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We want it scary...but not TOO scary!

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  • More NZ censorship fun!

    4b221 FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED Aust daybill 70 Peter Cushing cool horror montage 6d206 FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED Aust daybill 70 Peter Cushing cool horror image
  • Goodbye Gemini ( 1970 ). Original country of origin U. K. quad poater.

     U.S.A. one sheet, with similar image. Then there is the Australian daybill, missing the scary images with the knives, and replaced with a teddy bear image. 

  • And sometime censorship just doesn't hurt a thing

    US - The Biggest Bundle of Them All



    Belgian - The Biggest Bundle of Them All



    Spanish - The Biggest Bundle of Them All



  • Goldfinger ( 1964 ) original Australian daybill and the censored New Zealand version. For those who haven't seen these examples previously.
  • "James Bond is back in Action!".....but from the censored poster you'd never know! 

    My questions Lawrence @Hondo?
    1) are these Aussie or NZ posters?
    2) At what stage was the censorship performed? Governmental Agency? Theater? 
    3) Are the censored posters more rare because they had to take the time to block out the offensive images? 

    Thanks!
  • "James Bond is back in Action!".....but from the censored poster you'd never know! 

    My questions Lawrence @Hondo?
    1) are these Aussie or NZ posters?
    2) At what stage was the censorship performed? Governmental Agency? Theater? 
    3) Are the censored posters more rare because they had to take the time to block out the offensive images? 

    Thanks!
    All good questions and I will endeavour to answer them to the best of my ability.

    1) Both posters were printed by the same printer Robert Burton in Australia.

    2) We don't know for sure regarding where exactly the censorship alterations took place. In this particular instance James Bond expert John Reid had the following to say about the N.Z. censored Goldfinger daybill poster. I am sure he won't mind me reproducing his thoughts here.'' The unusual thing about this poster is that the changes look to have been made at the time of printing - specifically for the New Zealand release rather than added / modified later as often the case''.

    3) How rare a New Zealand censored poster is, would vary from title to title. In some particular titles I have only seen multiple copes of a censored N.Z, version avaiable in Australia but not the original uncensored Australian version. In this particular case of Goldfinger the N.Z. version is extremely rare.My question though is would you spend good money to purchase a copy of this ridiculous looking version if one was available?   
  • HONDO said:
    My question though is would you spend good money to purchase a copy of this ridiculous looking version if one was available?   
    Nope.
  • @Lawrence. Thanks for the reply. All very interesting info as I'm not too familiar with the Aussie/NZ poster history. 

    Would I spend good money to purchase this copy? If I had the original, and the censored version wasn't too steep, sure. It's kind of a novelty and unique to the hobby & its history. 
  • Um...hello? Censor guys? We can still see her!


    3y857 PROM NIGHT Aust daybill 80 Jamie Lee Curtis wont go home if shes not back by midnight

  • Hello-Goodbye ( 1970 ). Australian daybill and the same daybill altered I believe for for the New Zealand release with less provocative wording for the Kiwis. Previously mentioned on the thread regarding snipes, but also qualifies to be on this thread as well.

  •                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           A Cold Wind In August ( 1961 ). U.S.A. original insert poster and the altered Australian daybill version. All mention of ''... a teenage boy and a mature woman, etc.'' and the image of the couple ''embracing'' was apparently thought too provocative for Australian audiences in 1962.




    Cry Tough! ( 1959 ). U.S.A. insert and Australian daybill. In line with the Australian film censors dislike of knives - no knives allowed, but a piece of threatening wood, that looks like a rolled up newspaper is fine. ''C'mon Punk...'' also disallowed.







  • The Girl In Lover's Lane ( 1960 ). U.S.A. original one sheet and insert posters at top, with the same posters showing just above in two slightly different censored versions. My question is where and when were the posters censored ? Were they modified after some complaints were received in the U.S., or were they censored perhaps in either Canada or New Zealand ? The lack of Canadian or New Zealand film censorship has be thinking perhaps not.

    This film was released in Australia in 1963 by Regent Films, and apparently no Australian posters appear, to the best of my knowledge, to have surfaced yet. It would be interesting to see what the Australian artwork looks like, so Pancho or Rick, any chance you have a daybill or have ever seen one?
  • sorry, never seen one


  • Deep Red  ( 1975 ). Original U.S.A. one sheet and Australian one sheet.Hanging scenes and blood normally frowned upon by the Australian censor appear on the U.S. poster, but surprisingly the following graphic scene was allowed on the Australian alternative designed poster that ended up being produced here.







  • My Deep Red daybill is one of my most prized items! I really think the 7 Keys team nailed the design.


  • Let's Scare Jessica To Death ( 1971 ). U.S.A. insert and the Australian daybill. The daybill pales in comparison to the U.S. insert.


  • Wolf Larsen ( 1958 ) U.S.A. insert and the Australian daybill. The Australian censor's no threatening knife rule applied here at the bottom right corner scene.

  • hahahaha...the knife sheriff strikes again!
  • HONDO said:
           

    Wolf Larsen ( 1958 ) U.S.A. insert and the Australian daybill. The Australian censor's no threatening knife rule applied here at the bottom right corner scene.


    hahahaha...the knife sheriff strikes again!

                                                                                                                                                                                              The knife sheriff  ( the Australian censor ) wasn't always able to enforce the rules, as proof here shows that sometimes, as in the case of the Australian one sheet image the knife is clearly appearing on the poster.






    I had previously mentioned The Hot Angel ( 1958 ) on this thread. In light now of what happened with the Wolf Larsen censorship, I felt a comparison of the two films posters was in order.

