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Censored

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Dec 28, 2023 • 32min

Censorship by Sharpie

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 MerchSupport us on Patreon if you are 18 or over. Yes, we have been censored. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dec 14, 2023 • 47min

The Devils is not a film for everyone

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 30, 2023 • 38min

Are you trying to censor me, Mrs Robinson?

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 16, 2023 • 36min

(Un) Willkommen to the Cabaret

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)Merch!Help keep the show on the road (Over 18s only because 'smut' is censored) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 2, 2023 • 50min

Ulster Says No, Absolutely Not

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) Merch!Support us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 19, 2023 • 44min

Don't mention the war

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 5, 2023 • 40min

An Underground Film Scene

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sep 21, 2023 • 44min

Blasphemy!

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)Support us on patreonMerch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sep 7, 2023 • 45min

It Girls: Clara Bow and Mae West

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 Support us Merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 16, 2023 • 46min

Caught in the Act

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. Support the showMerch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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