byronic :: mad bad and dangerous to know

Quota Quickie

“A term coined in the late 1920s and used throughout the 1930s to describe an extremely low-budget film that was made solely to help cinemas maintain their compulsory quota of British films, as defined in the 1927 Cinematograph Films Act. Most ‘quota quickies’ were of little or no artistic interest, though major directors such as Michael Powell and Victor Saville made a few in the early stages of their career, and said that it was a very useful way of learning their directorial craft.”

- BFI Screenonline:  Glossary of Film and Television Terms