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Shoreham was also renowned for its natural South coast light, which technicians found congenial for filming and to make full use of this light, one of the studios was comparable to a huge greenhouse, built almost entirely of glass and measuring 75ft x 45ft.
Neither could Shoreham be accused of lethargy, studios were known to produce numerous films within the five or six months of good light available for filming each year. The 'Bungalow Town' studios were also among the first to replace flapping canvas with solid sets.
Combined, these factors allowed Shoreham's film community to flourish, albeit for a relatively short period and to obtain moderate success in an industry already showing forewarnings of the domination to come from America.
Nevertheless, before and immediately after the war, much film production was underway in Sussex and considering the limited resources available, the achievements were quite astounding and it is impossible not to spare a thought for what perhaps could have been.
Unfortunately, despite the pool of talent that existed at 'Bungalow Town', perhaps the inevitable occurred and production began to show signs of being overshadowed by Stateside competition. US studios had already recouped their original costs and the harsh competition became too much of a force to be reckoned with. America's film industry was becoming more and more adventurous and bold and was starting to show financial reward, as was their star system, which was already an integral part of their industry.
Not only Shoreham films, but British production in general, irrespective of high standards, began to get smothered. As ever, America had started early. Aggressive marketing strategies were taken on board and Britain was forced to try and keep up with the changes America could now afford to adopt, but Britain couldn't.Films consequently became far more expensive to make and this proved a fatal blow to Bungalow Town, a community proud of its rare ability to operate on a shoestring budget and produce films of high quality and craftsmanship.
Hard as it tried, Shoreham found it impossible to keep up with technological changes and by the end of the war was tragically the only remaining film studio in Britain to rely entirely on artificial light for filming. The use of block and blind booking tactics, which often meant that films were pencilled in up to a year in advance, long before they had been trade shown and occasionally even before they had been made, meant that British films were by no means being allowed a fair crack of the whip and films from the states therefore dominated.
As British films sank deeper and deeper into oblivion, Sidney Morgan, in 1917, urged that British exhibitors be forced to show a minimum percentage of British material, arguing that strong American publicity, star system and block booking techniques were harming our industry.
The exhibitors responded with a counter attack by saying that the state of the British cinema lay entirely with British producers. They argued further that the consumer public, having already savoured the American features, which they alleged were of a superior nature, due to being more adventurous and imaginative, would object to a sudden heavy intake of British films.
Unfortunately, despite Morgan's suggestion for a 33 percent quota system in 1917, processes were rather slovenly and no measures were made to assist the British film industry until the late 1920's, thus tragically missing the boat.
Despite America's shadow, Shoreham's film community stubbornly attempted to remain in production and a few more films were made. However, its 15 minutes of fame had passed and what a dramatic fire in 1922 failed to destroy of Bungalow town, World War II put paid to as residents were given two days to make themselves scarce before the army obliterated the area in an attempt to make more of a stronghold against possible attack.
Thus saw the end of 40 years of a theatre and film colony, that so easily became forgotten amid the shadows of fire and World War II and, most of all, Hollywood.
PROGRESS FILM COMPANY BACK TO HOMEPAGE
