The first-ever R-rated Hollywood movie
Movie audiences of the 1930s would scowl in horror if they could see the kind of cinematic material that ends up on the Hollywood silver screen in the 21st century. Not only would their retinas likely explode upon witnessing Spider-Man swing through New York City in 3D, but they would be horrified at the same time at the sheer amount of violence and profanity permitted on movie screens.
Indeed, when cinema was popularised in the 1930s, Hollywood adhered to a strict code of censorship that is far from the certification system that we have today. This was thanks to the implementation of the Motion Picture Production Code, invented by William Hays, a set of moral stipulations that any American production had to essentially follow if they wanted to see a theatrical release.
American values were upheld, with any references to drugs, sex and nudity being prohibited. This didn’t become a problem just for small indie movies but for massive studio ones, too, with David O. Selznick, who produced the 1939 ‘Best Picture’ winner, having to pay a $5,000 fine for allowing the use of profanity in the movie, namely the iconic line: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
With many frustrated that the Hays Code restricted freedom of creative expression, by the late 1960s, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sought to make a change. Wishing to establish an age rating that could be applied to each released film, the organisation created the MPAA rating system, which included the infamous ‘R’ rating, which prohibited anyone under the age of 16 from watching the respective movie.
Seeing an opportunity to become an industry first, director Gordon Flemyng created The Split in 1968, Hollywood’s very first R-rated movie. Gaining the certificate for its adult content, profanity and violence, screenwriter Robert Sabaroff dared to include such words as “hell” and “crap” and even went so far as to include a ‘shocking’ scene where characters are seen drinking in public.
Aside from its minor role in Hollywood history, The Split isn’t all that notable, being a pretty by-the-book crime flick that tells the story of a group of thieves who fall out with each other after $500,000 goes missing from their previous heist. Perhaps its most memorable feature is its inclusion of actors Jim Brown and Gene Hackman, with the latter later going on to achieve two Oscar wins for The French Connection and Unforgiven.
Take a look at the trailer for The Split below and explore the rather tame world of Hollywood’s first R-rated movie.
