‘The highest salary ever paid to a human being’: Creating a Database of Film Costs from the Bank of England Archive

Abstract

Following the Cinematograph Films Act 1938, the Bank of England produced a ledger of film production costs, itemising British films produced between April 1938 and November 1939. This article will demonstrate how this ledger, and the subsequent database I have created based on it, can be of benefit to researchers of British film history. The detailed database contains the estimated final costs of 170 British films, including The Citadel, The Drum, The Lady Vanishes, Pygmalion, Sixty Glorious Years, A Yank at Oxford, Jamaica Inn and The Mikado with an accurate breakdown of costs for particular categories. The database can show researchers the impact of American investment in British film production, as well as details of the salaries of the highest paid stars and directors of British films made during this period.