Walt Disney was a puzzled man when I met him in the Screenwriters. He had just returned from the continent with brother Roy and had heard that Bobby Driscoll's appeal against his conviction for appearing in "Treasure Island" had been lost. Fortunately, by quick switching of schedules, Bobby was able to finish all his scenes before the court made its decision.
As a result Disney has had to cancel his plans for bringing Bobby over again next year to make another Technicolor offering which would have provided added work for the British technician. He is extremely disappointed, as he is pleased with the results of his first all-live action picture and is positively raving about Robert Newton's performance.
He has now decided against combining artists with animation which he introduced as a wartime measure and is concentrating on the production of feature-length cartoons. Soon after the New Year, he will start on the story of "Peter Pan" and revels at the thought of creating "Tinker Bell."
Incidentally, Walt has become an addict of the English tea habit and welcomes the unions' insistence on morning and afternoon breaks.
Under English law, the studios come under the Factory Act which forbids the employment of children, though this is often flaunted in the hopes there will be no common informer. In Bobby's case, he was charged with a contravention of the Aliens Order.
I thought it would be interesting to find out how the government's sponsored Film Finance Corporation aligned itself with helping "One Night" in which young Bobby Henrey of "The Fallen Idol" fame plays the lead. Their spokesman was not to be drawn, appeared personally satisfied that no laws would be broken. I spoke to London Films. Their answer was that the film would be shot abroad and by not using actual studios, but houses and barns and the like, it would still qualify for quota. It is rather remarkable that while an eleven-year-old child is not allowed to make a film in this country, producers can take one abroad and receive government financial backing for such a venture.
