During the silent and early sound era, most every theatrical release was scrutinized by one or another organization or governmental agency. The best known of these, in the United States, was the National Board of Review, whose familiar stamp of approval, “Passed by the National Board of Review,” appeared at the beginning of most every film. Some American states — and even some cities — also had their own censorship boards. Among them was the state of New York, whose Motion Picture Commission likewise screened every film shown in the state. This group was, in effect, a statewide censorship board. It approved films, and occasionally called for eliminations, or cuts, to be made to objectionable material.
As with all of Louise Brooks films, Just Another Blonde was screened by the Motion Picture Commission of the State of New York, which approved the film without the need for cuts. Unlike the National Board of Review, who seal of approval was added onto the film itself, the Motion Picture Commission of the State of New York issued a license and seal which accompanied individual prints of the film. As can be seen in the first document shown below, First National Pictures applied for 13 licenses for 13 prints of Just Another Blonde which were to circulate in the state. The licenses cost $174.00.
The files of the Motion Picture Commission still exist, and can be accessed by researchers. While the two documents shown below don’t reveal a battle over censorship, they do reveal a few other interesting details. For example, the examined print of Just Another Blonde contained 6 reels and ran 5800 feet exactly. That latter number is at odds with the film’s stated length of 5,603 feet. Why, is not known. Perhaps a scene or two was cut or trimmed in order to shorten the over-all length of the film. By the way, the approximate 200 foot difference might result in a difference of approximately five minutes.
In the State of New York, it was illegal to show a film which had not been licensed by the Motion Picture Commission. And thus, changing the title of a film at the last minute — or at least changing the advertised title of a film — might be seen as a deceptive practice in order to get around the law. The second document shown below is a letter from First National Pictures to the Motion Picture Commission of the State of New York informing them that two theaters, the New York Strand and the Brooklyn Strand, would show Just Another Blonde under an alternative title, Girl from Coney Island. This is what happened. The letter also states that these two theaters would be the only ones which would be allowed to show the film under its alternative title. That is not true, as a few theaters in the great New York area advertised the film under the title Girl from Coney Island, or Girl from Coney Island (Just Another Blonde).
For more about Just Another Blonde, be sure and visit the Louise Brooks Society filmography page on the film.