860D.4061 Motion Pictures/73: Telegram
The Minister in Finland (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 8—9:50 a.m.]
1074. Many thanks for your prompt and timely cooperation in sending first shipment of 10,000 feet of positive raw film by pouch yesterday.52 We understand from letter from Eastman Kodak people in Stockholm to their representative here that in all 40,000 feet of positive film will presently be shipped to Finland through you.
We learn this morning that Finnish Government through Commercial Section of Foreign Office is actively collaborating in our efforts to bring this film in quietly by pouch. Finnish Government instructed Krogius, its Commercial Attaché in Stockholm, to suggest to Swedish Government that this would be best means of handling shipment for reasons which are obvious to you. In this evidence of willing cooperation on part of Foreign Office we find great encouragement in our view that—provided we have raw film on which to print American pictures—it will be possible even after end of year to insure distribution of them in spite of German opposition. Raw film is duty free here, only charges payable are internal excise taxes, and hence use of our pouch creates no complication.
Department will be interested to know that at meeting early this week of Finnish Film Chamber majority of theater owners and film distributors in Finland passed vote of confidence in directorship of Chamber and resolution condemning boycotting of any foreign film on grounds of its country of origin. It is typical of Finnish censorship that publication of these resolutions in Finnish press was forbidden.
As matter of practical procedure Legation is keeping all raw film in its own custody and will release only to representatives of American film companies who can show that they have immediate need for raw film in order to distribute new American feature pictures. Eastman Kodak agent is thus relieved of possible opprobrium resulting from competition among various distributors here and will confine his activity to commercial aspects of question.
Although arrival of raw film at this moment has literally and in nick of time saved day for American film in this country we do not cease to urge need for shipment at earliest possible opportunity of complete requirements of raw film needed for Finland. We learn from Dr. Hiitonen, Secretary of Finnish Film Chamber, that Germans are [Page 94] considerably embarrassed by their own inability to send raw film to Finland and that in a large theater here which has two Hungarian features in stock is unable to show them because of lack of film on which to print copies. If we can bring in sufficient raw film to supply pro-American producers of motion pictures here we may very well be able to break back of pro-German Finnish film union.
- As far back as on September 23, 1942, in telegram No. 848, the Minister had complained that the firm commitment of the American Government since the preceding May to supply limited amounts of raw film sufficient to meet legitimate needs of the Finnish film industry had remained only a promise on paper, as no supplies of film had yet been received (860D.4061 Motion Pictures/49).↩