Walter Tanner

Walter Tanner

Walter Alfred Tanner was born in Northampton, England in 1878, the son of William Wilcox Tanner, Member of Parliament for Heathcote, Christchurch, and Emily E. Browett. He married Laura Matilda Maude Torckler in 1907. They had one son and one daughter.

Tanner worked for the Customs Department censoring publications for seditious content before becoming Chief Censor William Jolliffe's assistant censor of cinematograph films in 1924. On Jolliffe’s death in 1927, Tanner became New Zealand’s second Chief Censor, a position he held until 1938.

Tanner’s tenure straddled the introduction of sound to motion pictures. He wrote that “the more vivid presentations of life made possible by the addition of sound and colour has made it necessary to issue an increased number of certificates recommending films as more suitable for adult audiences.” The introduction of sound also appeared to increase the number of bans. In 1930, 102 films, 3.9% of those submitted, were banned.

ilent era

Tanner’s decisions were not without controversy in either era. One example in the silent era concerned the New Zealand feature film "The Te Kooti Trail", a re-enactment of the war fought in the Bay of Plenty between Māori Chief Te Kooti and British forces in 1869. New Zealand director Rudall Hayward intended to premier it on 11 November 1927. Conscious of the need to forestall adverse Māori reaction to the film, the government decided to consult Māori and asked Ringatu Māori from Whakatane to attend a private screening on the day intended for the premiere. The next day, Tanner refused to approve the film until changes were made to two intertitles, one that referred to Te Kooti “resorting to faked miracles”, the other referring to Te Kooti’s lieutenant Peka McLean as “torture master” and “stage manager of miracles”.ref|1 The subsequent “storm of publicity” surrounding the film ensured it played to full houses when it premiered a few days later at the Strand Theatre in Auckland on 17 November 1927. [http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/news/newsreel-51.html] . Tanner wrote a conciliatory letter to Hayward in 1928 calling the whole affair “a case of pure misunderstanding”.ref|2

Western Samoa was governed by New Zealand under a League of Nations Trusteeship from 1914 until independence in 1962. As such, New Zealand censorship law also extended to films intended for exhibition in Samoa. Because New Zealand legislation provided that no film could be approved which "in the opinion of the censor, depicts any matter that is against public order and decency, or the exhibition of which for any other reason is, in the opinion of the censor, undesirable in the public interest", Tanner had broad discretion to consider matters that, in his view, were uniquely relevant to Samoa. He wrote in 1929 however, that film censoring in Samoa “should certainly be done at Apia” by those sensitive to local colonial conditions: “One of the principal concerns in Samoa is to see that the white man is not brought into contempt by the exhibition of films which would tend to lessen the respect of the natives for the white man, which is so essential. From the motives of safety this is necessary in a territory where the natives heavily outnumber the whites. Even a picture with the famous dog Rin Tin Tin would be questionable as the dog frequently fights and overcomes the villain — a white man".ref|3

ound era

Tanner’s most controversial decision from the sound era remains his banning of "All Quiet on the Western Front" on 18 June 1930 for “being out of keeping with the unwarlike atmosphere” of the period. A recut version of the film was eventually passed by the Board of Review in 1931. Tanner also refused to approve "The Blue Angel" and Hedy Lamarr’s fifth film "Ecstasy". He required cuts to "King Kong".

Films from other dominions of the British Empire appeared to fare slightly better than American and foreign films. In 1932 Tanner listed 74 British quota films examined in the first nine months of that year. Two had been rejected (a ban rate of 2.7%), one for “vulgar incidents”, the other for bad language. Seven required cuts for bad language (“my God” and “by God”), three for vulgar incidents, and two for violence. [http://nzfilmsociety.pbwiki.com/November%201973]

Tanner was succeeded as Chief Censor by his assistant, W A von Keisenberg, in 1938.

Notes

#S R Edwards, “Docudrama from the twenties” 41 "Historical Review" 58 (November 1993)
#Letter dated 17 January 1928 from W A Tanner to R Hayward on file at the Office of Film and Literature Classification
#Memorandum dated 31 October 1929 from W A Tanner to the Under-Secretary for Internal Affairs on file at the Office of Film and Literature Classification

ources

Edwards, S. R., “Docudrama from the twenties” 41 "Historical Review" 58 (November 1993)

Film Archive website [http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/news/newsreel-51.html]

New Zealand Film Society website [http://nzfilmsociety.pbwiki.com/November%201973]

Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand) [http://www.censorship.govt.nz/censorship_dash.html#censor]

External links

*Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand)
* [http://www.censorship.govt.nz/censorship_dash.html#censor]
*Film Archive website [http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/news/newsreel-51.html]
*New Zealand Film Society website [http://nzfilmsociety.pbwiki.com/November%201973]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Walter Adolf Jöhr — (* 8. Februar 1910 in Zürich; † 1. Juni 1987 ebenda) war ein Schweizer Nationalökonom. Er studierte Rechtswissenschaften an der Universität Zürich und promovierte 1933 über die Arbeitslosenfürsorge. Nach einem Zweitstudium an der Friedrich… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Walter Burke — Infobox Actor name = Walter Burke imagesize = 200px caption = Burke on a 1959 episode of Peter Gunn birthname = Walter Lawrence Burke birthdate = birth date|1908|8|25|mf=y birthplace = Brooklyn, New York USA deathdate = death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • William Tanner (New Zealand) — William Wilcox Tanner (1851 1938) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. In 1905 he was associated with the New Liberal Party group. Member of ParliamentWilliam Tanner represented the Christchurch seats of Heathcote from 1890 to 1893… …   Wikipedia

  • Dennis Tanner — Philip Lowrie as Dennis Tanner. (2011) Coronation Street character Portrayed by Philip Lowrie Created by …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Ossawa Tanner — (June 21, 1859–May 25, 1937) was an African American artist who studied with Thomas Eakins and was the first African American painter to gain international acclaim.cite web | url=http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First Lady/html/hot bio.html |… …   Wikipedia

  • Danny Tanner — Infobox character name = Daniel Danny Ernest Tanner series = Full House caption = Bob Saget as Danny Tanner caption2 = John Posey as Danny Tanner in the opening sequence first = Our Very First Show last = Michelle Rides Again, Part 2 cause = End… …   Wikipedia

  • Fritz Tanner — (* 20. Juni 1923 in Maienfeld; † 18. Dezember 1996 in Chur) war ein Schweizer Theologe, Psychotherapeut und Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Rezeption 3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jessica Walter — Born January 31, 1941 (1941 01 31) (age 70) Brooklyn, New York, United States Occupation Actres …   Wikipedia

  • Frank Walter Goldstone — Infobox Politician name = Sir Frank Walter Goldstone birth date = Birth date|1870|12|7| birth place = Bishopwearmouth, County Durham, England death place = Ipswich, Suffolk, England death date = death date|1955|12|25| (aged 85) office =… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Fussball-Nationalspieler der Schweiz — Die Liste der Schweizer Nationalspieler im Fussball gibt einen Überblick über alle Spieler, die zumindest ein Match für die Schweizer Fussballnationalmannschaft seit ihrer Gründung absolviert haben. Es werden die Anzahl ihrer Spiele und die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”