sixties are best understood not as a ‘dramatic turning point’ but as a ‘stage in a long evolution stretching back into the forgotten past’ (2006: 794). There is evidence that both of these interpretations can be applied to British cinema, which underwent a resurgence in creative vitality and international appeal in this decade, but which also remained structurally and aesthetically linked to a more traditional past. This was a time when the burgeoning independent sector was struggling to establish an identity amid the duopoly of Rank and ABC, whilst film promotion emphasising youthful vitality with contemporary fashion and music presented a counterpoint to film criticism that rejected national cinema as staid and unadventurous. Furthermore, whilst the creative process was enriched by new talent and practitioners from the US and Europe, established British filmmakers like David Lean and Anthony Asquith continued to be popular.

This tension between novelty and innovation forms the central focus of a three year, AHRC-funded research project titled Transformation and Tradition in Sixties British Cinema. The project is being run by research teams based at the Universities of York and East Anglia, with the British Film Institute as a project partner. Professor Duncan Petrie, based at York, is Principal investigator on the project while Dr Melanie Williams is co-investigator at UEA. The postdoctoral research associates are Dr Laura Mayne (York) and Dr Richard Farmer (UEA). The project will generate a number of research outputs, including two symposia (to be held at the Universities of York and East Anglia respectively), a conference (to be held in 2017), a monograph, an edited collection and a number of journal publications. Through our partnership with the British Film Institute, the project will also seek to communicate its research findings to non-academic audiences in a way that conveys both the appeal and the complexity of this key moment in Britain’s cinematic heritage.

Structure and Aims

Making substantial use of previously unexploited or under-explored archival collections at the British Film Institute (who as the project partner will play a key role in the wider dissemination of the research findings) and elsewhere, the project will focus on three related areas:

• The industry and its institutions: The research team based at York will instigate a critical analysis of the organisation and functioning of British film industry during the 1960s, focussing on changes and development in the industrial frameworks of production and distribution, and the extent to which independents constituted a new and transformative entrepreneurial culture. The team will examine the new opportunities created by Hollywood finance for the industry, as well as considering the nature of existing relationships between independent producers and indigenous companies such as Rank, ABPC and British Lion. The role of public support via the Eady Levy and the National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) will also be considered. This strand of the project is about fully understanding the economics that underpinned the resurgence of British film in the 1960s, beyond the received wisdom that the decade was dominated by Hollywood financing.
• The creative process: The research team based at the University of East Anglia will launch a critical analysis of the creative process of film-making during the period, focussing on the contributions made by different creative personnel (beyond the usual focus on director or writer), developments in production practices and the changing institutional, technological and aesthetic contexts of film production. The influence of other cultural forms and industries (notably television, advertising, popular music and fashion) will be considered, with the relationship between cinema and television being given particular attention. In addition to evaluating the significance of this cross media influence, the tension between novelty and tradition will once again be investigated. This will be achieved through looking at the continuing significance of established filmmakers, production techniques and aesthetic styles that continued to exist and how these sat alongside or interacted with more innovative trends.
• The promotion and marketing of British films: This final project theme, shared across York and UEA, involves a critical analysis of how British films were framed by promotion and marketing and in subsequent reviewing at home as well as in certain key overseas markets. This will entail a consideration of how discourses of Britishness functioned to ‘brand’ films – either by associating them with aspects of contemporary popular culture (associated with modernity and youth) or alternatively via more traditional associations of British culture. Variations across different markets will be identified and analysed as a means of understanding how British cinema addressed itself, both domestically and to the wider world, during this period when Britain was regarded as a cultural epicentre.

Preliminary Findings and Progress to Date

The project has already made use of a number of a number of collections held by the British FiIm Institute, and these will continue to be a key resource for our research. In addition the National Archives, the Film Finances Archive and the History of Advertising Trust, among others, will play a key role, as will the viewing and appraisal of key film texts. During the first 8 months of the project, our focus has been on:

• Identifying key sources, as well as undertaking a significant amount of archival research. The York team has made substantial use of the National Archives, the BFI (particularly the Joseph Losey, Michael Balcon and Gerald Thomas papers), the Film Finances archive and collections held by the CATH research centre at DeMontfort University. The UEA team has also made use of the Leon Clore, Clive Donner and Richard Lester papers at the BFI, as well as materials held by the History of Advertising Trust and the Victoria & Albert museum.
• The identification of key research topics and case studies. The focus of the York team has been on the key players in production and distribution, the growth of entrepreneurialism, the influence of public and private finance (as well as US finance) on the industry and the development of low budget production throughout the decade. The UEA team have focussed on tracking creative personnel in a variety of roles across 1960s British cinema and work across other media, with case studies of key figures such as directors Clive Donner and Richard Lester, as well as costume designer Julie Harris. The team have also been concerned with the relationship between cinema and advertising, as well as the impact of colour.
• The completion of a database listing all British films released between 1960 and 1969 (approximately 1000), with associated information relating to production companies, cast, crew, studio, financing, genre, distributor, etc. This database can be used to map British film across the decade, whilst the data contained therein can be analysed to note important trends, quickly extrapolate information which would be difficult to quantify otherwise, and to facilitate cases studies of companies, films and key personnel.

The archival research already completed has fed into a number of book chapters and journal articles that are currently under review. We also regularly blog about our emerging ideas on the project website at 60sbritishcinema.wordpress.com, as well as inviting guest contributions from other researchers with interests in 1960s British cinema. For questions or for further details about the project please contact: laura.mayne@york.ac.uk.

Dr. Laura Mayne

Terence Stamp and Monica Vitti in July 1965, promoting their new swinging sixties spy satire, Modesty Blaise, directed by Joseph Losey. (image: Jac. de Nijs / Anefo / Nationaal Archief / CC attribution 3.0)