WINKS ON THE FILM

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1012, 1 July 1930, Page 16

WINKS ON THE FILM

AMERICA’S CENSORSHIP PROBLEM America is faced with a film censorship problem far more complicated than confronts Britain. There are six State boards of censorship. They all censor something. In stately Virginia, films depicting chorus girls kicking bare legs have been banned. This hoard also cut out a picture of a girl combing her hair. Actors are forbidden to wink at Salvation Army girls in Ohio, even if a wink is part of the film plot. Cutting Out the Kisses Maryland censors do not object to kisses except when they are performed on the neck. More than 100 kisses on the neck were cut out of films in six months by the Marylland censors. In Kansas the word “whisky” is eliminated from all sub-titles. No character is allowed to make a “gesture of contempt” by putting fingers to the nose. In New York both are allowed. To balance this liberty no film character is permitted in New York to make a deprecating remark about any politician. West Virginia belives in etiquette. For instance, no screen lover may advance toward his sweetheart at a trot, because in Pennsylvania lovers must walk sedately.