Censored Subjects—

Paralysed Producers
By IRIS CONLAY Catholic Herald Film Critic.
Motley seems to be the only wear for the cinema this week; I have rarely known such an outcrop of humour all at once. With Will Flay in Good Morning Boys, Jack Buchanan in This'll Make You Whistle and Robertson Hare in Aren't Men Beasts, there is sufficient material to write an article on the English sense of humour—or Whither Laughter on the lines of the G. K. C. or J. B. P.
But as you have already seen from the headlines I have diverged a long distance from the pursuit of humour, and have forgotten the films for film policy.
There is very little that one could turn one's big guns on to in these rib-ticklers. Will Hay school masters in his well-known institute for the sons of crooks and gets away with his dignity and the honour of St. Michael's academy. Jack Buchanan sings and whistles in his own inimitable way that does not allow of any change, for who would have him other than he is. Robertson Hare gets fun out of pomposity and is never so like himself as in Aren't Men Beasts when shut into the entrails of a
grandfather clock he accuses the pendulum of " attacking me when it wants to strike the hours."
The Mixture as Before is not a condemnation of these three films but an indication of their normal entertainment value.
Church Assembly Speaks
Turning from things in front of the screen to those behind it, the most important discussions this week in the cinema world have turned upon the subject of religion and the film.
The Church Assembly (not a Catholic body) have published an interesting pamphlet in which a chapter is allotted to "The Church and the Films." In the course of its description of the amount of use films are put to in the U.S.A., the Religious Motion Pictures Foundation and the Y.M.C.A. Motion Picture Bureau of New York and Chicago are organising an extensive hire service utilised by more than 1,000 Church and other organisations, the report proceeds: "The Roman Catholic Church is fully alive to the publicity value of the cinema." and states that in a letter H.H. the Pope writes: " The Cinema is going to become a greater and more efficacious means of influence even than the Press; it is there
fore highly desirable that organised Catholics should occupy themselves constantly with the cinema."
Fighting Shy Of the production of religious films in this country it says:
" The cinema industry itself has hitherto fought shy of religious subjects, but it is known that the subject has been seriously considered by several leading companies, and one firm has announced the production of a religious film for the general screen," And it is authoritatively stated by the writer that although films for special church purposes must be financially backed by the Church, the cinema industry is prepared to make them and they can only ba made by experts in well-equipped studios. Much good work has been done by amateurs, but it would be a short sighted policy to make cheap films. If they are to be made the Church should undoubtedly give the work to leading film manufacturers.
Hear, hear, I say, but from whence come funds? Apparently it is not within the wildest hopes of the Church Assembly that any except Church audiences would want to see religious films.
Golgotha
But such impossibilities do happen in other countries—vide Golgotha, the French production of the last days of Christ's life, which was appreciated by huge audiences all over France and the continent because of its reverent and compelling beauty. Golgotha has got held up in England over the ban against the representation of Christ oh the screen, which brings me to the second point in this week's discussions.
For many months controversy has raged around this question of the depicting of Christ, and The Green Pastures brought the whole question to a head again, but despite certain rumours to the contrary the Board of Film Censors is still adhering to its original contention, and after a consultation with the Public Morality Council and the Cinema Christian Council, it outlined its position thus:
" It is not our intention to depart from our principle of not certifying for exhibition any representation of the figure of Our Saviour.
Special Conditions
" We came to the conclusion many years ago that if films were to be shown of that character they should be shown under specific conditions. Some years later the London County Council discussed with us the conditions, and made a specific rule, the conditions including that no smoking should be allowed during the showing of the film; that no other film should be shown in the programme; that the musical accompaniment should be of a religious character; that the name of the artistes should not be mentioned; and that there should be no pictorial posters.
" As the result, films like ' I.N.R.I' ' From Manger to Cross,' and several other films of like character were shown throughout the country under those conditions.
"It is not in the power of the Board of Censors to impose special conditions for the showing of films, and if special conditions are to be stipulated, as they should be, that is for the local authorities.
" It is for that reason that we do not certificate films showing the representation of Christ, leaving the decision to the local authorities, who have the power to dictate the terms of showing where showing is permitted at all."
Although such great works as Golgotha get ruled out by this law, in general the rule is a healthy one of which we approve, but the pity of it is that imagination is so limited that this ban upon the representatation of Christ has paralysed producers aompletely and they have banned all other religious subjects for themselves. Surely there is room enough for a great religious picture as sympathetic as Golgotha within the censor's limits?
We have hopes from the anonymous cornpany mentioned above who is contemplat.ng the matter.