In 1952 this nasty film was given an ' A ' certificate which meant in the UK a child could be admitted with an adult. Given the high level of sadism, including the torture of a child and floggings of both men and women I think the censor of the times was being too lenient. Keelhauling is also included. I saw this a short while ago on Talking Pictures, a Channel of repute for a wide range of films. I was shocked by it and I am not young. The violence is unremitting and when not shown explicitly is constantly there. Alan Ladd walks through the film, and James Mason is good at cruelty. I have no idea if any of this supposed entertainment is accurate, and if it is it says a lot about the UK's indifference to such atrocities. I have seen 15 certificate films of today with less psychological brutality. This is definitely not fit for children today, but sadism in UK films has always been more acceptable than sexuality, and this shows our troubled puritanism.
Review of Botany Bay
