BBFC - 1912-1949

1912

The British Board of Film Censors is established.

1916

T.P. O’Connor is appointed President of the BBFC. He lays down 43 grounds for deletion for examiners. The list was so strict to earn the trust of the public.

1918 – 1939

Between the First and Second World Wars, several film genres and themes cause concern. These include horrors, gangster films and films dealing with sexuality.

Some councils bar children from ‘A’ rated films in this period.

1948

Arthur Watkins is appointed Secretary to the Board. He was a successful playwright coming from the Home Office. They give advice to many film-makers on scripts.

Watkins and the new President, Harris formulate terms of reference for the BBFC on based on the following:

• Was the story, incident or dialogue likely to impair the moral standards of the public by extenuating vice or crime or depreciating moral standards?
• Was it likely to give offence to reasonably minded cinema audiences?
• What effect would it have on children?

Besides the ‘H’ (for horror) category (which many councils used), there was no category excluding children. An ‘adults only category was seen as desirable to protect children and to allow film-makers to deal with adult subjects.

‘Frankenstein’ (1931) had a sequence cut from it in which the monster drowns a small girl. The film received the ‘H’ category in 1932 to suggest its unsuitability for children. The London County Council and Manchester City Council banned children from seeing it.