# X-rated films of the late 1960s , or R-rated after X denoted porno films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776 "2022-07-11T17:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/21 "2022-07-11T19:26:26Z")
Carnal Knowledge (1971)? ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/22 "2022-07-11T19:31:50Z")
Haven’t seen that one in 50 years. Is there much explicit sex or nudity in it? I remember some racy talk ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/23 "2022-07-11T19:32:40Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Carnal Knowledge Good example, and for different reasons than some of the other ones listed above. It’s about sex, and sexual attitudes, but it’s not particularly graphic, and there isn’t much nudity or explicit sex. But, because of the content in the story itself, and what gets talked about during it (as well as a lot of curse words), it was labeled as obscene by the state of Georgia (a ruling that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/24 "2022-07-11T19:48:30Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > _I am a Curious (Yellow)_ (1967, released in U.S., 1969) and _I am a Curious (Blue)_ (1968, released in U.S. 1970) – Basically, the same film with some minor changes Nitpick: They were intended to be a single 3 & 1/2 hour film. But the director edited half of the subplots into the (Yellow), and half of the subplots into the (Blue). I wonder if there is a Directors Cut sitting in a storeroom somewhere. When it first came the the U.S., it was banned in Boston. The ensuing lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/25 "2022-07-11T19:59:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sometimes actors get cold feet about nudity or sex scenes, and if you’ve already put in all the time and effort to film the rest of the movie, that leaves the director in a difficult spot: You either recast the movie and re-shoot everything, re-write the script to cut out the explicit scenes, or do something like using body doubles in the explicit scene and hope nobody notices. If you do the explicit scene first, and actors back out, then you haven’t wasted any time and cast new actors until you get someone who will do it. In his “how to make movies” books, Troma Studios founder/President Lloyd Kaufman states this, and says it’s essential for exactly that reason. He also produced Cry Uncle, mentioned above, and was later a production manager on Rocky for John Avildsen. Kaufman’s books are fascinating reads, even if you’re not a Troma fan (I’ve kind of grown out of their product, TBH, but it’s mostly fun). ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/26 "2022-07-11T20:00:06Z")
I’ve seen most of the movies mentioned here, and my guess is that most would be rated R today. But _Last Tango_ would be NC-17 for sure. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/27 "2022-07-11T20:15:32Z")
What’s so bad about _Last Tango_? Or did I see a bowdlerized version? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/28 "2022-07-11T20:22:23Z")
You may well have seen an edited version. Here’s the "[Parental Guide" to the film, on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070849/parentalguide), which details the extensive, explicit content. My understanding is that there was one scene, in particular, which was especially controversial at the time: a scene depicting non-consensual anal sex. The actress, Maria Schneider, later detailed that the scene wasn’t originally in the script, and that she felt sexually humiliated by it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/29 "2022-07-11T20:37:41Z")
How about _Midnight Cowboy_? ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/30 "2022-07-11T20:45:02Z")
Mentioned in my OP. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/31 "2022-07-11T20:45:08Z")
_Coming Apart_ starring Rip Torn from 1969. Also notable as an early example of a found footage movie. I don’t think it quite fits the criteria of ‘major Hollywood production’ though, it was more of an indie-type film. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/32 "2022-07-11T22:03:38Z")
Portnoys Complaint The Harrad Experiment > **[The Harrad Experiment](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harrad_Experiment)** > > The Harrad Experiment is a 1973 coming-of-age film about a fictional school called Harrad College where the students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other. Based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Robert Rimmer, this film deals with the concept of free love during the height of the sexual revolution, which took place in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. > The movie stars James Whitmore and Tippi Hedren as the married couple who run the school, and includes... > **[Portnoy's Complaint](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portnoy's_Complaint)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > Portnoy's Complaint is a 1969 American novel by Philip Roth. Its success turned Roth into a major celebrity, sparking a storm of controversy over its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality, including detailed depictions of masturbation using various props including a piece of liver. The novel tells the humorous monologue of "a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor," who confesses to his psychoanalyst in "intimate, shameful detail, ... ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/33 "2022-07-11T22:08:06Z")
