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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

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There are some films that just don't "play" to the audience in certain areas of the south and midwest, even though these same films make a little money in more cosmopolitan areas, New England, and California. When the phrase "too mature" is used it can be a pc code word for "this will never play to the rednecks, the preachers will get upset, and we won't make any money anyway." Sorry to be so blunt, but the bottom line for theatres is money and a secondary part of that is not upsetting the community leaders.

Because of the limited number of first run films, general focus of film on the lowest common denominator or teens, and natural ability to limit an audience, theatres don't see this type of censorship as much as other media, but the south is rife with it. Example: television station management and cable providers in Alabama and some other states will often flat out refuse to carry controversial programs. Example: The Birmingham News is (IMO) a total joke of a newspaper hardly worth being pooped upon by a bored bird. Compare it to the LA Times, NY Times, Miami Herald, or even the Atlanta Constitution and it becomes obvious that it censors content and is inferior in both news analysis and commentary. I had to get the B'ham News to check ads and showtimes, but learned to toss it and get the New York Times for news.

The real shocker for me in the depth of this subtle censorship though, was the mix of books in the bookstores in B'ham during the early 1980s. Coming from Vermont and New York, I was used to well stocked bookstores with current books covering every imaginable subject. When I went to Alabama and made my first forays into the local and chain bookstores I was astonished at the paucity of titles and subjects available. I actually had to drive to Atlanta to find a bookstore with a slightly wider selection on the shelves, and ended up buying most of my books by mail order while I lived there.

While the people of Alabama that I saw, met and knew were generally kind, generous, and personable, there were some subjects that were totally foreign to them. I'm sure things have opened up somewhat since that time, with the introduction of the Barnes & Noble and Border's megabookstores, and the leveling aspect of the internet, but the traces of educational recidivism in certain areas of the country may last for many more years.

For others, thanks for the comments about the movie. I guess I won't make any effort to hunt this one down and see it. I had a good time in Nashville on Saturday, anyway. I hit three malls and spent less than 35 dollars (except food), so that's good.

On 10/7 the AMC website had L.I.E. playing at the AMC Hamilton 24. I got to the theater and found out L.I.E. ended 3 days earlier. I had to go to the UA Union Square in NYC to see L.I.E.

Evans: That remark "too mature for Huntsville" can be translated to "We Don't Run Arthouse Pictures". Then again I've come across plenty of mistakes MovieFone has made on showtimes for UA!

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You are corrct on that.. Why make more $3k prints if the film doen't do the numbers to support it. Odds are, though, it will make it to DVD before it finds its way to small markets...

John,

I wrote:
""this will never play to the rednecks, the preachers will get upset, and we won't make any money anyway."

I expanded on this, and Evans agreed with my assessment. BTW, IMO Huntsville does have better news and bookstores, just like Evans said. The needs of the space program workers did wonders for Huntsville.

If prints are being pulled in the cities, there is little reason to strike new prints. What little money was available in Evan's area could be gleaned with one of the used prints at no extra cost. As most of us know, other booking factors might be at work, such as a demand to play for X weeks coming up against a major opening, etc. It was only the fact that it was advertised and then pulled because it was "too mature" that made me remember some past personal experiences.

Anyway, I'm not sure where you are coming from with your statement. I don't see any overt "conspiracy" at work, just a general mind set.
The unsaid is often a powerful component within society, even if it is difficult to trace.

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