State papers: Film censor not impressed with Elvis and 'suggestive abdominal dancing'
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Ireland’s film censor felt the need to warn the Government over 60 years ago about a concerning trend where the US and UK film industries were constantly developing “newer gimmicks and different slants on human depravity to be exploited".
The revelation was made in newly released State papers made available by the National Archives.
In a confidential note written in February 1960, the film censor, Liam O’Hora, recorded that he had rejected issuing a certificate for 54 films while noting that film producers had “by and large departed from all their old standards".
He complained that “renters” were no longer refraining from submitting their “more notorious creations". Mr O’Hora wrote to the Minister for Justice, Oscar Traynor, that appeals had been lodged in relation to 20 films, with 15 of his original decisions upheld.
He rejected films featuring many leading Hollywood stars including James Stewart, Lana Turner, Frank Sinatra and Anthony Quinn.
Mr O'Hora, who was Ireland's film censor from 1956 to 1964, observed that “at least 40% of the films coming in nowadays belong to the ‘moral vacuum’ category".
He claimed that this new development was “not yet exhausted".
“There are always newer gimmicks and different slants on human depravity to be exploited,” Mr O’Hora added.
The film censor blamed much of this trend on film’s “duel” with television.
“Producers hope that, even if such films are now refused certificates for theatrical exhibition, they will eventually be seen through the medium of television,” said Mr O’Hora.
The report contained detailed lists of the films rejected by the censor in 1959 and 1960 - including such Hollywood epics as Peyton Place and A Farewell To Arms.
Peyton Place was rejected in Ireland despite the fact the film's US director, Mark Robson, was criticised for omitting virtually all of the sexually explicit scenes which had made the novel such a commercial success.
Other high-profile films banned included Pal Joey starring Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth, Wild Is the Wind with Anthony Quinn, House on Haunted Hill featuring Vincent Price, and Anatomy of a Murder starring James Stewart and Lee Remick.
Additionally, several lower-budget films were deemed unsuitable for Irish audiences with titles such as A Bucket of Blood, The Wanton Countess, Hell Bound, and Runaway Daughters.
State papers also reveal that Mr O’Hora was not particularly enamoured with the leading singer of the time, Elvis Presley and his succession of Hollywood movies.
In one document the film censor wrote: “I have had much trouble in the past, particularly from headmistresses of girls' schools regarding the antics of Elvis Presley with his most suggestive abdominal dancing etc.”
His strict approach extended to Alfred Hitchcock's landmark thriller Psycho, which he demanded be heavily censored before it could be screened in Irish cinemas.