University of Virginia Library

Movie Censorship

Each Owner
His Own Judge

By Fred Heblich
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

— ed.

Since the state censorship laws
are unenforceable, each theater
owner becomes his own judge and
jury concerning what will be shown
on local screens.

But the "invisible hand" in this
matter of taste is not so much what
a single owner decides he likes, but
what he thinks will attract crowds
to his theater. Public taste is the
deciding factor in what will be
shown on the screens.

People Decide

Sam Bendheim, the vice president
of Neighborhood Theaters in
Richmond, which owns the University
and Barracks Road Theaters,
said that there has been an
increased consumption of "R" and
"X" rated films, but "the people
decide what pictures are being
made."

Neighborhood Theaters distributes
films to theaters in Maryland,
Washington, and Virginia. Before
films are booked into a theater, the
district manager is conferred with
to determine what films will be
most successful. Mr. Bendheim
stated that his company buys films
from all major companies (United
Artists, Columbia, Twentieth Century
Fox, etc.) and that his
company does not cut or censor
films.

"In 99.9 per cent of the films
there are no cuts," he said. "But in
dealing with some minor film
companies, an exhibitor may wish
to cut, but he can't be forced to."
He added that self-imposed censorship
of this type was rare.

Rating System

In an attempt to "warn" the
public of what to expect in certain
movies, the Motion Picture Association
of America and the National
Association of Motion Picture
Association of America and the
National Association of Theater
Owners established a national rating
system. This system divides films
into the categories of "G". (for
general audiences), "GP" (for general
audiences with parental approval
advised), "R" (minors must
be accompanied by a parent or
guardian), and "X" (for adults
only).

Mr. Bendheim explained that
the difference between an "X"
movie and an "R" would be the
story topic or an increase in nudity
or violence. Language it seems,
plays a very small part in the rating
system.

For example, in "Marooned," a
film starring Gregory Peck, David
Janssen, and Richard Crenna, rated
"G," words like "bastard" and
"God damn" were used over and
over, but because there was no
nudity or violence the film kept a
"G" rating which probably surprised
much of the audience.

Mr. Bendheim said, "I think the
'Reivers' had 'son of a bitch' in it.
But after all, you can hear it around
the house." He concluded that the
presence of language like this was
an attempt to introduce an element
of reality in the movie industry.

Owners Abide

He also explained that the
national rating system was based on
the premise that a minor is anyone
under 17. This explains why there
are area differences in who can see
an "X" film. In Charlottesville one
must be 18 to see an "X" film,
since one is considered a minor
until he is 18.

Mr. Bendheim said that although
they are not forced to do so, almost
all of the theater owners abide by
the national rating system. He
insisted that movie theater owners
can not change a film's rating, and
that the ratings of films shown in
Charlottesville are the same as
anywhere else.

Just like the ratings, the laws in
Charlottesville are like everywhere
else: non-existent.

No Restraint

"The city has no ordinance
relevant to obscenity," said City
Police Chief Durham. "We enforce
the state law." The state law, as
previously examined, is nearly
unenforceable. About a year ago
there was a move to pass a local
obscenity law, but it was defeated
in the City Council by a 3 to 2
vote. Since then there has been no
attempt to pass an ordinance.

In fact the only obscenity arrest
made in Charlottesville in recent
history was several years ago when
the city police arrested a man who
was selling "stag" films in the
University community. Besides
that, "we have had no problem
with the local theaters," Mr. Durham
said.

There is virtually no legal
restraint that can be applied to
local movie theater owners. They
are their own masters. But two of
the local theaters have been the
subjects of other sorts of pressure,
trying to keep or persuade them from
giving the public what they want on
their movie screens.