The scariest PG film ever?
QUESTION How did the original Poltergeist film manage to get a PG rating? What are the scariest PG films? THE original Poltergeist (1982) was an unlikely collaboration between producer Steven Spielberg and director Tobe Hooper of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame.
It was rated PG only in the U.S. In Britain, it was eventually rated 15, but caused debate on both sides of the Atlantic, providing an insight into the differing approaches to film classification.
Our system in Britain is based on mandatory age restrictions (15, 18), while the U.S. relies more on parental choice.
Even the most notorious horror films — The Exorcist (1973) and Silence Of The Lambs (1991) — have an American R rating, allowing young children to see them if accompanied by an adult. In this country, they were restricted to adults only.
In the U.S., Poltergeist was revised down from R to PG after lobbying from Spielberg, but is widely considered to have caused the introduction of the PG-13 rating (particular care for under-13s).
In Britain, it was originally rated X (over 18s only), but downgraded to 15 when the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) system changed in 1982-83, allowing a midway option whereby older teenagers were able to see it.
In both countries, Poltergeist trod a line between a family-oriented Spielberg film and the shock-horror of Hooper.
Among the most scary PG films in UK classification, Spielberg features heavily. Two of his best films — Jaws (1975) and Jurassic Park (1993) — were awarded PG certificates, though the BBFC was concerned enough to issue special warnings to parents of young children or those of ‘a nervous disposition’.
There are countless examples of horror movies rated PG in the U.S., though regarded here as suitable only for adults, such as Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) and It’s Alive (1974).
The recently released remake of Poltergeist was also rated 15 in the UK.
Richard Sockett, Hereford.
QUESTION Who is thought to have fathered the most children? SULTAN MOULAY ISMAIL, ruler of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, is usually cited as the world’s most prolific father. He successfully fought the Ottoman Turks in 1679, 1682 and 1695/96, preserving his country’s independence, and took over several sea ports that had been occupied by Spain and Britain. He used 25,000 slaves to build his capital of Meknes and displayed thousands of heads of his slain rivals at the beginning of his reign.
According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, he fathered 887 children. But French diplomat Dominique Busnot, who visited Morocco in 1704, wrote that the Sultan had 1,171 children, four wives and 500 concubines.
A scientific study has calculated that the ruler would have needed to have had sex between 0.83 and 1.43 times a day to father so many children over 32 years, and would have required a harem of between 65 and 110 — not the 500 claimed.
However, the claims for the Sultan’s fatherhood can be put in context by a famous 2003 genetic study, which calculated that one in 200 living men carry a form of the Y chromosome that may have originated with the great Mongol leader Genghis Khan (1162-1227).
If true, that would mean 0.5 per cent of the world’s male population are his direct descendants.
Khan is reputed to have said: ‘ The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms.’
Another candidate for the most prolific father is Bertold Paul Wiesner. He and his wife Mary Barton ran a fertility clinic in Harley Street in post-war London.
Until its closure in the mid-Sixties, Mary Barton successfully inseminated 1,500 women with sperm provided by her husband and neuroscientist Derek Richter.
It has been estimated that Wiesner fathered at least 600 children and possibly as many as 1,000.
J. B. Ritter, Malvern, Worcs.
QUESTION Why do stock doves sing the same tune over and over again? THE stock dove is often mistaken for a wood pigeon, which is considerably larger, or a feral pigeon, which is slightly bigger. The stock dove is mostly blue-grey with a pinkish breast and an iridescent green patch on the side of the neck.
There is no white patch on the neck, as on an adult wood pigeon, and it has a darker colouring. It has black eyes, a yellowish bill and pink legs.
The stock dove, which nests in tree cavities, puts a lot of effort into singing, drumming, winnowing and otherwise displaying to impress potential mates and proclaim its territory.
Some bird songs are simple, such as the repetitive two-note call that gives the cuckoo its name. The stock dove uses the same tactic, using a deep, grunting ‘Ooouu-ooh’ (some call it ‘roaring’), which is quite distinct from the modulated cooing of the wood pigeon.
Their songs are loud and repetitive, so they can be distinguished from other bird sounds. Other birds produce a complex outpouring of different notes and phrases, such as the celebrated songs of the blackbird, song thrush and robin.
Justin Thorne, Aberdyfi, Gwynedd.
QUESTION Has the pulse jet used on the German V-1 flying bomb been used elsewhere? BACK in the Fifties, Fairey Aviation designed and built a compound gyrocopter, the Fairey Rotodyne (pictured below), which was powered by two turboprop engines.
These engines provided compressed air to the tips of the helicopter type rotor blades. Fuel and ignition was provided to form tip jets that drove the rotors. This form of drive negated the need for tail rotors as required on normal helicopters.
As a flying machine, the Rotodyne was a success, but lack of government interest and the incredible noise of the tip jets on an aircraft intended to be used into city airports killed off the promising project.
The gyrocopter project was cancelled in 1962.
M. A. French, Downham Market, Norfolk.