Newspaper Page Text
FEBRUARY 16, 1957.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
SEVEN
Deanery Protests Showing
“BABY DOLL” IS MISSISSIPPI
VERSION OF “TOBACCO ROAD”
The following letter received by
the editor is published as it is
thought that its contents will he of
interest to our readers:
Editor
The Bulletin
416 8th St.
Augusta, Ga.
Dear Sir;
At the instruction of Fr. John
Toomey, Mrs. B. C. Guild, Pres
ident of the Deanery Council of
Catholic Women, and I recently
visited Mr. Albert Weis, manager
of the Weis Theatre, to request
that his theatre not show the pro
posed film, "Baby Doll”, which
was under the ban of condemna
tion by the Legion of Decency be
cause of subject matter and treat
ment. Mr. Weis stated that he
himself had screened this par
ticular film and had booked it be
fore all of the clamor arose
against it, and that personally he
could see nothing wrong with it.
He requested that we review this
film, and give him our opinion
on it, which we have done in the
enclosed letter. At the direction
of Fr. Toomey I am sending a
copy of this letter} to you for use
in the Bulletin if you so desire.
Sincerely,
MRS. A. J. ROESEL,
Chairman Libraries and
Literature, D.C.C.W.
Mr. Albert Weis
Weis Theatre
206 E. Broughton St.
Savannah, Ga. —
Dear; Mr. Weis:
We wish to thank you for giv
ing us the opportunity of review
ing the recent film “Baby Doll.”
While we tried to approach this
picture with a fair, open mind, it
must be admitted that we failed
to find any reason at all why it
-should be hailed as an “artistic
masterpiece.” Why does Mr. Wil
liams consistently use his talents
to portray only the depraved, ig
noble and debased, human nature
at its worst and weakest.
In the main this attempt seems
to be a Mississippi version of
“Tobacco Road.” Its theme is
seduction, revenge, hatred and
cruelty. Seduction used to gain
the end of revenge is made to ap
pear perfectly legitimate. Some
of the picture’s supporters ad
vance as argument for the harm
lessness of the picture the fact
that there are no passionate
scenes in it. Let’s see if this is real
ly the case. The open sensuality
of the swing sequence is undeni
able. The kiss between the lov
ers after they have passed an
afternoon together alone in the
house, and the intimate quality of
the looks which pass between
them, convey more to the imagi
nation than a thousand words.
Sometimes insinuation and sug
gestion are the most powerful
tools to depict passion. The scene
in which the wife and her seducer
openly taunt the husband, and
flaunt their illicit relationship, is
coldly cruel.
Only the callous could find
amusing the abject terror which
is produced by playing on the
fear and superstition of the girl,
yet this episode is presented in
Such a way as to appear merely
amusing and to provide comic re
lief'. Are we so calloused that the
terrorizing of the ignorant or
innocent is matter for amuse
ment?
The film’s characters are mere
ly animals, feeling only the nega
tive emotions of lust, avarice,
cruelty and revenge. Is this a true
depicting of human nature, or is
there some good and some bad
in all of us? In choosing the poor
and ignorant for his portrayal of
the ignoble and debased, would
the author have us believe that
only the so-called privileged
classes are capable of experienc
ing the nobler emotions? Or
would he have us to believe that
there is no good in any of us,
and no reason to be good, for as
the hero of the piece/ expresses it
“there is no meaning to life. We
come into this, world and merely
drift for a while” with no eternal
destination for our goal.
The feeling one experiences
from viewing this film is one of
wandering for awhile in murky,
hate-filled mists, to no apparent
purpose, and it is a relief to get
out and breathe the clean, fresh
air.
Today we have a situation pe
culiar to our times whereby a
small group of people, making use
of mass media of communication,
are capable of insidiously influ
encing the thinking of the entire
population. Films of this sort, be
sides giving the impression that
man is nothing but an animal, in
capable of finer feelings, also
lead the unwary to believe that
eroticism, is the only element of
love, and ignore entirely the psy
chological and spiritual aspects.
Man is both soul and body, and to
completely ignore either element
of this nature is dangerous and
false. We are beginning to se.e the
effect of this indoctrination in the
attitude toward sex, and life as a
whole, of our impressionable
youth. The ring of the cash reg
ister may yet set in motion forces
which we will be powerless to
control.
If left to stand on its own merit
this film might have died a nat
ural death, for most people do not
select the, morbid and depressing
for their entertainment. Although
it seems likely now that it may,
enjoy a great financial profit due
to inadvertant advertising and,
the natural curiosity to “see what
all of the fuss was about,” con
tinued production of this type of
movie may prove a boomerang.
Those whom I have heard discuss
ing the picture stated that they
would have much preferred to
have remained in the comfort of
their homes with the entertain
ment provided by television than
to have witnessed this dull and
depressing picture. You can fool
some of the people some of the
time, but you can’t fool all of the
people all of the time, and if this
is Hollywood’s conception of art,
the future may find the public
less gullible and more wary of
spending time and money in such
“artistic environment.”
