The poster for Rudall Hayward's 1927 silent film The Te Kooti trail carries the slogan 'Stopped by the N.Z. film censor'. The film's release was held up after the film censor arranged for a special screening for Māori members of Parliament and elders of the Ringatū church to make sure it didn't cause offence. Two intertitles (cards with printed text in silent film) were changed. The cast were all Māori from the Urewera region, selected for their physical resemblance to the characters they played. Te Kooti himself was played by Tūhoe chief Te Pairi Tūterangi who, as a boy, had carried weapons for the real Te Kooti.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
New Zealand Film Archive Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua, Hayward Collection
Reference:
S3760 S3760.07
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