The Combine was the name given to the association between exhibitor Union Theatres and the production and distribution company

Australasian Films Australasian Films, full name Union Theatres and Australasian Films, was an Australian film distribution and production company formed in 1913 that was wound up in the 1930s to merge into Greater Union. The Union Theatres and Australasian Films d ...

on 6 January 1913. The Combine had a powerful influence on the Australian film industry of the 1910s and 1920s and was frequently the subject of criticism for hampering Australian production, including by filmmakers such as Raymond Longford.

History

On 4 March 1911 the firm of Johnson and Gibson merged with J and N Tait to form

Amalgamated Pictures Amalgamated Pictures was a film exchange company in Australia. For a time it was also a short-lived Australian film production company. Although none of its output has survived, it has been written that "judging by subjects chosen, the average l ...

. This company then merged with the General Film Company of Australia,

West's Pictures West's Pictures was a short-lived Australian film production and exhibition company during the silent era. It was established by English theatrical entrepreneur Thomas James West (1885-1916) who helped turn the company into one of Australia's large ...

and

Spencer's Pictures Charles Cozens Spencer (12 February 1874 – c. September 1930) was a British-born film exhibitor and producer, who was a significant figure in the early years of the Australian film industry. He produced films under the name Spencer's Pictures a ...

then, in January 1913, Greater J.D. Williams Amusement Company. In some states the name "Union Theatres" remained the recognised name, despite the "Combine" name. The Combine dominated the Australian film industry for a number of years and later evolved into the

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...

organisation.Early history of Australian Film, ''Screen Australia''
accessed 24 August 2014

References

{{reflist, 30em 1910s in Australian cinema Film organisations in Australia 1913 in film 1913 in Australia