Yours truly,
MRS. B. C. GUILD, Pres.
Deanery Council of Catholic
W’omen
MRS. A. J. ROESEL,
Chairman
Libraries and Literatures,
D.C.C.W.
Columbus NCCW
Dish Supper
Features Meeting
COLUMBUS — The January
meeting of Holy Family parish
council featured a covered dish
supper. Speaker at that meeting
was Father} Norbit of Holy Trini
ty, Ala.
Mrs. George Brown, president,
thanked all who helped with the
Annual Sisters’ Tea. This year
the tea attracted more than 300,
with a total offering amounting
to $480.00, with groceries donated
amounting to an estimated value
of $200.00.
In a democracy everyone is on
the committee, but only a few do
the work.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS'—Ten business and professional men of the Southeast compose Lay
Board of Advisers for St. Bernard College in Cullman, Ala. At their meeting just concluded the
men treated long range plans of the newly accredited four-year college. Shown at a session held
in the college library are, seated, left to right, Dr. Frank J. Soday, Vice President-Director of Re
search of Chemstrand Corp. in Decatur; Rt. Rev. Abbot Bede Luibel, O. S. B., President of col
lege; Bob McCormack, Sr., candy manufacturer of Albany, Ga., President of Lay Board; Rev. Brian
Egan, O. S. B., Director of Public Relations; and Tom Ed Murray, Nashville attorney. Standing,
left to right, are P. Bryce Gilreath, Birmingham accountant; Edward F. Barry, Memphis attor
ney; Frank DiRago, Jr., Tuscumbia realtor and businessman; Dr. J. Garber Galbraith. Birmingham
surgeon; and Thomas W. McCough, business executive of Florence and Birmingham. Board mem
bers absent from the picture are Hon. William C. Arnold, Vice-President of the Board and Mayor
of Cullman; and Dr. Frank Stitt, Cullman physician and surgeon.
St. Gerard's
Altar Society
Launches Drive
FORT OGLETHORPE — Rev.
Walter Kuhn, C.SS.R., Pastor of
St. Gerard’s, Fort Oglethorpe, ad
dressed the members of the Al
tar Society, at the meeting held
recently in the hall.
Father Kuhn spoke on the “Pre
sentation of the Child Jesus in
the Temple,” and the custom of
Mothers bringing their new babies
to the church for the “churching”
ceremony. He also thanked the
members for the recent birthday
dinner given for him.
Mrs. Myron Shultes presided
and announced a membership
drive would begin with Mrs.
Grant Wall, chairman, assisted by
Mesdames Herbert Buck, Howard
Gat.tis, Earl Keck, James E. Rae,
Shultes and J. L. Wright. Mrs. R.
L. Samson reported four layettes
given to needy mothers and the
members voted to make the lay
ettes available at Tri-County Hos
pital. Members also voted to pur
chase new linen (Altar) for the
church and table cloths, china and
silver for St. Gerard Hall.
February 10th ' was general
Communion day for the group
sewing at Memorial Hospital on
February 11th. Mrs. Samson and
Mrs. A. J. Farmer have charge of
the cleaning for the month and
Mrs. Shultes the altar linens.
The attendance gift was award
ed by Mrs. Allen Bishop. Host
esses for the social hour were
Mesdames Keck, Lyman Wade
and Wi’ight. New Members pres
ent were Mesdames Bishop, Fred
Manis and Andrew Suggs. Twen
ty-five were present.
Augusta Services
For Joseph Furber
AUGUSTA, Ga.—Funeral serv
ices for Joseph Furber were held
January 20th at the Sacred Heart
Church, Rev. Peter F. O’Donnell
officiating.
Survivors are two sisters-in-
law, Mrs. Eva Blackstone of Au
gusta and Mrs. G. L. Taylor of
Gilbert, Ga.; brother-in-law, J.
E. Blackstone of North Augusta;
cousin Mrs. Nora Buckley of Au
gusta, and a number of nieces
and nephews.
POWELL & COMPANY
DR. 7-2692
411 PONCE DE LEON AVE
DECATUR
JA. 4-2278
COMPLIMENTS OF
MARY B. LUKE NURSING HOME
745 CHEROKEE AVE., S. E.
ATLANTA
WE THREW THE KEYS AWAY
PLAZA PHARMACY
OPEN ALL NIGHT
Atlanta, Georgia
FRED A. YORK
PEST CONTROL SERVICE
Our Slogan — Nearly Right Won't Do
Our Service — Always Guaranteed
Our Products on Sale at Office
CALL FOR FREE INSPECTION OR INFORMATION
768 State St., N. W. Atlanta, Georgia
154 CLAIRMONT AVENUE
DECATUR
DR. 7-8418