The 1960s: Groundbreakers

Comments by Scoop this time

Splendor in the Grass

1961

Beautiful Natalie Wood raised eyebrows with this scene, which was scandalous at the time

The Pawnbroker

1964

The Pawnbroker was not just scandalous - it was officially "condemned" by the Catholic Legion of Decency, which of course made it "must viewing" for teenage perverts like me. This was the movie that totally shattered the taboo and the "code" - it presented lengthy exposure with no coy camera tricks in a movie with the Hollywood cred of an Oscar nomination, plus a highly respected director (Sydney Lumet) and a name star (Rod Steiger).

It turned out to be an excellent, somber movie dealing with weighty matters, in which Rod Steiger delivered the performance of a lifetime, so I'm glad the Legion unwittingly directed me there, but the nudity was not at all erotic. The titular Pawnbroker is a Holocaust survivor who sees a prostitute naked, which causes him to have flashbacks to his naked wife, who was raped by Nazis and subsequently died in Auschwitz.

So not really your basic teenage jack-off fodder.

Thelma Oliver




Linda Geiser