Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 25 December 1940, page 6


NO CUTS LEFT

IN FILM.

MINISTER DECIDES. Censors Over-ruled.

Each of the four ctis made in the film "Fory. Thousand Horsemen " by the Commomwealth Films Censor, Mr Creswell O'Reilly, for export, has now been restored at the direction of the Minister for Customs, Mr Harri-

son.

It is the first time that a Minister has over-ruled the final verdict of the Appeals Censor, Mr. Leslie. Mr. Leslie would make no comment last night, except: "It is a very good film, up to the standard of good oversea produc-tions."

Previously, Mr. Harrison restored all the cuts except a few feet at the end of a love scene. Yesterday, this was also reinserted.

The film will now be sent to New Zealand this week end for transport to the United States by Clipper.

The question now arrives, however, whether Mr. Harrison can overrule the decision of Messrs O Reilly and Leslie in Victoria, be-

cause Mr. O'Reilly is also film censor for that

State.

The producer of the film, Mr. Charles Chauvel, said yesterday that an appeal against any cuts in Victorian exhibition would be lodged immediately.

MINISTER PRAISES FILM.

After he saw the film yesterday, Mr. Harri-

son said he was loath to overrule the Commonwealth Films Censorship Depart-

ment but he could not see eye to eye with its officers in their decision.

The love scene in the desert hut has been filmed artistically and with taste," he said. "A dancing scene in a Cairo cafe might be slightly enticing. The scenes showing the charge at Beersheeba are magnificently and thrillingly filmed.

"The cuts that were made would have brought ridicule on the censors and on myself as Minister responsible for the censoring of films. When a final appeal was made to me I viewed the film with an open mind and had no hesitation in restoring the cuts.

"I would not take any action to spoil what I consider to be one of the finest pictures produced in Australia. The leading man, and the heroine, played by Miss Betty Bryant, were both excellent, and as the characters are typical Australians, the film with its high technical standard, will do a great deal in advertise the picture-producing resources of the Commonwealth. "Forty Thousand Horse-

men" is a film well above the average stan-dard of imported productions."

Mr. C. E. Munro, managing director of Hoyts Theatres, Ltd., said yesterday: "The whole piece has been a terrible piece of bungling. It seems incredible that such a thing could happen in Australia when every effort should have been made to foster local industry.

We have in "Forty Thousand Horsemen" a courageous effort, backed by the New South Wales Government, to put film production on the map in Australia, and it provided employ- ment for hundreds."

INVESTIGATION URGED.

"In America and Britain, film producers receive constructive help, not destructive op-position, from censorship officials. It is high time that the Federal Film Censorship De- partment be subjected to a searching investi-gation. Unless a more helpful spirit is evinced, there will be no incentive to Australian in- vestors to continue with film production.

"Mr Harrison's prompt consideration and sympathetic assistance is in sharp contrast with the earlier treatment which the film un-justly received. We feel deeply indebted to the Minister. The film will now go on the Clipper to Hollvwood where Universal's foreign manager has flown from New York to see it with his production heads. We have every reason to believe that, having viewed it in its entirety, he will give it maximum exhibition throughout the United States. This will be the first time an Ausliallm film has broken into the American market."