American adult movies from 1971 that have been cut or banned in Australia.
The X-rating, for hardcore sex, was introduced in February 1984.
Roseland
Directed by Fredric Hobbs / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In November 1973, a 2523.13-meter (91:58) print of ROSELAND was censored by 56.00-meters (02:02) for an R-rating. The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
Regent Trading Enterprises was the applicant.
Censored rerelease
14th Mandolin had a censored 2221.00-meter (80:57) version passed with an R-rating in January 1979.
Video release
In the early 1980s, K&C Video issued ROSELAND on tape.
It needs to be confirmed if it is the censored version.
Review
Mike reports
Something Weird Video (us) – DVD – 87:53
Adam Wainwright The Black Bandit (E. Kerrigan Prescott) is a singer who is obsessed with sex and addicted to stealing pornography. After his fall from grace when he performed a sexually provocative song and dance number on primetime TV, his sex mania intensified and he is now under the care of Dr Skate (Victor Alter). The therapy doesn’t go to plan and he eventually takes the advice of Hieronymous Bosch (who has been hiding under Adam’s bed since the 15th century) and sails away on a boat shaped like a giant phallus.
ROSELAND plays out more like a fever dream than a conventionally-plotted narrative and much of it defies rational explanation. It’s difficult to be sure about the cuts as the Australian submission was 4 minutes longer than the currently available (2026) version, but there would have been problems with several scenes:
1. We see a group of people who may be film archivists watching a film featuring a group of naked people cavorting around on the grass. It’s all quite tame but there are 00:02 of a woman masturbating a man’s flaccid penis. After we see this, Adam enters the scene in the manner of Tarzan swinging on a vine and steals the film reel.
2. We see a flashback to the scene which got Adam banned from TV in which he sings an obscene song about whores while various women dance provocatively. At various points we cut to a group of audience members who are smoking spliffs.
3. While under the influence of belladonna, Adam dreams about the same group of naked people who were seen earlier in the film. This time he is kidnapped by them and stripped out of his wetsuit. While their attention is distracted a women frees him and they make their way to a riverbank where they have sex. The sex scene involves nudity and while it isn’t that graphic overall, the camera floats through the scene and captures a fair number of close-up shots.
4. The same woman is caught by the group of naked people and punished. She is thrown to the ground and is whipped by several men while she is practically naked. It is implied that she is whipped to death and we see her battered body briefly later.
5. Adam goes to the TV station to try to get his job back. He talks to his previous boss, and before Adam arrives we see the boss flicking through a pornographic magazine containing bondage photos.
6. Adam is later confined to an asylum and seduces and has sex with one of the nurses. Later another nurse joins in. There’s a fair amount of nudity in this scene and some close-ups.
7. At the end of the film we see Adam sailing into the sunset on a boat shaped like a giant phallus. He is thrusting fairly enthusiastically into a naked woman while a giant rose protrudes from his posterior.
Sextet
Directed by Bud Irwin / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In August 1979, a 1701.17-meter (62:00) print of SEXTET was censored by 50.04-meters (01:50) for an R-rating. The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
Blake Films was the applicant.
Sexual Freedom USA
aka Red, White and Blue
Directed by Beverly Sebastian – Ferd Sebastian / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In March 1975, a 2621.58-meter (95:33) print of SEXUAL FREEDOM USA was censored by 189.20-meters (06:53) for an R-rating. The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
Australian Film Hire was the applicant.
Theatrical rerelease under original title
In September 1982, 14th Mandolin re-submitted the film as RED WHITE AND BLUE.
This 2249.26-meter (81:59) ‘pre-censor cut version’ was passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex and language, which were stated as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Justified
Video release
K&C Video released the film on tape in the early 1980s as SEXUAL FREEDOM USA.
It needs to be confirmed if it is the censored version.
A censored censorship documentary
Matt reports.
Something Weird Video (us) – VHS – 80:14 (NTSC)
RED WHITE AND BLUE is an engaging watch for anyone interested in censorship. It has the tagline ‘An in-depth study of censorship, obscenity and pornography in America’. There are similarities to SEXUAL LIBERTY NOW (1971), as it also covers the 1967 ‘President’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography’ and looks at how sexual morals changed during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
There are numerous explicit and hardcore shots throughout which would have undoubtedly been included in the nearly seven minutes of footage removed from the original Australian theatrical release. Interestingly, Something Weird Video’s tape runs around 15-minutes shorter than the original submission.
The retitling to SEXUAL FREEDOM USA appears to have only been done in Australia. This was possibly to cash in on the success of SEXUAL FREEDOM IN DENMARK (1970) which was passed uncut the previous year.
Sexual Liberty Now
Directed by John Lamb / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In December 1974, a 2075:00-meter (75:38) print of SEXUAL LIBERTY NOW was banned because of ‘indecency’.
Columbia Pictures were the applicant.
Birth of the hardcore film
Matt reports.
After Hours Cinema [us] – DVD – 64:08 (NTSC)
SEXUAL LIBERTY NOW is John Lamb’s follow up to SEXUAL FREEDOM IN DENMARK (1970). The original film ‘white coated’ the hardcore footage as a sex education film. SEXUAL LIBERTY NOW does no such thing and shows its true colours in the precredit sequence, with an ultra-close-up penetration shot. From then on, the blowjobs, cumshots and general hardcore do not let up.
Instead of a sex education film, it attempts to tell the story of the 1967 ‘President’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography’. Their findings, in 1970, gave birth to American hardcore cinema. There is a brief nod to Lamb’s previous film, with a look at how the legalisation of hardcore in Denmark failed to destroy society.
The numerous hardcore sequences are there to illustrate what can now be shown and ask what all the fuss was. This includes a pool sex scene starring John Holmes, which the IMDb says is taken from John Lamb’s ZODIAC RAPIST (1971).
From 39 to 51-minutes, we are shown vintage (looks like 1920s to 1940s) stag films, including an early fisting scene. This is meant to demonstrate that porn has always been part of filmmaking. Following this comes 5-minutes of edited highlights from the German sex cartoon SCHNEEFLITTCHEN HINTER DEN SIEBEN BERGEN 1.TEIL. Online reviews list this as a 1975 production, but the fact that it appears here shows that it is a few years older. Following the animation, it is back to the hardcore until the end.
As with the first film, I would have preferred more on the history of adult film censorship in the USA and less of the sex. The interviews with morals campaigners Charles Keating and Father Morton A. Hill show that some things never change.
Columbia Pictures must have been encouraged with SEXUAL FREEDOM IN DENMARK (1971) being passed with an R-rating. Unfortunately, six months later, SEXUAL LIBERTY NOW banned. I can see no way that the censor could have done anything else as it would be extremely difficult to remove so much hardcore. It also lacks the sex-education fig leaf of the first film.
This After Hours Cinema DVD is missing nearly 15-minutes of footage. The version that Vinegar Syndrome had on their Exploitation.TV streaming service (closed July 2018) was reportedly complete.
A Touch of Sweden
Directed by Joseph F. Robertson / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In October 1977, a 2298.40-meters (83.47) print of A TOUCH OF SWEDEN was banned because of ‘indecency’.
A censored 2002.00-meter (72:58) print was submitted later in the same month. It lost a further 15.3-meters (00:33) because of ‘indecency’, before being R-rated.
Blake Films released it theatrically.
Review
Mike reports
Something Weird Video (us) – DVD – 87:30
Sherry (Uschi Digard) has spent some years making a new life for herself in the US. She takes a flight back to Sweden and meets up with her old friend Sally (Peggy Church). They exchange stories about the many sexual encounters they’ve had and heard about since they last met.
There are several scenes which would have posed problems for the Film Censorship Board in 1977.
1. Sally relates a story about a sexually voracious friend. We see the friend fondling an erect penis for a while before licking it gently and rubbing her breasts against it. This scene goes on for 02:32 and must have tested the US definition of softcore back in 1971.
2. Sherry tells a story about two nurses who decide to have lesbian sex. This is portrayed very graphically, although in a softcore way, and throughout the scene it is implied that they are using a very long and oddly shaped dildo on each other. No detail of penetration is scene but the sex toy is in view for some time. (02:32).
3. Sherry recounts the time when a fellow nurse had to attend to a medical emergency. We see the nurse attending to a gay man who tells us that he got overexcited when looking at a picture of his boyfriend and accidentally penetrated himself with a glass coke bottle. The bottle is clearly stuck to his rear rather than inside it, but the nurse spends some time trying to extract it. While all this is happening we see the picture of the boyfriend which caused the problems, in which he is naked and has an erection. (02:42).
4. There is a follow up scene when the nurse, unable to extract the bottle herself, takes the man to a hospital. In a scene which is played for comedy, two doctors try to remove the bottle with a bicycle pump, a vacuum cleaner attachment, a drill and then a hammer. This was probably less censorable as the man’s nudity and the bottle are both hidden by a towel which is draped around him. (03.00).
Window of Passion
Directed by Unknown / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In February 1981, a 635.00-meter (57:52) 16mm print of WINDOW OF PASSION was banned because of sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
14th Mandolin was the applicant.
Review
Mike reports
Unknown source – 41:35
There is no reliable information on the original runtime, but the surviving fragment is 16 minutes shorter than the version submitted in Australia.
Candy Samples wears a red wig and plays a sexually frustrated middle-aged woman who spies on her neighbours having sex through a window. That’s it as far as plot is concerned, but perhaps there was more to it in the complete version.
The only footage actually shot for this film was Candy Samples pleasuring herself on the bed for a few minutes while she thinks about what she just saw. The footage of the neighbours is made up of three already existing porn loops, one featuring John Holmes. The loops are all softcore but still quite graphic and feature fairly frequent close-ups. There’s barely any dialogue in the film, only occasional mood music.
There wouldn’t have been much point in submitting a cut version as however much material was removed it would still be non-stop explicit sex from beginning to end.
Woman of Vengeance
Directed by Unknown / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In March 1975, a 603.50-meter (54:59) 16mm print of WOMAN OF VENGEANCE was banned because of ‘indecency’.
A. Davidson was the applicant.
1980s resubmission
In February 1981, a 627.70-meter (57:12) 16mm print was banned. This time it was for sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
Astral Distributing Company was the applicant.
Review
Mike reports
Vinegar Syndrome (us) – DVD – 67:42
John (Rick Lutze) and his wife (Becky Sharpe) are having marital problems. He tries to distract himself by sleeping with Carrie (Rene Bond), a costumer who he meets in his bike shop. His wife has other ideas and persuades John’s work colleague to put her in touch with a hitman who will shoot John while he’s out on a bike ride.
The Vinegar Syndrome DVD is 7-8 minutes longer than the one previously available and is a somewhat confusing watch. There’s the substandard acting which was common in adult films of the early 1970s, but there’s also a lot of choppy editing and instructions can clearly be heard from the unidentified director on the soundtrack. Objects which intrude into the frame from time to time include a boom mic, a cameraman’s shadow and three clapperboards. There are also sex scenes in which the action reaches a hardcore climax first, then immediately afterwards we see a softcore ending. It’s quite possible this DVD simply included all the available footage.
The baseline version of WOMAN OF VENGEANCE is definitely hardcore, but US adult cinema ads also show evidence of a print which was at most 55 minutes. It’s likely this version was softcore and was more or less the same as that submitted in Australia in 1975. Even a softcore cut would have been too strong at that stage, but it’s surprising that Astral Film Distributors didn’t try cutting the film after it was banned in 1981. With the hardcore removed, none of the sex should have been too troubling by then and it was all consensual.
The only violence occurs at the end when John manages to avoid being shot when the hitman falls down a mountainside at an inopportune moment and fatally injures himself. John goes home and surprises his wife and her new lover who are taking a bath together. He electrocutes them by dropping a portable heater into the water. But all of this is played off facial reactions and no details of the killings are shown.
The Young Hitchhikers
Directed by Unknown / 1971 / USA / IMDb
The National Classification Database provides no information other than the title. Therefore, we presume the IMDb link refers to the same film.
In October 1981, a 548.50-meter (49:59) 16mm print of THE YOUNG HITCHHIKERS was censored by a further 2.5-meter (00:14) before being awarded an R-rating.
The extra cuts were made to remove sex, which was described as being:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
The sex in the R-rated version was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
14th Mandolin was the applicant.
Two video releases
14th Mandolin issued THE YOUNG HITCHHIKERS first on their Video Budget label and then on King of Video.
X-Rated Loves
aka X-Rated Lover / X-Rated Lovers
Produced by California Classic Films / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In April 1981, a 612.80-meter (55:50) 16mm print of X-RATED LOVES was banned due to sex. It was described as:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
A 493.65-meter (44:59) ‘reconstructed version’ received an R-rating in August 1981. This was classified for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
In both cases, 14th Mandolin was the applicant.
Advertised as X-RATED LOVER, it screened at Melbourne’s Club Cinema from September to October 1983.
Was there a video release?
In April 1982, CINEMA PAPERS No. 37 published a checklist of Australian videotapes compiled from information provided by distributors. X-RATED LOVERS was listed on 14th Mandolin’s King of Video label. The film is presumably the same; however, there is yet no evidence it exists.
101 Acts of Love
aka Language of Love (101 Acts of Love)
Directed by Eric Jeffrey Haims / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In March 1976, a 1896.00-meter (69:06) print of 101 ACTS OF LOVE was banned because of ‘indecency’.
Columbia Pictures were the applicant.
X-rating allows hardcore to pass
A 72-minute videotape passed with an X-rating in July 1984. It was awarded for sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
This was followed in August by a censored 54-minute tape, which was passed with an R-rating. The sex was now described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
In both cases, 14th Mandolin was the applicant.
Their Pink Video label lists it on the rear of the CANDY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (1979) release. To cash-in on the 1969 Swedish educational film, it is identified as LANGUAGE OF LOVE (101 ACTS OF LOVE).
Review
Mike reports
Peekarama (us) – DVD – 70:15
Dr Ann Foster (Lindis Guinness) offers relationship advice to married couple, Bob (John Keith) and Marie (Susan Westcott), with particular focus on dispelling some of the myths surrounding lovemaking. Her advice is illustrated by extended sequences of hardcore sex which show a range of sexual positions.
As was common with white-coaters of the early 1970s, the filmmakers were keen to stress the educational nature of their advice along with the traditional view that sex is designed mainly for procreation and should only take place within the marital home. This is underlined here by Dr Foster providing a running commentary on the sex scenes in which she describes the action and offers words of encouragement, and the final scene of the film in which Marie is shown breastfeeding a new-born baby. A further attempt to raise the tone is provided by a second (male) narrator who pops up occasionally to recite romantic poetry.
Almost all of the sex in 101 ACTS OF LOVE is real, although the camera angles and positions of the actors hide it for long periods. Nevertheless the visible hardcore runs to around fifteen minutes. Sex takes place in various locations including a bed, in woodland, on an inflatable armchair and, for extended periods, on a glass-topped rotating platform which seems to be suspended from the ceiling. The sexual action is less enthusiastic in these latter scenes, possibly because the platform doesn’t look that stable.
By 1976, the Film Censorship Board had quite a bit of experience with explicit sex presented in a supposedly educational context. Columbia Pictures had succeeded in getting a R-rating for SEXUAL FREEDOM IN DENMARK (1974), another white-coater, two years earlier. In the case of 101 ACTS OF LOVE, they doubtless didn’t regard it as a genuine attempt to educate. Elements of the fakery include Dr Foster being played by an actor, the book on which the film is supposedly based being untraceable, and the use of established porn actors, such as Annette Michelle and Gerard Broulard, in the sex scenes. They may even have thought that Dr Foster’s narration over the sex scenes was designed to eroticise them further. Most of all, the large quantity of hardcore probably left them in no doubt as to the filmmakers’ intentions.
It’s perhaps slightly surprising that Columbia Pictures didn’t try to cut the hardcore and resubmit after the 1976 ban. Such a version would certainly have been viable and is probably what 14th Mandolin did in their R-rated release of 1984.
Further reading
Eric Jeffrey Haims also directed THE JEKYLL AND HYDE PORTFOLIO (1971). It was passed by the Film Censorship Board with an R-rating in October 1982.
That tape, issued by Intervision, is now possibly the most sought after Australian video release. Local and overseas tape collectors have been known to pay hundreds of dollars for a copy.
For more censored Eric Jeffrey Haims, see the database entry for THE MISS LAYED GENII (1973).