Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 28, 1942)

January 28th, 1942 Canadian FILM WEEKLY Page 5 Midnight Show Ban Called Untair Tee proposal here is almost cer-@ tain on the other hand to meet definite opposition and derision, gm especially from patrons of midDP vic: shows, from citizens who do 7” not regard the opening of the theatres after midnight for two or two-and-a-half hours of entertainment as detrimental to the community, and from those (of whom there usually are a number) who definitely dislike legislating some people out of their chosen and customary habits of entertainment on the theory, or in the hope, they may or must conform to someone else’s idea of passing time and keeping interest in life. This is a question which can easily cause serious and bitter division of the community with the result the whole community will suffer. It is one of those questions in which emotions are apt to whip up like lashing storms, with the result that calm, considered judgment is tossed keel up and sail down, and everyone may carry a bad taste and a wicked eye for months afterward. Whatever may be the merits or demerits of the proposed legislation, let them be considered on the basis of facts and not on the bases of sentiment and prejudice. * * + ET wus examine briefly the moral aspect of midnight shows. What facts are there, if any, of : a loss or weakening of the moral fibre of this community due to attendance at midnight shows, or due to any condition created by the opening of theatres following the midnight hour? To be fair to ourselves as citizens and as guardians of the public morality, to the theatres, to their patrons, we dare not assume immorality, or even the weakening of moral tendency as the result of the conduct of midnight shows and of attendance at them—we must have facts and them only. We are dealing with EDISON MAZDA LAMPS LONGER.. BRIGHTER LIGHT MADE IN CANADA CANADIAN GENERAL ELECTRIC Umireo The Quinte Sun, Trenton, Reports Unfavorable Public Reaction and Asks Pertinent Questions of Town and Council too delicate a situation to proceed otherwise. Who then attends these shows? Are they different from the people who attend at other hours? Do they think differently? Do they act differently ? What do they see, and what do they hear? Is it different from other shows, or is it merely one extra showing of pictures shown at other times? If so, how does it affect patrons differently from seeing and hearing the same performance at any other time? Do patrons attend the shows when good health requires that they should be asleep and resting, or are the patrons persons who work normally on night shifts and find the Sunday midnight (or early Monday morning to be precise) shows their more convenient opportunity of seeing the current pictures? * a * W come inevitably in our can vass of the matter to the question:—Are the pictures shown of improper character for good effect upon the theatre-going public. If that is the point of criticism, is the desired action then not one of improving that character rather than expressing opposition to its being shown at one particular time of the day? Another question. Does our opposition or do our fears find bases in actualities or is it merely that because midnight theatricals seems rather new, and because we who are now well on our ways through life were not acquainted with such things in our younger days when most people except morning paper printers went to bed well before midnight, when everybody worked harder, when everybody raised 2 big family, when the well-to-do at j least drove a high-stepping horse ; and sat in a rattling carriage with an air of pardonable importance, when every girl as soon as she was fifteen or so had to drop her skirts from knee height to catch the dust from her heels and hide her legs (limbs, oh, pardon please), and when there were no picture shows, that these comparatively new midnight shows now seem unmecessary? Is it because of our being surrounded by different circumstances of age, of employment, of habit, or of choice, that we do not attend midnight theatricals, see no need of them and fail to understand the point of view of those who do? It is well that we ask ourselves and find the answer to all these Ni ye may be the basis for the sentiments said to be held by certain religious organizations, their representatives should step forward into the light of free and open consideration, state their case and present their supporting argument. The Mayor and Council cannot or should not be expected to take action in this or any matter of legislation on anything so nebulous and vague as a senti-}| ment. No governing body can afford to act on abstractions unless it courts trouble and is prepared to gamble on earning a reputation of incompetency. Sound government moves only on concrete foundations from whence there are no rebounds. Away, then, with shadowy and hidden evidence. In dealing with the moral aspect of the problem the Council must give consideration to the alternatives and their potential evils, as well as to any demerits of post-midnight picture shows. And in this connection it would be well for both official and selfappointed guardians of the public morals to conduct a little research work in various spheres and sections in no way associated with the theatres. * a * (PROes some, who by personal ‘choice or temperament may regard the intellectual standard of the average picture as inferior to the standards which they prefer and which they set for their own lives, they must nevertheless admit that in the main most pictures bring enlightenment as well as amusement to the mind of most theatre goers. Not one of us would think of abolishing cinemas now. Towns like Trenton are indebted to their theatre managers in most cases for bringing thousands of visitors within their precincts. Many people come over and over again throughout the year to “see the show” and to do some shopping and to have a bite to eat, of course. Most theatres spend a good deal of money in advertising to) accomplish the bringing in of their patrons from outlying communi| ties. Thousands of dollars have been brought into Trenton by this very means. This money has found its way into pay envelopes, into the cash registers of restaurants, cigar stores, drug stores, clothing shops, and undoubtedly on the collection plates at the churches. Every good live theatre in one sense is a veritable Chamber of Commerce in effect within its community. Most theatre mana questions for our own sakes as gers are persons who have the well as for the public sake. | best interests of their community >and of the nation at heart and are ever ready to aid through their facilities community and national projects. There is a general feeling of dislike for prohibitive measures emanating from so-called sky-pilot or high-brow spheres of influence suspected as the source of the action initiated here against the midnight shows. There exists, on the other hand, a sincere dislike for the midnight shows among some citizens of mature years who have been reared in the atmosphere of homes governed by the precepts and restrictions of the Puritan philosophy. To them the disturbing element of the midnight shows is their proximity to the Sabbath. This objection, it will be observed upon examination, may be one born of feeling rather than of reasoning, because the Saturday night shows, against which there has been no outcry, come as close to the beginning of the Sabbath as do the early Monday morning shows to the end of the Sabbath. Obviously the novelty of the postmidnight shows is actually, even if unconsciously, the determining factor in the attitude of many of these citizens, who nevertheless, because of the sincerity of their view, must be respected, even though they fail to constitute in numbers more than a feeble minyea.” of the whole people concerned. Flanson Back Oscar Hanson just got back to Toronto from a week in New York. He has been checking on and negotiating for new product for distribution through his recently established Pioneer Films. Dunne Down Manager Pat Dunne of the Royal, North Bay, has been bedded by a siege of flu. Get well, Pat. HEATING AND VENTILATING CONTRACTORS AND ENGINEERS WOM)