Jump to content

List of films condemned by the Legion of Decency

From Catholicism Wiki

This is a list of films condemned by the National Legion of Decency, a United States Catholic organization. The National Legion of Decency was established in 1933 and reorganized in 1965 as the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures (NCOMP). Under each of these names, it rated films according to their suitability for viewing, assigning a code of A, B, or C, with that of C identified as "Condemned" for viewing by Catholics. The C rating was issued from 1933 until 1978. The Legion's ratings were applied to movies made in the United States as well as those imported from other countries. Since it reviewed films when released for distribution, the Legion usually rated non-U.S. films a few years after their first release in their country of origin, occasionally years after. For example, it rated Marcel Pagnol's 1936 César in 1948 and Marlene Dietrich's 1930 The Blue Angel in 1950.

The rating system was revised in 1978 and the designation "condemned" has not been assigned to films since then. Instead, films that would earlier have been rated C or B were all rated O, which meant "morally offensive". NCOMP reassigned ratings to old films based on its new system, making it impossible to determine from their own database whether a film it now classifies O was originally B or C.[1] In 1980, NCOMP ceased operations, along with the biweekly Review, which by then had published ratings for 16,251 feature films.

Legion-organized boycotts made a C rating harmful to a film's distribution and profitability. In some periods the Legion's aim was to threaten producers with a C rating, demand revisions, and then award a revised B rating. At other times the Legion, preferring to avoid the notoriety and publicity that films gained from having a C rating revised to B, refused to remove their original rating, which resulted in industry self-censorship that achieved the Legion's aims with less public conflict. For example, Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire was cut by 4 minutes to avoid a C rating,[2] and Billy Wilder cut scenes from the original play to avoid a C for The Seven Year Itch. Spartacus underwent similar editing to avoid a C rating.[3]

Most condemned films were made outside of the studio system, being either exploitation films produced by Poverty Row studios or movies made outside the United States for audiences that were principally non-American and non-English speaking, often distributed by exploitation presenters.[4] Of the 53 movies the Legion had placed on its condemned list by 1943, only Howard Hughes' The Outlaw was the product of a major U.S. studio and it would not receive a wide release until 1946. After The Moon is Blue (1953) and Baby Doll (1956) received C ratings, it was a decade before two more major Hollywood movies received the C rating: The Pawnbroker (1964) and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964).[5]

Films are often reported to have been condemned in general terms, that is, they were criticized or even denounced, when they did not receive the Legion's C rating. Some rely on a list of films that were condemned early in the 1930s by the Archdiocese of Chicago in advance of the Legion of Decency's rating system,[6][7] Turner Classic Movies, for example, has programmed a festival of "Movies Condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency" that included several that were not rated C by the Legion.[8][9]

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1945

  • Mom and Dad,[25] a sexploitation film that purported to teach sexual hygiene.

1947

  • Black Narcissus, a British import from the Powell and Pressburger team about Anglican nuns challenged by life in an exotic environment, initially condemned.[25] The Legion reclassified it A-II (morally unobjectionable for adults) after revisions to "all prints of this film".[10]
  • Forever Amber, when 20th Century Fox encountered distribution problems because of the C rating, its president Spyros Skouras got the Legion to call off its pickets and boycott campaign by making cuts to the film, adding "an innocuous prologue", and making "a humiliating public apology" to the Legion.[25][26]
  • Nais, a French import.[27]

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

  • Boccaccio '70[80] The Legion objected to its "grossly suggestive concentration upon indecent costuming, situations and dialogue". By this time the Legion had adopted a policy of not reconsidering a film's rating once it was widely distributed, even if revised, but in this case the Legion allowed that the film's C rating would not be valid once the film was edited for television broadcast.[81]

