Trials: Banned in Massachusetts

"A nightmare of ghoulish obscenities," wrote Boston Superior Court Judge Harry Kalus. And so he banned further Massachusetts showings of Titticut Follies, an 87-minute documentary filmed at the state's Bridgewater State Mental Hospital for the criminally insane. Kalus also ordered the film's maker, Frederick Wiseman, to surrender all prints and negatives of the film. Titticut, said Kalus, exceeded the public's right to know about conditions in mental institutions such as Bridgewater.

The ruling ended an 18-day trial (TIME, Dec. 1), brought on by a suit filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Bridgewater...

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