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. 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, 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.
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. 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).
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, 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.
1936
- Adolf Strongarm, a Swedish import (Adolf Armstarke).
- Extase or Ecstasy (1933), an import from Czechoslovakia.
- Elysia (1933), an exploitation pseudo-documentary about nudism by Bryan Foy
- Les Amours de Toni (1935), a French import directed by Jean Renoir.
- Carnival in Flanders, a French import
- Gambling with Souls, an exploitation film described by The New York Times as "a so-called exposé of the vice racket".
- Living Dangerously, an English import produced by British International Pictures.
- Pitfalls of Youth, possibly an alternative title for the exploitation film Marihuana, by Dwain Esper.
- The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), an English import starring Charles Laughton.
- Whirlpool of Desire, a French import originally titled Remous.
1937
1938
- Children of the Sun, an exploitation pseudo-documentary.
- Human Wreckage, a sexploitation film about venereal disease, also distributed as Sex Madness.
- It's All in the Mind (1937), an exploitation film by Bernard B. Ray, dealing with hypnosis with a sex-positive message.
- The New Testament Indiscretions, a French comedy from Sacha Guitry.
- Orage, a French import, which the Legion calls L'Orage.
- The Pace That Kills (1935), an exploitation film about cocaine use.
- The Puritan, a French import.
- Race Suicide, an exploitation film about prostitution and abortion.
- The Wages of Sin, an exploitation film about prostitution.
1939
- The Human Beast (1938), a French import originally titled La Bête Humaine, directed by Jean Renoir.
- Le Jour Se Lève or Daybreak, a French import directed by Marcel Carné, condemned for its "general atmosphere of sordidness and abnormality".
- ', a FrenchâÂÂItalian import.
- Mad Youth, an exploitation film by Willis Kent.
- Rasputin, a French import directed by Marcel L'Herbier.
- Reefer Madness, an exploitation film about marijuana by George Hirliman, also distributed as Tell Your Children.
- Sinful Daughters, a sexploitation film about abortion endorsing birth control.
- Smashing the Rackets, an exploitation film loosely based on the early career of Thomas E. Dewey.
- With a Smile, a French import directed by Maurice Tourneur.
1940
- Hôtel du Nord, a French import directed by Marcel Carné.
- The Kiss of Fire, a French import
- Lash of the Penitentes (1936/1937), an exploitation film from Harry Revier.
- The Merry Wives, a Czech import.
- Pépé le Moko (1937), a French import directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin.
- Souls in Pawn, a sexploitation film, one of several directed by Melville Shyer.
- Stolen Paradise, a sexploitation film by George Hirliman, also released as Adolescence and condemned by the Legion under that title.
- Strange Cargo, initially condemned. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made revisions and the Legion changed its rating to "unobjectionable for adults".
- This Thing Called Love, initially condemned for failing to reflect the "Christian concept of marriage"; the Legion revised the rating to B after Columbia Pictures removed fifteen lines of dialogue the Legion objected to.
- Time in the Sun, a documentary compiled from footage shot by Sergei Eisenstein. The Legion called its account of Mexican history "an ideological perversion of the subject to purposes of Marxian Communism".
1941
- City of Sin, a sexploitation film
- Fighting the White Slave Trade (1926), a sexploitation film.
- Nine Bachelors, a French import.
- The Girl from Maxim's (1933), a British import. The Legion said: "Vice is portrayed attractively; virtue ridiculed."
- No Greater Sin, a sexploitation film about a campaign to prevent the spread of venereal disease.
- Le Roi (1936), a French import.
- Two-Faced Woman, Greta Garbo's last film, initially condemned for its "immoral and un-Christian attitude toward marriage and its obligations; impudently suggestive scenes, dialogue, and situations; [and] suggestive costumes". Within a month Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made changes sufficient for the Legion to revise its rating to B.
- Volpone, a French film directed by Maurice Tourneur.
1942
1943
1945
- Mom and Dad, 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. The Legion reclassified it A-II (morally unobjectionable for adults) after revisions to "all prints of this film".
- 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.
- Nais, a French import.
1948
- The Bandit, an Italian import starring Anna Magnani.
- César, a French import from 1936 by Marcel Pagnol, in which the Legion found "Irreverent and blasphemous treatment of religious practices".
- Dedee, a French import condemned for its "low atmosphere" and "sordidness".
- Devil in the Flesh, a French import condemned for its "sympathetic portrayal of illicit actions."
- Fric-Frac, a French import produced a decade earlier.
- The Genius and the Nightingale, an Italian import produced in 1943 and titled Maria Malibran, a biopic of soprano Maria Malibran (1808âÂÂ1836).
- Incorrigible, a Swedish import (Rötägg) directed by Arne Mattsson.
- Merry Chase, an Italian import (La resa di Titì) starring Rossano Brazzi.
- ', a 1947 French film by Edmond T. Gréville, also known as Pour une nuit d'amour, initially condemned. Rated B following revisions for copies distributed in the U.S. and Canada.
- The Room Upstairs, a French import starring Marlene Dietrich and Jean Gabin.
- Sins of the Fathers, a Canadian import.
- Street Corner, an exploitation film.
- Torment, 1944 Swedish film with a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman, initially condemned. When revised, its rating was changed to B for prints distributed in the U.S.
- ', an Italian romantic musical.
1949
- The Blue Lagoon, a British import from director Frank Launder, starring Jean Simmons, condemned as "too shocking and almost pornographic". Universal-International cut 15 minutes for its U.S. release to satisfy the Legion of Decency.
- The Devil's Sleep, an exploitation film.
