What is the Children's Film Foundation

A.� The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was created in 1951 and it enjoyed the support of the industry and government of the day. It was launched by Lord Rank and had a specific remit to make films for children. It is still in existence and is hoping to recreate the popularity of the Saturday morning matinees of the 1950s and 1960s.

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Q.� What kind of films did it show and how popular was it

A.� At first, Lord Rank imported films from the States, mostly comedies, westerns and adventures. Later on however, he decided he wanted to produce his own children's entertainment. His first venture proved a very successful production called Torr's Ride by Gaumont British Instituitional Films in 1944. In the early to middle 50s, an estimated one million children packed into Saturday matinees at nearly 2,000 ABC, Odeon, Gaumont, Granada and independent cinemas up and down the country.

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Q.� Where was the first matinee shown in the UK

A.� The first recorded matinee was in a schoolroom in Micklemore, Derbyshire, on February 7 1900. The first cinema programme designed especially for children and held on a regular weekly basis started in Granada theatres around the country in 1927.

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Q.� Why did they lose their popularity

A.� Matinees suffered at the hands of television: as more people owned TVs, fewer children made the weekly trek to the Saturday morning pictures. Financial restrictions also meant Lord Rank found it difficult to work alone, and in 1951, he joined forces with the Children's Film Foundation to provide weekly entertainment.

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Q.� What is the foundation's work now

A.� Over the past 10 years, the foundation has been under threat because of funding difficulties and has recently concentrated mainly on script development for children's television shows and films. Now renamed the Children's Film and Television Foundation, it is in talks with the Film Council with a view to producing films depicting the best of British fiction. It hopes to successfully launch a revival of Saturday morning matiness, and in fact, some cinemas around Hampstead in North London, report a surge in cinemagoers under the age of 12 on Saturdays.

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Q.� Are there any famous actors who started out on Saturday morning big screen productions

A.� The CFF was very much a launchpad for the stars of the 50s and 60s. It helped launch the careers of Jean Simmons, Michael Crawford, Francesca Annis, Dennis Waterman, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson.�

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By KatharineMacColl