New-York tribune., 1920-02-01

against the rubbish films" The lead
! Ing speaker pointed out that the makers
OF the so-called enlightenment tilms''
were dragging the people into a mire
of filth and robbing them of their
moral good name. He assailed the
present practice of the film producers
Of raking up all the scandals in history
to be used as material for film plots.
lnally he spoke these following words,
which aptly visualize the conditions
that have come about here under the
absence. of censorship:
The conditions have become in
to erable. Patience has TT last been ex-
hausted and the decent public demands
an accounting The fight is on. and we
will caryr it through to the end The
public indignation is directed not
against the picture shows nor against
our lies to bring needed pressure
upon the film manufacturers"
FINALLY, the government has just pub
lished its bill on the sub ect which it
promised when interpelated in the No
tiona. Assembly in November 1t pro
vides for two boards of censors. one at
Berlin and another at Munich, which
are the two centers of the German Fl m
industry These boards will consist Of
latter are to be selected one third from
the ranks Of the N.m producers, an
other third from artists and literary
men, and the rest from educators and
public welfare workers This compost
tion Of the board appears to meet the
popular demand that the censorship be
not placed in the hands of the po ice,
against whom there lsa we'll grounded
strust in all such matters.
Progress in Film Making
AS rule. the chairman of this board
citing alone, will pass films that are
unobj jectionab e; where there is doubt
wo experts will be called in If their
decision is against a film, the manu-
facturer may appeal. Then the case
goes to board enlarged 80 five mem
bers, and It's decision is final. The bill
threatens severe penaIties~a maximum
marks fne-for persons showing un-
censored Fl ms.
The German Aim industry, nothwth-
standing the evil reputation given it
by enlightenment films" really has
made great progress within the last
wo or three years. Its artistic side
has been developed to noteworthy
degree, and some of the better products
of German producers are finding ac-
finished here called The Outlawed, ="
which within week was sod on
ample (before actual production) to
9 .ght European countries.
There IS prdgious pressure at
most Of the Berlin Kno shows, and
enterprising managers are ever trying
TO build or acquire new houses. In
the interest Of the population, at q
time when there Is a great famine Of
!. 81
ago prob bited the building Of new
moving picture theaters, or the con
version of existing houses for that
purpose.
Contest for Palm In Indecency
But the fight against the evil use
of the sexual motif will probably have
to go further. Some newer produc-
lions on the stage here have been
largely of kind that would have
scored great runs in Sodom and
Gomorrah. These new pieces in par
ticular, brought out within the last
few weeks. have contested for the palm
in indecency. One of these, "Schloss
Wet;erstein," is by the late Frank
Wedeknd. The difference between
him and the offending film manufac-
turers Is that he was an honest yet
brutal fanatic on the ubject of sex;
he breaches puritan doctrine, but in
forms that are Extensively indelcate.
not to mention that his plots are psy-
chologically false.
Berlin has f1ocked to see "Schloss
Wetterstein," has\ discussed it in every
| inte llectual drawing room-its post
revolutionary taste being equal to any
| heatrical pabulum offered 70 It, But
Munich is more scrupulous. for all it's
adventures into Bolshevism; and there
''Schloss Wetterstein" is meeting with
stout opposition Kisses attend its pro-
duction, and exceptional steps had 10
be taken to keep it on the boards at all
Those exceptional steps fall naturally
INTO the milieu where the Munich
| Soviet republic held sway and where
the msssacres of hostages and other
innocent folk occurred. Now Munich
has grown moral and 1t rejects
Schloss Wetterstein" 50 vocferously
hat the Athletic Society has been
called in to keep 1t from being howled
| down.
Women Advance Radical Views
This prcoccupAtion with sexual prob
lens, along with rough and ready meth
DDS of handling them, appears not to
be confined to German men Not a
few women arc also discussing them.
| md some of these latter are also put
ting forth radical views of their own
| One woman writer pleads in behalf Of
women that allowances must be made
| for the general breakdown Of moral
standards and their great surplusage
| over men.
Now, this radical stuff. If 1t had ap-
pesred IN "Freiheit," would not have
surprised me. But when inform the
reader that 1t was printed by the
'Lokalanzeigsr," give him Informs
tlon which is even more astonishing
than the Views put forth For that
paper, 1t used to be said was the only
daily read regularly by tho former
Kaiser. That fact indicates thar il
catered TO what it regarded as the very
upper-crust Of Berlin society. The
paper Is still keeping up that tradition
OF being high society's pet organ