WHEN THERE ARE 15 film societies on campus, there's bound to be trouble. And that figure only includes private student groups devoted exclusively to film. When you add in departments, such as Western European Studies, with regular series, student groups such as the Chinese Student Association for whom film series are one of several activities, the student film series at the Carpenter Center, courses and sections devoted to or utilizing film, the films available in the immediate community from the Harvard-Epworth Church and especially the Brattle Square, Harvard Square, and Orson Welles theaters--and the ramifications lead to madness.

Out of chaos last Spring was born the Harvard Films Studies Council. And after a year of negotiation, the Council has begotten the Film Wall.

The Film Wall stands in the basement of Boylston Hall. Enshrined there upon on three-by-five notecards, are the names and schedules of the 15 film societies and three other Harvard organizations which have film series.

Students have been using the Film Wall to shop for weekend film fare. "There's really a need to have the exact times posted" says Martha Miller, who, as coordinator of the Council, takes charge of the wall.

"Periodically I wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I've posted something backwards."

But the primary purpose of the Film Wall and through it the Council is coordination. The Film Council is not at peak operating strength this week; several societies have discontined their films for the remainder of the season. But even with say, 12 societies active on a given week--each interested in showing some of the same old standbys--centralized communication becomes important.

In this respect, the Council has been successful solving one schedule conflict (Eliot vs. Winthrop over Lord Jim) and averting a few others.

Other of the Council's original goals remain, however, unrealized. Plans for a newsletter and common advertising remain just plans, and longer range centralization is relegated to the distant future. Miller says, however, that she is satisfied with the Council's performance. "Coordination has taken out the tension that too much competition builds," she adds.

One goal of the Council was at its inception last Spring to smooth the feathers of local professional theaters, ruffled by the more agressive tactics of some film socieities earlier last year.

Most film society members say they feel it is to their advantage to cooperate with the professional theaters because of the theaters' potential power to withhold films from the societies. Cyrus I. Harvey '47, owner of the Harvard Square, Brattle Square, and Central Cinemas is in a good position to wield this power. Harvey is one of the founding partners of Janus films, a major distributor of foreign films to both professional and non-professional groups. Janus often checks with Harvey's manager, Robert St. George, to okay a film before sending it to a Harvard society.

"He [Harvey] has a good enough relationship with the distributor to have them blackball us from showing any films," says Mark S. Campisano '75, publicity chairman for Winthrop House Films.

Many film society members feel there is also the legal reprisals. When regulations laid down by the distributor, the University's rules, and laws relating to public gatherings are taken into consideration, "there's no way to make money," says Campisano.

The primary source book for University rules relating to film societies is a small green pamphlet entitled "Regulations for Undergraduate Organizations in Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges." In a community where regulations proliferate, violations of the little green pamphlet seem to cause little anxiety to the older hands, except where it cites city ordinances such as those requiring the presence of a policeman. More vunerable, however, is the nearly universal practice of renting a film for a single showing and using it throughout the weekend.

Larry Miller '73, former director of the Quincy Cinema Guild, maintains that the distributors are aware of the violations, but don't care. "Dan Kelley of Swank [another distributor] knows everybody does it," he says.

Thomas Von Foerster, formerly adviser to Kirkland Films, claims that similar gambits are common in professional houses, as well. "It's one of these businesses where the rules are such that you can't survive without cheating a bit. And several Houses whose film societies tried to be honest no longer have film societies."

Many film society members still fear, however, that because of the violations, theater owners have ample ammunition for attacking the societies should they desire to do so.