Cinema Solution

Sometimes threats and blusterings succeed when fair words fail. For some weeks U. S. Cinema Censor Will H. Hays has been in Paris speaking none but fair words (TIME, April 2). His ticklish task has been to persuade the Cinematic Control Commission of the French Ministry of Public Instruction that it ought to modify a recent drastic decree. This was, in effect, that U. S. cinema dramas would be licensed for exhibition in France solely upon condition that for every four films so licensed U. S. exhibitors would purchase one French film and display it throughout the U. S.

Week after week suave Mr. Hays has sought to whittle down these harsh terms, but the Commission, backed by Minister of Instruction Edouard Herriot, has remained obstinate. Finally last week Cinema Censor Hays let his anger mount and began to threaten. He announced that he had booked passage for the U. S., and that upon the day he sailed the U. S. film industry would suspend all business in the French market. The potency of this threat lay in the fact that France does not yet produce sufficient cinema dramas to supply even one-third of her own demand. Therefore if the U. S. film industry boycotted France some 8,000 French cinema theatre employes would shortly be thrown out of work. When that aspect of the situation was ruthlessly pressed home to the French Cinema Commission by impatient Mr. Hays its members entered into a final down-to-business conference with him which began at 10:30 one morning last week, and concluded amicably with the drafting of a working agreement at 2:00 a. m. the next day.

When cornered by newshawks Tsar Hays spread a grin of satisfaction between his far flung ears and succinctly explained the new agreement as follows: "The principal point is that it eliminates the necessity of buying French films to show in America. It provides that with every film produced in France hereafter seven import permits will be issued. We shall be able to get these permits for our films in three ways. If an American company produces films in France permits will be issued to it. Or an American company may buy a French film and permits, but is under no obligations to exhibit the film. In the third case, it may buy import permits outright from a French exhibitor who has bought a film and permits."

Having thus modestly indicated that he has secured to the U. S. continuance of an export business with an annual volume of $200,000, the Cinema Caesar took leave of Paris, last week, and sailed for home on the Cunarder Berengaria.