In the summer of 1921 the following report appeared in Film Renter and Moving Picture News:

This anecdote made an entertaining piece of publicity for what was to be Brunel's final production for Minerva Films Ltd but the stallholder's quip is a telling one. Given the meagre funds then available to them, the film's title was indeed equally applicable to the company itself. While the first six films made under the auspices of Minerva had been two-reel shorts, The Beggars’ Syndicate was a five-reeler, a considerable risk given the company's already precarious finances. The shorts had been produced on minimal budgets but it was impossible to make enough profit from their sales to sustain further production, leading the company to pursue less reputable sources for ever-dwindling amounts of investment.

But back in March 1920, Brunel had embarked on the venture with high hopes, anticipating his first proper chance to direct and put into practice his creative ideas without the interference he had endured at BAFC. Minerva's first project was a series of four short films based on stories by playwright and humorist A. A. Milne. Short- and medium-length productions were a key element of the cinema programme at this time, yet, as with features, British films faced tough competition for screen time from America, particularly as shorts often formed part of the packages sold by studios through their practices of block booking. While it may appear obvious now that the feature film was always destined to become the primary commercial cinematic form, there were those in the early 1920s who championed the short film.