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1971

1972

1973

1975

1976

1978

See also

References

  1. Back to citation "Archived Movie Reviews". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  2. Back to citation Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Forbidden Films: Censorship Histories of 125 Motion Pictures. Checkmark Books. pp. 286–7.
  3. Back to citation Greenberg, James (December 21, 1990). "Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  4. Back to citation Sova nevertheless describes Ecstasy as "one of the few foreign films to earn a 'C' (condemned) rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency." Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Forbidden Films: Censorship Histories of 125 Motion Pictures. Checkmark Books. p. 118.
  5. Back to citation Romanowski, William D. (2012). Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies. Oxford University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-19-538784-1. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  6. Back to citation "Films Classified in Catholic List" (PDF). New York Times. July 8, 1934. Retrieved April 9, 2017. “a check list issued today to Chicago Catholics by a board of censors created to 'furnish necessary information to those signing the movie pledge' of the Legion of Decency. The check list, issued for the Chicago Archdiocese.”
  7. Back to citation Other Catholics proposed announcing only lists of films approved for viewing so as not to publicize the names of films judged unsuitable for viewing. Those backing this strategy, such as the Diocese of Brooklyn, used a list drawn up by the Federation of Catholic Alumnae. "Catholics Differ Over Film Listing" (PDF). New York Times. December 12, 1934. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  8. Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 Back to citation occurrence 8.2 Back to citation occurrence 8.3 Back to citation occurrence 8.4 Back to citation occurrence 8.5 Back to citation occurrence 8.6 Nichols, Chris (March 3, 2016). "TCM is Showing 27 Movies Condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  9. Back to citation Three 1933 films included by TCM were not rated by the Legion: Design for Living, Baby Face, and Wild Boys of the Road. Others misrepresent the Chicago list of the product of the Legion of Decency as well. Sova, Dawn B. (2001). Forbidden Films: Censorship Histories of 125 Motion Pictures. Checkmark Books. pp. 32, 231.
  10. Back to citation occurrence 10.000 Back to citation occurrence 10.001 Back to citation occurrence 10.002 Back to citation occurrence 10.003 Back to citation occurrence 10.004 Back to citation occurrence 10.005 Back to citation occurrence 10.006 Back to citation occurrence 10.007 Back to citation occurrence 10.008 Back to citation occurrence 10.009 Back to citation occurrence 10.010 Back to citation occurrence 10.011 Back to citation occurrence 10.012 Back to citation occurrence 10.013 Back to citation occurrence 10.014 Back to citation occurrence 10.015 Back to citation occurrence 10.016 Back to citation occurrence 10.017 Back to citation occurrence 10.018 Back to citation occurrence 10.019 Back to citation occurrence 10.020 Back to citation occurrence 10.021 Back to citation occurrence 10.022 Back to citation occurrence 10.023 Back to citation occurrence 10.024 Back to citation occurrence 10.025 Back to citation occurrence 10.026 Back to citation occurrence 10.027 Back to citation occurrence 10.028 Back to citation occurrence 10.029 Back to citation occurrence 10.030 Back to citation occurrence 10.031 Back to citation occurrence 10.032 Back to citation occurrence 10.033 Back to citation occurrence 10.034 Back to citation occurrence 10.035 Back to citation occurrence 10.036 Back to citation occurrence 10.037 Back to citation occurrence 10.038 Back to citation occurrence 10.039 Back to citation occurrence 10.040 Back to citation occurrence 10.041 Back to citation occurrence 10.042 Back to citation occurrence 10.043 Back to citation occurrence 10.044 Back to citation occurrence 10.045 Back to citation occurrence 10.046 Back to citation occurrence 10.047 Back to citation occurrence 10.048 Back to citation occurrence 10.049 Back to citation occurrence 10.050 Back to citation occurrence 10.051 Back to citation occurrence 10.052 Back to citation occurrence 10.053 Back to citation occurrence 10.054 Back to citation occurrence 10.055 Back to citation occurrence 10.056 Back to citation occurrence 10.057 Back to citation occurrence 10.058 Back to citation occurrence 10.059 Back to citation occurrence 10.060 Back to citation occurrence 10.061 Back to citation occurrence 10.062 Back to citation occurrence 10.063 Back to citation occurrence 10.064 Back to citation occurrence 10.065 Back to citation occurrence 10.066 Back to citation occurrence 10.067 Back to citation occurrence 10.068 Back to citation occurrence 10.069 Back to citation occurrence 10.070 Back to citation occurrence 10.071 Back to citation occurrence 10.072 Back to citation occurrence 10.073 Back to citation occurrence 10.074 Back to citation occurrence 10.075 Back to citation occurrence 10.076 Back to citation occurrence 10.077 Back to citation occurrence 10.078 Back to citation occurrence 10.079 Back to citation occurrence 10.080 Back to citation occurrence 10.081 Back to citation occurrence 10.082 Back to citation occurrence 10.083 Back to citation occurrence 10.084 Back to citation occurrence 10.085 Back to citation occurrence 10.086 Back to citation occurrence 10.087 Back to citation occurrence 10.088 Back to citation occurrence 10.089 Back to citation occurrence 10.090 Back to citation occurrence 10.091 Back to citation occurrence 10.092 Back to citation occurrence 10.093 Back to citation occurrence 10.094 Back to citation occurrence 10.095 Back to citation occurrence 10.096 Back to citation occurrence 10.097 Back to citation occurrence 10.098 Back to citation occurrence 10.099 Back to citation occurrence 10.100 Back to citation occurrence 10.101 Back to citation occurrence 10.102 Back to citation occurrence 10.103 Back to citation occurrence 10.104 Back to citation occurrence 10.105 Back to citation occurrence 10.106 Back to citation occurrence 10.107 Back to citation occurrence 10.108 Motion Pictures Classified by the National Legion of Decency, February 1936 – October 1959. New York. 1959. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  11. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). The New York Times. September 21, 1936. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  12. Back to citation occurrence 12.0 Back to citation occurrence 12.1 Back to citation occurrence 12.2 Slide, Anthony (1998). Banned in the U.S.A.: British Films in the United States and their Censorship. I.B. Tauris. p. 4. ISBN 9781860642548. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  13. Back to citation Nugent, Frank S. (October 13, 1937). "The Gallic Film-Makers Turn Inquisitive Eyes Upon 'Lucrezia Borgia' and Her Family at the Belmont" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2017. “The biography is more charitable than the Legion of Decency will give it credit for.”
