Harrison's Reports (1948)

October 2, 1948 HARRISON'S REPORTS 159 Linda, without realizing what concerned him, explains the neghgee incident by revealing that her sister, Barbara, was having an affair with Krueger, and tliat she had gone to Krueger's room to warn them that Vallee was on his way over. Harrison embraces Linda and begs her never to make him explain his peculiar behavior. The cast includes Lionel Stander, Julius Tannen and others. Adult entertainment. A CENSOR WITH A HEAD Recently there was brought to the attention of this paper an article on censorship in Australia, which was published in the July 10 issue of the Daily Teh' graph, of Sydney, Australia. The article, under the heading, "Film Censor with No Use for a Halo," sets out the views of Mr. J. O. Alexander, the Commonwealth Film Censor, whose liberal approach to the problem of censorship of films could be read by many American censors with profit. The article, in part, follows : "Victoria is the only State with effective legislation and set rules for film censorship; but all States are now passing uniform legislation, and, after January 1, 1949, the Censorship Board will be Australia's sole film censorship authority, and will censor all films, both imported and local. "The board generally bans scenes depicting kicking or 'sinking the boot,' new angles on crime technique, close-ups of dead bodies or mutilations, inaccurate overseas commentaries, horror scenes. "One strict rule is that any crime film must clearly indicate that crime does not pay. "Mr. Alexander claims that in censorship there is no room for Mother Grundy thinking. "He says that a censor should apply a ton of commonsense, 'allied with a sense of humor, a store of general knowledge, and an endeavor to keep pace with changing ideas, social conditions, the national outlook, and internal relations. ' He adds : " 'When interpreting the regulations, we try to make our approach as liberal, broad-minded, and adult as possible — always keeping in mind that young people are at Hberty to see films, but not robbing adults of legitimate entertainment. " 'Censorship is not a big stick. It is a social necessity which merits cooperation from all sections of the community. Used with judgment and discretion, cen' sorship is a healthy thing.' "He says that to fix a rigid standard for film censorship is difficult, because each film must be treated impartially, on its merits. One scene, well directed and acted, can be good entertainment. The same scene, badly handled, can be crude, offensive. "He is so keen on impartiality that he never reads a book that has been filmed until after he has seen the film. "He says the board often passes the word bloody if its use isn't obviously offensive and is necessary to humour or dialogue. "In the same way, he says it isn't the censor's job to ruin classics by raising a low-cut period bodice a few inches or by cutting out such an interesting word as bastard in a play like Henry V (the U. S. censors altered the work to bas\et) . "He doesn't believe that films do any real harm to children. He says: 'The harmful effect of films on the child mind is, in my opinion, negligible. " 'The mature mind is able to absorb imphcations. The miniature mind of the child enjoys the excitement of a film without absorbing the implications. " 'Most films are above children's heads, but children may, and do, adopt technique from films for their games, as I did from Deadwood Dicks when I was a child. " 'The basis of juvenile delinquency is not the film, but home environment and lack of parental control. " 'I maintain that parents, not film exhibitors, should be responsible for the sort of films their children see. " 'Under the uniform legislation which will operate from ne.xt year all film advertising, including trailers, must clearly indicate the censorship classification. The old "not suitable for general exhibition" will become "not suitable for children." This change has been made as a general guide, but particularly as a guide to parents. " 'The child must be protected, but parents, not censorship, must protect the child. Censorship can only provide the guide. The parent must do the rest.' " PUBLISHING GROSSES WITHOUT THE EXHIBITOR'S PERMISSION Recent organizational bulletins of both the Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana and the Allied Caravan of Iowa and Nebraska criticize the action of the Selznick Releasing Organization, which mailed to exhibitors in their territories a circular letter showing comparative grosses of "Duel in the Sun" and "Spellbound" in theatres in small Iowa, Indiana, and Kansas towns, stating that it is quite likely that "one of our salesmen has not visited you." The letter was signed by Neil Agnew. Charles Niles, chairman of the Iowa-Nebraska Caravan, called this company's act unethical and stated: "We have always felt that the gross in our town is our business." The ATOI bulletin condemns the distributor for reveaUng an exhibitor's gross without his specific permission, stating that "a letter so broadcast may well have been read not only by exhibitors all over but by distributors, tax officials, other business men in your town and almost anybody else as well." For years the exhibitors have been complaining that the distributors exchanged information as to the different exhibitors' intake on a given bracket of pictures. Invariably, however, the film companies denied the accusations. The tj'pe of information that was printed in the Selznick Releasing Organization circular letter for the purpose of convincing unsold exhibitors that its pictures are doing well at the boxoffice may be good publicity, but it is worse than exchanging information between distributors, for the confidential record of an exliibitor's grosses becomes pubhc information, known not only to the different salesmen with whom he must negotiate film deals but also to his competitors and other persons who may use the information to some advantage. The practice is unethical and should be discontinued at once.