During this period the state's interest in the film industry took several different forms. The area of films policy explored in this thesis is the economic protection of the commercial film industry against the high percentage of American films screened in Britain and the Empire. I begin in 1925 because it was not until then that active steps were taken by the government, in response to agitation from producers and those who saw film as a bond of Empire and advertisement for British goods and 'way of life', leading to the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927. This proposed, for political, cultural, moral and economic reasons, that renters and exhibitors should acquire and show a percentage of British films. There was no subsidy for producers or a heavy duty levied on American film imports. The origins, impact and character of official film policy are explored in the thesis with particular attention to financial and political aspects. An attempt is made to explain why policy was limited to film quotas together with an assessment of their impact on the industry's economic development. Details are also given on how the film industry's affairs became caught up in wider debates on tariff policy in the 1920s and in Anglo-American relations ten years later. The first three chapters deal with the evolution, promulgation and initial impact of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927. Chapter 4 examines the deliberations of the Moyne Committee, established in 1936 to review the film industry's progress. The last three chapters analyse the three major influences on policy during the making of the 1938 Films Act: the campaigns of British film trade interests; the state of Anglo-American relations and film finance. In the final assessment the major influences that shaped policy are outlined together with conclusions on the industry's position and problems on the eve of the Second World War.

Completion guarantees are well known in the entertainment industry as a form of guarantee issued to motion picture and television producers to satisfy the requirements of their financiers. / This thesis reviews and analyzes some of the business and legal issues that arise in connection with completion guarantees, as the completion guarantor assumes an increasingly pivotal role in entertainment financing transactions. / The author discusses the current nature of North American entertainment financing and provides a brief history of completion guarantees. An analysis of the major forms of documentation involved in completion guarantee transactions follows. The obligations undertaken by the completion guarantor and their discharge are discussed, as are claims and reinsurance matters. / A considerable portion of this thesis examines the position of the completion guarantor operating in Quebec and, in particular, the security rights enjoyed by the guarantor in this province. / This thesis concludes by exploring the direction in which the completion guarantee industry is evolving, some extraterritorial considerations and the interplay between business and law in this field of endeavour.

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