MILES OF FILM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16462, 14 June 1919, Page 4

MILES OF FILM.

WORK OF THE CENSOR, WHAT HE CUTS OUT, i SPECIAL TO HEEALD. WELLINGTON, June 11. Since September, 1916, the New Zealand picture censor, Mr. W. Jolliffe, lias reviewed 11,248,730 feet of film, and in the year ended March 31, 1019, 3,479,860 feet. The year’s output would reach in air-line distance from Dunedin to Auckland, and tho whole output could bo stretched from Wellington to Adelaide without a break—that is if the proprietors of tho pictures had nothing better to do with it, which is not likely. To have 659 miles of pictures pass before tho eyes in a year, and 2130 miles in two and a half years might bo expected to give tho censor “moving picture eyes,” but Mr. Joliffe has not suffered. Mentally, of course,'ho has become very tired of pictures. Tho output of now film requiring censorship has been fairly well maintained throughout the period, and in the year ended March 31, 1918, 5,761,570 feet were censored, but that included many of the pictures which were on circuit when tho censorship was introduced, and were not new importations. Last year’s total was also dragged down to a certain extent by the epidemic. In November, 1918, only 79,740 feet wore censored, and in December only 183,880. For the first two months of tho current year the totals were as compared with last year: April 274,260 feet (350,200), May 368,340 (490,900). Talking to a representative of the Herald yesterday Mr. Joliffe said that tho greatest number of the films were still from the American producers. Recently he had had two British productions, ami one, French picture, the first released since the cessation of hostilities enabled the picture industry to start again. Of one of the British productions ho remarked that if the British producers kept anywhere up to that standard they would wipe the American market out. From now on more British and French productions may ho expected. The censor was asked if he noticed much change in the type of picture coming to him—whether tho effect of the censorship was being studied by tho trade. Ho replied that the picture which was likely to be rejected as a whole because its nature was objectionable, was not now being sent to New Zealand. Tho suppliers had studied New Zealand’s requirements to this extent. But the pictures which were not of an objectionable character required as much censorship in details now as formerly. That is to say, as many cuts required to bo made now as at the beginning. In April he turned down one picture completely and made 12 cuts from others; in May no picture was rejected wholly, but 22 cuts were made. , Mr. Joliffe had two deed boxes filled witli cuts, and another almost full. Any immoral person who may' plan to burgle these boxes and start an illicit picture show calculated to make the flesh creep may be warned that it is not worth while. Tho cuts by themselves are mostly innocent little things—verv innocent—it is only the context that brings them under the guillotine. Sub-titles are often suggestive, and out they come. Besides the immoral there is the horrible which has to come out—in fact, anything which makes the picture unwholesome or vicious to a broad-mind-ed man. Comedies often come under the bann for overstepping the bounds in details. Topical industrial and scenic films are subjected to the same scrutiny as tho drama. Not that they often require it, but nothing is left to chance. One /occasion when a cut was made from a topical film was when pictures of tho trans-Atlantic submarine Deutschland were received. The picture was allowed to pass, but the subtitles had evidently been edited by a pro-German, for they glorified the exploits of tho Germans. Sometimes there are other little things, not so objectionable, but which should bo modified on broad patriotic grounds. For instance there has been extravagant praise by sub-titles of America at the expense of the Allies. For American consumption it may be quite good, but here it would make the picture unpopular. At one time there was a fear of German propaganda conducted through the moving pictures, but Mr. Joliffe said ho came across no instance of anything approaching it save in the Deutschland case referred to.

In war pictures the military and naval authorities abroad exercised their own censorship for scenes likely to divulge information of value to the enemy, and as tho genuine war pictures were mostly branded “official,” that censorship proved sufficient. In only one case that Mr. Jolliffe recollected was the military censorship exercised in Now Zealand—that was in a scries of pictures of Tim.mi produced for the borough council. There was a hospital ship lying at Timaru wharf, and though the film censor thought this quite harmless for exhibition in New Zealand, tho military authorities stopped it. The reporter asked tho censor how tho picture people themselves regarded his work. He replied that he had never had a complaint. Tho people in tho business in New Zealand wanted clean, wholesome pictures, and the}' realised that the censorship was not'carried out from any narrow point of view’. It was in their interest that tho pictures should contain nothing to offend the public, and they appreciated this fact.