Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

36 Pennsylvania Censor Chief Says Trend Definite and Danger Is Potent An indictment charging the motion picture industry with permitting the screen to become a medium of propaganda instead of remaining a source of straight entertainment, was made by Mrs. Edna R. Carroll, chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Motion Picture Censors. Writing under a by-line in the Sunday magazine supplement of the Philadelphia Inquirer on August 1st, the censor head warned that while the development is fairly recent, the trend is definite and the danger potent. "What was once solely a source of entertainment now is attempting to become an important molder of public opinion," complained Mrs. Carroll, who stated that in her four years as censor head, 7,547 films have been submitted to the board for viewing and that she personally has seen more than half of that number. Pointing out that newsreels, travelogues and educational shorts were the start of the growth of propaganda in the films, Mrs. Carroll's tirade, titled "Behind the Veneer," proceeded to prove her point at the expense of "Mission to Moscow," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the imported Russian pictures and the Victory Films of the OWI. Cites "Mission" as Example Of Propaganda Film Charging that apart from the theatrical license permitted in distortion of fact and reversion of chronological events, the "phony purge trials" and the "humiliating whitewashing of the invasion of Finland" in 'Mission to Moscow' should never have been presented on the screen "at a time when it is important that post-war relations with our allies be built upon truth, honesty and integrity." "The really vile angle to 'Mission to Moscow'," wrote Mrs. Carroll, "is the prologue by Joseph E. Davies in which he completely endorses the film as a quasiofficial document, and the interpolation of the voice of the President of the United States and other official personalities deliberately used to lead the viewer into believing he is witnessing an authentic presentation of an episode in history." Claims Elected Officials Discredited in Picture Mrs. Carroll singled out "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" as the first major attempt to use the screen for propaganda at the expense of entertainment, characterizing1 the picture as "perhaps the most controversial film of its time." "It stands out like a sore thumb as the first attempt to discredit the men elected by the people to make the laws which govern the land — and the motion picture," said Mrs. Carroll. She pointed out that such film treatment was in strange contrast to British products. "These always impress the viewer with the dignified presentation of all civil MOTION PICTURE HERALD servants and officials," she said. To Mrs. Carroll, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was a "devastating form of propaganda." While the importation and distribution of Russian films before the war were viewed as a source of real danger by Mrs. Carroll because they were bought and sold in an attempt to propagandize our people with a system of government opposed to our form of government, the present day imports are still viewed as essentially propaganda films by the censor board chairman. Although the Russian pictures now call attention to the military, industrial and educational strength of the Soviet, and mentions of communism, the revolution and religion are conspicuous in absence, Mrs. Carroll complained that they still show only what they would have us see, which leads naturally to the most outrageous production for propaganda purposes ever to have reached the screen. Decries OWI Releases As Propaganda Films Mrs. Carroll also takes exception to the OWI films because of their propaganda content and particularly because they represent regimentation of the industry on the part of the government. Pointing out that while "At the Front in North Africa," "Desert Victory" and "Prelude to War" were offered and accepted as documentary editorials on war news, the censor head said they must all be considered from the angle of "spreading a particular doctrine or a system of principles — in short, they are propaganda films." While the motion picture industry had been credited with doing a fine war service in the distribution of the OWI pictures, Mrs. Carroll emphasized that newspapers, magazines and news services had contributed similar services from the actual war fronts and from the home front, and without bureaus specifically set up and without participation by the Government. "The danger of concentrated control of theme by the Federal Government and the propagandizing of the people has been recognized by Congress in the recent cut in appropriation to OWI — presumed to be aimed at the motion picture branch of the bureau," observed Mrs. Carroll. "There is here no problem of freedom of the press ; it is a moot question whether our hoys in the armed services who are giving their lives to secure certain freedoms for their allies want to lose these same freedoms at home. All these excursions into the field of propaganda via the movies are part of a pattern of regimentation which is diametrically opposed to representative, free government whether it emanates from an industry — or from a government." Maj. Vanderbilt with Birdwell in Publicity Major Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., recently honorably retired from service following five months in the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D. C, veteran of two wars, twice decorated, in 1942 and 1918, has joined the publicity company of Russell Birdwell and Associates. August 7, 1943 Screen Function To Entertain and Inform: Harmon In a radio address as part of the NBC program, "For This We Fight," last weekend, Francis S. Harmon, executive vice-chairman of the War Activities Committee, said, "As a medium of communication the screen respects its obligation to report news accurately. As a medium of entertainment, the screen can and does illuminate facts through fiction. To inform and to entertain — these are the twin functions of the theatrical motion picture." Mr. Harmon appeared on the program with Walt Disney and James L. Fly, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the ninth of a series designed to present views on post-war readjustments. Both Mr. Harmon and Mr. Disney emphasized the importance of the screen as a medium of education. Said Mr. Harmon: "The war also has given belated impetus to the use of non-theatrical motion pictures as a visual aid in education. Thousands of training films upon a variety of subjects — both technical and general — have provided quick and effective instruction to several million men in the armed services. "Once the fighting stops, motion pictures may well become the chief visual aid in comprehensive educational programs not only for millions still in uniform, but also for even larger numbers of civilians in the freed countries and in Axis lands occupied by United Nations forces. Sees Screen as Chief Aid In Education Programs Mr. Disney, on the same subject, said: "It is not visionary or presumptuous to anticipate the use of our medium in every schoolroom in the world. The motion picture never will replace the teacher in the classroom, but when educators and motion picture producers begin to cooperate in earnest on a constructive program of visual teaching, the possibilities offered are without limitation." Mr. Disney, on the subject of education, reminded : "It may sound fanciful, but there are more than 3,000,000 persons in this country alone who cannot so much as write their own names. And there are 15,000,000 more who are unable to read a newspaper. "In cooperation with the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and our State Department, we are now working on a series of pictures designed to help solve this problem of illiteracy." Fly Cites Role of Radio in International Affairs Mr. Fly, speaking mainly about radio's potential contributions to the post-war period, said: "War . . . has for the first time brought home to the American people the role which radio must play in international affairs." On the subject of education in relation to the industry, United States Commissioner of Education John W. Studebaker told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a luncheon in the board's offices, that the screen would largely supplant text books, and schools would adopt methods of education developed by the military in which training films far outdistance modern educational methods. In a round table discussion following the prepared broadcast Mr. Harmon stressed the importance of freedom of expression to the screen. It was the inherent freedom of expression granted to the screen in the United States which led to its preeminent position, Mr. Harmon declared, contrasting it with the controlled film industry of Fascist lands. Quoting the message of President Roosevelt to Arturo Toscannini, Mr. Harmon noted that art could flourish only when free. Propaganda Crowing, State Censor Warns