The grandfather of them all, [_The Pawnbroker_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pawnbroker_(film)) (1964) directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Brock Peters. It wasn’t rated X because the rating system hadn’t been developed yet but, > It was among the first American films to feature a [homosexual](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual) character and [nudity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudity_in_film) during the [Production Code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_Code), and was the first film featuring bare breasts to receive Production Code approval. Although it was publicly announced to be a special exception, the controversy proved to be first of similar major challenges to the Code that ultimately led to its abrogation. > The film was controversial on initial release for depicting [nude scenes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude_scenes) in which actresses [Linda Geiser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Geiser) and [Thelma Oliver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Kaur_Khalsa) fully exposed their breasts. The scene with Oliver, who played a prostitute, was intercut with a flashback to the concentration camp, in which Nazerman is forced to see his wife (Geiser) forced into prostitution. The nudity resulted in a “C” (condemned) rating from the [Catholic Legion of Decency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Legion_of_Decency).[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pawnbroker_(film)#cite_note-TCMoverview-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pawnbroker_(film)#cite_note-Leff-5) The Legion felt “that a condemnation is necessary in order to put a very definite halt to the effort by producers to introduce nudity into American films.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/34 "2022-07-11T22:51:51Z")
I thought the original X rating of _The Killing of Sister George_ was later reduced to R but apparently not. If they can reduce _Midnight Cowboy_’s and _Clockwork Orange_’s rating why not this one? (Although the later made a tiny cut.) It’s so much tamer than later R-rated lesbian themed films. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/35 "2022-07-11T22:53:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The actress, Maria Schneider, later detailed that the scene wasn’t originally in the script, and that she felt sexually humiliated by it. Schneider, I believe, went so far as to describe it as an act of rape on film. I cannot imagine the controversy that would ensue today regarding such an incident. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/36 "2022-07-11T23:27:52Z")
_Pretty Maids All in a Row_ Most definitely not acceptable today. Seeing Rock Hudson with high school girls is disturbing. The actresses of course were over 18. There was some nudity but the movie posters promised more than delivered. I thought the book was much better. It was actually a very good murder mystery. > **[Pretty Maids All in a Row](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Maids_All_in_a_Row)** > > Pretty Maids All in a Row is a 1971 American sexploitation film that is part black comedy, part sex comedy, and part murder mystery. Starring Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, and Telly Savalas, it was released on April 28, 1971. Roger Vadim directed the film, and Gene Roddenberry produced and wrote the screenplay based on a 1968 novel by Francis Pollini. > The film was Roddenberry's only feature film writing credit. > In Oceanfront High School, a (fictitious) American high school, at the height of the... ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/37 "2022-07-11T23:32:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Seeing Rock Hudson with high school girls is disturbing At least, with Rock Hudson, you know nothing was going on behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/38 "2022-07-11T23:43:24Z")
**Candy** from 1968 comes to mind. The title character is played by an actress just turned 18 but looks younger. A parade of letches played by famous (much older) actors attempt to seduce her and several seal the deal. A guaranteed cure for anybody nostalgic for the free love of the Sixties. Somehow it managed to get released with an R rating. > **[Candy (1968 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_(1968_film))** > > Candy is a 1968 sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand from a screenplay by Buck Henry, based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, itself based on Voltaire's 1759 novel Candide. The film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin. It stars Charles Aznavour, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, and Ringo Starr. Popular figures such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Ani... ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/39 "2022-07-11T23:53:00Z")
_Boxcar Bertha_ with David Carradine and his real girlfriend Barbara Hershey. Playboy ran photos of the love scenes in their mag. Inspired me to watch the film at 15. A older cousin got me in. He also left the mags lying around for me to read. It turned out that the film was more edited than what appeared in Playboy. The movie did push the limits of a R rating. Very controversial because David bragged in interviews they actually did the deed on camera. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776/40 "2022-07-12T00:11:02Z")
_Night of the Living Dead_ (1968) was often advertised as having an X rating in its original theatrical run. Technically, it was not submitted to the MPAA for an rating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-rated-films-of-the-late-1960s-or-r-rated-after-x-denoted-porno-films/967776.md?page=3)