Posted on 09/09/2018 3:35:18 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
One question that has intrigued me for years is HOW did the John Ford movie starring John Wayne, "Stagecoach," make it past the censors in 1939. Back in those days the Hollywood Code was strictly enforced yet "Stagecoach" clearly featured a prostitute which would have been prohibited. Even worse, she was portrayed in a sympathetic light.
Yeah, I know it did not explicitly say that Dallas the Prostitute, played by Clair Trevor, was a prostitute but the movie left no doubt that was the case. Particularly revealing was the scene in Lordsville when against her objections, the naive Ringo Kid (John Wayne) walked her to her new job and even he realized that Dallas was a hooker which was made obvious by all the hookers hanging out in the section of town where she was going.
Yet somehow, the censors let this pass. Wasn't there at least some sort of objection by the censors (mainly Joseph Bream who was really strict)? Anyway, still amazed that "Stagecoach" made it to the Silver Screen back in those days complete with it's all too obvious prostitute character.
I’ve heard the same thing; during the first couple of seasons, when Gunsmoke was a 30-minute program, cowboys and Miss Kitty’s girls were routinely seen climbing the stairs and coming back down again in scenes that took place in the “Long Branch.” Also heard that CBS censors never caught on; writers and producers eventually decided it was better to stop before the censors realized what was appearing on American TV screens.
Gunsmoke was a great show; still enjoy watching re-runs today. There have been reports that CBS is working on a re-boot and I’m hoping they cancel the project. You can’t improve on the original.
After Burt’s passing, it was widely reported that he hated Boogie Nights (reportedly didn’t get along with director Paul Thomas Anderson) and fired his agent after filming was complete. Apparently never changed his mind, despite the fact the role won him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for best supporting actor.
By his own admission, Burt wasn’t really interested in stretching himself as an actor, but he was great in Boogie Nights. And you’re right—there’s a lot of stuff in the film that really pushed the limits.
And don’t forget the biggest censor “miss” of all time, involving an episode of “Leave it to Beaver.” In one scene, June tells her husband, “Ward, you were a little hard on the Beaver last night.” She was obviously referring to Ward disciplining their TV son, but you know the folks in the writer’s room were chuckling when they sent the script up for review, certain the line would be cut, or the censors would demand re-wording. But it went through, and you can still argue it was the “dirtiest line ever uttered on TV”
Yes to Gloria Graham. I absolutely love her line in It’s a Wonderful Life as Violet when she says “ this old thing? Why, I only wear it when I don’t care WHAT I look like .”
BOOM!
I’ve wondered about this too. Not only do you have a prostitute but a pregnant woman - although, if I remember correctly, they followed the code and did not use the word “pregnant”.
Not true (etymologically anyway)....
“hooker” as prostitute dates to 1845, if not before.
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/hooker
Early on, Miss Kitty didn't own or run the Longbranch - she was just one of the girls that went up and down the stairs.
“1939, the best year for movies EVA!”
This!
Anyone looking at the list will be impressed.
I just watched all episodes from the first four seasons, even the first episode where John Wayne introduced the program, She was always portrayed as the owner.
***James Caan puts the flower pot on his head and goes “ching chong ching”***
I remember seeing THE WAR WAGON on TV back in 1976 out of Tulsa OK. When it came to the part where “Indian” Howard Keel says..”Dumb Indians!” the sound is cut off leaving dead air for a second. This happened several times.
I remember several other movies on TV that suddenly had “dead spots” or the screen went black for a few seconds. Others were butchered to remove violence they were almost laughable. Think of THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING in which Burt Reynolds shoots the bad guy, once, and he falls with four bullet holes in him.
The first showing of Charlton Heston in THE WAR LORD was so butchered it was nothing like the movie in the theater. And don’t get me started on the first TV showing of ON HER MAJESTIE’S SECRET SERVICE! They actually started it in the middle of the film, then reverted to the start. They showed it over two weeks.
“I just watched all episodes from the first four seasons, even the first episode where John Wayne introduced the program, She was always portrayed as the owner.”
Not according to my recollection, or the published accounts of others.
Almost Heroes (1998)
Hunt: I name this here fork “Pittsburgh Nellie”; a Welsh whore who could do things with her one good arm that’d make you forget that *thing* on her neck.
In 1969, with their joke of a ratings system, I saw a GLEN FORD movie rated “G”. HEAVEN WITH A GUN. Not long ago I saw it on the Westerns channel, and that version would have been given a very heavy “R” rating in 1969.
There were several movies I saw back in 1969 rated “R” that have been re-rated today as PG or PG-13.
“Born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, was a telephone operator before acting. Nicknamed “Young Greer Garson,” became best known for her 19 years as the fictional “Kitty Russell.” Miss Kitty was the owner-operator of the Long Branch Saloon, which dispenses wisdom, whiskey, and – although not openly – the boarding room keys and “fantasy” women. (In the early episodes of Gunsmoke, Miss Kitty is an employee of the Long Branch, although it is unclear what their functions are.) Like Perry Mason and his secretary Della Street, Kitty and Dodge City in the U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (played by James Arness) apparently wrapped her in a relationship.”
Fascinating history. Just saw this in the trivia section on IMDB.
“In 1939, Claire Trevor was the film’s biggest star and commanded the highest salary.”
I remember reading of a TV plot that fell to the censors. The plot was....A black boy is lynched by a mob while the sheriff stands by and does nothing. He is so overcome with remorse he later kills himself.
How it was changed...
The mob lynches a Mexican boy. The sheriff is so overcome with remorse and is later killed in a gunfight.
RIO LOBO had the same plot after the opening Civil war scenes.
***It’s clear that Dallas is a prostitute, and that she’s headed for the red light district,***
And the piano pounder we never see but hear is playing the Christian hymn Lily of the Valley.
“I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.”
As the Salvation Army band used to say, when they sang bawdy songs with new Christian lyrics...”Why should the devil have the best tunes?”
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