CHILDREN AND FILMS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 97, 27 April 1933, Page 12

CHILDREN AND FILMS

EDINBURGH QUESTIONS WAR PICTURES PREFERRED LONDON, Marell 9. Some interesting figures are shown in a report issued by the Edinburgh Cinema Inquiry Committee, which sen’ out a questionnaire to 21 schools in Edinburgh. The report, edited by Dr. John Mackie, gives credit to tire cinema for extending children's range of knowledge and zvr stimulating ideas, while recording that it interferes with concentration and injures sight in many cases. It expresses the opinion that stricter censorship is necessary, and regrets that “the cinema still awaits its B. M. Ballantyne and Captain Marryat, its L. T. Meade and Louisa Alcott.” Statistics compiled by the committee on the data supplied by 1310 boys and 1270 girls show that sixty-nine out of every 100 attend tne cinema at least once a week, while another thirteen attend at least once a month. “Boys, as a whole, and -we may say at every age, arc more frequent attendee than girls/’ states the report. “Of all boys, 7 7 per cent, attend at least once a week, but only 61 per cent, of the girls. The children in the poorer districts attend more frequently than tho.e in O.e better-off districts.” Clas*es of Pictures Particularly instructive are the following statistics showing the classes of picture most liked and most disbked:— Most Liked

Society. Love, Tragedy, etc., including children with no preference 2.5 Most Disliked

Not a single boy voted against comic Jilms. Bather surprisingly, girls like! mystery thrillers best, with child characters and cowboys next, and “love’ only seventh. Twenty-two per cent, of the girls disliked “love" more than any other subject. The report adds: “Some of the younger girls want to see love pictures. The older girls

from the better districts will have none of them, but the poorer senioi girls give love pictures a high place.’’ Their choice of “stars” was of equal interest. Laurel and Hardy, the come dians, were top of the boys’ list, but Lad to take second place to Ronald Colman on that of the girls. Colman was only fifth in the boys’ estimation. Janet Gaynor was easily top of both lists among the women, with Marie Dressier second on the boys’ list and Constance Bennett on the girls’. Greta Garbo was curiously unpopular with both sexes, with Marlene Dietrich holding only a slightly higher scale. Among many important observations the report states: “The public should realise the importance that the cinema has assumed in the lives of children. Seven children out of every ten go to the pictures at. least once a week. Here is an influence of first importance. A modern Fletcher might well say that, ‘if a man were permitted to make all the films, he need not care who should make the raws of a nation.’ ”

War Pictures Wild West .. .. .19.0 Gangster .. .. 12.5 Mystery Thriller .. .. .. .. .10.3 Travel .. .. .. 6.7 Sea .. .. 6.3 Detective .. .. 5.8 Comic .. .. 4.5 Nature .. .. 3.6 Song Pictures .. .. 3.3 Mickey Mouse .. .. < .. .. 3.7 Child Characters .. .. 1 9

Love Society Underworld or Gangster Tragedy 7(>.9 Hong Pictures .. .. .. ., 2.0 Wild West .. ,. .. 1.8 Travel 1.3 Mystery Thriller 1.2 Nature 1.1 War, Mickey Mouse, Child Characters, Sea Films, Deteetive, Comic, etc 3.7