The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-12-14
JIMMIE FIDLER h HoUytOood
DE.tr,Su'ss Sv NsS.sHs, Syndicate. fec.

HOLLYWOOD, Dec. I4-Today's trend in picture making is very def- initely toward sex. The major studios and many of the bigger indepen- dents are wing for hot" stories stories which would have been out lawed as unsuitable for screen pres entation a few years ago. Censorship boards have grown lax, and the Mo- tion Picture Producers Association, empowered by inter-studio agree ment to govern screen morals, is failing to apply the brakes.
 I've seen sex trends in Hollywood before and I know how they oper- ate. Producer A makes a picture con- taining suggestive material, and 1t clicks at the box-office. Producer B promptly decides to outdo his com petitor, so he throws in an additional pinch of paprika-and the race is on. It's like a snowball rolling down. hill, and nothing can stop it short of major collision.
 Theoretically, I'm willing to argue, with the picture producers, that cen- sorship is a violation of free express sion. Actually, it's imposed by neces- sity, and the men who make it ne- cessary are the producers them selves whose only code of ethics seems to be expressed in the ques- tion, Can get away with it?"
 Hollywood right now is getting away with plenty, and judging from the pictures being readied for 1946 -"TThe Postman Always Rings Twice" Forever Amber" Kitty" and others of that ilk-Hollywood expects to get away with lot more. Personally, think the studio bosses are going to run afoul of public in- dignation and take & spanking-as they have before.
 Memories That Bless and Burn: When the late May Robson, indig- nant because so many Hollywood landlords barred families with cril- dren, bought an apartment house and refused to rent to anyone with out youngsters When Dick Powell, having landed his first swordfish, had it canned and deco- rated each can with label which attested the monsters weight and the identity of it's captor When Lloyds of London, tired of being used as publicity convenience by Hollywood studios, refused to insure starlet Virginia Dale against mar riage because such a policy would not be in the best interests of so- ciety" When 20th Century bosses, excited by the screen possi- bilities of an unknown kid whose picture they saw on billboard spent weeks tracking him down, and at last found him living less than a block from the studio.
 If Bob Hopes wife has ever found him without a ready defense against accusation, she enjoys an unusual distinction. No one else has. Yester- day, on the Monsieur Beaucaire" set, he muffed his lines several times in a rather involved scene with Joan Caulfield. T expected as much af- ter seeing you on the golf course yes- terday,' Director George Marshall chided. T went there to study in peace and quiet,' Bob retorted. My caddy carried my script"
 
 Since the relaxation of rationing rules, studios has resumed their pre-war habit of giving colossal" parties for the press, and I'm re- minded of laugh. About seven years ago, MGM celebrated the com- pletion of Marie Antoinette" with a soiree, attended by all the studio celebrities, that lasted until dawn. The late W. S. Van Dyke, then di- recting Jeanette Mcdonald -Nel- son Eddy musical, was the last to