§ Mr. Chamberlainasked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent the preliminary expenditure in connection with the film called "Male War Bride" was defrayed from the American frozen film assets; whether he is aware that the production of the film is being removed to the United States of America, with consequent grave unemployment at the Shepperton Studios; and what steps he will take to prevent this.
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§ Mr. H. WilsonI understand that about three months location work on this film was done in Germany last year, followed by about three months work at the Shepperton Studios. As provided for in the memorandum of Agreement with the Motion Picture Industry of the United States of March, 1948 (Cmd. 7421) certain payments in connection with the film, including more than £50,000 in salaries to British labour, were made from unremittable sterling funds. Unforeseeable and unavoidable difficulties made it necessary to suspend this production three weeks before the scheduled date with a view to its completion in the United States. The company concerned expects to begin location work on its next picture in April, and this will be followed by studio work at Shepperton.