MOVING PICTURE CRAZE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3573, 24 February 1914, Page 5

MOVING PICTURE CRAZE.

SOME SEVERE CRITICISM

[PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.! AUCKLAND, Feb. 23.

The moving picture craze came in for some severe criticism from Rev. Howard, Elliott, Convenor of the Public Morals Coai’Ki.: c >.t the Auckland Ministers' Associate .i in a Sunday sermon. Ho said fh? f.ict t!ut Auckland possessed 15 to 20 picture theatres and others were in contemplation indicated tlie wide public support received by this form of entertainment. Reckoning that 200 people attended each of these theatres e.a h day (and. that was a very low average), it gave a week I v attendance ot p c-ture theatres in Auckland of 30 COO. people, representing an expenditure of £ISOO per week, or a rotal .annual expenditure on pictures e-ijual to £78,000. Articles had appeared recently, added Mr Elliott, which indicated the enormous growth of the picture palace movement in England. 'There the weekly attendance at picture shows totalled 8,000,000. and the annual expenditure in visiting such places £5,000,000, which represented three times the total income of the various Missionary Societies in the country'. The proportion spent on picture shows in Auckland, however, was far greater than in England. It would be interesting to know what the annual profits were, but 'it had been estimated that the picture palaces in Auckland were making a clear profit of £6OO per week. The question arose, continued the preacher, as to what was the influence of the picture palace, and at once lie wished to say that he believed there was an element of good and that moving pictures could be made to serve an intelligent purpose, but it was doubtful if this was ti-ue of the average picture programme. It had been stated that the ordinary programme running for two hours consisted of 50 minutes’ drama (usually startling and exaggerated situations called “real” life), 40 minutes’ comedy' (including trick films), 15 minutes of cowboy and Red Indian subjects, and 15 minutes of topical,' educational, and miscellaneous nictures. There had been a general testimony from schoolmasters and magistrates that the influence of the picture theatres on the minds of boys and girls had not been good. An inquiry -nvgbt reveal much concerning the increase in juvenile crime in Auckland in the last two and a-half years. The best that could be said concerning the influence of the picture show was that it was shallow. The worst that could be said one hesitated to put into words. There was an urgent need for censorship, not by Government officials but bv a board composed of men and women, intelligent, refined, and capable of exercising sound judgment The need for this censorship in New Zealand was indicated by a film which the preacher saw in Auckland a fortnight ago—a film which was immoral in the extreme. , . The preacher then proceeded to deal with the film recently shown in Auckland entitled: “From. Manger to Cross.” He said religious, pictures of the right type, such as those by Anna Lee Merrill, Harold Coping, and other modern artists were beautiful, but the production of moving pictures such as the one in question were repugnant to the last degree, and approached near to blasphemy. It deserved the condemnation of all Christian people, who would shortly have to consider the question of their attitude towards picture shows unless strong reforms were immediately undertaken.