But when, in another scene, we see Jack
wasting his time in pool-rooms or lounging in a saloon, we give the
father credit for being a good judge of character, and not simply a
harsh and stubborn guardian.
Writers should remember that even though a film is passed by the
National Board, if it gets into a city in which the local censorship
board objects to one or two scenes, these scenes will be literally cut
out for exhibition in that city. Afterwards, they may be put back; but
if this happens in several communities, the film is likely to be
shortened by many feet, since in cutting and re-splicing each cut
means the loss of at least two "frames," or pictures, and even more if
the operator does not know his business--not to mention the loss of
the actual scenes cut out. Suppose that two or three of a writer's
"strong" scenes are cut when his picture is shown--in Detroit, for
instance--the result on the screen is more likely to become an
illogical and incoherent jumble than the powerful "drama with a punch"
he had intended it to be. But "Censorship realizes," says Mr. A.W.
Thomas, in the _Photoplay Magazine_, "as does every editor and author,
that morality is to be desired, and to this end, crime or suggestion
of crime is presented, as a rule, to convey the moral.
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