Censorship and the Permissive Society

Making use of a range of recently released documentation from the files of the British Board of Film Censors and the Lord Chamberlain's office, Anthony Aldgate presents a brief but fascinating picture of British puritanism at work in the decade between 1955 and 1965, a decade which saw the beginnings of the permissive society in Britain. Dr Aldate tells the story very well ...

'fascinating survey ... There are some hilarious quotes from the Lord Chamberlain's office.'
Sunday Telegraph

New Statesman & Society a fine account of how UK cinema and theatre fought the blue pencil, 1955-65

Aldgate has done his research well...and the book records very well this frustrating and exciting decade. ...as a portrait of the so-called 'permissive' society, it offers some interesting and thought-provoking insights.

History Today Aldgate deftly charts the Establishment's reactions to the first rumblings of the post-war cultural revolution in the late fifties and early sixties

Film Magazine ...a detailed account of a transitional period in the history of British Cinema and Theatre censorship...this book provides a fascinating insight into the process of censorship and the changes in British society which were reflected in the censor's decisions...will give perspective to anyone interested in current censorship issues.

History Today Anthony Aldgate deftly charts the Establishment's reactions to the first rumblings of the post-war cultural revolution in the late fifties and early sixties.

Jeffrey Richards, University of Lancaster, Albion, Winter '95 fascinating new book ... This is a careful, thoughtful, meticulously documented exploration of what Aldgate calls "the slow, complex and fraught problem of liberalization."

Frank Field, University of Keele, a brief but fascianting picture of British puritanism at work in the decade between 1955 and 1965 ... Dr Aldgate tells the story very well.

<br>Anthony Aldgate is Senior Lecturer in History and Sub Dean in Arts at The Open University, Visiting Professor at the University of Luton, and Associate Tutor at Rewley House, Oxford.<br>He is author of Cinema and History: British Newsreels and the Spanish Civil War (Scolar Press, London, 1979); Best of British: Cinema and Society, 1930-1970 (Blackwell, 1983; Barnes & Noble, Totowa, NJ, 1983); Britain Can Take It: The British Cinema in the Second World War (Blackwell, 1986); TheCommon Touch: The Films of John Baxter (BFI, 1989); Between Two Wars (Open UP, 1990); World War II and Its Consequences (Open UP, 1990).<br>