Between Reform and Regulation The Struggle over Film Censorship in Progressive America, 1909--1922.

The establishment of the Board of Censors of Motion Picture Shows (later known as the National Board of Review) in New York in 1909 is discussed. The paper deals with the Board's relationship to the motion picture industry and its efforts to avoid a formal structure of centralized film censorship. The establishment of official censorship boards in several states and the industry's formation of the MPPDA in 1922 ultimately undercut the National Board's authority by 1922. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]