It was probably back in the "Improvement Era" days. Anyway, there was always a list of approved/suggested movies, a passive-aggressive way of saying, "We disapprove of all others, even that one with Doris Day." The only two I remember clearly on the list are "The Sound of Music," and "To Sir, with Love"--in spite of the fact that it had a Negro in it. Yes, a Negro. It was different to be pointed toward a movie that had a Negro in it. Giddy, new times.

Anyway... I remember a lot of stuff from the very different LDS church I attended. I might still be a member if it were still the uncorrelated church of my youth.

My now TBM daughter, but in her anti-mormon days brought home a lot of the movies I never saw in the 1960s because they were considered BAD. The one that really shocked me was "Midnight Cowboy." Now and then I remind my TBM daughter that she watched this movie. I didn't see the whole thing. She censored what I saw in movies. Get that one. Now she won't even go see things that are R even if she wants to see them really bad.

I remember during the Benson era there was the ban on R-rated movies. Everything else was youth approved. Even "My cousin Vinny" was too bad to watch. I smile at that movie now.

Dees two Yutes?

I don't remember the church promoting those movies, but now it makes sense why my parents were so adamant about us going to see "To Sir With Love." I was in late elementary school and we all went to see it at the drive in and my mom kept telling us how we had to sit up and watch the movie because it was so good. I asked her how she knew when she hadn't seen it.

Does anyone remember the church pushing "The Man From Snowy River"? Some GA talked about it in conference or something and said it was the only good movie that had been made in years. So all of the sudden EVERYONE had to see it.

"Some GA talked about it in conference or something and said it was the only good movie that had been made in years. So all of the sudden EVERYONE had to see it."

That's how passive-aggression works.

To Sir with Love was on an approved list for movies back in the 1960's or 70's?

No way. Not happening.

Show me this list or stop guessing. Not only was the protagonist black, but the entire movie was anti-establishment.

The word "slut" is used multiple times along with one "son of a bitch."

TSCC would have never promoted this movie.

And yet, the LDS church gave an award--an AWARD--to Sidney Poitier for his role in the film.

Mike can you please point me in the direction of that award? When, what, where, why and how. Thanks in advance.

The LDS church of 1965 bore very little resemblance to the modern day church. "Sir," Sidney Poitier, took a bunch of hoodlums and turned them around. Kinda like the church does. It had the message the church wanted to convey.

Your right. It was led by EXTREME RACISTS. Blacks were not allowed to be leaders in the church. Be married or even attend the temple. Black children were not allowed to be in youth presidencies.

But... The church gives an award to Sidney Poitier?

Again someone please give us the details on the specifics.

Growing up as Catholic, there was the Legion of Decency.

Not that could afford to go movies at an early age, but you didn't dare saying anything positive about a "C" rated movie. "C" was the condemned movies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Legion_of_Decency

Where's 'Caligula' on that list?


(multiple smiley face emoticons here)

No, really? My parents subscribed to the Era but I never read it and they never said "the church warns against seeing these movies".

RB

Because... Canada. US citizens require more guidance and hand-holding.

Apparently...also the cult is not as pervasive in everyone's life outside of the southern Alberta Moridor. Mormons are in a minority in Lethbridge.

RB

Maybe this was something done by local leaders or at BYU or Ricks?

I don't see the Church approving To Sir with Love, in fact I seem to remember it being mentioned negatively by local leaders where I lived.

I don't believe the church ever had a list.
They have always cautioned against R rated movies.
The SPs and Bishops may have made lists. I never heard of one.

In the days of Midnight Cowboy, there wasn't a rating system. I believe MC was "x" rated because of the references to homosexuality.

And I don't believe the church ever promoted "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" unless it was YEARS after the movie came out.

Sadly, the church fell in line with ratings created by "worldly" people who condemn (or promote) a particular movie simply on it's multiple "F" word use, even though it may be a wonderful movie. There are so many excellent "R" rated movies that my family members won't see for fear of being exposed to something evil. Yet, they go to GP rated movies, some of ridiculous quality and many with much more objectionable subject matter than the "Rs" they avoid.

This is truly one of my pet peeves.

When Desperate Housewives first came out, Sherry Do Do was railing about how immoral it was. So how did she know? Me thinks she was probably addicted to it as much as I was.

Anyone else here remember paying to get into the campus PG movies at Ricks/BYU-Idaho only to find it shortened and heavily edited to turn it into a G movie?

Remember that Disney movie, "Fritz the Cat"? That had to be on the list of approvals.

I do not recall any formal list of approved movies for members.

I do remember it being heavily implied that IF people did not absolutely LOVE "The Sound Of Music" Then it was a sign that they were not really very good MORmON members. The same with "Fiddler On The Roof". SO, MORmON regularly blabbered off about how great that TSOM and FOTR were to make sure they were noted as really good MORmON members.

Later on, Julie Andrews dissed her squeaky clean image from TSOM and did some more adult themed movies. MORmONS promptly and quietly disowned her, carefully avoided any mention of her tainted name in spite of their earlier G Rated Love affair with her. Then they switched all their female celebrity adoration to brainless twit Marie Osmond.

O, Ye doubters:

http://www.mocavo.com/The-Improvement-Era-1967-Volume-70-2/908238/34

This is no list of approved movies, it's a simple review like found in many magazines. The review is by Howard Pearson who if I remember correctly was a reviewer for the Deseret News ( could have been Tribune). I believe he lived in my ward when I was a kid but I may be confusing him with another columnist for the Deseret News .

"Motion pictures reviewed on this page are neither approved nor recommended by the Church or the Era. They are, however, in the judgment of the reviewer, among the least objectionable of the current films."

However, I doubt "the Brethren" would have allowed an official publication of their church to carry reviews of movies they objected to. Kind of a passive endorsement.

Okay. You got me. I was just trying to fuck with you guys.

The guy who wrote it was a respected professional in his field and probably could write just about what he wanted, the GAs probably did not care too much what he was about. This article from the mid 60s was done before the mass correlation hit in the early 70s.

I'm not sure why but several editors of Church magazines lived in my ward when I was a kid. The editor of the "Children's Friend" was my friend's mom. They were very independent and educated and tried to have publications that were intelligent and with a good purpose for the readers, not mormon propaganda. The Ensign even had an article on the finding of the Papyrus for the Book of Abraham and the translation that did not match. I've often wondered if that was one of the reasons the Church started making the Ensign just a propaganda magazine very soon thereafter.

So were the Andy Hardy films on their list or were they too promiscuous?

Almost impossible to find any movie about Mountain Meadows massacre. I think there are some TBMs behind the curtain at Netflix and Amazon Prime.

I don't remember any list of approved films being issued in the UK as I was growing up, although I do recall one of our branch presidents telling us that we should avoid films made from the sixties onwards (this was the mid seventies) as they might contain sex and nudity. I always thought that this was his own pronouncement as every talk he gave always seemed to be about the evils of sex - I'm sure he had a rather unhealthy obsession with it.

When Dr Zhivago came out in the sixties my parents went to see it with a senior missionary couple who were from Utah. My parents enjoyed it, but the couple were horrified by it as they could not see beyond the fact that it contained adultery. This, to me, has always been a good example of the childlike and naïve view of the world held by people cocooned in the morridor.