Films Banned in the United States (At One Point or Another)
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- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishMae MarshHenry B. WalthallThe Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.Banned in various cities (incl. Chicago, Las Vegas, Denver, St. Louis, etc.) until 1916.
- DirectorMargaret SangerStarsMargaret SangerA documentary film based on the family-planning work of Margaret Sanger.Lost film. Banned/censored in New York in 1917.
- DirectorBenjamin ChristensenStarsBenjamin ChristensenElisabeth ChristensenMaren PedersenFictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.Banned until 1929.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.Briefly banned in five states in 1932.
- DirectorGustav MachatýStarsHedy LamarrZvonimir RogozAribert MogEva has just got married to an older gentleman. She leaves him, and one day, she meets a young man, and they fall in love. Fate brings the husband together with the young lover that has taken Eva from him.Banned until 1937.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsJoan BlondellAdolphe MenjouDick PowellBanned until 1934.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasConstance BennettAfter a ski instructor catches her husband flirting with an old flame, she decides to pose as her (fictitious) twin sister in an attempt to keep him faithful.Briefly banned in New York City in 1941.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsClara CalamaiMassimo GirottiDhia CristianiGino, a drifter, begins an affair with inn-owner Giovanna, and they plan to get rid of her older husband.Banned until 1976.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsDennis O'KeefeHelen WalkerJune HavocIn order to inherit $7,000,000, an ex-soldier must spend $1,000,000 in two months' time.Briefly banned in Tennessee in 1945.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettDan DuryeaA man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, though her fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses.Banned in three cities until 1946.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsBeatrice PearsonMel FerrerSusan Douglas RubesThis story is a true account of the lives of Scott and Marsha Carter. Having graduated from medical school, Scott Carter, a fair-skinned African American, marries Marsha Mitchell and moves to Georgia. When he arrives at the black clinic in Georgia, he discovers that the job must inconveniently go to a Southerner. Discussions between two nurses at this clinic suggest that Scott's light skin may have some bearing on the decision not to hire him. Defeated but not conquered, Scott returns to Massachusetts to live with his in-laws until he can get employment. He tries unsuccessfully to obtain employment as an African American. Because Marsha is pregnant, Scott decides to take a job at Portsmouth Hospital, but he reluctantly does so as a white man. While there, he manages to save the life of Dr. Bracket, who encourages him to take a postion in Keenham, New Hampshire. Scott decides to continue "passing" for white. In Keenham, Dr. Scott Carter proves to be quite a success for the town. For twenty years, Dr. and Mrs. Carter live peacefully in Keenham with son, Howard and daughter, Shelley. All goes well until Scott and Howard decide to enter the military during World War II. When Scott applies for officer status with the Navy, an investigation reveals his black heritage, and he is barred from receiving a commission.Banned in two cities until 1949.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames CagneyBarbara PaytonHelena CarterStarting with a violent prison break, clever, ruthless Ralph Cotter corrupts everyone around him.Briefly banned in Ohio in 1950.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsWilliam HoldenDavid NivenMaggie McNamaraTwo aging playboys are both after the same attractive young woman, but she fends them off by claiming that she plans to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Both men determine to find a way around her objections.Briefly banned in New Jersey in 1953.
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerStory of the American prairie as it was when vast herds of bison and elk grazed there.Banned in New York until 1956.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.Pulled from theaters in various cities in 1961.
- DirectorJack SmithStarsFrancis FrancineSheila BickJoel MarkmanAn experimental film that features graphic sexual imagery, an earthquake, and a lipstick commercial.Briefly banned in New York City until 1964.
- DirectorKing DonovanStarsJayne MansfieldTommy NoonanMarie McDonaldAfter a drunken spree on a cruise ship, two women discover that they're pregnant, and set out to find who the fathers are.Briefly banned in Ohio in 1963.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBrigitte BardotJeanne MoreauGeorge HamiltonSomewhere in Central America in 1907: Maria II is the daughter of an Irish terrorist. After her father's death, she meets Maria I, a singer in a circus. She decides to stay with the circus, and on her debut as a singer, she unintentionally invents the strip-tease and makes the circus famous. Then they accidentally meet a socialist revolutionary and find themselves leading a revolution against the dictator, the capitalists and the Church.Banned in Texas until 1968.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.Banned in Massachusetts until 1991.
- DirectorVilgot SjömanStarsLena NymanVilgot SjömanBörje AhlstedtTold in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968) deals with topics such as class society, non-violent resistance, sex, relationships, and tourism to Francoist Spain.Banned until 1969.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceNotorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".Banned until 1997.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceA spoiled schoolgirl runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitch-hiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.Banned until 1999.
- DirectorPeter McWilliamsStarsBette MidlerJohn BassbergerJohn GreenbergA biting satire of the commercialization of religion, told through the story of the Virgin Mary.Refused re-release in 1980; banned until 1984.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.Briefly banned in 1979.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.Briefly banned in 1988.
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsDavid BennentMario AdorfAngela WinklerIn 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.Banned in Oklahoma until 1997.
- DirectorPeter N. AlexanderStarsEric RathCliff RocaTom LuceThis period piece is a fictional biography of a cult leader's rise to power and his subsequent descent into isolation and paranoia.Refused distribution until 2007.
- DirectorAlan PetersonStarsGary AldrichMichael BaroneBay BuchananA documentary that takes a close look at who Hillary Clinton really is. The many mini-interviews, news articles, and investigative reports give the viewer an in depth look into what makes Mrs. Clinton tick.Briefly banned by the FEC in 2008.
- DirectorAndy BichlbaumMike BonannoKurt EngfehrStarsReggie WattsMike BonannoAndy BichlbaumTroublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.Briefly refused distribution until 2010.