Lloyd Binford
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Tilgham Binford was an American
insurance
executive and film
censor
who was the head of the Memphis
Censor Board for 28 years.
The son of an infantry colonel, Binford left high school at 16 for a job as a railway postal clerk. After moving to Memphis, he eventually became president of the Columbian Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Freemason noted for his views on "Southern womanhood" and white supremacy
. He once told Collier's that at his funeral "two rows of seats in the rear" would be "set aside for my Negro friends".
Binford's changes included the removal of whipping and crucifixion
sequences from Cecil B. de Mille's The King of Kings and cuts to or bans of numerous films with African-American stars or topics, including Imitation of Life
, Sensations of 1945
, and Brewster's Millions (1945). In 1945, he attracted national attention when he banned the Jean Renoir
film The Southerner
, citing his opinion that the Southern characters were portrayed as "common, lowdown, ignorant white trash
". The film's producer David Loew
retorted that "Binford must have been sniffing too many magnolias." Boxoffice
magazine noted in an editorial that Binford's opinion of The Southerner contrasted with that of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
, which endorsed the film as portraying "'the courage, stout-heartedness and love of our land which is an outstanding characteristic of the south.'"
Among the other films Binford had banned from Memphis was the comedy Curley
(1947), which was executive-produced by Hal Roach
in the style of his earlier Our Gang
shorts. Binford stated in a letter to the distributor, "'[The board] was unable to approve your 'Curley' picture with the little Negroes as the south does not permit Negroes in white schools nor recognize social equality between the races, even in children.'"
Binford also occasionally banned films because of the personal conduct of the stars rather than the content of the movies. In 1950, referring to Ingrid Bergman
's affair with director Roberto Rossellini
, he announced that Bergman's films were banned from Memphis "'because of her conduct, not because of the pictures'.... 'We haven't even seen "Stromboli
" and we don't expect to see it,'" Binford said. The following year, a re-release of Charlie Chaplin
's 1931 film City Lights
was banned from Memphis. Binford's explanation of the ban stated that although "'[t]here's nothing wrong with the picture itself'", the film could not be shown in the city "'because of Chaplin's character and reputation'".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
executive and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
who was the head of the Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
Censor Board for 28 years.
The son of an infantry colonel, Binford left high school at 16 for a job as a railway postal clerk. After moving to Memphis, he eventually became president of the Columbian Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Freemason noted for his views on "Southern womanhood" and white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
. He once told Collier's that at his funeral "two rows of seats in the rear" would be "set aside for my Negro friends".
Binford's changes included the removal of whipping and crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
sequences from Cecil B. de Mille's The King of Kings and cuts to or bans of numerous films with African-American stars or topics, including Imitation of Life
Imitation of Life (1934 film)
Imitation of Life is a 1934 American drama film directed by John M. Stahl. The screenplay by William Hurlbut, based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name, was augmented by eight additional uncredited writers, including Preston Sturges and Finley Peter Dunne...
, Sensations of 1945
Sensations of 1945
Sensations of 1945 is a 1944 American musical-comedy film which was released by United Artists.This film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as Broadway Melody of 1936 by showcasing a number of top musical and comedy acts of the day, in a film linked together by a loose...
, and Brewster's Millions (1945). In 1945, he attracted national attention when he banned the Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
film The Southerner
The Southerner (1945 film)
The Southerner is a 1945 American film directed by Jean Renoir, based on the novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Director, Original Music Score and Sound. Renoir was named Best Director by the National Board of Review, which also...
, citing his opinion that the Southern characters were portrayed as "common, lowdown, ignorant white trash
White trash
White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
". The film's producer David Loew
David Loew
David L. Loew was an American film producer. He and his brother Arthur Loew were the twin sons of MGM founder Marcus Loew. After being elected to the board of directors of Loew's, Inc., in 1922, he resigned from the studio in 1935 to launch an independent production career...
retorted that "Binford must have been sniffing too many magnolias." Boxoffice
Boxoffice (magazine)
Boxoffice is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by Boxoffice Media LP. It started in 1920 as The Reel Journal, taking its current name in 1931 and still publishes today, with an intended audience of theatre owners and film professionals.Boxoffice is the...
magazine noted in an editorial that Binford's opinion of The Southerner contrasted with that of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
, which endorsed the film as portraying "'the courage, stout-heartedness and love of our land which is an outstanding characteristic of the south.'"
Among the other films Binford had banned from Memphis was the comedy Curley
Curley (1947 film)
Curley is a 1947 film produced by Hal Roach and Robert F. McGowan as a re-imagining of their Our Gang series. The film was one of Roach's "streamlined" features of the 1940s, running 53 minutes and was designed as a b-movie...
(1947), which was executive-produced by Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
in the style of his earlier Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
shorts. Binford stated in a letter to the distributor, "'[The board] was unable to approve your 'Curley' picture with the little Negroes as the south does not permit Negroes in white schools nor recognize social equality between the races, even in children.'"
Binford also occasionally banned films because of the personal conduct of the stars rather than the content of the movies. In 1950, referring to Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
's affair with director Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
, he announced that Bergman's films were banned from Memphis "'because of her conduct, not because of the pictures'.... 'We haven't even seen "Stromboli
Stromboli (film)
Stromboli is a 1950 Italian-American film directed by Roberto Rossellini and featuring Ingrid Bergman...
" and we don't expect to see it,'" Binford said. The following year, a re-release of Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's 1931 film City Lights
City Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
was banned from Memphis. Binford's explanation of the ban stated that although "'[t]here's nothing wrong with the picture itself'", the film could not be shown in the city "'because of Chaplin's character and reputation'".