Search the Community

Fake Associated Board of Censors Approval Seal on 16mm Stag Film. Years ago, my film archive acquired a number of stag films from the Bruce Farrahday Collection. Bruce was in his 90’s back then and I was lucky enough to get a little information from him about the stag film era of the 1930s / 1940s. Back then, it was illegal to own pornography and doubly illegal to own homosexual pornography due to the sodomy laws. We normally don’t give it much thought in this day and age. You can buy almost anything you want. But in that era you could not just go into a store and choose from a bevy of pornographic films in a display case. Here is how Bruce acquired his stag films, when they were illegal, as told to me in relay by the agent disposing of Bruce’s film collection: “I (Bruce) bought most of these films from a Camera Store in Tijuana, “Ramone Ramiez’s Camera Store” on the main drag and you had to ask for them. They would have a sheet of paper with the titles and you would choose from that list. Then they would go in the back room and put your package together with no titles on the can or sleeve in case the border police would check your bags. On average, I never paid more then 15.00 each in the late 1930 and 1940’s for a 400-foot reel.” (Quote was condensed for brevity) Another interesting thing that was relayed to me was the use of false leaders, so to speak. The producers of the stag films would sometimes splice on some boring home movie footage or a fake censors seal of approval leader at the beginning of the film. This is an example of a fake leader that was used to throw off customs when coming across the border with a sex film. <><><><> Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Archival Collection Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Small Gauge Film Archive Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Advertising Archive Daniel D. Teoli Jr. VHS Video Archive Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Popular Culture Archive Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Audio Archive Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Social Documentary Photography

Photos: D.D. Teoli Jr. It has a sandy texture / coating on the outside. If it was marketed to curb V.S....it does not work that well. What is the scoop?