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'Problem Parents' Scored
By Mrs. Twyman in Mich.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH —A strong
position
against government censorship and
legal classification was taken by Mrs. Margaret
Twyman, director of community relations,
in an address to the Federation of
Motion Picture Councils in the Pantlind
Hotel here Wednesday (UK
Mrs. Twyman said the motion picture
Industry was faced with a new problem
which might be termed "problem parents."
She said such parents were those who
would not make the necessary effort to determine
from reliable sources which pictures
were playing at the local theatre and
to decide for themselves, based on available
information, whether or not they wanted
their children to see a given picture.
"Certainly we want suitable films for the
mature mind as well as film for the entire
family," Mrs. Twyman said. "Parents must
make the effort to select films for their
children. There need be no embarrassment
or disappointment on the part of any parent
willing to accept his responsibility
in this area."
Another speaker on the program was
Taylor Mills, public relations director of
the MPAA, who discussed motion picture
advertising and the Advertising Code. He
stressed the fact that today's film advertising
must be factual as well as developing
the desire to see the pictm-e.
Mills said that because many films today
were designated for a mature audience, it
was imperative that the advertising be directed
especially to that audience. He said
every reader of film advertising should be
reasonably certain concerning the type of
picture offered, thus allowing the reader to
make up his mind as to whether he wanted
to invest in this entertainment. The most
effective advertising is that which arrests
the attention and creates a desire to see
a picture, he said.
MPC Federation Award
Goes to 'Parent Trap'
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.—Walt Disney's
"The Parent Trap" was awarded the Federation
of Motion Picture Councils citation as
the best family picture of the year at the
concluding banquet of the federation's twoday
conference here Wednesday and
Thursday ill, 12).
Tlie award was accepted, in behalf of
Disney, by Frank Jones, Buena 'Vista manager
at Detroit. Disney won the same
award last year for "Pollyanna."
A special award went to Spyros Skouras,
president of 20th Centuo'-Fox. It was accepted
by Sol Gordon, publicity and advertising
director of the 20th-Pox Chicago
office.
Over 300 representatives of motion picture
councils in the nation attended the
conference at the Hotel Pantlind. A highlight
was a panel on "Previewer—Critic
or Censor?" with preview chairmen of ten
different councils participating. It was
moderated by Mrs. S. Juhan Colyer, federation
preview chairman and evaluator of
the Green Sheet.
Representing the industry at the conference
were Milton H. London, executive
director of National Allied; Alden Smith,
Cooperative Theatres of Michigan, and
Margaret Twyman, director of community
relations for the MPAA.
Georgia High Court Rules
Against Censor Board
ATLANTA — The end of the city of
Atlanta's movie censorship laws was
marked Saturday i7) when the Georgia
supreme coui-t in a 6-1 majority declared
them to be in violation of the state constitution.
Georgia's highest court's hLstoric
action as good as put the Altanta Board of
Censors out of business who had heretofore
required all movies to be shown in the
metropolitan area to first have their
approval.
MANY PRECEDENTS CITED
The court, in handing down its
decision,
said, "The chapter and ordinance which
provide for city pei-mits as prerequisites to
exhibiting any picture offend the constitution
and are void."
Only one of the seven justices cast a dissenting
vote. Justice Thomas S. Candler.
Justices Carleton Mobley and Joseph Quillian
concurred "specially" meaning more
can be expected from them on this subject
a little later.
Chief Justice W. H. Duckworth, who
wrote the 6-1 majority opinion, cited a
large number of legal precedents which
supported the Georgia court's view that
there is no merit in the attack on the censorship
laws "upwn the ground that 'forbidding
the showing of any picture without its
having been approved by the censor offends
the U.S. Constitution.' The court held
that the city's censorsliip laws in its
charter and ordinances violated the
Georgia constitution, and not the U.S.
Constitution." Justice Duckworth said,
"The chai-ter and ordinance provision, requiring
uispection of the protected pictures,
and also requiring a permit from the
city authorities before any picture can be
exhibited in the theatre, violates the state
constitution. The words of the constitution
reading, 'no law shall ever be passed to cm--
tail or restrain,' are irreconcilable with any
law, including a city ordinance, that does
curtail or restrain."
APPEAL LAST DECEMBER
The constitutional attack on the censorship
laws here went to the supreme couit
last December on an appeal from the Fulton
superior court. The plaintiff in the
court action, K. Gordon Murray Productions,
Inc., a motion picture distributing
firm, sought in superior coui-t to enjoin
the city censors from preventing the showing
of the films, "Wasted Lives" and "The
Birth of Twins," and to have declared unconstitutional
the city censorship laws.
Fulton Judge Ralph Pharr upheld the city
demurrers in December, and the K. Gordon
Murray Productions began its appeal to the
higher court. The company argued that
the ordinance failed to set up any standards
for censorship, "but permits the
Board of Censors to arbitrarily ban or permit
the showing of any film for any
reasons." They also charged that the
ordinance allowed the Board of Censors to
act as "judge and prosecutor and did not
establish any safeguards to prevent the
Board from acting arbitrarily."
The state supreme court commented on
the opinion and its "far-reaching" implications
resulting from its decision, saying,
As individual citizens, we hate to see the
vouth of this state subjected to all the evil
influence that obscene pictures might exert
uijon them. But as trusted judges, we have
no alternative to saying, thus sayeth the
Constitution, and we cheerfully obey."
Justice Candler, who cast the one dissenting
vote, said that "freedom of speech is
not an ab.solute right under the state or
U.S. Constitution, and that freedom of
.speech does not preclude a municipality
from protecting its people against the
dangers resulting from public display of
obscene or licentious pictures or any pictures
which might adversely affect the
peace, health, morals and good order."
Atlanta's movie censor, Mrs. Christine
Gilliam, has had nothing to say, or at least
for the present, on the ruling made by the
state supreme court. No longer will Mrs.
Gilliam be authorized by city laws to determine
what movies will be shown in the
city of Atlanta, unless the Georgia supreme
court's ruling can be overruled by the U.S.
Supreme Court by an appeal. This still remains
a possibility. Aubrey Milam, oldest
veteran board member, having served 24
years, said, "a moderate degree of censorship
is needed, especially for younger people.
An awful lot of obscenity creeps into
things today." Milam cited foreign fUms,
with emphasis on those made in France.
"I think the board has done a good job.
We're still going to keep watch on the
pictures."
Montcloir, N. J., Approves
Ban on "Indecent' Films
MONTCLAIR, N.J.—The city commission
has approved a ban on the showing of
motion pictures which are deemed "indecent,
lewd and obscene."
In a 3-2 vote, the board of commissioners
declared that any citizen has the right to
take action against films that fall into that
category. Under provisions of the law, any
citizen can sign a complaint against the
theatre showiiig the "obscene" film and
have it temporarily banned, pending court
action.
The adoption of the ban followed the
controversy last month over the exhibition
of the film, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," a
French motion picture, which was at the
Bellevue Theatre.
The censorship bill was advanced by
Angelo J. Fortunato, city public safety director,
and received the endorsement of
mayor Harold Osborne and commissioner
Howard Brundage. Opposing it were commissioners
Robert G. Hooke and Robert
Miller.
Some 600 citizens attended the board's
meeting in the Hillside High School. A
show of hands at the session indicated
about 400 of those in attendance were in
favor of adoption of the ban.
After police confiscated the French film,
Astor Pictures of New York chartered buses
to take local residents to New York so they
could see the movie for free.
BOXOFFICE April 16, 1962 11