The devil's camera : menace of a film-ridden world (1932)

96 the devil's camera before the picture is released for general circulation. You would be surprised at the things they catch which we would never dream of being important. It is impossible to please everybody.' These extracts from Colonel Herron's report do not provide a justification or even a defence. They merely emphasize the mentality of the American film producer. He has provided himself with a safeguard and is so proud about it that he quite forgets to put it into use. If it is a fact that films are examined by Embassies and Legations before release, we can only suppose that their advice as to alterations and cuts is rarely accepted. Otherwise many of the films shown are a serious condemnation of the judgement of the Embassies and Legations concerned. The value of the American's view on the subject can be gauged from Colonel Herron's answer to the remark of a delegate at the Conference that she had seen the picture Broadway in London, and considered that it showed American people as lawless and wild. She wanted to know if pictures of that type were submitted to any Embassies. ' No,' said the Colonel. ' That picture had no foreign angle,' implying that Hollywood looks after the interests of the rest of the world but ignores America. It won't do, Colonel Herron. A country which does not mind what impression it creates of itself is not going to worry much about the impressions it creates of other countries. 5 On the whole there have not been as many films actually based on the Great War as might have been expected. For a short period every other film shown was a war film but the demand soon slackened off and production has now almost ceased. How little war films now attract the public was illustrated recently when the announcements for the film Dirigible contained the words, ' Not a War Film ' prominently displayed,