Films Condemned by the Legion of Decency
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311
7.4
7.7
Neil Simon comedy was condemned for its light treatment of serious topics such as divorce and suicide.
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789
7.9
7.9
Classic tragicomedy about a menage-a-trios, starring Oskar Werner, Jeanne Moreau, and Henri Serre.
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107
7.3
7.6
Racy comedy about a menage-a-trois (Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, and Fredric March), based on a play by Noel Coward.
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1334
7.4
7.9
Violence and homosexual content, including a notorious bathing scene between Tony Curtis (as Antoninus, an attractive young slave) and Laurence Olivier (as Crassus, his bisexual owner).
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140
6.9
6.8
Hedy Lamarr as a runaway child bride. Graphic for the time, including nudity and depictions of sexual intercourse and orgasm.
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1885
8.2
8.2
Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis witness a gang murder, and go on the lam disguised as women. Provocative comedy loaded with innuendo and satirical stereotypes.
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55
6.8
6.8
Groundbreaking sex comedy by Otto Preminger, not approved by the Production Code. Story focuses on a love triangle; words such as "virgin", "seduce", "pregnancy", and "mistress" were prominently featured in the script and dialogue.
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25
6.9
6.9
Remake of the Fritz Lang film by blacklisted director Joseph Losey. Disturbing tale of a serial child murderer and the people (policemen and criminals alike) out to to capture him.
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236
7.1
7.3
Originally condemned, the studio changed the ending.
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93
6.4
5.5
Western film showcasing Jane Russell, hugely controversial for its prominent, salacious display of her body and breasts.
A troubled production filmed in 1940 (by Howard Hughes and an uncredited Howard Hawks), partly released in 1943, then withdrawn and tried for indecency by Judge Twain Michelsen. It was not widely released until 1946, with a statement from Michelsen reading: "We have seen Jane Russell. She is an attractive specimen of American womanhood. God made her what she is."
A troubled production filmed in 1940 (by Howard Hughes and an uncredited Howard Hawks), partly released in 1943, then withdrawn and tried for indecency by Judge Twain Michelsen. It was not widely released until 1946, with a statement from Michelsen reading: "We have seen Jane Russell. She is an attractive specimen of American womanhood. God made her what she is."
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395
8.4
8.2
Only the original French version of the film was condemned. To avoid condemnation, the initial-, wide-release American version edited three scenes and added a title card quoting the Book of Proverbs ("When the wicked are multiplied, crime shall be multiplied: but the just shall see their downfall"). This film earned a modest "B" rating.
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133
7.7
7.8
Condemned for nudity (a prostitute shown naked from the waist up).
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169
7.8
7.5
Elia Kazan adaption of a Tennessee Williams screenplay. The story of a voluptuous but virginal child bride (Carroll Baker) caught between her husband (Karl Malden) and his devious business rival, Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach).
Time Magazine called the film "just about the dirtiest American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited." After the Legion of Decency began boycotting the movie - Cardinal Francis Spellman having declared it "evil in concept" and "certain to exert an immoral and corrupting influence on those who see it" - Warner Brothers distributed posters for the film with "Condemned by Cardinal Spellman" as a tagline.
Time Magazine called the film "just about the dirtiest American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited." After the Legion of Decency began boycotting the movie - Cardinal Francis Spellman having declared it "evil in concept" and "certain to exert an immoral and corrupting influence on those who see it" - Warner Brothers distributed posters for the film with "Condemned by Cardinal Spellman" as a tagline.
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13
3
5.2
Kroger Babb's infamous sexploitation film highlighting teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Very graphic for the time, including nudity and real-life footage of childbirth and delivery.
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129
7.3
7.2
Condemned because of its sympathetic attitudes towards homosexuality, premarital and extramarital sex, and bisexuality.
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2674
7.2
7.4
"Brian De Palma's horror movie is too ludicrous to scare, but succeeds only in the shock value of its callous, unhealthy mix of nudity and violence." - Legion of Decency
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460
8.1
8.2
Irreverent satire by Luis Bunuel (an outspoken critic of the Catholic Church and of religion in general). Depictions of blasphemy (including a parody of the Last Supper), suicide, incest (including an attempted rape), and other sins horrified the Spanish and American censors.
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15
5.4
5.2
Musical comedy starring Jane Russell. Originally in 3-D, it was sold with provocative taglines such as "J.R. in 3-D - and What Dimensions!" and "It'll knock BOTH your eyes out!"
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12
7
6.5
A love triangle amongst Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, and Herbert Marshall.
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390
7.8
8
British nuns start a school in the Himalayas, but the wild, sensual atmosphere gradually drives them to insanity, nymphomania, and murder. This classic melodrama from the Powell/Pressburger team was both condemned and edited on its initial American release, removing the flashback scenes in which Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) remembers her life prior to joining the convent.
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4663
8.2
8.3
"Martin Scorsese's excursion into urban alienation and irrational violence lacks a distancing objectivity and its attempts to shock are excessively graphic in scenes of bloodshed." - Legion of Decency
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3706
6.8
7.2
"Though director Randal Kleiser plays it for simple-minded fun, the teen fantasy glamorizes negative role models and is preoccupied with sex in its dialogue and lyrics." - Legion of Decency
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309
6.5
6.7
Condemned for violence and a scene showing the heros (Paul Newman and Julie Andrews) in bed together.
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1130
8.1
7.9
Condemned for its (deliberately) romanticized view of criminals.
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Movies condemned and boycotted by the Catholic Legion of Decency (1933-1965) or the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures (1965-1980).
The C ("condemned") rating was issued from 1933 to 1978, when the C rating and the B rating were merged into the O ("morally offensive") rating. Although the NCOMP film office was shut down in 1980, some Catholic writers still use the O rating, as well as the L ("limited audience") and A ("approved" or "general audience") ratings, in film reviews.
Incidentally, this list itself is not intended to be offensive. It is not a critique of Catholicism, nor of the movies listed; rather, it is a catalogue of "condemned" films.
The C ("condemned") rating was issued from 1933 to 1978, when the C rating and the B rating were merged into the O ("morally offensive") rating. Although the NCOMP film office was shut down in 1980, some Catholic writers still use the O rating, as well as the L ("limited audience") and A ("approved" or "general audience") ratings, in film reviews.
Incidentally, this list itself is not intended to be offensive. It is not a critique of Catholicism, nor of the movies listed; rather, it is a catalogue of "condemned" films.
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