  14. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. December 24, 1937. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  15. Back to citation The Legion used the title Smashing the Vice Racket. Motion Pictures Classified by the National Legion of Decency, February 1936 – October 1959. New York. 1959. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  16. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). The New York Times. March 18, 1941. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  17. Back to citation "Gable Film Censured" (PDF). New York Times. March 28, 1940. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  18. Back to citation "Ban on Film Modified" (PDF). New York Times. October 7, 1940. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  19. Back to citation Dick, Bernard F. (2006). Forever Mame: The Life of Rosalind Russell. University Press of Mississippi. p. 79. ISBN 9781604731392. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  20. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. October 21, 1940. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  21. Back to citation Doherty, Thomas (2007). Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration. Columbia University Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780231512848. Retrieved 3 April 2017. “It was the first studio release to be condemned by the Legion....”
  22. Back to citation "Condemns Garbo Movie" (PDF). New York Times. November 24, 1941. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  23. Back to citation "Lifts Ban on Garbo Film" (PDF). New York Times. December 18, 1941. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  24. Back to citation The New York Times described the resulting film as "slightly laundered". It said "this ancient fable of the wife who parades as her own gaudy twin sister to get her husband back" was altered at the Legion's insistence by "the insertion of a telephone call wherein the husband learns in advance of his wife's intended deception." "At the Capitol". New York Times. January 1, 1942. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  25. Back to citation occurrence 25.0 Back to citation occurrence 25.1 Back to citation occurrence 25.2 Weiler, A.H. (December 21, 1947). "By Way Of Report" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  26. Back to citation Leff, Leonard J; Simmons, Jerold L. (2001). The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code (Second ed.). University Press of Kentucky. pp. 204–5. ISBN 9780813171074. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  27. Back to citation "French Film Condemned" (PDF). New York Times. July 5, 1948. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  28. Back to citation occurrence 28.0 Back to citation occurrence 28.1 "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. June 13, 1949. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  29. Back to citation "Legion 'Condemns' Film" (PDF). New York Times. May 30, 1949. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  30. Back to citation "Legion Bans 'Fric-Frac'" (PDF). New York Times. June 28, 1948. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  31. Back to citation occurrence 31.0 Back to citation occurrence 31.1 "Two Films Condemned" (PDF). New York Times. June 14, 1948. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  32. Back to citation occurrence 32.0 Back to citation occurrence 32.1 "Hit by Legion of Decency" (PDF). New York Times. June 27, 1949. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  33. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. October 31, 1949. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  34. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. September 5, 1949. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  35. Back to citation Black, Gregory D. (1998). The Catholic Crusade Against the Movies, 1940-1975. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9780521629058.
  36. Back to citation occurrence 36.0 Back to citation occurrence 36.1 "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. October 28, 1950. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  37. Back to citation occurrence 37.0 Back to citation occurrence 37.1 "Twi Films 'Condemned'" (PDF). New York Times. February 17, 1951. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  38. Back to citation "Legion Condemns Film" (PDF). New York Times. September 25, 1950. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  39. Back to citation occurrence 39.0 Back to citation occurrence 39.1 "Legion Bans Two Films" (PDF). New York Times. April 24, 1950. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  40. Back to citation "Catholic Group Condemns Film" (PDF). New York Times. December 4, 1950. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  41. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. April 12, 1942. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  42. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. June 21, 1952. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  43. Back to citation occurrence 43.0 Back to citation occurrence 43.1 Back to citation occurrence 43.2 "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. February 11, 1952. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  44. Back to citation "Legion Against French Film" (PDF). New York Times. October 1, 1951. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  45. Back to citation "Catholic Unit Bans French Film" (PDF). New York Times. September 29, 1952. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  46. Back to citation Likely the 1943 French film.
