MovieChat Forums > Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) Discussion > Bitch!

Bitch!

posted 14 years ago by lmchildress
3 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie when it came out in 1967. I was 11 years old, and the thing I remember most about this movie is that I had no idea what the word bitch meant, which caused quite a stir when I asked for a definition.

But the thing is that the reason I asked is because when I saw the movie, the word bitch was not spoken; rather there was a black title card with the word BITCH on it in HUGE white letters. I suppose this was because they couldn't get away with the word being spoken on screen in 1967, esp. not by a woman (although I remember Julie Andrews as speaking the word, although she may have been reacting to Miss Dorothy.

On the DVD I just watched, that title card is missing and Miss Dorothy says the word. Too bad, because I love the memory of that huge BITCH! on the screen.

Oh, well.

[–] murph24 14 years ago

Where did you see the film?

I saw Thoroughly Modern Millie a number of times when it was first released in Los Angeles, California, and Miss Dorothy spoke the word "Bitch" - it didn't appear on a title card. Also, Mary Tyler Moore's delivery of the line got one of the biggest laughs the film received when it played in movie theaters.

The film definitely had title card dialogue in 1967, but the dialogue mostly expressed Millie's inner thoughts.

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 13 years ago

Title card dialogue certainly would go along with the spirit of the movie. However, I don't remember such.

Life, every now and then, behaves as though it had seen too many bad movies

[–] boxerrebellion 11 years ago

I was about the same age in '73 or possibly '74 when my parents took me to my first and only Broadway play (I've seen Broadway casts elsewhere, but we had moved from the area), Pippin. I LOVED the music and the whole experience, but one thing that really stuck in my head was when the King referred to Pippin's half-brother as a Bastard. I was thoroughly shocked. It was the first time I'd heard the word, although I had seen it graffitied on subway cars and bathroom walls. I don't remember whether I already knew what the word meant or I asked my parents, but I do remember that it was used in the correct context. I was allowed to do a book report about the play instead of a book that week, but Sister Helen Catherine was NOT amused my my inclusion of the word in my report.