- Germany, Year Zero, an Italian import from director Roberto Rossellini.
- Hollywood Burlesque, an exploitation film featuring a filmed performance from the Hollywood Theater, San Diego.
- ', a French import condemned as "totally lacking in moral compensation".
- Rozina, the Love Child, a Czech import.
- The Story of Bob and Sally, an exploitation film.
- ', a French import.
1950
- Bitter Rice, an Italian import (Riso Amaro), initially condemned for "Suggestive situations and costuming. Suicide in plot solution." Revisions earned a B rating, which applied only to prints in the U.S.
- The Blue Angel (1930), a release of the original German-language version of the film starring Marlene Dietrich.
- Bullet for Stefano, an Italian import starring Rossano Brazzi
- Flesh Will Surrender, an Italian import.
- Gigi, a French import starring Danièle Delorme.
- ', a French import.
- Jungle Stampede, which according to the Legion "purports to be a documentary and educational in nature" but condemned for its handling of its subject matter, "native customs and habits".
- Lovers of Verona, a French import.
- Manon, a French import; the Legion said it "condones immoral actions".
- No Orchids for Miss Blandish, a British gangster film.
- Oh, Amelia, a French import.
- The Paris Waltz, a French import.
- A Royal Affair, a French import starring Maurice Chevalier.
- Scandals of Clochemerle, a French import.
- The Sinners, a French import directed by Julien Duvivier.
- Los Olvidados (also known as The Young and the Damned), a Mexican film directed by Luis Buñuel.
1951
- Behind Closed Shutters, an Italian import.
- It's Forever Springtime, an Italian import.
- Latuko, a sexploitation film in the form of an anthropological pseudo-documentary about a tribe in Sudan better known as the Lotuko people.
- A Lover's Return, a French import.
- La Marie du port, a French import starring Jean Gabin.
- Miss Julie, a Swedish import.
- ', a French import.
- The Raven (1943), a French import.
- La Ronde, a French import directed by Max Ophüls starring Simone Signoret.
- Scarred, an Italian import starring Anna Magnani.
- She Shoulda Said No!, a film about the dangers of marijuana.
- The Ways of Love, the umbrella title used for distributing three foreign language films, which the Legion condemned as a group. The principal film, both in length and in terms of the controversy it generated, was Roberto Rossellini's The Miracle (1948), distributed in Europe as L'Amore with a companion film, The Human Voice, also by Rossellini. The two other short films that The Ways of Love included were Jean Renoir's "A Day in the Country" (1936) and Marcel Pagnol's Jofroi (1933).
- White Cargo (1937), a French film. Listed by the Legion of Decency as French White Cargo.
1952
1953
1954
- The Bed, a French import.
- The French Line, an RKO musical starring Jane Russell, condemned for "grossly obscene, suggestive and indecent action, costuming and dialogue". The Legion said it was "capable of grave, evil influence upon those who patronize it, especially youth".
- Garden of Eden, a sexploitation film set in a nudist colony.
- Karamoja, a sexploitation film.
- Mademoiselle Gobete, an Italian import that the Legion said "dwells constantly on a farcical presentation of the virtue of purity".
- One Summer of Happiness, a Swedish import.
- SensualitÃÂ, an Italian import starring Marcello Mastroianni.
- Summer Interlude, a Swedish import directed by Ingmar Bergman. Condemned under the title Illicit Interlude.
- Violated, a U.S. crime drama.
- We Want a Child!, a Danish import.
1955
- Adorable Creatures, a French import.
- The Desperate Women, a Majestic Pictures film; the Legion said that "it ignores completely essential and supernatural values associated with questions of this nature".
- A Husband for Anna, an Italian import.
- I Am a Camera, a British import the Legion condemned for its "basic story, characterization, dialogue and costuming".
- The Game of Love, a French import.
- Rififi, a French import, initially condemned; assigned a B after "substantial revisions".
- Son of Sinbad, RKO film described as "a challenge to decent standards of theatrical entertainment" and "an incitement to juvenile delinquency".
1956
- And God Created Woman, a French import directed by Roger Vadim and starring Brigitte Bardot.
- Baby Doll, produced by Elia Kazan and Tennessee Williams; the Legion called its subject matter "morally repellent both in theme and treatment" and said its "scenes of cruelty are degrading and corruptive".
- Bed of Grass, a Greek import the Legion charged with "sheer animalism", originally titled Agioupa, to koritsi tou kampou.
- Female and the Flesh, also released as The Light Across the Street; a French import.
- Fruits of Summer, a French import.
- Letters from My Windmill, a French import directed by Marcel Pagnol.
- The Miller's Beautiful Wife, an Italian import.
- Passionate Summer, a FrenchâÂÂItalian import.
- Rossana, a Mexican import.
- The Naked Night, a Swedish import directed by Ingmar Bergman, also distributed as Sawdust and Tinsel.
- Sins of the Borgias, a French import.
- Stella, a Greek import starring Melina Mercouri.
- Stain in the Snow, a French import the Legion called Snow was Black.
- Nana, a French import.
- Woman of Rome, an Italian import.
1957
1958
1959
- The Third Sex (1957), a German import directed by Veit Harlan; also known as Bewildered Youth or Different from You and Me, originally Das dritte Geschlecht.
- The Savage Eye (1959), Los Angeles dramatized documentary.
1960
1961
1962
- Boccaccio '70 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.
1963
1964
1965
- The Pawnbroker, condemned "for the sole reason that nudity has been used".
1966
1967
1968
1969
1971
1972
1973
1975
1976
1978
See also
Notes
References