A Rape in the Sun

The plaintiff in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles was Director George Stevens; the defendant, the National Broadcasting Co. The charge: "Rape of a creative effort." That's what Stevens had called it, anyhow. The "effort" was his memorable 1951 six-Oscar picture, A Place in the Sun. NBC bought the TV rights to the film from Paramount for $300,000, put it on nationwide TV last March, and Stevens protested that it was mutilated by the insertion of no fewer than 42 commercials.

Clearly, Stevens presented the court with a grand opportunity to strike a blow for helpless televiewers who get bombarded constantly with sales pitches that the networks callously strew through televised movies. The judge's decision, in fact, seemed to be heading in that direction. "It is true," said Judge Richard L. Wells, "that the effect of the commercial interruptions was to lessen, to decrease, to disturb, to interrupt, and to weaken the mood, effect or continuity and the audience involvement--and therefore some of the artistry of the film." But then, reversing course, Wells found NBC not guilty, and concluded: "The average television viewer is thick-skinned about commercials and tends to disassociate them from what goes before or after."

If that is true, the sponsors are wasting their money.

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