Censored : the private life of the movie (1930)

Record Details:

Title:
Censored : the private life of the movie
Date:
1930
Publisher:
New York : Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, Incorporated
Volume:
Censored : the private life of the movie
Leaf #:
000190
Language:
English
Collection:
Books
Format:
Books
Contributor:
Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
Date Added:
March 21, 2024
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PRIVATE LIFE OF THE MOVIE instructions to these censors — and not one sentence is definite and clear. No wonder the vice societies backing the measure indicated that even Calvin Coolidge would not meet the high standards required for a position on the Commission! Section 22 orders the commissioners to cut anything they deem "unpatriotic," or which will portray "distorted or untruthful representations of our national life, literature, manners and customs." That surely is some order! Would a scene of a labour union strike, the Sinclair Oil trial, the Charleston dancers, the stock exchange, be truthful representations of our national life? But coupled with this mandate, that varies with each individual's background and prejudices, the bill proceeds to say that no movie may hold up to "scorn" any "race, nation, sect or religion." Out go most of Ibsen, much of Shaw, and surely Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." Are our faiths so slim that they need this kind of protection? But if this kind of control — more extreme than any known in the history of any nation 140