The system isn't broken, it's fixed.Dear cinefile snailers,

On the occasion of seeing "Trumbo", which is a biographical treatment of Dalton Trumbo the blacklisted screenwriter, a friend of mine turned up some of the history of the 1960 movie "Spartacus".

Kirk Douglas took a major risk by championing Trumbo to be credited as the screenwriter for Spartacus, thereby breaking the blacklist (although Otto Preminger may arguably have been the first with his movie "Exodus").

But much of the footage shot for Spartacus was cut--and not for length. For instance, no mention could be included in the released version that Spartacus had defeated Roman armies. 

Here's the topical instance: a scene with Laurence Olivier as Crassus and Tony Curtis as his slave was censored. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yzY-HUvavU  

Crassus told his slave, "My taste includes both snails and oysters." Films of those times could not even hint at the existence of homosexuality.

Before hearing about this scene, I hadn't known of any mollusks being used linguistically in this way.

How times have changed.

David Kirsh
Durham, NC

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