New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
How to Produce
Plays to Please
Certain Censors
Don't Shoot Until You Hear
Their Ayes, Then Go Ahead
and Make Your Picture
By Harriette Underhill

such thing as diplomacy prevent m,
asked my views on censorship or cen.
sors. Yet II Ia q difficult thing to And
any producer or director who Ia willing
60 say word. As soon as you bring
up the subject, Don't quote me
please they say, after telling you
In an unguarded moment, some per
fectly delicious things which have hap
pened to them when they put on the
gloves with the censors, "for il doesn't
do any good to antagonize those gentle
men. They will simply slash your next
picture all 70 pieces" which is not
very fattering view to take Of it. 1t
says by implication that the censors
will trim a picture according to their
moods instead of according to their
lights.
Tony Sary
Ii Brave Man
One man who isn't afraid to beard
the lions is Tony Sarg, who makes
marionettes and motion pictures. You
would suppose that there would be
nothing to censor from + moral stand
point in his pictures, for they are
series Of cartoons showing his idea
of latterday events az they might have
been done in prehistoric days. The
censors, however, disagreed with him.
They said that my picture of Jonah
and the whale could not be shown in
Ohio, because 1t was poking fun st
Bible story!'
Yes he reiterated. "But they
finally consented to let me show il if
/ would alter some Of the titles. One
OF them was: This All Happened roo
B. c. Before Corsets)' That title
was eliminated"
MAY quote you on this7"
You certainly may. My next picture
Is story of prehistoric movies.
"Yes. there were censors in those
days. though some people believe that
they are a product OF civilization. In
this picture | have the censors congre-
gate st the first showing of a new pic
ture which has its premiere at one Of
the big hotels popular in 700 B. C.
They promise to so easy with it. and
in the end, when they hand it back to
the author, there is only one scene
left. SO, you see. they were a little
worse then than they are now. hone
history will not repeat ITSELF
DR.. Riesenfeld
Says Nothing
Hugo Riesenfeld is one Of those who
prefer to suffer in silence, but when
asked him why he did not show
"Sapho" at the Rivoli Theater since it
vas on the program. he answered:
THE censors would not let me show it.
So had TO let 1t go"
"Sspho" is an old Famous PLAYER,
picture, made SONS years ago, with
Pauline Frederick and Tom Meirhan
1t was shown all over the country in
six reels but when DR.. RiesenfeId en-
deavored to show two reels Of it set 70
Massenet's music he was restrained
AS those tabloid operas of Dr.. Riesen-
fields are both educational and sr+.r
tanning, it is difficult to get the view
point Of tn. gentlemen who shud1ed
"Sapho' into the discard.
But listen to thisl can tell ts]a.
out of school il DO not tell who +o,d
ne. In Bought snd Paid For there
was scene where ons Of the characters
stealthily extracted three or four cigars
from the humidor Of his wealthy
hrother-inlaw. His sister caught him
at it and made him put them back. and
then when she was net looking brother
1n-i'w took them again. This seen.
the censors eliminated probably because
they wished to discourage anv tendency
on the part Of any enc to take cigars
esfere he was invited to do so.
I'm "Get-Rich- Quick Wallingford"
wallingford calls the maid and saws.
Tell me what you think Of this, nv
good girl"
You bet your life I'm a good girl"
replied the maid. This was cut out bv
the censers.
In a picture which was shown re-
Gently in Philadelphia woman had 2
baby. The doctor announced to the hus-
nand IT'S boy This they ordered
changed to "The boy is doing we'll"
What Sam
Thinks About ls
Sam Goldwyn says that II the censers
are not discouraged there won't be any
pictures in couple Of years. Then
Tony Sarg's comedy will be the truth.
VIII Rogers's "An Unwilling Hero"
was fssrfully hacked up in Pennsyl
vania when It seemed q most innocuous
shing and yet when the censors got
through with It 1t had no continuity
left IL is an actual fact that people
living In Pennsylvania write to me for
scenes In pictures which have been cut
70 such an extent that the spectators
do not know what it Is all about They
write and ask for the plot Of the story.
MADE in Heaven" Tom Moore
comedy, was also picked to pieces and
she most innocent lines were elimi |
mated, among them, "Why not marry
me? Satisfaction guaranteed" "A man
should never be without a wedding
ring. There's no telling when he'll