'Banned in Memphis' returns once-censored films to screen

In 1947, Lloyd T. Binford, chairman of the Memphis Board of Censors, sent a letter to David O. Selznick with his opinion of the Hollywood producer's latest would-be blockbuster, the Technicolor "Duel in the Sun," starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones.

''This production contains all the impurities of the foulest human dross," Binford wrote. "It is sadism at its deepest level. It is the fleshpots of Pharaoh, modernized and filled to overflowing. It is a barbaric symphony of passion and hatred, spilling from a blood-tinted screen. It is mental and physical putrefaction. It is a story of jungle savagery which might have amused the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in the final moments of the destruction of those ancient, evil cities.''

Sounds like a must-see, right? But Binford's letter was not an endorsement. The censor banned the film from Memphis.

An appointee of Memphis mayor E.H. "Boss" Crump, Lloyd Tilghman Binford was himself the notorious "Boss" of Memphis' movie screens from the tail end of the silent era (1928) to the dawn of the space race (1955).

While most Memphis political figures from that time are little remembered even in their hometown, Binford — who died at 89, a year after his retirement from the censor board — continues to be a figure of fascination for those interested in the history of free speech, the arts, race — Binford banned films that gave "too much prominence to Negroes" — and movie culture in Memphis.

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The censor's purple prose contributes to the fascination: Binford's free use of over-the-top anti-superlatives was, in some cases, a godsend to publicists.

For example, in 1954, Binford banned RKO's "Son of Sinbad" on the basis of "one of the vilest dances I ever saw," performed by guest celebrity stripper Lili St. Cyr (who, of course, did not get nude in the movie).

"The dance lasted about 10 minutes, and it was more of a licentious wriggle than a dance," wrote Binford, displaying a sharp memory and a keen eye for detail. "The dancer was almost naked, wearing only a G-string and a filmy sort of apron ..." Is it any wonder Memphians crossed the river in droves to catch such films in West Memphis?

In recognition of Binford's impact on a city that continues to have a complicated relationship with art, race and culture, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art launches a monthly series of screenings April 12 devoted to movies that felt the censor's wrath. Each film will be introduced by a speaker (or speakers), who also will lead a public post-movie discussion.

"The project gives us the opportunity to screen some really remarkable classic films through the prism of local history, using scholars, historians, writers and filmmakers to introduce each film," said Andria Lisle, associate curator of film and public engagement at the Brooks.

The series begins Wednesday, April 12, with "The King of Kings," Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 epic dramatization of "the Greatest Story Ever Told" — the ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ (played by H.B. Warner). A Baptist deacon, Binford reportedly chastised the film for being "a perversion of the true life of Christ," and it must be admitted he had a point: The film introduces Mary Magdalene as a sexy and wealthy courtesan — "Harness my zebras!" she declares — whose love affair with the handsome Judas is broken when Judas joins the apostles. (Incidentally, the movie's "cast of thousands" includes two very different Rand women: Sally Rand, the notorious peek-a-boo "fan dancer," and Ayn Rand, future Objectivist philosopher and "Atlas Shrugged" author.)

Inflexible and eccentric, Binford didn't only ban movies for reasons of politics, race, violence, sex and religion. Some of his motivations were extremely personal, not to mention highly subjective.

Having been aboard a train robbed at gunpoint while he was a teenage railway clerk, Binford objected to movies depicting train robbers in general and Jesse James in particular. He also banned films based on his judgment of the off-screen morality of the filmmakers.

Binford objected to Charlie Chaplin films because the "London guttersnipe" was "a perverter of home life and childhood ... and a reputed endorser of the Communist party."

Movies that viewers today might deride for containing racial stereotypes were too progressive for Binford. In 1947, the censor explained why he rejected "Curley," producer Hal Roach's attempt to re-create the success of his mixed-race Our Gang/Little Rascals comedies. "The South does not permit Negroes in white schools nor recognize social equality between the races, even in children.”

The arbitrariness of Binford's rulings made Memphis a laughingstock or a source of pride, depending on one's point of view. In 1950, Collier's Magazine reported: "Memphis has attracted nationwide attention for movie and stage censorship so severe and so unpredictable that pictures shown without a ripple elsewhere have been barred there."

Lisle said the Binford film series gives her "particular delight" because the museum "stands for everything that Binford was against," especially when he used his censor's role "to espouse close-minded beliefs about 'Southern womanhood' and white supremacy."

Banned in Memphis

All movies are at 7 p.m. 

• Wednesday, April 12: "King of Kings" (1928). Cecil B. DeMille's epic retelling of the life of Jesus was banned by Binford on the basis of its deviations from Scripture and the violence of the Crucifixion. John Beifuss of The Commercial Appeal and Stephen R. Montgomery, pastor of Idlewild Christian Church, will introduce the film and lead a public discussion afterward. Dr. Tiffany McClurg, director of the theology and arts program at Memphis Theological Seminary, will host a tour of the museum's depictions of Christ at 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 17: "The Wild One" (1953). Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang terrorizes a small town in a film Binford banned for being "rowdy, unlawful and raw." Wayne Dowdy, manager of the Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion.
• Wednesday, June 21: "Cabin in the Sky" (1943). Vincent Minnelli directed this fantasy with an all-star cast of black performers that included Lena Horne, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Ethel Waters; such films violated a Memphis Board of Censors resolution forbidding works "in which roles are depicted by negro actors and actresses not ordinarily performed by the colored race in real life." Filmmaker Willy Bearden will introduce the film and lead a post-movie discussion.
• Wednesday, July 12: "The Outlaw" (1943). Buxom Jane Russell steals the show from Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday in this risque Western, produced by Howard Hughes; surprisingly, Binford objected because the film contained "too much gunplay," not too much anatomy. Local film and theater historian Vincent Astor will introduce the film and lead a post-movie discussion.
• Wednesday, August 23: "Stromboli" (1950). Director Roberto Rossellini and star Ingrid Bergman began their affair on the set of this drama about a beautiful Italian refugee seeking to escape a judgmental village; Binford objected to the "notorious adultery" of the actress. Author and columnist Richard Alley will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion. 

Admission to each film is $9, or $5 for students or museum members. Visit brooksmuseum.org.