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 the subject of criticism for hampering Australian production, including by filmmakers such as Raymond Longford.^[1]

"Union Theatres" redirects here. For theatres named Union Theatre, see Union Theatre (disambiguation).

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

1. Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press 1989 p 32-33
2. "Amalgamated Pictures, Limited". The Sunday Times. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 April 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
3. Union Picture Theatres (1921), Ten years of progress in the motion picture industry of Australia, Sydney Union Picture Theatres, retrieved 18 October 2016
4. Early history of Australian Film, Screen Australia accessed 24 August 2014