The Combine (Australian film industry)

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 criticised for hampering Australian production 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, Greater J.D. Williams Amusement Company.[2]

The Combine dominated the Australian film industry for a number of years and later evolved into the Greater Union organisation.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press 1989 p 32-33
  2. ↑ "AMALGAMATED PICTURES, LIMITED.". Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930) (Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia). 12 April 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Early history of Australian Film, Screen Australia accessed 24 August 2014