We want it scary...but not TOO scary!
Thought a thread about the random things removed from daybills to make them less shocking would be interesting (well, it is to me anyway! 
)
First...The Case of the Missing Knife:
Now things aren't scary anymore!
Next...the Case of the Edited Face:
What other cases are out there?
)First...The Case of the Missing Knife:
Now things aren't scary anymore!
Next...the Case of the Edited Face:
What other cases are out there?
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The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb ( 1964 ).
Top image. U.S. insert showing a choking scene.
Middle image. Daybill produced by Robert Burton and printed for New Zealand release only. The mummy's hand around woman along with choking scene ( you can just see black border of this ) all blacked out.
Bottom scene. Australian daybill produced for first Australian release in 1973, after being originally banned has choking scene missing, a sexier girl's appearance than the U.S. original but for some reason is gagged. Who would and could have gagged her ?
Does this one count? Not really censoring scary...but censoring none the less.
Then there is this...no creature on the daybill
Note the lame Australian daybill released in Australia as The Sinister Shadow has no mention of the creeper, no decent image of Rondo Hatton or the attempted strangling scene. In its place we have the two romantic leads highlighted with a Rondo Hatton silhouette showing the back of Rondo Hatton only and mainly covered with the title of the film and the cast details. No a very convincing poster to sell a film stating in bold lettering ''A Horror Film Suitable Only For Adults.
For a non horror daybill it is great. In the nineties in Australia there was a plentiful supply of them available in the marketplace.
There is a lot more history about this one sheet than probably some people think. I would be curious for a detailed run down on this poster and what has taken place here. My question is why was it used in New Zealand in the first place? I have what I believe to be the reason why but am keen to hear what other people think before I comment.
This is an extreme case of censorship in New Zealand that didn't happen often to this extent but has clear explanation to explain as to why it happened.
They've carefully managed to edit out two heads on the RH border. No doubt they were concerned about the man about buried in the ground *SPOILER ALERT * about to get his head pulled off.
Let's just remove the awesome ghoul and replace it with some not-so-awesome tombstones.
The Thing With Two Heads
Exactly!
Very quiet regarding this poster so I may as well have my say about it.
The majority of Australian film distributors around the time this film was released had branches in New Zealand and their product was released in both countries using the same poster designs that were printed in Australia for both countries with the New Zealand printed material on a whole having the Australian censorship ratings left off to allow for the N.Z. rating to be applied.
The exceptions were for Allied Artists and British Lion whose product was released in New Zealand through the Robert James Kerridge group who controlled the Kerridge Odeon Cinema chain as well as International Film Distributors and Lion Film Distributors.
Regarding the Allied Artists product, apart from sighting one Australian printed Paramount daybill King Of The Roaring 20's with the New Zealand Y censorship rating on it Allied Artists product had their own daybills printed most likely in N.Z. for International Film Distributors. Titles I have seen are The George Raft Story, Taffy and The Jungle Hunter ( released in Australia by Blake Films ), Operation Eichmann!, The Big Circus ( if you would like to revisit my earlier thread ''Certain Designs Of Different Daybills Could Have Been Different'' you will see the Australian and N.Z. daybill designs & Riot In Cell Block 11. I have never sighted a N.Z. one sheet printed for International Film Distributors which would lead me to believe they used imported U.S. and possibly U.K. one sheets for distribution in New Zealand.
By using Australian designed daybills and one sheets in the majority of New Zealand releases major problems in censorship didn't appear to occur to the extent of the case of using the U.S. one sheet of House On Haunted Hill where three images were censored.