The film industry in the 1920s

Before World War I, Britain had been a pioneer in the new film industry. However, in the 1920s the British film industry was going through a period of rapid change, principally because of the increasing dominance of the Hollywood studios whose growth was fuelled by their large domestic market and their system of vertically integrated production, distribution and exhibition. British producers were only just starting to make feature films of 70 to 100 minutes in length after World War I and they could not keep up with the increasingly expensive, sophisticated production methods and the bigger stars of Hollywood studios.

A growing concentration among exhibitors led to the creation of a number of large cinema chains. Many of the most powerful distributors were owned by the Hollywood studios, and used 'block-booking' systems, which forced exhibitors to book all of a studio's films in order to obtain the most popular titles. Some British companies, such as Gaumont-British, the producers of Hindle Wakes, tried to emulate the vertical integration of Hollywood, but still failed to compete successfully. Most British audiences preferred, and British distributors and exhibitors generally made more money on, Hollywood films. Attempts to undermine or even restrict practices such as block-booking failed.

The British government, concerned about both growing US industrial dominance and its growing cultural influence through the cinema, passed legislation in 1927 requiring distributors and exhibitors to book minimum quotas of British films. The quotas were set at 7.5% for exhibitors and 5% for distributors. Hindle Wakes was made in a period of relative optimism, when, in expectation of the benefits of protection, more capital was available for British films. However, commentators tend to agree that the imposition of quotas did not solve the problems of the film industry.