Publication Date: September 29, 2026
It’s 1926, and the world of film is about to change forever.
On the cusp of “talkies,” directors and actors fear their greatest days might soon be behind them. Patrick J. Shepard, a director at the end of his career, has just completed his masterpiece, his vehicle for eternal fame. But there’s one problem: Ohio.
Harold Dawdry, the young, second-string minister at a small church in a corner of Ohio, has been appointed to the State Film Censorship Board. He regards this appointment as his ticket to the power and relevance he desperately craves. And there is one director who has particularly rankled his delicate sensibilities: Patrick J. Shepard. The minister feels Ohio is best served if Shepard makes drastic cuts to his final film.
The silent film era is about to get loud.
The showdown between an Ohio minister and a movie director in 1926 sets the stage for a phenomenal story.
Author Glenn R. Miller takes readers back to the end of the silent film industry in Rough Cuts as director Patrick J. Shepard launches his magnum opus.
Standing in his way, though, is Harold Dawdry, a wet-behind-the-ears minister serving on the state censorship board who simply can’t approve of Shepard’s film.
The author’s approach to film censorship illustrates how many early initiatives focused on personal preferences. While the characters are fictional, they provide plenty of fodder for satire.
Dawdry’s self-importance leads to a number of humorous scenarios. I can only imagine what his censorship list would contain if these films had included audio.
Rough Cuts delivers a memorable storyline highlighting the struggle between filmmaking and the censors of the time period.
Glenn R. Miller launched his professional career by working on television soap operas and game shows on the back lots of NBC Burbank. He holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and has served as a CBS-affiliate news producer, an executive speechwriter, and creative director at production agencies within the Twin Cities. He and his wife live in Minneapolis and are the parents of two grown sons. Doorman Wanted is his first novel.
