Year book of motion pictures (1925)

The Board and its inspectors shall refuse to approve any film which : Shows anything of an obscen;-, indecent or immoral nature. Presents any gruesome, revolting or disgusting scenes or subjects. Tends to disturb the public pe,r e, or Tends to corrupt public morals The General Object of Censorship The endeavor will be to establish standards on progressive lines and to keep motion pictures, as far as possible, within the b^jt interpretation of the City Ordinance and the demands of public opinion. This in effect will be to restrict to such as promise interesting, educational events, scenes or subjects; pictures that afford clean, wholesome, harmless amusement and will portray drama and will aim to eliminate that which debases morals, or teaches improper adventures through suggestion or tends to incite the mind to acts of immorality or crime or presents false standards for chai acter and conduct or shatters the better ideas of our educational, civic and national life. When scenes of vice are necessary to the story, they will be required to be truthful and compete, and portrayed in such a manner that no one would be led to similar adventure, but would see the sordidness and commercialism on which these scenes rest. Article 1. Shows anything of an indecent, obscene or immoral nature. Obscenity, immorality or indecency must be elimiated. Actions by characters or situations of a decidedly suggestive nature, appealing to low morals, or scenes that would familiarize and ac custom the minds of young people with the same, must be eliminated. (Same Scenes in Detail) Eliminate 1. Suggestive subtites where they refer to the passions or implied immoral situations. 2. Scenes of the nude on walls or pictures of the same where used for suggestion. 3. Where there is an attempt to be vulgar, shorten to a flash scenes of girls in cabarets, ballet dancers, dressing room scenes, bed room scenes in night clothes, or similar scenes. 4. Peering through the keyhole at man or woman undressed or undressing. 5. Raising of women's skirts by men, or by the stunt of air suction. 6. Loose pants or skirts not properly fastened, or ready to fall. All indecent displaying or fondling of underclothes, or night clothes. 7. Close up views of men or women, in the nude, swimming just under the water. Nude persons in bath tubs unless scene merely shows the head. 8. Suggestive rolling on women in slap-stick, and other farces and comedies. 9. The act of a woman sitting on a man, even though party is dressed as a man. when act is vulgar or has a vulgar significance. 10. Excessive and suggestive wriggling of the body whether of a man or a woman. 11. Suggestive placing of legs over the knees of women or suggestive actions while a woman sits on a man's lap or vice-versa. 12. Girls putting their hands in men's trouser pockets. 13. Making comedy of women's busts, hips or legs. 14. Scenes where men take hold of women's ankles or legs, with a leer, or when men are looking lustfully at woman's form in a way to attract attention to display of person. 15. Man or woman or persons of opposite sex in bed together. 16. All suggestive actions or looks at statues or the draping of the same. 17. The close up views of dead people or the treatment of wounds. IS. Spitting in another's face. 19. Views of characters in one piece bathing suits, where obviously used for suggestive purposes of simply to display the figure, should be condemned. Excessively short skirts for the purpose of displaying the legs, or gowns cut low for suggestive purposes must be eliminate'! Frank exposure of the person may be less objectionable than partial exposure. Article 2. Presents any gruesome, revolting or disgusting scenes or subjects. Insane characters, portrayed in such manner as to harass the emotions and influence even normal people, should be eliminated. Scenes of crimes, of violence against persons and animals, ELIMINATE: 1. Torture scenes, exhibition of murder, assassinations, hangings or other executions. 2. Close up views of horrid, bruised or mutilated faces, or faces showing agony or great suffering. 3. The struggles of drowning people, and the close up views of dead people's faces floating in the water. 4. Struggle and choking scenes when carried to the point of extreme brutality. 5. Branding of people or animals in close up views. Article 3. Tends to disturb the public peace. Reverence in general and all sacred forces should be carefully respected. Pictures which in effect as a whole or in part, hold up to ridicule any religious act, sacred thing or rite, should not be passed, or if passed, all objectional scenes should be eliminated. This also applies to scenes that portray in an objectional manner, any race of people or characteristic. Although there is quite a uniformity of ideals in American national life — political and social — yet there is always some local, recognized coloring or prejudice. It is possible that these differences might have undue emphasis or in case of national differences, the treatment might become libelous. In such instances, the portrayal must be considered as subject to censorship, must be interpreted with due regard to any sectional, national or class prejudice, regardless of any bias or taste of a viewer. Disrespect for law or public officers, enforcing same, whether in action, subtitle or suggestion, must be eliminated. This would involve ridicule of law enforcement or burlesque of an apparent miscarriage of justice. Lengthy portrayal of riot scenes should be shortened to mere fact or event of current news. Article 4. Tends to corrupt the public morals. Crimes Against Property or Person The fact that the motion picture h more vivid than the printed page naturally alters the question of how much detail can be shown the public. For instance, a printed description of a burglary or other crime, suffering gruesomeness and evil doing, has not the same effeet upon people as when the very act is performed before the eves. Undue and lengthy detail of the above crimes should be eliminated. Suicide is so irreparable a crime and becomes so suggestive to some people, that actual scenes and methods must be eliminated. Suggestive, instructive and ingenious criminal methods must not be exploited and if introduced must be eliminated. ELIMINATE: 1. The cutting of a purse from a woman's arm or showing how to open and extract money or valuables from a purse. 2. The tampering with or opening of doors or windows or safes by using tools or instruments. 3. The cutting of telephone or telegraph wires when done with criminal intent. 4. Tampering with railroad ties or rails for the purpose of wrecking trains. 5. Placing of funnels or tubes with bulbs attached in key holes, for the purpose of sending fumes or medicine into a room to produce asphyxiation or acute sickness. 6. Actual chloroforming of persons, that is the detail of using the chloroform, or the act of using or displaying a hypodermic needle in any suggestive manner for crime. 7. All subtitles or scenes, where it is implied that a woman is in a delicate condition and is contcmplating^ or planning to or does visit a doctor for purpose of operation. 8. When done with criminal intent, the setting and lighting of bombs where it is done for the purpose of destroying of property. 9. The exhibition of methods of using poison. 353