The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court eBook
$18.00
. It was only a forty-minute foreign film, but it sparked a legal confrontation that has left its mark on America for more than half a century.
Digital edition, delivered to your inbox within 24 hours of payment. No shipping, no delivery charge.
About this eTextbook
. It was only a forty-minute foreign film, but it sparked a legal confrontation that has left its mark on America for more than half a century. Roberto Rossellini’s Il Miracolo (The Miracle) is deceptively simple: a demented peasant woman is seduced by a stranger she believes to be Saint Joseph, is socially ostracized for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but is finally redeemed through motherhood.
Although initially approved by state censors for screening in New York, the film was attacked as sacrilegious by the Catholic establishment, which convinced state officials to revoke distributor Joseph Burstyn’s license. In response, Burstyn fought back through the courts and won. Laura Wittern-Keller and Raymond Haberski show how the Supreme Court’s unanimous 1952 ruling in Burstyn’s favor sparked a chain of litigation that eventually brought filmmaking under the protective umbrella of the First Amendment, overturning its long-outdated decision in Mutual v.
Ohio (1915). Their story features a more formidable cast than did the film itself, with the charismatic Francis Cardinal Spellman decrying the film as a Communist plot, while outspoken film critic Bosley Crowther vigorously advocated “freedom of the screen.” Meanwhile, movie producers stood by silently for fear of alienating the Church and its large movie-going membership, leaving Burstyn to muster his own defense. More than the inside story of one case, this book explores the unique place that the movies occupy in American culture and the way that culture continues to be shaped by anxiety over the social power of movies.
The Burstyn decision weakened the ability of state censorship boards and the Catholic Church to influence the types of films Americans were allowed to see. Consequently, the case signaled the rise of a new era in which films would be more mature and more controversial than ever before. Focusing on this single most important case in the jurisprudence surrounding motion picture expression, Wittern-Keller and Haberski add a significant new dimension to the story of cinema, censorship, and the history of First Amendment protections.
ISBNs for The Miracle Case are 9780700637638, 070063763X and the print ISBNs are 9780700616183, 0700616187. Additional ISBNs include 9780700616190.
Publication details
- Author: Laura Wittern-Keller; Raymond J. Haberski, Jr.
- Publisher: University Press of Kansas
- Additional ISBN: 9780700616190
What you receive
- A licensed digital edition of this title, supplied as PDF or EPUB. The format is set by the publisher, so email us the ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which one it is.
- Delivered to the email address on your order as a secure download link, usually within minutes and always within 24 hours of payment.
- Download links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads. Readable on any computer, tablet or phone, online or offline.
- This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, and there is no delivery charge.
Delivery
Free on every order. This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, so there is no delivery charge, no minimum order and no handling fee. The only thing added at checkout is 5% sales tax, shown on its own line before you confirm.
- Sent to the email address on your order, as a secure download link.
- Usually within a few minutes of payment clearing.
- Guaranteed within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays.
- Links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads.
- Delivered worldwide. No customs charge or import duty can arise.
Format. Titles are supplied as PDF or EPUB, set by the publisher. If the format matters to you, email us the eText ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which it is, normally the same business day.
Nothing arrived? Check your spam and promotions folders first. If it is not there 24 hours after payment, email us your order number and we will resend it. Full detail on the Delivery Policy.
Refunds
A digital file cannot be posted back, so there is no return process. There are situations that are refundable and situations that are not, and both are stated plainly.
Refunded in full, within 30 days of the order:
- The file is corrupt, truncated, or will not open in a reader that supports its format.
- Content is missing from the edition you were sold.
- The wrong title was delivered.
- The edition, eText ISBN, author or format does not match this page.
- You were charged twice for the same title.
- Nothing was delivered and we cannot reissue it.
Not downloaded yet? Cancel within 14 days for a full refund, no reason needed.
Not refundable: a title you downloaded and then decided you did not want, a file that does not suit your device where we did not say it would, buying the wrong edition when this page stated it correctly, and publisher printing or copy limits.
Approved refunds are issued within 2 to 5 business days to the card that paid. Full detail on the Returns & Refund Policy.
Payment
Checkout runs on Stripe. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB, credit or debit. That list is complete. No account is needed; guest checkout is available on every order.
What you are charged: the price on this page, plus 5% sales tax. Delivery is $0.00. There is no handling fee, no processing fee and no card surcharge. The order summary shows the full total before you confirm, and that figure is what leaves your account.
Nothing recurring. One charge per order. No subscription, no membership, no trial that converts, no saved-card auto-billing.
Security. Card numbers never reach us. Payment details are entered into fields hosted by Stripe, a PCI DSS Level 1 provider. We can see only the card brand, the last four digits and whether the payment succeeded. The whole site runs over HTTPS.
Prices are in US dollars. A card issued outside the United States is converted by your own bank at its own rate. Full detail on the Payment Policy.
About this eTextbook
. It was only a forty-minute foreign film, but it sparked a legal confrontation that has left its mark on America for more than half a century. Roberto Rossellini’s Il Miracolo (The Miracle) is deceptively simple: a demented peasant woman is seduced by a stranger she believes to be Saint Joseph, is socially ostracized for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but is finally redeemed through motherhood.
Although initially approved by state censors for screening in New York, the film was attacked as sacrilegious by the Catholic establishment, which convinced state officials to revoke distributor Joseph Burstyn’s license. In response, Burstyn fought back through the courts and won. Laura Wittern-Keller and Raymond Haberski show how the Supreme Court’s unanimous 1952 ruling in Burstyn’s favor sparked a chain of litigation that eventually brought filmmaking under the protective umbrella of the First Amendment, overturning its long-outdated decision in Mutual v.
Ohio (1915). Their story features a more formidable cast than did the film itself, with the charismatic Francis Cardinal Spellman decrying the film as a Communist plot, while outspoken film critic Bosley Crowther vigorously advocated “freedom of the screen.” Meanwhile, movie producers stood by silently for fear of alienating the Church and its large movie-going membership, leaving Burstyn to muster his own defense. More than the inside story of one case, this book explores the unique place that the movies occupy in American culture and the way that culture continues to be shaped by anxiety over the social power of movies.
The Burstyn decision weakened the ability of state censorship boards and the Catholic Church to influence the types of films Americans were allowed to see. Consequently, the case signaled the rise of a new era in which films would be more mature and more controversial than ever before. Focusing on this single most important case in the jurisprudence surrounding motion picture expression, Wittern-Keller and Haberski add a significant new dimension to the story of cinema, censorship, and the history of First Amendment protections.
ISBNs for The Miracle Case are 9780700637638, 070063763X and the print ISBNs are 9780700616183, 0700616187. Additional ISBNs include 9780700616190.
Publication details
- Author: Laura Wittern-Keller; Raymond J. Haberski, Jr.
- Publisher: University Press of Kansas
- Additional ISBN: 9780700616190
What you receive
- A licensed digital edition of this title, supplied as PDF or EPUB. The format is set by the publisher, so email us the ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which one it is.
- Delivered to the email address on your order as a secure download link, usually within minutes and always within 24 hours of payment.
- Download links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads. Readable on any computer, tablet or phone, online or offline.
- This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, and there is no delivery charge.
Related products
Featured Titles
Gynecologic Oncology: Clinical Practice and Surgical Atlas eBook
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles