Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1954)

Againsi th^ Produeiian Cad^ PROMETHEUS: HDLLYWDDD BOUND By JOHN A. VIZZARD Member Production Code Administration The question is this : \\'hether Hollywood's Production Code functions under a messianic mandate to protect audiences from reality ; the reality out of which they come, and into which they return? For example, one will not find in films any mention of dope addiction, white slavery, or sex perversion; despite the fact that daily newspapers, which invade the sanctuary of the living room, are filled with discussions of these subjects, with a candor that would g:ive Freud a neurosis. Neither will the average movie-goer find any reference to abortion, birth control, or venereal disease; although the United States army, and governmental health services are not too lofty to give these socially important questions an airing. The theory is that light and fresh air are the two things these evils cannot tolerrate. Like toadstools they flourish in the dark. Blocking access to the screen to subjects like these is both spinsterish and romantic. On the one hand, it smacks of the wishful thinking of an old maiden aunt, who pats her young charge on the head and admonishes : "Never mind, honey. Just ignore that leering old ma:;, and he will go away." Unfortunately, the grosser excesses of human nature can no more be wished out of existence, than can human nature itself. Ever since the fall of man in the (iarden of Eden, the perfectionists are saddled with the unpleasant and untidy fact that coarse sin is going to be an integral part of the world in which we live. On the other hand, the concept of a world in which virtue always triumphs and no base vice exists is dangerously romantic. .Maturity is only to l)e gained by equating the mental outlook with reality as it is. It is no wonder that the screen is fre(|uently accused of naivete. .An instrument like the Code keeps it at the level of per])etual childishness. Commercial Consideration It seems almost impertinent to introduce the commercial consideration in the midst of this c|uestion ; but in fact it is not. Motion pictures are fal)ulously expensivei commodities. The average "A" film would be equivalent, roughly, to the cost of a ten story apartment building. Consequently, they are not made just for the joy of making them. They are churned out of great factories, on a mass scale, in a highly competitive industry ; and any legitimate source of revenue has to be e.x])lored b} a business hungry for raw materials. It is highly conceivable that a story based on, say, the evils of abortion, might be a valuable social deterrent to this crime, and a rich source of hard-to-come-by dollars. The artistic considerations are not impertinent. A .-tory like, say, "Moulin Rouge", which wanders frankly through the back alleys of human life, and introduces the sordidness of prostitution alongside the beauties of artistic achievement, is not only good entertainment, but, esthetically, is highly revealing of human nature. Such a gain is not easily had : not easily foregone. Why is it impossible to think that the same cannot be done, for instance, in the case of a story invoh ing white slavery, a subject forbidden by the Code? Is Pegasus to be made a perpetual pack-ass in the cause of a black-an_d-white pattern of morality? What has the Code to answer to these charges? They are being levelled against it as an instrument almost daih', in quarters both within and without the industry. First of all, before engaging' the central question, it i. necessary to scotch one fraudulent notion on which it rests, and which is assumed with a gratuity that is simply unthinking. This is the idea that certain depravities will automatically vanish, once the spotlight of public attention turns its merciless glare on them. This is fully as romantic as the notion that they can l^-e disregarded into oblivion. For one thing, there are certain evils that will always be with us, attention or no attention. Is it necessary to point to that occupation that is commonly referred to as "the oldest profession"? Enlightenment is good. But it is necessary to recall that during the last war the greatest and most concerted program of instruction in the problems of veneral disease was indulged in by the armed forces. If information were all that were needed, v.d. would have vanished. W e know that the opposite is tragically true. In addition, we now have more widespread knowledge, thanks to the scurrying solicitude of certain sections of the press, on the subject of narcotics smuggling and narcotics addiction than we have ever had in history. Yet the problem continues to increase, rather than decrease. (Continued on Page If) PROMETHEC S: In Greek mythology: he stole fire from heaven and delivered it to mankind, thus becoming the founder of civilization. For thus defying the gods, he was chained to a rock where eagles fed on his liver for ages. FILM BULLETIN February 8, 1954 Paga 5