Page "Deep Throat (film)" Paragraph 17

In August 1972, after a jury in New York had found the movie not to be obscene, prosecutors decided to charge Mature Enterprises, the company that owned the World Theater, for promotion of obscene material, taking them to trial in December.

During the trial, a psychiatrist testified that the film portrayed acts which were " well within the bounds of normal behavior.

" A film critic testified the movie had social value because it showed sympathy for female desires, because the script contained humor and because it was filmed " with clarity and lack of grain.

" Conversely, in response to a claim the film was a spoof of sexual behavior, a New York University professor said, " I do not see how you can spoof fellatio by showing continuous performance of fellatio.

" On March 1, 1973, Judge Joel J. Tyler ruled Deep Throat to be obscene, issuing his opinion on the film as " this feast of carrion and squalor ," " a nadir of decadence " and " a Sodom and Gomorrah gone wild before the fire.

" Judge Tyler fined Mature Enterprises $ 100, 000, which was later reduced on appeal.

The ruling would inadvertently contribute to the film becoming perhaps the most popular X rated movie of all time.