Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
September 11, 1958
NUMBER 19, PAGE 7a

Salacious Movies

Harold Spurlock, Ranger, Texas

"Sizzling love scenes in new film mark softening of censorship"

By Vernon Scott

"Hollywood (UP), December 27, 1957 — The age of the sizzling movie is upon us again as censorship softens to meet TV's competition. Realistic childbirth scenes in 'A Farewell To Arms' prompted Audrey Hepburn and Attorney Bregg Bautzer to faint during the picture's premiere last week. But it was the smoldering love scenes and racy dialogue that caused the rest of the audience to gasp and goggle.

One intimate scene between Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones took place in a bedroom lined with mirrors, including a mirrored ceiling. The celluloid fairly crackled with sex. The same seduction sequence with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes in the 1932 version was considered a shocker. Compared with todays film it was a church picnic.

In the mirror scene Jennifer and Hudson both use the short, hard-working little word for prostitute. The sophisticated premiere crowd gasped.

'Peyton Place', cleaned up for the movies, still contains a rape scene that would have given the censors blind staggers a year ago.

'Witness For The Prosecution', another new one, has Marlene Dietrich howling 'd---' (last three letters deleted by me, HS) at the top of her lungs." End quote.

Such was the news release by Mr. Scott in the Arizona Republic newspaper a few months ago. According to him, the reason for such scenes and dialogue now appearing in the movies is so the film industry may keep in competition with the television programs. Not only is profanity permitted on the screens, but the later editions from Hollywood contain some of the vulgarist forms of thought association set forth in base, degenerate dialogue. After I read the report of this witness, I turned over the "Entertainment" page (so-called) to find what the advertisement revealed concerning the "racy dialogue" and "smoldering love scenes" in "A Farewell To Arms".

There was not even a slight hint or indication whatsoever of this immorality and filth. The movie was advertized as the greatest love story of the century. Absolutely a must for every movie goer. They failed to say how dirty the love was going to get.

Brethren! Parents! Young people! Take heed. Whenever brazen nakedness, provocative semi-nakedness, drunkenness, revelings, roadhouse language, bedroom affairs, rape, homosexuality, prostitution, and such like are woven into plots involving dope peddlers and addicts, premeditated murders, sadistic psychotics, juvenile all night orgies, political and labor racketeering, gangsterism, lies, divorce, thievery, gambling, and false religions, there is served out for public consumption a Devil's dish of filth and slime which can only pollute the person who views it, and can only cause Satan to shout with enthusiastic joy to see children of God voluntarily invite themselves to his feast of wickedness; sipping dregs from the gutters of evil men's minds.

Of great importance to our awareness of this unclean work of darkness is how craftily and cunningly the producers, directors, and script writers work into the plot and script these vulgar expressions and sin-filled scenes. Tender and immature minds are expertly brainwashed, by these ministers of unrighteousness, into believing Mr. Hero would never have lied, defrauded his company, betrayed his best friend, nor committed adultery with Miss Heroine, his secretary, had he not been driven nearly out of his mind by business fatigue, sickness, financial troubles resulting from gambling, a nagging old "battle-ax" for a wife, and the social drinks at the week-end office party. Before the movie is two-thirds over, the unwary viewers have been influenced to remove their sympathy from their high standard of morals and begin to feel sorry and sympathetic towards our Mr. Hero. They reason thusly: "Poor fellow, he has a tough life. His boss should have raised his salary years ago, and he would not have had to juggle the books. He would have had the money to cover his gambling losses. His friend had it coming. A "cad" if I ever saw one. And, as for his wife, she should have been more attentive to him. More understanding and tender, quitting that nagging long ago. And that secretary was actually to blame for his unfaithfulness. She was brazen, designing, and much too forward. After all our Mr. Hero is a red-blooded he-man. He is only human." And so it goes. The film makers have expertly and with great skill undermined the standards of decency once held by the viewer. They have led the immature to believe exactly what was intended for them to believe: in spite of the sin and immorality of the characters, they are good, decent, honorable, God-fearing, hard-working, upright citizens of the community, and we must not think harshly of them.

All, who are trying to walk as children of God, must never be guilty of viewing such ungodliness and filth, whether it be on a 17 inch or a 1700 inch screen. Brethren, there is enough vice, sin, and worldly corruption occurring all around us every day over which we have no control, that there is no proper nor logical reason for any of us to give ourselves a concentrated shot of it in this manner. There are many movies and TV programs which are entirely free of any such filth as we have mentioned, that we, as Christians, can view and not pollute the life we are dedicated to serve.

The dangerous, salacious movie and television program is on the increase. So must our alertness to them also increase accordingly, "Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil, walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." We must not be "Ignorant of the devil's devices."