Censored

How revolutionary was Ireland anyway? Journalist and director Peter Lennon asked how a nation birthed by rebels seemed to be run by Catholic priests. His caustic script allied to Raoul Coutard's captivating cinematography made for a unique documentary. We discuss odd accents, cheeky children and creepy priests.

The Rocky Road to Dublin (1967, re-released by IFI in 2004) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66JpC_T3wFM

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Did you know DIY censorship was practiced by those outside the film censor’s office. Even after official censors vetted publicity material, some film posters showed too much skin, especially male arms and legs.

Liam O’Leary collected this material

Kevin Rockett Irish Film Censorship: a cultural journey from silent cinema to internet pornography (2004)

Doctored film posters can be seen here

Original, undoctored film posters:

The Virgin Soldiers (1969) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065182/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The Hustler (1961) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054997/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%2520hust

Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066016/

From Here to Eternity (1953) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045793/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_from%2520here

The Chastity Belt/On My Way To The Crusades I Met A Girl Who (1967) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0064167/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_4_nm_4_q_chastity%2520belt

A Cold Wind in August (1961) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0054755/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

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Banned, appealed, cut eleven times: The Graduate (1967) had a torrid time in Ireland. What narrative were Irish audiences allowed to see? And, Mrs Robinson, we stan.

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A film beloved by our hosts that proved too much for the Irish censor. Was it Liza Minnelli's (as Sally Bowles) legs or men fancying other men? The answer is quite surprising. But then, so is writing a musical about genocide.

Cabaret (dir. Bob Fosse, 1972)

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Lloyd Meadhbh explains Northern Ireland’s special censorship sauce to Aoife. There’s cross-border agreement, even more censors than usual and a bit of flogging.

Films:

Ulster the Garden of Eden (1930), tourist authority of NI

Frankenstein (1931, dir James Whale)

Ourselves Alone (1936, dir Brian Desmond Hurst, Walter Summers) Released in the US as Rivers of Unrest https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028071/

The Informer (1935, dir John Ford)

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War brings propaganda, and that means censorship. What happens if war is denied in favour of an 'Emergency'?

We unpick why Betty Grable's legs were withdrawn from Irish cinema screens in 1941.

A Yank in the RAF (1941, dir. Henry King) starring Betting Grable, Tyrone Power and John Sutton

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Aoife's working title was 'Wildcard' – we went on a journey through vice-ridden streets (and garages) of Dublin city in 1954.

Films:

Smart Alec (1951) US 'stag' film starring Candy Barr

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How did the Irish censor feel about Biblical epics? And how could a convent have ‘a sex atmosphere’?

Where we discuss Mary Magdalene’s gold bikini and dangerously smouldering Englishmen. But also, Elvis.

Films:

• King of Kings (Cecil B. deMille, 1927)
• Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger, 1947)
• Flaming Star (Don Siegel, 1960)

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We investigate ‘It’, a type of sex appeal that raised the temperatures of cinema goers and censors in the 1930s. ‘It’ was personified in the screen personas of Clara Bow and Mae West but did you know that tigers and Derry also have ‘It’? 

‘It’ (1927) directed by Clarence G Badger and Josef von Sternberg, starring Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno 

‘She Done Him Wrong’ (1933) dir. Lowell Sherman, starring Mae West and Cary Grant. 

‘I’m No Angel’ (1933) dir. Wesley Ruggless, starring Mae West and Cary Grant.

It girls, 2000s iteration

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