  47. Back to citation "Legion Bans 'La Ronde'" (PDF). New York Times. November 5, 1951. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  48. Back to citation "Catholic Group Bans 'Scarred'" (PDF). New York Times. December 3, 1951. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  49. Back to citation "Legion of Decency Bars Film" (PDF). New York Times. April 30, 1951. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  50. Back to citation "'Miracle' Banned Throughout City" (PDF). New York Times. December 25, 1950. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  51. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. April 16, 1951. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  52. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. March 25, 1952. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  53. Back to citation "French Film is Scored" (PDF). New York Times. October 8, 1952. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  54. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. August 1, 1952. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  55. Back to citation "Catholic Unit Lauds Film Self-Censorship" (PDF). New York Times. November 26, 1953. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  56. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. August 26, 1953. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  57. Back to citation "Catholic Unit Condemns Film". New York Times. December 21, 1953.
  58. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. November 7, 1953. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  59. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  60. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. June 28, 1954. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  61. Back to citation "Catholic Unit Condemns Film" (PDF). New York Times. March 29, 1954. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  62. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. November 20, 1954. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  63. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. January 2, 1954. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  64. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. July 28, 1954. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  65. Back to citation Slide, Anthony (1998). Banned in the U.S.A.: British Films in the United States and their Censorship, 1933–1960. I.B. Tauris. pp. 80–1. ISBN 9781860642548. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  66. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. January 29, 1955. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  67. Back to citation "Decency Legion Scores 'Sinbad'" (PDF). New York Times. May 6, 1955.
  68. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. August 7, 1956. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  69. Back to citation "Catholics Divide on French Movie" (PDF). New York Times. January 14, 1956. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  70. Back to citation occurrence 70.0 Back to citation occurrence 70.1 "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. August 21, 1957. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  71. Back to citation The Legion's 1959 listing misidentifies this film as Italian. Motion Pictures Classified by the National Legion of Decency, February 1936 – October 1959. New York. 1959. Retrieved April 3, 2017. "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. April 20, 1956. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  72. Back to citation "MarchmOf Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. April 29, 1956.
  73. Back to citation "Of Local Origin". New York Times. March 3, 1956. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  74. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. December 15, 1956. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  75. Back to citation The Legion says a revised version of this film was rated B but does not mention an earlier rating, presumably C.
  76. Back to citation "Of Local Origin" (PDF). New York Times. March 23, 1959.
  77. Back to citation occurrence 77.0 Back to citation occurrence 77.1 "7 Foreign Films Set for Release" (PDF). New York Times. July 2, 1960. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  78. Back to citation "Legion of Decency Hits Film" (PDF). New York Times. January 12, 1962. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  79. Back to citation Archer, Eugene (September 22, 1961). "Movie by Bunuel to be Seen Here". New York Times.
  80. Back to citation "Legion of Decency and Chain in Rift" (PDF). New York Times. October 18, 1962. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  81. Back to citation "Catholic Film Office Is Easing Policy" (PDF). New York Times. April 9, 1966. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  82. Back to citation Crowther, Bosley (December 13, 1964). "Moral Brinkmanship". New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  83. Back to citation "City is Promoted as Movie Locale" (PDF). New York Times. May 12, 1965. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  84. Back to citation occurrence 84.0 Back to citation occurrence 84.1 Back to citation occurrence 84.2 Back to citation occurrence 84.3 Canby, Vincent (October 13, 1967). "Filmmakers Show Less Fear of Catholic Office" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  85. Back to citation "Re: The MPAA". The Skeptic Tank. 25 May 1993. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  86. Back to citation p. 68 Phillips, Kendall R. Controversial Cinema: The Films That Outraged America Praeger June 30, 2008
  87. Back to citation occurrence 87.0 Back to citation occurrence 87.1 Back to citation occurrence 87.2 Back to citation occurrence 87.3 Hoberman, J. (October 5, 2011). "Weekend: When Godard Burned the Movie House Down". Village Voice. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  88. Back to citation Van Sant, Gus (April 15, 1997). "Timeless trash". The Advocate. No. 731. Here Publishing. pp. 40–41. ISSN 0001-8996. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  89. Back to citation Films: P. Refused-Classification.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  90. Back to citation Balio, Tino (1987). United Artists: The Company that Changed the Film Industry. Vol. 2. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 289. ISBN 9780299230135. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  91. Back to citation "The Omen". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  92. Back to citation McMurran, Kristen (May 29, 1978). "Pretty Brooke". People. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016.