Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-08-10
Military and Senator'S
Confer Tomorrow on 7
Films Denied Troops
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Army and Navy officials are to
confer with Senators tomorrow
on just how much politics should
reach the eyes and ears of Amer
lean troops.
The meeting was given new i'm
portance by the War Departments
announcement yesterday that two
motion pictures have been banned
from distribution to the armed
forces both overseas and at home
Reason given was that such dis
tribution might be construed as in
violation OF the Soldier Voting Act
The pictures are WILSON," drama
tizing the career of the World War
President, and Heavenly Days.
telling of a trip to the Nations
Capital of Fibber MCGEE and Molly
radio comedians.
The Soldier Voting Act prohibits
distribution by the armed forces OF
books, magazines or other material
containing matters calculated to in
huence the results of national cleo
lions.
Differences of Opinion.
While some who have viewed
Wilson" say its treatment Of the
late President is objective, others
termed it great picture for the
Democrats" One reviewer said dra-
matte liberties had resulted in a pat
terning of the moving picture char
acter after President Roosevelt.
Heavenly Days" is concerned with
the troubles of the stars in wartime
Washington.
Last week Chairman Green of
the Senate Elections Committee in
troduced an amendment to the Sol
der Voting Act to assure that
military personnel overseas have
access to the same media for polit-
ical information which would be
available to them at home. He said
the armed services were interpret
ing the newly enacted vote bill as
banning distribution of political
news to the fighting fronts.
Taft to Confer on Amendment.
Senator Taft, Republican, of Ohio
who was active in drafting thai
part of the act which deals with
the distribution of material to the
fighting forces, told reporters he
was unfamiliar with the films but
that if they contain political prop.
uganda, use overseas would not be
permissible. He said he would con.
fer with Senator Green and mill
tary representatives on the proposed
amendment.
The amendment provides that al
films of general circulation in this
country could be circulated to troops
overseas at Government expense, SC
long as there was not special list
excluding some of the films" Equal
time or publication space of other
media would have to be given major
parties.
SkOuras ASsails Ban.
Spyros P. Skouras, president OF
Twentieth Century-FoX, producers
of Wilson," criticized the ban as q
fragrant example of willful and un-
fair censorship and repression OF
freedom of the screen"
RKO, which produced Heavenly
Days" said the only possibly OBJ
jectionable" feature of the film was
dream sequence in which Fibber
MCGEE floats into the Senate and
makes speech urging every Amer
lean to vote.
wilson opened last week in New
York. In addition to the usual re-
views, it drew editorial comment,
ranging from PMS reference to the
picture as ''momentuous news" and
the movie to prevent World War
III to the World kilograms view
that many VINO see the picture will
never detect the elisions, the omis-
sions and the distortions by which
the character of Woodrow Wilson
has been SO adroitly modelled into
the image of Franklin Roosevelt"