The Combine was the name given to the association between exhibitor Union Theatres and the production and distribution company Australasian Films on 6 January 1913. The Combine had a powerful influence on the Australian film industry of the 1910s and 1920s and was frequently the subject of criticism for hampering Australian production, including by filmmakers such as Raymond Longford. [1]
History
On 4 March 1911, the firm of Johnson and Gibson merged with J and N Tait to form Amalgamated Pictures. This company then merged with the General Film Company of Australia, West's Pictures and Spencer's Pictures; then, in January 1913, it merged again with Greater J.D. Williams Amusement Company. [2] In some states, the name "Union Theatres" remained the recognised name despite the "Combine" name. [3]
The Combine dominated the Australian film industry for a number of years and later evolved into the Greater Union organisation. [4]
References
- ^ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press 1989 p 32-33
- ^ "AMALGAMATED PICTURES, LIMITED". The Sunday Times. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 April 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ Union Picture Theatres (1921), Ten years of progress in the motion picture industry of Australia, Sydney Union Picture Theatres, retrieved 18 October 2016
- ^ Early history of Australian Film, Screen Australia accessed 24 August 2014