Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 22 September 1936, page 11


EXPORT OF FILM

BANNED.

CENSOR'S DECISION, j

Cuts in "Uncivilised"

Needed.

The Commonwealth film censor (Mr. Cresswell O'Reilly) has banned the export of "Uncivilised," the new Expedi-tionary Films' picture, which is to be shown at the Embassy Theatre on Friday.

This means that the film, as it stands at present, cannot be sold to oversea countries, although the Chief Secretary's Dcpnrtment has seen the film and offered no objectron to its being screened in its entirety in New

South Wales.

The Commonwealth film censor, it is under-stood, objects to two scenes In "Uncivilised." One is where Margot Rhys, the heroine, is seen swimming in a jungle pool. The other scene depicts the strangling of an aboriginal

"killer," who, throughout the story is a' menacing figure.

OFFICIAL'S STATEMENT.

An official of Expeditionary Films, Ltd., stated yesterday that the company was very loth to have the Impression circulated that "Uncivilised" was a distasteful film. The director (Mr. Charles Chauvel) considered that the retention of the beautiful swimming pool sequence was Justifiable on artistic grounds and that of the killing scene on the grounds of its being essential to the narra-tive. It was felt by the company that since, in any ease all films were subject to censor-ship when they reached other countries, the benefit of any doubt in the censor's mind should have been given to the local producer, unless there was a serious transgression of public decencies. Arrangements had been made to distribute "Uncivilised"! in both Britain anj America. Both of the passages com-plained of were highlights, and to remove them would be to do considerable damage to

the film.

Mr. O'Reilly had no comment to make on the banning yesterday. On Wednesday, an appeal against his insistence that the elimina-tions should be made before export will be

heard by the Films Appeal Censor for the I Commonwealth (Brigadier-General I. G. I Mackay^. ________________