Rampant racism: Chicago Board of Censors vs. Fox Sunshine

[Bob Birchard]

Seems that seeing a black person talking to a white person on any sort of equal standing was verboten. The plot of "Who's Your Father?" involved the usual sort of baby mix-up, with a black child being switched with a white child. Bet your bottom dollar that Chicago was not such a toddling town circa 1918:

OFFICIAL CUT-OUTS MADE BY THE CHICAGO BOARD OF CENSORS
“Who’s Your Father?” (Fox)—Reel 1, all scenes of men in underwear; subtitles: “If we’re seen together they would think the baby is ours”; “I misjudged him,” etc.; “I surely apologize,” etc.; all scenes of colored woman talking to white man outside her cabin door; colored man looking at self in mirror and at white child on couch; colored man apologizing to white man and scene of his talking to him. Reel 2, subtitles: “You are the mother of Tom’s child”; “Confess you foolish virgin,” etc.; “I’ll make him marry you,” etc.; “It was a beautiful moonlight night,” etc.; “Lions to the left of me, lions to the right of me and a human tiger in front of me”; entire incident of girl chased by Tom, to include all of girl’s recital on witness stand; man pulling fish out of trouser front.

Exhibitors Herald and Motography, July 27, 1918, page 43

[Brent]

Blimey, it was only a 2-reeler to begin with. After all those cuts, there must have nothing left but the sprocket holes...

[Jack Theakston]

Directed by and starring Tom Mix!

[DShepFilm]

At least in the 1950s, the Chicago censors were part of the Police Department. I remember going to see "Tea and Sympathy" in Chicago when I was about sixteen, and after the censor cuts (this while the Production Code was still in force), the film was only 55 minutes long and unintelligible. I asked for my money back and got it.

David Shepard

[Bob Birchard]

No wonder you couldn't follow the film. Censor cuts eliminated 67 minutes of a 122 minute film--and this after script and film had passed production code sanitizing.

[JFK]

CLICK TOP TWO TRIBUNE IMAGES FOR ENLARGED VERSIONS
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IN PHOTO BELOW, NOTE THE MAN A FEW STEPS LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY BEHIND BRUCE

[goalieboy82]

...
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