MEXICO: Villa Revisited

When Hollywood made Viva Villa in 1934 with Wallace Beery as the famous border bandit, Mexicans liked it fine. After a preview of the film life of the hard-riding, hard-wenching revolutionary, President Abelardo Rodriguez asked only for deletion of scenes that showed Villa drunk. The changes made, the movie made Mexican box-office history.

Last week Mexico City film distributors, bent on reviving Viva Villa, ran into some new objections. Government censor Salvador Romero balked above all at one scene showing Villa disobeying a superior officer and capturing a town to oblige a U.S. newsman who has written the story in advance. "An abuse of history," cried Romero angrily. "Villa is not a national hero, but he was a soldier and would not disobey orders." The showing was banned.

Also banned in Mexico City last week: a short documentary of Rome's Holy Year. Objection: too religious for present-day Mexico.