THESE FILMS WILL SEND YOU TO HELL
*Due to citation problems mentioned later in this description, and more recent additions to my source catalog, this list should be considered under construction, and as such may not be fully accurate im some places. Apologies. I'll try to get it fixed up by the end of the year.
TRIGGER WARNING These reviews contain descriptions of graphic violence, sometimes of the sexual variety. The r-slur appears at least twice, once as a slur, which I've censored, and once as an outdated "medical term", which I've elected to leave untouched. The views expressed in these reviews do not reflect my own, in fact the opposite is often the case, hence the existence of this…
THESE FILMS WILL SEND YOU TO HELL
*Due to citation problems mentioned later in this description, and more recent additions to my source catalog, this list should be considered under construction, and as such may not be fully accurate im some places. Apologies. I'll try to get it fixed up by the end of the year.
TRIGGER WARNING These reviews contain descriptions of graphic violence, sometimes of the sexual variety. The r-slur appears at least twice, once as a slur, which I've censored, and once as an outdated "medical term", which I've elected to leave untouched. The views expressed in these reviews do not reflect my own, in fact the opposite is often the case, hence the existence of this list.
ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER While I believe this list may be the most comprehensive at the moment, it is incomplete. My main source, the USCCB's archive, went down as I was making the list (it also had many dead links when it still worked.) If it returns, or you have a reliable source not listed below, please let me know.
ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER 2 Wikipedia & TCM's condmened lists are rather infamously not the most reliable. Please check the notes on anything released between 1959 and the 2000s. Some films included were cut to avoid a C rating, erroneously referred to as having a C rating, or shifted up from B to O when the rating scale changed. Unfortunately, the latter is something I've failed to include in the notes (for the most part.)
In short, READ THE FUCKING NOTES
RATING SCALE
This list only considers the 3 harshest ratings given in the course of the Legion of Decency & USCCB's crusade on film. They are as follows:
C - "Condemned." The National Legion of Decency's worst of the worst. Applied from 1936 to 1978.
O - "Morally Offensive." The USCCB's combination of the Legion of Decency's C and B (Morally Objectionable in Part) ratings. Made official in 1981.
U - "Unsuitable for All." The Catholic Moviegoer's harshest rating. Only 6 films & 1 TV series would receive this rating before O was reinstated.
Films which were revised specifically to avoid a harsher rating, films which received a lower rating upon reevaluation, films erroneously listed as condemned by TCM, and the occasional film not given a rating are also included on a case by case basis
Lower ratings will occasionally be referenced. They are as follows:
"A-I"/"A" - General Audience
"OK" - Older Kids
"A-II"/"T" - Adults & Adolescents
"A-III"/"M" - Adults
"A-IV"/"L" - Limited Adult Audience
"B" - Morally Objectionable in Part for All
"S.C." - Separate Classification
Television is not given a letter rating (with one exception), therefore I will use my discretion when including them.
LIST OF SOURCES
- Motion Pictures Classified by National Legion of Decency: February, 1936 - October, 1959
- Catholic News Service Media Review Office (Archived Movie Reviews) (This archive went down before I could finish. I was around P I think. If it comes back or you have another source please let me know.)
- Catholic Review (OSV's lead film critic John Mulderig writes for this publication by the Archdiocese of Baltimore)
- Wikipedia's "List of Films Condemned by the Legion of Decency"
- PRizzy's list "Condemned Films"
- TajLV's list "CONDEMNED!! Films Rated Morally Offensive by the Catholic Church"
- TCM's "27 Films Condemned by The Legion of Decency"
SEE ALSO
Purgatorio, the companion list of films that are either in the archive without a review, or have some connection to a film on this list. (Again, if you have a reliable source for me to update any of these, please let me know.)
MISSING FROM LETTERBOXD
- Children of the Sun (1934) (Condemned in 1938; [No objection given])
- Sinful Daughters (Condemned in 1939; "A film which treats of abortion and implicitly approves of birth control. Indecent and suggestive scenes")
- City of Sin (Condemned in 1941; "Immoral implications; suggestive scenes and objectionable dances")
- Furia (Condemned in 1947, revised to earn a B)
- Lovers, Happy Lovers (Condemned in 1954, revised to earn a B under the title Lover Boy)
- My Secret Life (aka Diary of My Secret Life) (1971) "Nudity in a sexual context"
- Childhood II (1973) ("Group encounter sessions held in the nude because, we are told, without clothes people can be more honest and open with one another. Martin J. Spinelli's documentary indicates that this technique is as inadequate as most other shortcuts to mental health.")
- A League of Their Own (2022) (This TV series earned a U for its depiction of homosexuality)