A humorous but critical portrayal of the Catholic Church's censorship of Hollywood movies from WW I to the present. Walsh (History/Univ. of Mass., Lowell) traces the formation and activities of the Legion of Decency, the powerful film review board that rose within American Catholic ranks in the 1930s. One of Walsh's primary contributions is to demonstrate that the Legion did not, as it seemed at the time, burst out of nowhere in 1931 to become a prime mover in Hollywood. American Catholics had been flexing their censorship muscles ever since WW I, when two public health shorts about venereal disease sparked serious controversy. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Legion of Decency reigned as the studios' most influential censor, seeking to eliminate nearly all film references to pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, and even divorce. Walsh tells this story in an engaging, often sardonic fashion, a kind of behind-the-scenes romp through the cutting floors of Hollywood history. He paints vivid portraits of the legendary studio executives, directors, and producers, as well as the lesser-known censors of the Legion and other review boards. But the book's most obvious fault lies with its subjectivity: Walsh admits that he is very reluctant to endorse any ecclesiastically motivated censorship. This honesty is refreshing, but it does little to mitigate the sometimes harsh tone of the narrative. Walsh has a tendency to see the Catholic Church as a monolithic and institutionally static entity during the decades in question, although he quite ably documents Catholic demographic changes that led to the Legion's demise in the 1960s. Walsh dramatically highlights tensions between Catholic dogma and Hollywood glitter, but greater insight into the Church would have given this study more weight. (32 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: March 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-300-06373-3
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1996
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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