Censorship And The Permissive Society: British Cinema and Theatre, 1955-1965 - Softcover

Making use of a range of recently released documentation from the files of the British Board of Film Censors and the Lord Chamberlain's office, Anthony Aldgate presents a brief but fascinating picture of British puritanism at work in the decade between 1955 and 1965, a decade which saw the beginnings of the permissive society in Britain. Dr Aldate tells the story very well ...

'fascinating survey ... There are some hilarious quotes from the Lord Chamberlain's office.'Sunday Telegraph

a fine account of how UK cinema and theatre fought the blue pencil, 1955-65 (New Statesman & Society)

Aldgate has done his research well...and the book records very well this frustrating and exciting decade. ...as a portrait of the so-called 'permissive' society, it offers some interesting and thought-provoking insights.

Aldgate deftly charts the Establishment's reactions to the first rumblings of the post-war cultural revolution in the late fifties and early sixties (History Today)

...a detailed account of a transitional period in the history of British Cinema and Theatre censorship...this book provides a fascinating insight into the process of censorship and the changes in British society which were reflected in the censor's decisions...will give perspective to anyone interested in current censorship issues. (Film Magazine)

Anthony Aldgate deftly charts the Establishment's reactions to the first rumblings of the post-war cultural revolution in the late fifties and early sixties. (History Today)

fascinating new book ... This is a careful, thoughtful, meticulously documented exploration of what Aldgate calls "the slow, complex and fraught problem of liberalization." (Jeffrey Richards, University of Lancaster, Albion, Winter '95)

a brief but fascianting picture of British puritanism at work in the decade between 1955 and 1965 ... Dr Aldgate tells the story very well. (Frank Field, University of Keele,)

Stage or film presentations of Look Back in Anger, A Taste of Honey, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Alfie, and Darling were much changed, even transformed, by censorship between 1955-1965. Indeed, censorship altered the progression of the artistic and creative renaissance of the period, and John Osborne, Shelagh Delaney, Alan Sillitoe, Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson, and John Schlesinger are just a few of the people who were forced to change their work. Censorship and the Permissive Society explores the predicament writers and directors faced, and highlights the debate over the liberalizing or progressive aspects of the sea changes affecting British society at the time.