Hotbeds of Licentiousness

“Halligan thrives when exploring a text’s cultural contradictions and the cracks in the philosophies underpinning the work. However, the book’s greatest asset is in taking these films (which rarely appear in most histories of British cinema) seriously.”• Choice

“By engaging with both sides of the debate surrounding the ‘Permissive Society’ in relation to pornography, Hotbeds of Licentiousness is extremely valuable as an original study of a field beset by difficulty – not least the difficulty of tracking down and documenting this hinterland and the difficulty of coming to terms with its legacy.”• Journal of British Cinema and Television

“Halligan has uncovered a new canon of British filmmakers who for the most part have been ignored in previous histories, who played an important role in this secretive, frequently controversial world…In his new book… we get some fascinating insight into the history of British pornography and its connection to politics and the campaigning against it of groups such as the Festival of Light… For anyone interested in this occasionally murky aspect of British film industry, this is an essential addition to a library.”• Cinema Retro

“This book is a thought-provoking read not only for devotees of British cinema, but for anybody interested in the byways of film production, how obscenity is defined, the rationale for censorship and that liminal area where film interacts with the prevailing culture.”• Off Screen