# Years ago I was told that the British film "Saturday Night - Sunday Morning" (1960) was the first film to use four-letter words. Were any four-letter words used in earlier films? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 4, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460 "2024-03-04T21:39:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![philipdalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@philipdalton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/philipdalton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/1 "2024-03-04T21:39:01Z")
It does contain at least one use of the word “arse”. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/2 "2024-03-04T21:41:28Z")
Are you only counting British films? Because _Gone With the Wind_ famously used “damn” in 1939. ---
**Author:** ![philipdalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@philipdalton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/philipdalton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/3 "2024-03-04T21:59:04Z")
Some of the language used in the original script of “Saturday Night - Sunday Morning” was not allowed in the film by the censors. The words “sod”, “Christ” and “bogger” (a euphemism for “bugger”) were all considered too strong at the time. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/4 "2024-03-04T22:05:33Z")
Going to be pedantic and point out that you mean general release movies. I’m pretty sure four-letter words were used in porn. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/5 "2024-03-04T22:10:31Z")
But yeah, we have to pin down what you mean by “four-letter words”. The “damn” that was so scandalous in Gone with the Wind is considered completely innocuous today. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/6 "2024-03-04T22:56:38Z")
_The Big Parade_ (1925) “This is believed to be the first film in which the word “damn” is used by a character (albeit on a title card).” "Due to Hollywood censorship of the time, title-writer [Joseph Farnham](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267868/?ref_=tttrv_tr) had to tone down the salty dialogue of the American soldiers. For example, he was required to substitute “b------s” for “bastards”. Yet in another scene he was allowed to have [John Gilbert](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0318105/?ref_=tttrv_tr) shout (in all caps) “GOD DAMN THEIR SOULS!” - [The Big Parade (1925) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015624/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv) ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/7 "2024-03-04T23:19:43Z")
An “Oh, Shit!” made it into the Laurel & Hardy short _Perfect Day_ (1929) at 13:00. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AGsGg-8p3so/maxresdefault.jpg "Perfect Day | Laurel & Hardy Show | FULL | 1929 | Model T, Picnic, Car Trouble Slapstick") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGsGg-8p3so) ---
**Author:** ![philipdalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@philipdalton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/philipdalton)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/8 "2024-03-05T03:25:23Z")
In 1969 the film “Kes” was released. It contains quite a lot of swearwords, including four-letter words referring to male and female genitalia, but was quite surprisingly released with a “U” certificate because at the time an “A” certificate would have barred anyone under 16 from seeing it unaccompanied by an adult. According to Imdb there is an undubbed version of the film containing the F word. . ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/9 "2024-03-05T17:11:22Z")
How times change: I recently saw the movie Wicked Little Letters (with Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley), which is a feast for connoisseurs of the sweary (I forbear to post the trailer, which on its own is exceedingly NSFW, but it is on YouTube) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/10 "2024-03-05T18:14:50Z")
> [@philipdalton](#): > > It does contain at least one use of the word “arse”. **My Fair Lady** used it four years later, of course. Echoing _Gone with the Wind_, the 1972 film **X, Y, and Zee** has the line “Frankly, I don’t give a shit”. But these are both well after 1060. The 1953 film **The Moon is Blue** was famously the first major film to use “virgin” (it’s even as plot point in an episode of _M.A.S.H._), but it’s also the first to use “Seduce” and “mistress” (in a sexual form), according to IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/11 "2024-03-05T18:23:08Z")
Apparently there’s a video called **Movie Munchies** that features clips of early swearing in films. The actual sources aren’t named in websites, but it’s claimed: > [@](#): > > Based on the clip, it is generally believed that the first utterance of a curse word in a major motion picture came in 1929, with the use of the word “damn.” “Son of a bitch” followed one year later, and “fuck” was said for the first time on film in 1933. > **[This Shocking Video Traces The History Of Cursing In The Movies](https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Shocking-Video-Traces-History-Cursing-Movies-110897.html)** > > A new video has just hit the web showcasing the evolution of swearing on film over the years. Although it's not for children, it actually features some amazing insight into our evolving standards of d That’s interesting, if true. I’m amused that Cary Grant, in **Arsenic and Old Lace** has to shout “I’m a Son of a Sea Cook!” in the film, instead of his character saying “I’m a Bastard!” as he does on stage. (Playwrite Joseph Kesselring and his purported ghost collaborators must have gotten a high out of having a character who is a theater critic shouting that.) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/12 "2024-03-06T22:44:42Z")
Are you aware that at one time most of the World thought that Americans always slept in their underwear? This impression came about because that was how they appeared in films. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/13 "2024-03-06T23:29:47Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Are you aware that at one time most of the World thought that Americans always slept in their underwear? Wait a minute. That’s the impression I currently have and I’m an American. What (if anything) do most Americans wear to bed? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/14 "2024-03-06T23:33:35Z")
I have to believe that the occasional curse word sneaked into silent films early on, to the delight of lip-readers. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/15 "2024-03-06T23:44:04Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Wait a minute. That’s the impression I currently have and I’m an American. What (if anything) do most Americans wear to bed? Pajamas? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/16 "2024-03-06T23:52:28Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Pajamas? Those are for wearing to school now. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/17 "2024-03-06T23:53:13Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I have to believe that the occasional curse word sneaked into silent films early on, to the delight of lip-readers. …or the complaints. In _The Habit of Happiness_ (1916) Douglas Fairbanks is shown telling some dirty jokes with salty language to a crowd of men. The title card just says, “That reminds me. Did you hear the one about…” and “Note- We’d like to let you in on this story but it takes Mr. Fairbanks himself to put it over right.” Lip readers were outraged and the film had to be pulled from distribution and the scene re-shot before re-release. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/18 "2024-03-07T01:49:05Z")
People wear clothing to bed? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/19 "2024-03-07T12:37:32Z")
The Petries did. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460/20 "2024-03-07T13:28:48Z")
I’m pretty sure every film ever made had plenty of 4 letter words, (barring maybe one where no spoken language is used at all, but I can’t think of an example.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/years-ago-i-was-told-that-the-british-film-saturday-night-sunday-morning-1960-was-the-first-film-to-use-four-letter-words-were-any-four-letter-words-used-in-earlier-films/998460.md?page=2)