MovieChat Forums > 1776 (1972) Discussion > I forgot how bawdy this was - or never k...

I forgot how bawdy this was - or never knew in the first place

posted 8 years ago by jgroub
3 replies | jump to latest

I saw this when I was 10 or 11 or so, around the Bicentennial, on TV. I'm sure at least 99% of the sexual references went flying over my head back then. Watching it for the first time in about 40 years, I am more than a little surprised at all the bawdiness and ribaldry going on here.

I'm not a prude, mind you; I'm the furthest thing from it. This stuff is hilarious and I'm loving it. But how was this received back then in 1972, or 1969 for the play - that our Founding Fathers swore like the devil, etc. Or was this actually part of the reason for its popularity - at least on Broadway, anyway? That they weren't such, ahem, stiffs?

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] Blueghost 8 years ago

Well, that time was just after the so called "sexual revolution". So keep that in mind.

[–] srnumber9 8 years ago

Yeahhhh,

One of the reasons I love "1776" is when I was in Junior High it was an annual field trip and a great excuse to miss school.

So there I am, 14 or 15 years old just off the bus at a local theater that showed "1776" for a bunch of local schools. We are sitting with a parochial school class.

-So help me I am sitting next to two NUNS and Stephen Hopkins comes up with "Give 'er a flourish for ME, young feller!".

[–] Acceler8 8 years ago

Not to mention Lee's "refreshing the missus!"