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Editorial 211 |T\ EN HUR is about to receive the uttermost in pictorial treatment at JT^ the hands of one of our largest producers. It will certainly be a big *< picture; it may be a great one. Unfortunately the announcement is [touched in the characteristic phrases of motion-pictures, and hence is proportionately less impressive. "There is no doubt but that"—so runs the English—"the screen ver- sion of Ben Hur will be the biggest"—etc., etc.; "magnificent scale" . . . [broad sweep" . . . "world-wide appeal," etc. Over $1,000,000 having leen paid for the screen rights, "a director of international fame" will con- duct the rest of the highly expensive performance. The filming will take Ipce in Palestine, Italy and California. In Palestine, "entire temporary lities" will be built in order to reproduce "the ancient and civic architect- ural features of Palestine in the time of Christ"—("ancient and civic" sug- ;esting subtly, and probably quite unconsciously, that the civic features vill be modern). "An army of experts" absorbed in searching through old historical documents" will bring forth "data to be used in building cenes and making costumes"—(sic!). About the only thing omitted from his crashing publicity matter is the estimated tons of strip-tickets needed vhen they begin to "stand 'em up" in the lobbies and out on the sidewalks. Yet in spite of all this, as we said in the beginning, Ben Hur may be great picture. Already great pictures do occur, from time to time. When uch become the rule instead of the exception, the raucous blasts of the ►reliminary trumpets can be omitted and the product be allowed to sell tself, as is the case with the other arts. t(5* &$• c<5* THERE is no doubt about it, censorship has become a more burning question since the advent of Will Hays than before. To the in- telligent public which gives any serious thought at all to the matter, :his growing agitation means merely that something really is rotten in Denmark and that something should be done about it right soon. To the motion picture industry censorship means merely the loss of nuch revenue. But instead of basing their opposition upon this perfectly ralid argument, they keep up a child-like chorus about the right of "free speech" and hence become ridiculous. Freedom of speech is indeed a priceless thing and the republics of :he modern world will never let it go—nor will they let it be degraded. [t is a lofty privilege accorded to every man qualified for utterance. But f a drunken sailor, for example, cuts loose in a public assembly of men, women and children, he will be promptly silenced or ejected—without massing special laws for the treatment of his case and with the entire