Cinema & Censorship in the 1930s: the work of the Birmingham Cinema Enquiry

David is a semi-retired lecturer in Education Studies with an interest in social history and the history of education. This talk resulted from voluntary research for the Flatpack Festival and “Wonderland”, a project mapping Birmingham’s cinema stories as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

The Birmingham Cinema Enquiry Committee began in 1930, born out of concern for what people were viewing in cinemas, especially children eagerly soaking up pictures at popular Saturday matinees. The Committee gained a name nationally and internationally, with several conferences held in the City, and a petition was sent to the Home Secretary in London. Depending upon contemporary points of view, it was either a genuine attempt to resist the deluge of sensationalist and sordid pictures, often from the U.S.A., or a group of self-appointed interfering busy-bodies and “troglodytes”.

• Was there too much censorship or not enough?
• Would some films lead to “Disorder in Digbeth” and “Murder in Moseley”?
• What was the impact on children’s mental and physical health?
• Was there too much “thrill-seeking” at the expense of the “brighter side” and “English tradition”?
• To what extent was the Enquiry a middle class attempt to dictate to the masses?

David will invite the audience to consider their own cinema-going experiences and any similarities with other moral panics over the years.