Are these films being returned or aren't they?

[Martin Ireland]

I have been reading with great interest several threads started by Andy Henderson about 'missing' programmes that he has found. Amazingly, Andy seems to have uncovered a real treasure trove of material.

Each thread is highly ambiguous regarding the return of these items. It would appear that at some time in the past, Andy had the misfortune to deal woth someone at the BFI who didn't want to copy those films. Hopefully, that person is no longer at the BFI.

So, what is the present situation? I for one have offered more than ten old ITV films to the BFI - films probably less important than Andy's ones. The BFI have been DELIGHTED with them, have copied all of them and returned the prints to me.

Some of these threads are giving the totally misleading impression that they are indifferent to such films. The reverse is the case - they want to borrow these films very much.

It is time to get the record set straight, as these threads might 'put-off' people from doing what I and many others do - finding lost shows and lending them to the BFI.

Don't get me wrong - I applaud Andy for hunting down these shows, for making an attempt to 'return them' some time ago, and for contributing such excellent material on this forum and on his blog.

But at the end of the day, if someone wants to see these programmes at the BFI for entertainment, research or whatever - they can't, as they are sitting in an attic somewhere.
The BFI want them (fact), so are they being returned, or are they not?

Many thanks - and absolutely no ill feeling intended.

[H Hartley]

As mentioned before, there are lots of reasons why shows dont get returned besides the owner committing one of the seven deadly sins. Sloth, greed etc.

A typical example might be that a performer might not be happy with their performance and therefore does not want anybody else to see it.
Or perhaps someone had a bad experience with a particular show and are still owed money ? or a producer made their life a misery ?

We surely must respect the wishes of these people?

and perhaps the BFi make a legacy type arrangement easier?

[RWels]

What you mention are all individual circumstances.
But I would like to compare it to archaeology. Not just because both are the searching for hidden things. An area where sometimes huge mistakes have been made as well. Sometimes theft has preserved important works of art.

In the end, an artefact is on a private shelf is just a meaningless curiosity. Also, it is less protected.
An artefact that is in a museum/institute, or at least catalogued, can be accessed if someone wants to investigate it. It could be published. That way it will not get lost if the house burns down, or if the owner dies and his heirs throw it away.

In my mind, this goes for lost programmes as well. It is after all a bit of cultural science.