Most Films Shown Here Get Detroit Police Checks

Films Shown Here Get Detroit Police Checks
By Roy Reynolds v-^Vhen he and a bunch of ladicsjident of W. S. Butterfield, Inc.,

ized film censorship. The De
troit Police License Bureau pre-
views new films and sometime?
suggests deletions to conform
| with the bureau's understanding
:of court decisions on obscenity.
; Butterfield does not bid for a!!
films approved by the Detroit
police bureau.

"Hundreds of pictures play
in Detroit that we Wouldn't play
They're not in good taste," says
Hoag.

New films offered by the dis
tributors are previewed by
Hoag and four other Butterfield
representatives, usually about
two months before they are
shown publicly. Hoag says their
choices reflect simply a desire
to operate profitably.

"It's like a man buying cloth
jing who doesn't think his cus-

tomers will want topless bath-
ing suits. I! • • onsorship."

Hoag expi" ,-cs strong doubt
that any film he would call
"dirty" would be a commer-
cial success.

"To take anything out of a
film today takes technicians,
way beyond anything we can
do," he adds.

"One thing we do, is elimi-
nate ads at the matinee if an
adult movie is following. Once
in a while the operator misses,
and boy, do we get phone calls.
Ladies call up. Ministers call
up. The operator gets bawled I
out, and they're always sorry,
because they're family men too.

"1 disagree w^ith most moth-
ers and most ministers. They
see a film with adult eyes, and
think children see it the same

way. ially fallible is comedy. I'll look

"They sent kids to see 'The and say 'Mack Sennett did that
Wizard of Oz.' I went out on better 40 years ago, and the
the stage and told them that U-M students will really tear
the tornado was just make-be-jit up.' But I'll hear the audi-
lieve, and that the old witch fence roar.
wouldn't hurt them, and got "I guess they haven't seen
them to laughing. But they still Mack Sennett."
get hysterical." j Out of a list of 16 films se-

Does Hoag regard films as lected as the best of 1966 by
an art form, or strictly as a Bosely Crowther, New York
business? | Times reviewer, the following

"I'm sorry to say I have to I were selected for Ann Arbor by
look at pictures as a matter of'the Butterfield corporation:

survival. At the previews wc^ "The Shop on Main Street,"
see two or three pictures in a "The Gospel According to St.
row, with two or three minutes jMatthew," "Dear John," "Mor-
in between. You use that time gan." "The Russians (T •" ''" ••••-
to make notes, like: 'good for ing, The Russians are (.,,,,.„
business'or'fair', etc. "Who's Afraid of Virginia

"The fact that I don't like'Woolf?" "Born Free," "Shakes-
one doesn't mean v ••• :'" ''c Wallah,'' "The Profes-
it. The one place w; . ; . .,.,.. ials," "Alfie."

Hoag said "Loves of a Blond"
and "Blow-Up" are coming.
(The latter was released by
MGM without approval from

I the Motion Picture Association
of America, and carries a "con-
demned" rating from the Na-
tional Catholic Office for Mo-
tion Pictures.)

"A Man for All Seasons" is

I "not available outside New
York, yet," Hoag said.

Crowther's list also includes
"Years of Lightning, Day of
Drums," which the Butterfield
corporation did not select for
Ann Arbor, and "Georgy Girl."
Both were shown at the Vth
Forum. Roger Robinson of De-

| troit, manager of the Vth

i Forum, is out of the state. A
spokesman said no one else can

i discuss theatre policies.

———:————•———;—:———————. !WW Wfc .W ','tT-s -.--W'TSSSB^,.,

Most motion pictures shown said they were coming up to seelof Detroit. The Butterfield firm
in Ann Arbor's commercial 'Flaming Youth' at the Miijes-lowns the Campus, State and
theatres arc subject to Detroit tic. I saw one subtitle I thought;.Michigan Theatres.

police censorship. And occasion- 'hoy might object to, and tonk it; "Most of our films are con-
ally the management here re- out. They passed it. Later I put:tracted through the Detroit ex-
fuses to ;i!k"v n film to be shown he subtitle back in." Ichanges of the distributors. As
' . ' Until last month, say students such, all of these films do come

That s the giol uf an interview of local history, no filmito us after passing through
with the long-time Butterfield | was ever stopped and con-1 whatever censor board Detroit
Theatres manager in A n n .'iscated by police while it was | uses.

Arbor, being shown at a public thfiitre^ "However, the choice of films

"We had a film called 'Flam- in Ann Arbor. That case in-is always dependent on our own
ing Youth' about 40 years ago,"|volves an "experimental" Him, | evaluation board, consisting of
recalls Gerald H. Hoag, wh o| "Flawing Creatures," conris-jthe film 'buyer and several
has managed theatres here.cated at the University School! hookers. .

since 1919. ;af Architecture Auditorium. | "It is true in the past that

He says "Flaming Youth"! However, films seen by Annimany films were turned down
was the only film he can re-, Arbor audiences have ncverjby our own group because we
member that was altered bcforelbeen entirely free of censorship.! did not feel they were the type
it was shown to an Ann Arbor Hoag issued the following pol-jof film our patrons would appre-
audiencc. icy statement after clearing itj'-'iate."

"Ernst Wurster was mayor, with Lyie W. Smith, a vice-nres-l Detroit has no formally-organ-