Requisitioning film studios in wartime Britain

Abstract

This article evaluates the significance of requisitioning film studios in Britain during the Second World War. In uncovering this history, it offers new perspectives on the nature and process of requisitioning the studios as well as their equally important experience of being de-requisitioned after the war. As important contributors to the wartime economy and culture, any account of studios during the war and immediate post-war years is therefore incomplete without recognising the key impact of requisitioning. In addition, the impact of the war and requisitioning on labour and equipment is considered, both of which were essential aspects of a complex process that became particularly urgent in the immediate post-war years. The article reflects on the role of requisitioning in the evolution of film policy, arguing that the process was directed to affirm and execute the government’s chosen direction for the film industry, as well as evaluating how the various stakeholders involved responded. The case constitutes an instructive example of policy making, execution and the dynamics of governmentality in relation to the film industry.