John Trevelyan (censor)

John Trevelyan (1903-1986) was Secretary of the Board of the British Board of Film Censors from 1958-1971.

Trevelyan brought a more liberal approach to the role of Chief Censor than his predecessors claiming: "We are paid to have dirty minds". However his approach was harshly criticised by some. According to film director Roy Ward Baker:

:"Trevelyan had that schoolmasterly habit of pigeon-holing people. If you were in the box marked 'art cinema' you could tackle anything, however controversial: sex, violence, politics, religion - anything. If you were in 'commercial cinema' you faced obstruction and nit-picking all the way. He chose these categories and allocated everyone according to his estimation of them. He was a sinister mean hypocrite, treating his favorites with nauseating unctuousness" (Baker 2000: 93) Trevelyan wrote a book on his experiences entitled "What the Censor Saw" (1973).

His daughter, psychotherapist Sarah Trevelyan, married murderer and artist Jimmy Boyle in 1980. (They separated in 2001).

Trevelyan was a fierce critic of the early Bond films; when "Goldeneye" was released in 1995, the villain of the film was named Alec Trevelyan.

References

*Roy Ward Baker (2000) "The Director's Cut". London: Reynolds and Hearn.