Censored

Latest Episodes:

Censorship by Sharpie Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

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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The Devils is not a film for everyone Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

Ken Russell's The Devils is definitely a film for us. Satanism, orgies, exorcisms - what's not to love? And it's a complicated censorship story of different cuts for different censors.

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Are you trying to censor me, Mrs Robinson? Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

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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(Un) Willkommen to the Cabaret Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

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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Ulster Says No, Absolutely Not Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

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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Don't mention the war Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

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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An Underground Film Scene Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

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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Blasphemy! Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

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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It Girls: Clara Bow and Mae West Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

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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Caught in the Act Jul 16, 2023

Show notes

Film censorship in Ireland is a hundred years old today. What were Irish cinema goers watching in 1923, and what would the Censor keep them from watching in the future? Find out in this bumper birthday episode.

· Discover which elderly TD was the most avid cinema goer in parliament.

· Find out why soft carpets were an issue for one Deputy Film Censor.

· Learn how the Mothers’ Union compared cinema to demonic possession.

· Welcome our new ‘Censorship Bingo’ card: the ‘Don’ts’ and ‘Be Carefuls’ list.

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