Why Chesire council banned Last Tango In Paris
Sociologist Laurie Taylor meets Alan MacPherson of the Sale 'Naughty Pictures' Committee who describes why certain films, such as Last Tango In Paris, were banned.
It's 100 years since the British Board of Film Censors was set up, yet few people know that it has always been local authorities that had - and still have - the final say over what films are shown in their areas.
From the late Forties through to the Seventies, many councils passed films the BBFC had banned, causing the Board to slowly relax its views on nudity and sex in particular. Other councils, like Sale in Cheshire, tried desperately to hold back the tide of X-rated films, insisting they could not be shown in their town without the express permission of the council - which was often denied.
