Erotic drama Ecstasy has gone down in history as one of the most controversial films of its time and was even banned by the Pope.
The 1933 romance flick was plagued with opposition during filming and after it was released. The movie centres on a young woman named Eva, who marries a wealthy but much older man.
But not long after, Eva abandons her passionless marriage and ends up meeting a young virile engineer who later becomes her lover. Filmed in three language versions – German, Czech, and French – the film is believed to be the first non-pornographic to show sexual intercourse.
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The raunchy film also showed a female orgasm. Despite this, they only showed the actress’ face when the intimate moment took place.
(Image: Glasshouse Images/REX/Shutterstock)
Directed by Gustav Machatý, the heated moment, which saw actress Hedy Lamarr being satisfied, caused shockwaves. The film was later denounced by Pope Pius XI and banned in Germany.
Not only this but Ecstasy became the first film to be blocked by the United States Customs Service from entering the country. This is due to the film being deemed as obscene and branded “dangerously indecent”.
Ecstasy was the first film of its kind to see a woman reach a climax and seek romantic pleasure. But some countries deemed the film as “immoral”.
But this wasn’t the only controversial issue the film encountered. Actress Hedy, who played Eva, later claimed that she was tricked into removing her clothes for a particular scene.
(Image: Glasshouse Images/REX/Shutterstock)
The Austro-Hungarian-born American actress said the director did not mention any nude scenes in the script. When Hedy did protest, the director said she would have to pay for all the scenes that had already been filmed if she didn’t commit.
In a 1938 article called A Candid Portrait of Hedy Lamarr by Liberty magazine, it said: “When Lamarr applied for the role, she had little experience nor understood the planned filming, anxious for the job, she signed the contract without reading it. When, during an outdoor scene, the director told her to disrobe, she protested and threatened to quit, but he said that if she refused, she would have to pay for the cost of all the scenes already filmed.
“To calm her, he said they were using ‘long shots’ in any case, and no intimate details would be visible.” However the article said Hedy screamed when she saw the amount of close up shots, that she did not agree to.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
