The Exhibitor (1965)

Boston Critic Sees Self-Regulation As Only Answer To Censorship Cries BOSTON — Marjory Adams, veteran film critic of the Boston Globe, believes that self¬ regulation is the only answer to censorship, and in a recent article in the Globe, she discussed the challenge to the film industry. “Don’t look now, but censorship is starting to rear its ugly head again,” she declared. “Some people don’t believe censorship is ugly— they think nothing can be more re¬ pulsive than the lasciviousness of many of the present day motion pictures. “Because I believe in a freedom which is contrary to arbitrary rules and regulations set down to govern the masses, I am an ardent fighter in the anti-censorship forces. But be¬ cause I am shocked and disgusted with some of the films which have been shown in Boston during the past year, I understand why fathers and mothers are rising up in protest. “I think they should go even further in demanding clean films — and they should pa¬ tronize the ones that are in the theatres now, just to show they mean business. It’s no good reviling ‘dirty’ pictures and then saying, ‘Of course, I haven’t been to a motion picture theatre since 1959.’ “That means you are just talking a lot and doing nothing to make better motion pic¬ tures popular and profitable. As long as the young people and their misguided elders want to see pictures which are tasteless and amoral, the theatre managers will cater to this kind of audience. “In Hollywood, the grand old man of the cinema is now 80-year-old Sam Goldwyn. Once he was hated by his competitors. Today he is revered. Goldwyn speaks for the better class of motion picture man when he said how happy he was to see an advertisement in the New York papers sponsored by members of the tv and radio entertainment industry in which the Codes of Good Practice were em¬ phasized in the cause of decent programs. “ ‘I would like to see our own motion pic¬ tures display the same degree of understand¬ ing of its responsibilities to the people,’ he declared. He said he was bitterly opposed to censorship, but it was up to the film industry to avoid censorship by ‘restoring our own self-regulation to a point where it really means something instead of being a mockery.’ “Says Goldwyn, ‘We need someone at the head of the motion picture industry who not only commands the greatest respect from the public but who has the fullest authority from the industry itself.’ “He feels that ‘backstage maneuvering to avoid honest self-regulation must come to an end. We would not have to go to the Supreme Court of the United States to eliminate censor¬ ship if we had a real Supreme Court of our own. This is the time for a real change.’ “We must have action designed to protect the industry from the attacks that well come from the outside unless we do something honestly on the inside. If the public will go half way in demanding good films, patronizing them, and avoiding the ones they decry, and if Goldwyn can persuade Hollywood pro¬ ducers to keep away from salacious scenes and the kind of nudity which is meant only to attract sensation seekers, the demand for censorship would be wholly unnecessary. “Geoffrey Shurlock, who is in charge of the present Production Code violations, has found it almost impossible to cope with the changed conditions. If foreign films labelled “Miss Denver Retail Merchants' Association” re¬ cently presented the association's award to Jack N. McGee on his new post as National General Corporation’s division manager of the 98-theatre mountain-midwest division. Beresin Heads Phila. Variety Old Newsboys’ Day PHILADELPHIA — Jack Beresin, who was instrumental in introducing Old Newsboys’ Day here eight years ago, was named gen¬ eral chairman for the colorful event to help handicapped children for the eighth consecu¬ tive year. His appointment was announced by David E. Milgram, chief barker of Phila¬ delphia Variety Club, Tent 13. Old Newsboys’ Day, which will be staged this year on Friday, June 18, is sponsored by the Variety Club in cooperation with the Philadelphia Inquirer. The funds raised that day by sales of a special “Happiness Edition” support the many Variety Club charitable projects for crippled and handicapped chil¬ dren, including the Variety Club Camp for Handicapped Children at Worcester in Mont¬ gomery County; a year round oral treatment and rehabilitation program; a college scholar¬ ship program; and the construction of a Variety Club Wing at the new Children’s Hospital to be built near the University of Pennsylvania. Beresin, who is president of ABC Consoli¬ dated Corporation, is a former international chief barker of Variety Clubs. Beresin will direct the efforts of hundreds of volunteers from all walks of life, including show business celebrities, radio and tv per¬ sonalities, sports figures, city officials, judges, members of legislature, and business leaders, who will sell the “Happiness Edition” in center-city neighborhood, and suburban shopping centers. The “newsboys” and “newsgirls” wear the traditional top hat and gold coin apron to sell the souvenir news¬ paper at prices set by the purchaser’s gen¬ erosity — preferably for folding money. as art are allowed free entry to these shores and into our theatres why tell the Hollywood producer he can’t have the same freedom as a maker of foreign films? It doesn’t seem sensible or right. "Nor does it appear logical to censor film stories when you let much more salacious material be sold in book form. It’s a mess, however you look at it, but somehow this situation must be faced by mature, rightminded people.” Daylight Saving Struggle Looms Again In N.C. RALEIGH, N.C. — Drive-in theatre interests, having just been succesiful in killing a bill which would have put North Carolina on day¬ light saving time during the summer months, now are faced with a new daylight saving threat. Senator Ed Kemp, Guilford County, intro¬ duced a bill which would provide for a state¬ wide referendum on the daylight saving time issue. The bill would have the referendum conducted at the same time as the 1966 gen¬ eral election, and Kemp said it would end the biennial bickering in the Legislature over the issue. The proposed referendum would be on a daylight saving time proposal identical to the one killed by a House committee recently. North Carolina clocks would be turned ahead one hour the first Sunday after May 30 and turned back again the Sunday before Labor Day. In introducing the bill, Senator Kemp said, “For many years, the Legislature has wres¬ tled with the question of daylight saving time without, in my opinion, finding a totally satis¬ factory solution.” He said his bill would allow “all the people” to make the decision, “those who operate and attend outdoor dramas and drive-in movies as well as those who simply prefer an extra hour of daylight for fishing, swimming, or patio living. “If the voters reject daylight saving time, the Legislature can construe the decision to be a mandate and busy themselves in the 1967 session with the problems of the state without the hours and days of bitter bickering that has slowed this and other sessions.” BY Seminar In Chicago CHICAGO — Buena Vista introduced mid¬ west exhibitors to a summer schedule of re¬ leases at its product meeting here. Irving H. Ludwig, president of the Walt Disney dis¬ tribution subsidary, chaired the session. Exhibitors, more than 120 strong, traveled from as far as Minneapolis and Indianapolis to be briefed on the publicity and advertising plans for the June release of “Cinderella,” “The Monkey’s Uncle” in July, and the cur¬ rent “Mary Poppins.” Assisting in the presentation were Harris Dudelson, Chicago district manager, and Charles Good, Chicago salesman. Accompany¬ ing Ludwig from New York were Leo Green¬ field, Western division sales manager, Paul Lyday, and Frank Petraglia. Getzler To Hanna-Barbera LOS ANGELES — Bud Getzler has been appointed vice-president and general man¬ ager of Hanna-Barbera Productions, it was announced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. In line with Hanna-Barbera’s current expansion, Getzler will be active in HannaBarbera’s television and motion picture production as well as the firm’s industrial films and commercial division. Getzler was formerly executive vicepresident and treasurer of Format Films. He also served as vice-president at UPA. MCA Preferred Dividend NEW Y ORK — The board of directors of MCA, Inc., declared a dividend of 37i% cents per share on its outstanding convertible pre¬ ferred stock to preferred stockholders of record on June 18, payable July 1. 14 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR April 28, 1965