Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1950)

Thursday, March 16, 1950 Motion Picture Daily 5 Senators Assail Johnson Bill (Continued from page 1) a warm personal defense of Motion Picture Association of America president Eric Johnston. The statements by the four Senators came as Sen. Johnson, chairman of the Interstate Commerce Committee, announced that he has tentatively scheduled hearings to start on the bill before the full committee the week of April Johnson said MPAA president 1NO Johnston would be invited to testify, and anyone else interested in being heard should contact the committee. Committee officials ; indicated they thought the hearings might last two or three weeks. Bill's Chances Slight Though the chances of the bill's getting anywhere are slight — Senate Majority Leader Lucas has already said he doubted the Senate could get around to it this year even if the committee reported it — the hearings could do substantial damage to the industry through the publicity that will be generated. "This is no trial balloon," Johnson said today. "I mean business." Wiley, in his Senate speech, admitted that he shared Johnson's concern over the "Stromboli" incident and any other action by the motion picture industry that might seek to commercialize on moral code violations, but strongly questioned whether the licensing bill was the way to deal with such situations. "To generalize on the individual, isolated case of 'Stromboli' misconduct and to ask that a whole system of Federal regimentation be set up to prevent such comparatively rare abuses is, I believe, to commit a grave mistake," he declared. "Why use a 100 barrel shot-gun where a flit gun would do. I for one, therefore, would oppose, as I am sure practically every member of the Senate would oppose, this bill with its tremendous implications of a European police-state, a Soviet-type OGPU. The bill would vest in the Department of Commerce dictatorial powers which could mean life and death over the entire motion picture industry." Wiley suggested the right way to assure Hollywood's abiding by the moral law would be for the American people to refuse to patronize objectionable pictures and to refuse to support objectionable actors or actresses by box-office patronage. "Whenever Hollywood learns that the American people will not patronize any pictures featuring a particular individual, that individual quickly leaves the Hollywood scene," the Wisconsin Republican declared. He emphasized that_ many organizations such as the Legion of Decency already look into the moral quality of films, and "I do not believe that we need any Federal Gestapo to supplement their powers." Treasury Cleared 'Stromboli' "Stromboli" was foreign-made, Wiley told the Senate, and if it had any morally objectionable material, the Treasury would not have admitted it to the U. S. Wiley took issue with Johnson's characterization of MPAA president Eric Johnston as a "czar," and said while MPAA could approve or disapprove any film "it does not possess czaristic power to ban a particular individual appearing in a film." Licensing has been suggested many times before, Wiley said, "but Congress has always wisely rejected any such move." He agreed with Sen. Johnson that we need a moral crusade, but added that the majority of Hollywood shares this view and deplores the BergmanRossellini affair as much as Johnson himself. "Let us not ape Russian Gestapo tactics," he concluded. "Let us not destroy the Constitution under the guise of protecting the Constitution." Wiley put in the Congressional Record the statement issued by the MPAA late yesterday. As did the MPAA statement, Wiley stressed Hollywood's contributions in war and peace. "Hollywood needs no defense on my part or anyone else's part," he said. "This vast industry should not be judged and condemned on the basis of a few disgusting, isolated instances of moral misconduct or suggestive advertising or crude commercializing." Punishes Entire Industry Sen. Knowland warned that it would be a "very great mistake to come in with licensing to punish an entire industry because of the action of a few." Declaring that the American film companies were pre-eminent among the world's film industries, Knowland stressed the role of the industry during the war and in behalf of private charity drives today. "Too often," he said, "we are apt to take a situation not representative of the industry and magnify it out of all proportion. The overwhelming number of people in Hollywood are fine family people, devoted to their community and taking part in community affairs." Sen. Thye commended Knowland for "bringing to the attention of the Senate what the motion picture industry has done to further worthy causes." Sen. Cain traced Johnston's career and cited speeches and articles by and about Johnston. Frequently he demanded whether "this sounds like the 'front man for money changers' or anybody else?" Johnston 'No Czar' Declaring that he had no intention of getting into the pros or cons of the "Stromboli" case, Cain said his main purpose was to prove that "Eric Johnston is no czar — he is one of those Americans who believes there is no room for czars of any kind in our country. The American people still reign supreme in America. "Their's is the freedom of choice, either at the box-office or the ballot box, and that is the way I hope it will always be." Like Wiley, Cain admitted the motion picture industry "like any other industry has its weaknesses as well as its virtues. It has made some inferior pictures but it has made a vastly greater host of good ones. It has brought wholesome entertainment to millions of Americans and to millions of people everywhere." Senator Outdoes the Russians, Johnston Says in Providence Providence, March 15. — Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said here Censorship (Continued from page 1) censorship also is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing protection of property rights. Films are censored in seven states : Massachusetts (for Sunday showings), New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Kansas, and numerous municipalities. The petitioners state that the high court already has expressed itself to some extent on the basic issue when, in its opinion in the Paramount antitrust action, it said : "Motion pictures . . . are included in the press whose freedom is guaranteed by the First Amendment." Scores of precedent decisions are cited, including one in an Ohio case dating back to 1915 Cites Films' Influence The petition states in part : "Talking motion pictures are now universally recognized to be one of the most effective mediums for the dissemination of information and opinion. Their influence upon the masses of the people is so great as to rival, and perhaps even exceed, the influence of newspapers and other publications. "It is a notorious fact that one of the first acts of any totalitarian police state is to establish ruthless partisan control over all channels and mediums for the dissemination of ideas and information." "Curley," which depicts a Negro child at play with white children, originally was banned by the Memphis Censor Board admittedly on racial grounds. The Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tenn., upheld the ban and appeal was taken to the Tennessee Supreme Court which refused to adjudicate the basic issue. Eric A. Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, in a statement issued here said he hoped for a clear-cut decision knocking out censorship. today that Senator Johnson of Colorado "is setting up for himself a pretty big job to become commissar of the morals of the American people." Johnston, interviewed at the Hotel Sheraton-Biltmore, said that in his onthe-spot studies of the Russian film industry he never saw anything that remotely resembled the plan proposed by Senator Johnson. MPIC Answers Senator Johnson's 'Ill-Considered' Attack on Films Hollywood, March 15. — The Motion Picture Industry Council has issued a statement reading, in part : "MPIC, representing the entire working community of Hollywood, questions the ill-considered and unreasonable attack Senator Johnson has launched upon the entire industry because of the well-publicized conduct of a few individuals. The Senator overlooks the reputation and efforts of thousands of respectable Hollywood people who work hard and diligently and have always been of service to their craft and country. "In the past, unfortunately, there have been Congressmen and Senators who have brought discredit and shame to the highest body of government in the world. But it would be reckless to attack Congress for the actions of a few. "The Senator's bill would be a violation of deep and well rooted American principles and would be a first step toward totalitarianism. t0rYoor 2t< Iff* 4cvM to** Pto*oee?wJiV«om««* ted *>Y Oi»ee with FUZZY KNIGHT RAYMOND HATTON 34 Exchanges in Key Centers to serve you Lippert Productions HOME OFFICE: 255 Hyde Street, San Francisco, California FOREIGN SALES DEPARTMENT: 723 7th Avenue, New York City 19, N. Y. CANADIAN DEPARTMENT: 700 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada