Adult and erotic westerns that have been cut or banned in Australia.
HOT SPUR (1968), THE SCAVENGERS (1970) and TRAMP WOMEN (1972) have separate entries in Film Censorship Database No. 1 and 2.
A Fistful of 44s
Directed by Jourdan Alexander / 1971 / USA / IMDb
In May 1978, a 2169.90-meter (79:06) print of A FISTFUL OF 44S was banned because of ‘indecency and indecent violence’.
A 2002.39-meter (72:59) ‘reconstructed version’ was passed with an R-rating in November 1978.
In both cases, 14th Mandolin was the applicant.
Video release
14th Mandolin issued A FISTFUL OF 44S on their King of Video label in the early 1980s. The 70:45 (PAL) tape was presumably the same as the cut theatrical print.
In October 1984, their tape was banned because of ‘gratuitous and exploitative sexual violence’. This was despite it being on video store shelves for several years.
Queensland Police banned
In November 1985, the Queensland Police also had a copy of A FISTFUL OF 44S Refused Registration.
This was presumably a copy of the King of Video release as ‘gratuitous and exploitative sexual violence’ was again cited as the reason.
Further reading
For more censored Jourdan Alexander (AKA Jaacov Jaacovi, AKA Jay Jackson), see the database entries for FEMALE CHAUVINISTS (1976) and TAXI GIRLS (1979).
Dr. Carstair’s 1869 Love-Root Elixir
Directed by Henning Schellerup / 1972 / USA / IMDb
In April 1979, a 2164.00-meter (78:53) print of DR. CARSTAIR’S 1869 LOVE-ROOT ELIXIR was banned because of ‘indecency’.
Blake Films was the applicant.
Review
Mike reports
Hardcore version – 77:35
Bill Carstairs (William Guhl) travels around the American mid-west selling his love-root elixir (an aphrodisiac) with his daughter Jenny (Susan Gaines). Eventually he reaches his hometown and is pleased to find the old goldmine is still in operation. He steals the gold. Jenny has sex with many men along the way.
There were at one point two versions of this film in existence. The baseline softcore version and another with hardcore inserts performed by different actors. The currently [2026] available version is the hardcore one. It’s not clear which one Blake Films submitted as they don’t drastically differ in length.
For most of the running time the sex is fairly tame, and if the hardcore elements were present in the Blake Films submission, then they could easily have been removed. The problem scene is at the end and lasts for 10-12 minutes. Jenny is kidnapped by three saloon patrons, stripped and raped. She starts to enjoy the experience which is reinforced by a romantic ballad playing on the soundtrack. The men then decide to rape another older woman who also begins to enjoy it. Then another woman turns up and initiates sex with a sleeping man. The pretext for all of this sexual debauchery seems to be that everyone has drunk so much of the elixir that they can’t control themselves.
It’s surprising that no attempt was made to tone down this scene by removing the non-consensual elements and then resubmitting.
A Dirty Western
Directed by Joseph F. Robertson / 1975 / USA / IMDb
In March 1978, a 1537.00-meter (56:01) print of A DIRTY WESTERN was passed with an R-rating.
This version had been reduced by precensor cuts totalling 420-meters (15:18).
Roadshow Distributors were listed as the applicant. However, Blake Films were noted on the daybill poster.
Banned in Queensland
On 12 December 1980, the censored R-rated version of A DIRTY WESTERN was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was Blake Films.
Censored Playaround Video
In December 1982, a 70-minute tape was passed with an R-rating. It was awarded because of ‘sexual violence’. Despite the longer running time, it would have to had been a softcore edit.
PBL Video was the applicant.
The tape was released by Publishing and Broadcasting Video (PBV) on their Playaround Video label.
The image of a bound and gagged naked woman was one of the more confronting covers found in Australian video stores.
Hardcore version
In May 1984, a 70-minute tape received an X-rating for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
Auspania Pty Ltd was the applicant.
Also in 1984, W. B. & J. E. Wathen had a 69-minute tape X-rated for the same reasons.
There appears to be several ‘unofficial’ video releases of the hardcore version.
Crackdown
It is unclear which of the following were originally R-rated and which were X-rated. All have similar running times and were banned for ‘gratuitous sexual violence’. None are in the National Classification Database.
In November 1985 and again in February 1986, Queensland Police had 70-minute tapes banned. They also had a 129-minute double-bill refused in November 1986. This paired it with GIRLS OF GODIVA HIGH (1980).
Another 70-minute tape was banned in May 1986 following a submission by the Victorian Police. They also had 67-minute and 68-minute tapes refused sometime between February 1986 and January 1987.
Communications and Entertainment had a 70-minute tape banned in the period between February 1986 to January 1987. This was likely a planned reissue of the softcore version formerly available on PBV’s Playaround Video label.
WA Police investigation
In December 2004, a 155-minute VHS containing A DIRTY WESTERN and THRILL ST. BLUES (1985) was banned by the OFLC. It is unclear which of the films was responsible for the RC-rating.
The applicant was the Child Abuse Investigation Unit of the Western Australian Police.
Sweet Savage
Directed by Ann Perry – Charles Samples / 1979 / USA / IMDb
In November 1981, a 1645.80-meter (59:59) ‘pre-censor cut version’ of SWEET SAVAGE was passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
AZ Associated Theatres was the applicant.
Censored Video Classics
Following the theatrical release, SWEET SAVAGE was issued on tape by Video Classics as part of their Movies at Midnight range.
This 63-minute version was reviewed in July 1984 and confirmed with an R-rating. The sex was described as being the same level as the November 1981 classification.