W A Tanner

Walter Alfred Tanner (1878 – 14 July 1958) was born in Northampton, England, the son of William Tanner, Member of Parliament for the Heathcote and Avon electorates in Christchurch, and Emily E. Browett. He married Laura Matilda Maude Torckler in 1907. They had one son and one daughter. He died in Wellington aged 79.

Tanner worked for the Customs Department censoring publications for seditious content before becoming Chief Censor William Jolliffe's assistant censor of cinematograph films in 1924. On Jolliffe’s death in 1927, Tanner became New Zealand’s second Chief Censor, a position he held until 1938.

Tanner’s tenure straddled the introduction of sound to motion pictures. He wrote that “the more vivid presentations of life made possible by the addition of sound and colour has made it necessary to issue an increased number of certificates recommending films as more suitable for adult audiences.” The introduction of sound also appeared to increase the number of bans. In 1930, 102 films, 3.9% of those submitted, were banned.

Tanner’s decisions were not without controversy in either era. One example in the silent era concerned the New Zealand feature film The Te Kooti Trail (1927), a re-enactment of the war fought in the Bay of Plenty between Māori Chief Te Kooti and British forces in 1869. New Zealand director Rudall Hayward intended to premier it on 11 November 1927. Conscious of the need to forestall adverse Māori reaction to the film, the government decided to consult Māori and asked Ringatu Māori from Whakatane to attend a private screening on the day intended for the premiere. The next day, Tanner refused to approve the film until changes were made to two intertitles, one that referred to Te Kooti “resorting to faked miracles”, the other referring to Te Kooti’s lieutenant Peka McLean as “torture master” and “stage manager of miracles”. The subsequent “storm of publicity” surrounding the film ensured it played to full houses when it premiered a few days later at the Strand Theatre in Auckland on 17 November 1927.[2]. Tanner wrote a conciliatory letter to Hayward in 1928 calling the whole affair “a case of pure misunderstanding”.

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