Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/British Empire Films


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was merge to EVT Limited. czar 09:39, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

British Empire Films

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

Fails WP:GNG. They do appear to have distributed notable movies in Australia though they don't appear to have significant coverage about their film distribution as a company. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 05:42, 17 December 2022 (UTC) *Delete I really could not find any sources on it other than maybe this journal. I can't access it, but possbile merge if it states that Cinesound Productions and British Empire Films are connected. Also, I'm not sure if this page copied the Wikipedia article or vice versa. 🧐  Mike  Allen  16:31, 17 December 2022 (UTC) Relisting comment: Relisting, maybe someone can look into new sources. Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz Read! Talk! 05:13, 24 December 2022 (UTC) Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Randykitty (talk) 14:50, 31 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Film and Business. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 05:42, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Australia-related deletion discussions. AllyD (talk) 07:37, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Comment: Book searches show a little coverage of BEF, though in relation to the associated Cinesound: example. Perhaps redirecting to Cinesound Productions is an alternative to deletion? AllyD (talk) 07:38, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Sure a redirect works or a merge if relevant to Cinesound Productions. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 07:42, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Delete I would have thought there would be something for the company, plenty of hits for films about the Empire, nothing for the company. Oaktree b (talk) 02:08, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Keep I think there's enough coverage in Trove Newspapers to suggest notability. Looks like it was established in 1932 (first link). A lot of the hits will probably refer to films from the British Empire rather than production company but there are over 6000 hits for "British Empire Films". The most recent hits are from the 1990s which refer to it as defunct. Piecesofuk (talk) 15:05, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Fun find, though most appear to be what often would be considered press releases or just information about on-going business such as a review of a movie they were the distributor for. The Monday 7 January 1952 one does have potential to show a bit a notability. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 22:23, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that 1952 article is about the company or just a film from the British Empire. I think this is a better search for the company in Trove, gives far fewer hits but more likely to be about the company. It might also be worth searching in archive.org as there are hits for it in a number of books on the history of cinema, eg its formation is mentioned in John Sedgwick - Towards A Comparative Economic History Of Cinema, 1930 to 1970 & Studies in Australasian Cinema - Volume 1 Issue 3 which seems to compare it to other distribution companies like Warner Brothers, United Artists and Twentieth Century Fox.  According to the BFI here was a production company called British Empire Films that existed in the 1910s but probably nothing to do with the Australian distributor. Piecesofuk (talk) 10:07, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I've noticed that at some point the company changed its name to BEF Film Distributors and has a production credit on Picnic at Hanging Rock (film) (BFI) Piecesofuk (talk) 17:14, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * and according to History and heartburn : the saga of Australian film, 1896-1978 BEF changed its name to GUO Film Distributors in August 1976 Piecesofuk (talk) 17:28, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Is there any information of what name it went under before becoming BEF? KeepItGoingForward (talk) 20:31, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * It was formed in 1932 as British Empire Films (source). Not sure when it was renamed to BEF Film Distributors but there's an article in the Times from 1970 that refers to it as "B.E.F. Film Distributors (formerly British Empire Films)" Piecesofuk (talk) 20:50, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Actually it seems that there was an earlier incarnation from 1930 called Union Theatres Feature Exchange, see https://caarp.edu.au/company/view/570 "distribution company established by Union Theatres in 1930 as it sought to re-enter film distribution. Previously the distribution arm of the company had been Australasian Films. During the 1920s the distribution business of the company had dwindled as American companies moved to direct distribution and the Australasian/UT combine had centred its activities on building and operating cinemas. With the financial crash of 1929, UT reopened its distribution business as UTFE and specialised in British films. This became the basis for its later name British Empire Films (BEF)" Piecesofuk (talk) 21:06, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Relisting comment: Final relist; keep or merge? Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Lord Roem ~ (talk) 12:02, 8 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Keep per piecesofuk, looks like enough sources in Trove. Deus et lex (talk) 23:25, 31 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Keep as per the additional reliable sources identified in this discussion that show a pass of WP:GNG so that deletion is unnecessary in my view, Atlantic306 (talk) 21:37, 1 January 2023 (UTC) changing to Merge to EVT Limited Atlantic306 (talk) 00:34, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Merge to EVT Limited. It is a confusing story and I'm not even sure I've managed to get it all in order .. but this book about the history of Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL) is very helpful and I believe this is a copy which can be viewed online. From what I can see, BEF changed its name to Greater Union (GUO) Film Distributors (page 186) in 1976. This was eventually acquired by Amalgamated Holdings (see page 219). They changed their name to Event Hospitality and Entertainment Limited and its ticker changed from AHD to EVT on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2015. I'm !voting to merge because it makes the most sense to expand the EVT article with a key component of its past.  HighKing++ 21:37, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Merge to EVT Limited As per HighKing, I would support a merge/redirect. Equine-man (talk) 09:14, 8 January 2023 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * Merge to EVT Limited. There have been significant discoveries (above) since my last comment.  Mike  Allen  17:15, 8 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Merge As the opener of the AFD based on the research found during the AFD I think a merge sounds to be a good plan. KeepItGoingForward (talk) 19:13, 10 January 2023 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.