# First R-Rated Musical **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019 "2010-08-22T00:33:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/1 "2010-08-22T00:33:23Z")
Was there one before _Saturday Night Fever_? ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/2 "2010-08-22T00:38:53Z")
_Can Hieronymous Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?_ (1969), starring Anthony Newley, was rated X back when it didn’t take that much to get an X; it was re-rated R later on. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/3 "2010-08-22T00:41:57Z")
Five minutes – that’s why I love the Dope. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/4 "2010-08-22T00:44:03Z")
_Oh! Calcutta!_ (1972) was a self-imposed X as well. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/5 "2010-08-22T00:59:17Z")
That was intentionally X, though – was\* Mercy Humpe\*? I’ve never seen it. I’m thinking \*SNF \*might be the first “mainstream” R-rated film. (And, of course, they re-edited it to PG to get it into wide release.) ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/6 "2010-08-22T01:05:51Z")
I doubt _Mercy Humppe_ was intentionally X, or even if that concept existed when the film was made. It was a big budget movie - Joan Collins is in it too. Bear in mind, the X was not such a stigma in those days. _Midnight Cowboy_ was an X and it won the best picture Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/7 "2010-08-22T01:11:18Z")
[_The First Nudie Musical_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074533/). From 1976 (a year before _Saturday Night Fever_), and rated R. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/8 "2010-08-22T01:17:41Z")
_Beyond the Valley of the Dolls_ (1970) was rated X and that was a 20th Century Fox release. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/9 "2010-08-22T02:21:36Z")
[The Rocky Horror Picture Show](http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800026055/info), released in 1975, was rated R. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/10 "2010-08-24T03:22:36Z")
Wow they were all M down under. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/11 "2010-08-24T03:47:31Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Wow they were all M down under. But I think “R” here and “R” in the US mean two different things. Googling … [Yep](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system). In the US, “R” means “Under 17 requires accompanying by a parent or adult guardian.” The equivalent of our “R” is “NC-17.” ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/12 "2010-08-24T06:47:03Z")
And yet somehow, “Hair,” in 1979, got a PG rating in the US. Not like Rocky Horror. > [@](#): > > Sodomy > Fellatio > Cunnilingus > Pederasty > > Father, why do these words sound so nasty? > > Masturbation > Can be fun > Join the holy orgy > Kama Sutra > Everyone! I’d post a link to some Beverly DeAngelo boobies, but we all saw the “Vacation” movies, right? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/13 "2010-08-24T06:51:01Z")
So… what’s the most _modern_ version? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/14 "2010-08-24T07:09:54Z")
You probably haven’t seen **Repo! The Genetic Opera**. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/15 "2010-08-24T11:42:46Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > > [@sisu](#): > > > > Wow they were all M down under. > > But I think “R” here and “R” in the US mean two different things. > > Googling … > > [Yep](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system). In the US, “R” means “Under 17 requires accompanying by a parent or adult guardian.” > > The equivalent of our “R” is “NC-17.” What does “R” mean in the antipodes? > [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > You probably haven’t seen **Repo! The Genetic Opera**. That is correct. It has been languishing on my Netflix queue for quite some time, though. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/16 "2010-08-24T12:01:02Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > _Beyond the Valley of the Dolls_ (1970) was rated X and that was a 20th Century Fox release. As was _Myra Breckenridge_, also 1970, although I can’t remember if that was a musical or not (there was a little dance sequence featuring Rex Reed and Raquel Welch, FWIW). ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/17 "2010-08-25T00:29:37Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > What does “R” mean in the antipodes? Means can only be viewed or purchased by people over 18 and MA15+ means that anyone under 15 must have a parent or guardian with them. This is used across movies, music, games and stage shows. (G) GENERAL (PG) PARENTAL GUIDANCE (M) MATURE (MA 15+) MATURE ACCOMPANIED (R 18+) RESTRICTED We also have an X rating this is used for pron, further restrictions apply. Age is still 18 but can only be purchased legally in Canberra. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/18 "2010-08-25T06:40:10Z")
There was a distinctly adult version of “Alice In Wonderland” in 1976 which, according to Wikipedia (so it must be true), was initially rated X but gained a R rating the following year after 3 minutes were excised. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/19 "2010-08-25T06:46:13Z")
_South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut_ was an R-rated musical. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019/20 "2010-08-25T09:09:10Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > There was a distinctly adult version of “Alice In Wonderland” in 1976 which, according to Wikipedia (so it must be true), was initially rated X but gained a R rating the following year after 3 minutes were excised. That must have been a few very strategic cuts, because the X-rated version featured quite a lot of full on sex action in close-up. Could you perhaps get away with close-up unsimulated blow jobs at the time and still get an “R”? Pretty funny movie, by the way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-r-rated-musical/551019.md?page=2)