‘In the Midst of Peace, We Are at War’: The British Film Trade in 1919

Abstract

Even before the Armistice was signed, anxieties about the challenges faced by the cinema trade in the post-war period were already being expressed. There were concerns not only about the speed with which wartime restrictions might be lifted (an issue close to the hearts of exhibitors), but also questions about the cinematic representation of the war and the reception of such films by audiences with first-hand experience of the conflict (Figure 1.1). This chapter is intended to sketch out some of these debates briefly, particularly as they appeared in one of the leading trade magazines, Kinematograph Weekly. It offers a snapshot of the trade in 1919, detailing some of the difficulties involved in the transition to peace, but also establishing some of the more fundamental themes which would continue to concern the trade throughout the 1920s, not least its relationship with American cinema.