“I know it when I see it,” chances are good you’ve heard this infamous quote regarding pornography before. The quote comes from former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in regards to the 1964 case “Jacobellis vs. Ohio”. Nico Jacobellis was a theater owner who was charged in 1960 with possessing and exhibiting pornography when he decided to screen Louis Malle’s 1958 erotic/drama The Lovers at the theater he managed in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Jacobellis’ conviction was upheld by both the Ohio Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court, but was overruled in a 6-3 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court. The majority found that the film did not meet the legal definition of obscenity (no shit dude, you barely see a nipple). Though when it came to defining pornography, the judges were divided.
“Obscenity” had already been defined by the Supreme Court seven years prior in the case “Roth v. United States”, when New York publisher Samuel Roth was convicted for sending sexually explicit books, magazines, and advertisements in the mail.
The Roth Test considered a work obscene if:
1) Your average Joe Schmoe, applying “community standards”, believes the material is actively trying to stir up sexy thoughts and turn society into a bunch of sex maniacs; and
2) The material has no redeeming social value, i.e. irredeemable smut.
But applying these standards to The Lovers proved tricky for the Court. The film has implied sexuality but nothing explicit. It has artistic value, and it’s from France, a country with a far more liberal attitude toward sex than the persnickety Puritans who founded the ol’ U.S. of A.
Justice Stewart had no interest in trying to further define obscenity in Jacobellis v. Ohio, which led to the famous quote. Some praised Stewart for admitting that obscenity is impossible to nail down with the tidy bow of a legal definition, while others have criticized the quote for its vagueness.
But what I want to know is: what scene from The Lovers got a bunch of Ohioans this hot and bothered? I’ll tell you in a few paragraphs, but first, we’ve gotta get through the boring shit.
Louis Malle was a filmmaking chameleon. Throughout his 36-year-career, Malle directed crime thrillers, erotic dramas, experimental fantasy horror flicks and even slice-of-life American indies in the ‘80s like Atlantic City and My Dinner with Andre. Malle wasted no time stirring the pot. The Lovers was only his second film and already its artistic merit was being argued 4,000 miles away by old dudes in black robes.
The Lovers follows Jeanne (Jeanne Morreau), a wealthy, bored housewife stuck in a loveless marriage to a work-obsessed newspaper publisher, Henri (Alain Cuny). So she spends her days drifting between her posh estate and the open arms (cue Journey) of Raoul (José Luis de Vilallonga), a Parisian magazine editor. But even that’s not enough.
Eventually, her car breaks down in the countryside and Jeanne is helped by a charming archaeologist, Bernard (Jean-Marc Bony), and finally finds what she’s been looking for (cue U2). She falls for a guy that isn’t interested in her wealth and class and the couple start sneaking around, despite the scandal having the potential to blow-up her social status.
The film is presented in glorious widescreen, instead of the 1:37:1 “Academy ratio” that was still a standard for most European filmmakers in the late ‘50s. Despite being such a small story, the scale feels grandiose. Of course when you have a screen legend like Jeanne Morreau (Elevator to the Gallows, Jules and Jim) even the smallest moments feel grand. There’s a reason Orson Welles called her, “the greatest actress in the world.”
But what about the scene. Yes, the scene that got a bunch of buckeyes mad about their boners. Let me tell ya about it, stud.
Jeanne and Bernard make their way to Bernard’s modest, country house. They share intimate glances and small talk and then make love in the bedroom. But even though they are both technically naked we only ever see close-ups on the hands, shoulders and faces. In particular, a memorable shot of Jeanne Morreau from the shoulders up, wearing nothing but her pearls as she moans in ecstasy. It’s hot.
Despite all the pearl-clutching in the states (not the sexy kind either), The Lovers was a critical success in Europe. All the obscenity hubbub did little to sink its reputation, if anything it helped cement the film as one of the finest erotic films of its time.
Let’s just hope we never have to hear an “obscenity” case like The Lovers interpreted by today’s court. I’m sure it would be something around the lines of, “I know it when GOD sees it.” Fuck those guys… And not in the fun way either.