The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

ctober, 1923 Pictures and the Church 411 this extreme measure and actually atmpted it he would find it in practice an itire impossibility. Standards differ so radically even among ose who are actuated by the same high otives that it would be impossible to work It a standard which would be accepted. But it may be argued that censors, acting en arbitrarily, by condemning for a short jriod every picture with even a low moral mosphere would soon compel producers id scenario writers to see to it that their ctures thereafter were above reproach hen they at last reached the reviewing udio of the censor. However, if human iture among scenario writers and directors ms true to form, and there is every indica3n that it does, there will always be the ^termination to produce pictures just as iar the borderland as they dare be and yet cape the wrath of the censor. No, censorlip puts the cart before the horse. It deals ith the finished product and can never fectually revolutionize the spirit and aims at control the inception of the film. Censorship can never enhst the vital co>eration of the motion picture industry, Dr can it ever enlist the sympathetic coderation of the patron. The twenty milDn Americans who pay admission daily to ;e pictures will not tolerate this drastic >rm of supervision. If all the people are I be induced to withhold their patronage om the objectionable film and to patronize e good one (and the opposite has prevailed » a large extent in the past) it will never )me by compulsion but by willing and en htened co-operation as a voluntary choice. Few of our readers will take exception to le statement that where political censorlip has been resorted to it has failed holly or in large part to solve the problem t good pictures. Super Photoplay Service 159 N. State Street CHICAGO The Shadow on Calvary Distributors to the World for THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (Re-edited version of The Birth of a Race) Has leased Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin to PICARD PICTURES 804 South Wabash CHICAGO, ILL. Now some one may say that if the movies cannot be cleaned up they must be * 'cleaned out, root and branch, with a tidal-wave of righteous indignation that will sweep them off the face of the earth," to quote from one letter in the symposium alluded to above. Who of us has not sometimes ' felt justified in using language as strong as that? But the movies are not to be cleaned out, root and branches. They constitute the third largest industry of the country all because they exert such a universal appeal. One might as well talk of making the Hudson river flow north. The movies are here to stay. We shall have to recognize that fact and then settle down to a realization that we can not shunt the problem of making them good over to government censorship and that we can not clear our conscience by standing aloof and throwing stones at them, but rather that we must find a way to make them all wholesome. Censorship is only a lazy and superficial way after all, and by this method we shall never reach our goal. I believe there is a more excellent way, and I shall outline this method in the October issue of the Educational Screen. It is not a quick method, nor is it easy. It will require the continuous, active and intelligent co-operation of every good citizen of every community, but it will be tremendously effective when given a thorough trial. Furthermore this way is American— in principle and spirit. C. C. M. Please Write to Advertisers and Mention The Educational Screen