Pre-1960s BBFCBy Alex, Beth and lucy

At the beginning

Before the BBFC was set up , local authorities had the authorization to rate films as they wanted as long as they were reasonable

The BBFC was set up in 1912 and was then titled the British Board Of Censors It was set up to standardize films and give uniform film classification to all films in the UK It’s a independent and Is a non-govermental body funded by charged fees. This means film distributors

have always had to pay to have their films rated Initially there were two ratings . There was a U and a A. At the time of these ratings there were only

two film examiners until the 1920s where two more were introduced to help look at each film and to speed up the process.

In 19196 T.P Connor was appointed president of the BBFC and as one of his first tasks he was to make a list for deletion that films shouldn't contain.

New ratings

In 1932 the H rating was introduced. It stood for horrific which indicated horror and was advisory.

The X rating was introduced in 1951 , which meant that no0one under the age of 16 was permitted to see an X rated film.

The wild one

This film was put forward to the BBFC in 1953 and it was one of the most controversial films of the era. This is because it was released in a time of moral panic. The rating the film got was PG uncut. Because of the social change that the film contained.

Because of the controversial nature of the film, public screenings were banned in England by the British Board of Film Censors for fourteen years (until 1968) after its release. Even in America, it was feared that the shocking, 'Communist' movie glamorized a anti-social subculture in revolt, would set a bad example, and cause impressionable viewers to copy-cat its plot and incite delinquency and riots. In fact, it took many years for pacifist motorcyclists to overcome stereotypes and fabrications promoted by the film.

No orchids for Miss Blandish

It was presented to the BBFC in 1944 after it being a well known novel and play. Examiners had mixed opinions on the script for the film , some believing with modifications they would be able to pass it whilst others believed it was unacceptable (describing the script as one “of unrelieved crime and brutality from start to finish”). The BBFC required 114 feet to two of the reels before being awarded an ‘A’ certificate. However, local authorities banned the film from being shown and the board was forced to apologies for passing it at all.

Freaks

Freaks was first shown in 1932 but was greeted with disgust by critics and the public when in cinemas in America before being withdrawn by MGM, the BBFC refused to give it a certificate at all (even the arrival of the H category for horror films was unable to allow the film to be passed). Freaks was resubmitted to the board in 1952 with the request for an ‘X’ rating and the film was rejected again due to the exploitation of human deformity. It was only awarded a certificate in 1963.

Song of the south

Song of the South 1946 was banned by the BBFC because the main character of the film was a slave and the BBFC thought this would be controversial to some audiences and be seen as racism.

Song of the South concerns a young boy, Johnny, who moves to his mother’s family plantation in Georgia right as his father leaves the family to fight for some unspecified cause in Atlanta. He is very sad and lonely and he’s comforted by the tall tales of Uncle Remus, an ex-slave living on the property. The era of the film’s setting is purposefully vague; while it’s implied that the black workers are no longer Johnny’s family’s property, they are still completely subservient, and happily so. Some audiences can see this content as borderline racist which is why I was banned.

Rebel without a cause

Rebel without a cause was presented to the BBFC in 1955, the board responded to this with concerns of public anxiety about juvenile crime, cuts were made to allow it to pass as an ‘X’ rating, even though the distributors wanted the board to give it an ‘A’ rating but were unwilling to make the extra cuts to achieve this rating.

Rebel Without a Cause is a great example of a movie which had a social impact on its time due to its material. Starring James Dean in 1955, Rebel Without a Cause disrupted the social belief that home, community and school are the kind places they are meant to be for a normal teenage upbringing. In modern times a film like this is considered common but in 1955, it drew much attention because the social barriers it broke concerning these institutions. It was so against what the 1950s stood for which is why it was surpising it passed at all.