Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-10-27
TUCKER
u. S. Made
Movies Slated
For USSR
BY Ray TUCKER

L vi OoolV
By Ray TUCKER
WASHINGTON. Oct. 27-Holly.
woods rowing ambassador, Eric
A. Johnston, may have driven
a wider breach in the Iron cur.
tain" than the Foreign Ministers
of the Allied powrs-Marshall
Bevin and Schuman-have been
able to make IN their clashes
and conferences with Stain and
Molotov since the end of World
War II.
The picture of America" az
unrolled ON the screen and told
on the sound track may exert
more disillusioning effect upon
Moscow's subject peoples in
Europe and the Balkans and at .
home that the State Depart. I
ment's Voice of America"
AS head of the Motion Picture
Association of America, Inc, Mr..
Johnston has just negotiated a.
greements under which our films
will be exhibited in Russia and
Yugoslavia, the only Iron cur.
tain" countries where they have
not been shown since before the
recent conflict. High officials
here believe that there could be a
no stronger or more factual argu-
ment for the superiority Of the
capitalistic over the communis-
tic way of life.
LURE: The Russians are not
trying to do us a favor in per-
mitting the exhibition of movies
which will portray our high STAN
dards of living automobiles, tele.
phones, bathtubs, electric lights,
electrified or mechanical kit 4
chens, good clothing and plenty y"
of food, albeit high-priced, even
in the garages and homes Of
workingmen.
They have broken down the
bars only because they need our
films to drag their people into
theaters which will also show id.
Biological and pro-Soviet pictures.
In the past not even free tickets
and free transportation could
lure comrades to see these dull j
and ponderous screen tracts on
the invisible blessings of the
Sovietized state.
REACTIONS: Mr.. Johnston
believes that he has fixed safe
guards against the possibility
that Russia's and Yugoslavia's
movie czars will select only pic
lures which will show the un-
peasant aspect Of American so-x
ciety, industry and politics. ,
But even if his Muscoviet
counterparts attempt Nto distort
the films, his inquiries convinced
him that they can't succeed.
Here are few examples Of iron
curtain" audiences reactions:
One of the last American films
shown inside Russia was Grapes
of Wrath" and it was distributed
in an attempt to depict the U. S.
as decadent nation on the brinkl
of economic collapse.
But the startled thsater-goers
were impressed chiefly by tn g
fact that the "Oakies" and CAR
kies" travelled around t h
country freely and "in their own
automobiles.7 The unimagina.
tive Commissars never anticipat-
ed such a response.
SHOES: One Of the last news
reels exhibited had shots of De
troit police breadking up strike
riots during the administration
of Justice Frank Murphy, then
Governor. They were supposed
to convince Soviet audiences OF
the brutality Of American capi-
talists. But the comrades COM
ments were:
"Look! In America they don't
shoot the workers; they just
knock them down! And look at
the fine shoes and clothing ever
the strikers are Wearing!"
The showing of "How Green
Is My Valley" which told the
story of a strike in Wales, had
a curious reaction. Stalin's sub
jugated folk were astonished
that workers could strike in such
a capitalistic country as England
and even more astounded that
such a subject could be made
into a movie for general dig.
tribution there and hre.
DELETloN: Under the Johns
ton-Molotov-Tito pacts, the Johns
ton organization will submit 100
films to the two governments,
an they may select twenty for
exhibition. If they cannot agree
upon twenty from the first batch,
another 100 will be forwarded for
their perusal.
Their censors may delete bVt
not add anything to the Amerl-
can product. But every foreign
ma has the right to deletion so
that certain shots will not offend
native sensibilities. In the Scan
dinavian countries, for instance,
no picture showing even the re-
motest form of cruelty to ami