Year book of motion pictures (1925)

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WORCESTER, MASS. Thomas McMurray, Deputy Chief of Police The Censor Board in this city is a voluntary organization composed of about 35 members who are representatives of the vaiious clubs and welfare organizations in the city. There is no set standard, each picture being judged by itself alone, the only consideration being whether it would in any way prejudice the welfare or morals of the community. This is decided, after a view and a discussion by vote, and the decision of the Board is accepted as final. Standards of the Ontario (Can.) Board of Censors, 45 Richmond St., W., Toronto No picture will be allowed which shows a successful balking of the law. The board will use judgment in eliminating unwarranted display of foreign flags, and will also call for a respectful presentation of all British flags. All pictures showing animals being treated unkindly, tortured or killed will be condemned. Pictures which deal with firearms or display of knives or guns may be eliminated or cut. Shocking and unnecessary details of deeds of violence and struggle scenes will be cut out. This also applies to the rough handling of women, children, the aged or infirm, and close-up views of horrid, bruised, or mutilated faces, or faces showing agony and suffering; also the struggles of drowning people and close-up views of dead people's faces floating in the water. Constructive suggestions wheh might be conducive to producing lawlessness or crime, e. g., methods of safe cracking, picking locks, raising cheques, robbing houses, molesting persons, etc. In no instances will suicide or incentives to such be shown. Close-up scenes, prolonged or instructive scenes of murder, or showing of executions will not be allowed. Each question of costume or taste must be considered on the basis of morals. Pictures of when almost wholly dressed, but displaying a lavish amount of lingerie, are startling. The same is true of excessively low-cut gowns. Under no consideration will the board pass any pictures containing incidentally or extensively the nude form. Burlesque or scenes of ridicule of clergy, Salvation Army or any other religious work will be eliminated. All pictures must be kept clean from suggestion, vulgarity and profanity. Scenes in houses of ill-repute and scenes of debauches will be cut out, also any instructive details of gambling, etc., will be eliminated. Undue and unnecessary drinking scenes will be eliminated. Fifty per cent of all serials must be shown at one sitting. The board will insist that sex problems be treated with seriousness and reserve. Constructive suggestions of the use or means of illegitimately procuring habit-forming drugs, narcotics, ,-oisons, etc., will be eliminated. Instructions prohibit the display of any advertising which shows scenes of violence, display of guns or knives indicating shooting or stabbing, nudity, vulgar display of women's forms, objectionable titles regarding sex relations, or any eliminations that have been made by the board. Standards of Censors for Quebec. 63 St. Gabriel St., Montreal. Sex shall be prohibited ; all suggestive and immoral scenes, those dealing with exaggerated sex appeals or exploiting interest in sex in an improper or suggestive form or manner, such as: rape or attempt of rape, adultery, double life, free love, infidelity, commerce of vice, auction of girls, white slavery, scenes representing nude women or men, women in suggestive dresses or positions, close-up views of bathing girls in one-piece suits; particularly suggestive bedroom, bathroom and dance scenes ; views prolonging unnecessary expression of passionate love. Religion shall be prohibited; mock marriages, burlesquing on any religion, ridiculing clergy of any creed or placing same in a compromising position and generally all which offends the religious belief or creed of any person. Places of Vice shall be prohibited; all picturei concerned with the underworld places of vice and crime, opium dens showing men and women in degrading conditions. . . Crime and crime teaching shall be prohibited ; scenes showing the use and traffic of poison and narcotics and other unnatura lpractices against social morality; stories and scenes which may be considered as real schools of crime in instructing tne morally feeble in methods of committing crime, entering the houses, forcing locks, blowing safes; pictures showing murders, unnecessary details of violence and roughness with use of dynamite for criminal purposes; all things which are shown too often in some "Western" pictures and which might be an incitive to imitation ; all brutal fights aboard ships; burglaries, thefts, forgeries, stealing, cheating at cards or at any other game. Cruelty, executions or violence to women and children, and brutalities to animals must not be allowed, nor death scenes that are gruesome or depicturing tortures or extreme sufferings, nor scenes of execution in which are shown scaffolds, electric chairs, guillotine. Divorce: fostering or showing of divorce as means of dissolving marriage bonds must not be allowed in this Province, nor any suicide. Patriotism shall be prohibited ; all scenes injurious to Canadian and to any other race pride or patriotism and to the loyalty to the King. Owing to the mixed population of the Province of Quebec, special care must be given to the question of nationality, religious belief and general customs. Serials: fifty per cent of all serials shall be shown at one sitting so that the Board may form an idea of the story to follow in subsequent episodes. Comedies: a certain leniency will be recommended as to the application of the above Standard in the examination of comedies. They will be left to the Censor's own judgment. Titles: all titles and sub-titles advertising the scenes prohibited above shall be rejected. Standards of the Commonwealth of Australia A OBJECTIONABLE CHARACTERISTICS AS PRESCRIBED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT No film shall be registered which, in the opinion of the censorship — a — is blasphemous, indecent or obscene : b. — is likely to be injurious to morality, or to encourage or incite to crime: c. — is likely to be offensive to any ally of Great Britain or: d. — depicts any matter the exhibition of which is undesirable in the public interest. B OBJECTIONABLE CHARACTERISTICS AS DEFINED BY THE COMMONWEALTH FILM CENSORSHIP 1. — Indecent, suggestive or insufficient dress. 2. — Embraces overstepping the limits of affection, or which would be contrary to propriety in ordinary life. 3. — Nude figures. 4. — Positions of the actors which are suggestive of sexual passion or desire. 5. — Scenes which might be offensive to the religious feeling of any class of the community. 6. — Scenes which might be thought subversive to morality or virtue. 7. — Scenes which might be morally harmful, to the young especially, of both sex. 8. — Scenes which might seem to encourage or appear to view which indifference, breaches of law, or perpetration of crime. 9. — Scenes of brutal cruelty or violence. 10. — Scenes from which the inference could be drawn that offences against those laws, or rules, or recognized social codes, which govern the relations of the sexes in married and single life, are matters to be overlooked or treated lightly. 357