Censorship In Theatre And Cinema

by Aldgate, Anthony; Robertson, James C.

• ISBN13: 9780748619610
• ISBN10: 0748619615
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-29
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Summary

The first comparative study of censorship in theatre and cinema during the last century, this book examines notable twentieth-century cases involving the Lord Chamberlain's theatre censorship and the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC). Anthony Aldgate and James C. Robertson have written extensively on the subject of stage and screen censorship, and here they utilize previously unpublished sources as well as hitherto unexplored BBFC files. They show how the two censorship agencies operated, with some interaction between them, in such controversial matters as sex, foreign affairs, juvenile crime, single-sex relationships, the "swinging" 1960s, horror, and religion. The authors also discuss how censors treated American films and plays. This wide-ranging study concludes by explaining why theatre censorship was abolished in 1968 whereas the BBFC has survived until the present day.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vi
Acknowledgements	vii
Abbreviations	viii
1. Introduction	1	(4)
2. Sex Matters	5	(33)
3. Foreign Affairs	38	(17)
4. The Quest for 'Quality'	55	(24)
5. 'I'm not a juvenile delinquent'	79	(23)
6. Homosexuality and Lesbianism	102	(27)
7. From the 'Angry' Fifties to the 'Swinging' Sixties	129	(27)
8. Sundry Genres	156	(25)
9. Conclusion	181	(5)
Select Bibliography	186	(4)
Index of Personalities	190	(4)
Index of Film Titles	194	(2)
Index of Play Titles	196