    In the case of Wolf Larsen the Richardson daybill was missing the knife and for the Australian one sheet it was there  ... but on The Hot Angel the reverse happened. The Richardson daybill clearly had the knife featured but on the one sheet, although the thug is holding the handle, the blade  was missing. Thinking about the two The Hot Angel posters now, both don't appear to be in order to me. The one sheet looks odd and the daybill has a threatening knife featured on a ''for general exhibition'' rated film. Had the film been classified ''not suitable for children'' it would have been appropriate.













  • Hahahahaha...that's cracks me up...


  • Legend Of The Lost  ( 1957 ). Original U.S.A. one sheet and the more modest Canadian adjusted censored version of the poster. I am curious as to what the Australian one sheet image looks like, so if anyone has an image I would love to see it.
      

    The Australian daybill with a not too revealing Sophia and a U.S. half sheet where we cannot say the same.


  • Doctor in The House ( 1954 ) U.K. quad and a U.S. one sheet. Both posters showing the reclining female patient in the same pose. The Australian daybill poster artist decided for whatever reason, whether it be censor related or not, to cover the female up.








    A Perilous Journey ( 1953 ) Australian daybill, U.S. one sheet, 3 Sheet and insert posters. It seems this is one Australian poster that perhaps slipped past the Australian censor. The artwork was copied from the U.S. one sheet and 3 sheet artwork. The more modestly attired Vera Ralston image on the U.S. insert you would have thought would have been the one used on the Australian daybill.

    Horror returns next time.



  • Brain Of Blood ( 1971 ) U.S.A. one sheet and Australian daybill. The film was released in Australia circa 1973. Although the R certificate was introduced to Australia in November 1971 and censorship regarding horror films was more more relaxed, advertising material for films was still monitored. You will notice the blood on the monster's exposed head and the monster's hand around the female's neck are covered up.
  • Slightly more subtle than some of the other censor efforts! Always dug the 'all star Hollywood cast' part :-)


  • The Big Bird Cage ( 1972 ). U.S.A. one sheet poster and a rare Australian daybill. The film was passed for release in 1974. Take notice of the legless women images on the bottom right hand side of the daybill. The woman in a neck chain appearing on the U.S. one sheet was originally in the now vacant area appearing under the two females on the daybill. The question here then is was this just a case of Australian censorship guidelines being adhered to, or just a simple case  of not having enough space to include it on the daybill. The answer to this question is that it, as you will see was definitely censorship driven, as you will also notice on the original U.S.one sheet image that in the background Pam Grier's image is shown with a neck chain, and also there are other women in chains as well. On the Australian daybill not a chain to be seen in sight, except that an error of not removing a small section of chain under the woman grasping the handle on the far right occurred. To sum up the Australian daybill as I see it now, the women that are without the chains have given their word that they would not attempt to escape from captivity. They are also now minus the hanging ropes and are praying to the heavens for water to fall. In all the altered daybill image looks odd.

  • Following are Pancho's remarks regarding Brain Of Blood.



    Pancho said:
    Slightly more subtle than some of the other censor efforts! Always dug the 'all star Hollywood cast' part :-)

    Actually by Hollywood B grade film standards the cast of  this one isn't too bad, and the acting of the following three actors would certainly be a deal better than the performances of many amateur actors that often appeared in a good deal of these B and Z grade horror films.

     

    Kent Taylor had a long film and television career starting in 1931 and it only winded up 44 years later in 1975. He appeared in over a hundred films and appeared opposite many famous actresses in the early 1930's, including Carole Lombard in White Woman in 1933. He also appeared in some television series as well in the 1950's, including the title character in Boston Blackie ( 1951 -1953 ).
      
      

    Grant Williams best remembered film was The Incredible Shrinking Man. Reed Hadley appearing here as Zorro in the 1939 serial Zorro's Fighting Legion had over a thirty year acting career in Hollywood.

    For these three actors to make a film of this poor quality there must have been shortage of funds or they just needed to act.

  •  

    Juvenile Jungle ( 1958 ) Australian daybill, minus the switchblade knife and the broken bottle originally appearing on the U.S. 3 sheet artwork appearing below.

     


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    Fear In The Night ( 1972 ) original country of origin U.K. quad and one sheet posters and the similar U.S. one sheet. This scene was obviously too frightening for Australians poster advertising so BEF and Robert Burton came up with the following daybill.



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    It! The Terror From Outer Space ( 1958 ). U.S.A. insert and the Australian daybill. What happened to the damsel in distress missing off the daybill?


  • Same thing (missing damsel in distress) on Tarantula daybill
  •  

    Tarantula! ( 1955 ) U..S.A. insert and the Australian daybill.

    As previously mentioned by Chris the damsel in distress is missing from the Australian daybill, and not only that, but in the Australian friendly censor version it has the tagline losing the word monster and the fighting John Agar and the panicked looking Mary Corday characters are depicted as a hand in hand running away couple. The original burning buildings are now shown on the daybill as what looks like a simple metal structure. Typical artwork by the way from F. Cunninghame for their background scenes  The lack of detail and care that they delivered during their time in the film poster business is certainly evident here.

  •      

    Exhibit one regarding my previous comments on F.Cunninghame's slack background artwork is certainly evident here, with an army of three appearing on a F. Cunninghame daybill compared to the large army depicted on the U.S. one sheet for the same film. The film in question is Sign Of The Pagan, a Universal International film from 1954. More examples are available on request.

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