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14 Film Censors
There are four examiners at the censor's office. Examiners are chosen, not because of any particular knowledge of films but for their sound commonsense. They must be educated and must be able to use their own discretion.
The board has had only three presidents. The first was Mr. C. A. Redford ; on his death he was followed by Mr. T. P. O'Connor ; and when " T. P." died, the present president, the Right Hon. Edward Shortt, took his place.
The president himself rarely finds it necessary to view a picture. This happens only when the examiner refuses to pass a film and the film company makes an appeal, in which event the film is referred to the president.
Films, however, are rarely rejected, and you may be sure that a member of the censorship board is likely to be annoyed if anyone refers to films he has rejected. For the president is the only man able finally to reject a picture. As a general rule, when a picture is turned down, the film company is merely informed that the censor does not consider it fit for public exhibition.
The film company may then make certain alterations, and re-submit the picture. The censor (this term is the one invariably used when referring to the censorship board) is usually very reasonable. Scenes to which objection is taken are pointed out and it is often quite a simple matter for these sequences to be cut out without harming the continuity of the story.
Films are shown in a private theatre at the censor's office. In addition to viewing the film on the screen, the examiners have a script of the story to help them. In the very early days of the talkies they had no sound apparatus and they were compelled to rely entirely upon this script for their guidance. But this defect was soon remedied.
Incidentally, it is rather interesting to note that, to the English film censor, there is no such thing as a talkie. While newspapers the world over have argued about the use of this term for sound films, the censor has decided the matter for himself and all talking pictures are termed " auditory films." Even talking picture apparatus is officially called the " auditory projector."
List of "Must Nots "
There is a long, but very elastic, list of subjects to which the censor takes objection. The elasticity of this list has caused a great deal of confusion among those people who imagine that the censor works under a rigid set of rules.
In one picture an examiner may object to " vamping," And immediately this art of Eve becomes one of the list of " mustn'ts," though obviously it applies only in very exceptional circumstances.
One picture containing a bedroom scene may be given a certificate ; yet another one, also containing a bedroom scene, may be turned down. This has happened more than once and on the surface it has appeared that the censor has blundered. He has not necessarily done so at all. In one iilm of recent showing the bedroom scene was quite innocuous ; but in another shown at the same time a similar scene had to be cut out because the dialogue immediately made this sequence suggestive.
There are certain subjects which are entirely taboo. Under the heading of " Religion," films have been refused certificates because they have shown