A Licence Not to Censor: The Cinematograph Act 1909 in Scotland

Abstract

The legal and administrative framework for film exhibition in Scotland has been viewed through the prism of practices adopted in the rest of the United Kingdom despite the existence of a separate legal system north of the English border. This article is the first to identify and explain the discrepancy that existed between the Scottish regulatory framework and that existing in the rest of Britain, covering the period from the passing of the Cinematograph Act 1909 to the publication of the Edinburgh Cinema Enquiry in 1933. Discussing hitherto neglected documents, such as the Scottish Office Precedent Books, municipal records, education authority minutes and local newspapers, the article adopts a social-historiographical methodology. It contends that the discrepancy was the result of a decentralised tradition of governance and political motivations to maintain the integrity of Scotland's legal system. This means that the full implementation of the Cinematograph Act 1909 was resisted in Scotland, leading to a laissez-faire approach in the realm of film censorship that was heavily criticised by local pressure groups. The article will first establish the historical context of regulating places of public entertainment in Scotland and subsequently discuss the emergence of film censorship practices in the rest of the UK following the passing of the Cinematograph Act 1909. The second half will explain the different legal interpretation of the 1909 Act in Scotland and its consequences for the applicability of the British Board of Film Censors’ ‘A’ certificate.