The Killing of the Killing of Sister George (1968)

On the basis of a lesbian scene involving Coral Browne and Susannah York, The Killing of Sister George received an X certificate, which limited its screening and ability to advertise in mainstream newspapers.  

Certainly this was 1968, when LGBT rights were making slow advances in the cinema and on the streets, but even by the prurient standards of the day it was a pretty severe move.  If any remembers what the X certificate stood for, back then, then they'll know that this amazing drama was thus bracketed with a lot of weird porn, horror, and other nastiness, and that it would have simply presenetd to the public as having something wrong with it, or a bad aura at the very least.

X Rated Coral Browne and Susannah York

Forty five years later, and you’ll watch The Killing of Sister George gobsmacked, partially because of the tenderness, and partially because you will be impressed that anybody in the 1960s wanted to present this kind of scene as a normal fact of love.

And The Killing of Sister George is an amazing film. It ranks as among the funniest of its time, and is as cleverly constructed as they come, representing a brilliant era of British stage drama, which translated effortlessly to the screen. 

Branded an 'X', The Killing of Sister George . . .  died.

Robert Aldrich, the director of The Killing of Sister George, spent $75,000 battling the rating, but his lawsuit was thrown out, and the film consequently died at the box office, more is the pity.  

Aldrich was right to challenge the decision to make this movie an 'X', because all we are talking about is a series of tender, well-acted kisses, with not much in the way of nudity.  The fact that the kiss was same-sex was enough to threaten public morality, however, and of course it wasn't going to be until 1994 that Anna Friel and Nicola Stephenson were to kiss up a storm on television's Brookside.

It is still our pleasure to enjoy The Killing of Sister George today.  It is simply glorious, and as a movie without peer, and a must see on anybody's film list, and not just for reasons of LGBT.  

It is a loss that this great picture was killed off in its day, but believe you me, it is ripe for rediscovery — rebirth even! And this is simply because it is a pure classic.

For a laugh, just watch the scene with the scones, starring Beryl Reid, with Coral and Susannah.  It's a hoot, and embedded below.

The Killing of Sister George review at lgbt.co.uk

The Killing of Sister George at WIKIPEDIA