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Having seen the incredible statistics on the frequency of the use of the word "fuck" in movies in this question: What is the sweariest movie ever?, I thought it might also be worth recording the first use of the word.

So what was the first movie to use the word "fuck" audibly?

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  • @MeatTrademark What answer? Am I going mad? ;) Also, I am distraught that the first F-bomb movie didn't star DeNiro or Pesci. They are the MASTERS of the F bomb ;)
    – steelersquirrel
    Oct 2, 2016 at 23:34
  • @steelerfan I was referring to the linked question.
    – Meat Trademark
    Oct 4, 2016 at 3:08
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    @MeatTrademark Oh, I see. Well, in that case +1 :)
    – steelersquirrel
    Oct 4, 2016 at 3:10
  • Not really a movie, but the 1933 cartoon Bosko's Picture Show is still an amusing curiosity (even though it probably wasn't the F-word).
    – Walt
    Oct 26, 2016 at 23:53

7 Answers 7

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Contentious.

Most sources claim Robert Altmans MASH* contained the first 'Fuck' in a major motion picture, it was already the first for other things (first use of sound bridging!) so it's happy to push boundaries. It was actually only the first Hollywood film to do so.

That being said, the climax of The Graduate (1967) features a scene in which Ben Braddock can be seen (but not heard) shouting "What the fuck are you doing?" to Elaine as she stands at the alter, as he is behind glass.

However, both Ulysses and I'll Never Forget What's'isname used it beforehand, both also being released in 1967. Ulysses however, was released in June of that year as opposed to the December opening of I'll Never Forget What's'isname, making Ulysses the winner.

1967 was a good 'fucking' year.

Others have argued over the first 'profanity' spoken in a movie, with Hell's Angels being the most likely candidate (considering the amount of times 'damn' and 'son-of-a-bitch' is apparently uttered during dogfight sequences).

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    I'd love to see a Google Trends for movie scripts so we could track specific profanities over time for these sort of answers!
    – matt_black
    Jan 8, 2014 at 23:11
  • Actually, Ulysses was released in March. And thus also beat the Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back that was released in May 1967 and featured several instances of the F-word. This was all probably connected to the decline of the Hays code in the late 60s.
    – Walt
    Dec 27, 2015 at 5:20
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You can hear Tony Curtis mutter "fucked up" in THE BOSTON STRANGLER (1968), first use in an American major studio film I know of. It's translated that way in the cc, also.

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    Do you have a more specific time than "somewhere in the movie"?
    – Nic
    Dec 24, 2017 at 3:41
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"The Mystery of Mr. Wong" (1939), a Boris Karloff "James Lee Wong" serial entry. A man has just been found slugged unconscious. The police and PI Wong are already on the scene. A party of house guests comes in and one of them, approaching, asks, "Street! Wong! What the fuck just happened?"

I listened to it over and over. It's there. Movie is available on Amazon Prime. I gather, given the production values, there was probably little or no money for retakes. (Not a BAD flick, but not a lavish production.)

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    Add a video source if you can because nobody is gonna subscribe to Amazon Prime just to hear that. Thank you.
    – A J ♦
    Dec 24, 2017 at 5:12
  • I just watched this on youtube and Amazon and the line is clearly, "Street! Wong! What is this?" which is a far cry from what you've claimed. The audio is clear as can be.
    – CRGreen
    Feb 20, 2019 at 10:16
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First word fuck appeared in movies in 1963.

see video proof

As you can see in the video, first F word film is Vapors (1963).

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    Could you edit to include what the movie was that first used the F word rather than relying on the link which may go down.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Feb 18, 2019 at 11:35
  • as you see on the video first f word film is Vapors (1963) first film with word "cunt" is Blonde Cobra (1963). Btw im new here - why 3 recommended for deletion right answer on the question?
    – Sergio Oleva
    Feb 18, 2019 at 18:29
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    @SergioOleva You have to include this information into your answer and comments are not the place for an answer. It is necessary to do so because not everybody will watch this video and your answer may become invalid in case this video gets removed.
    – A J ♦
    Feb 19, 2019 at 2:38
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    thanks fo answer. i did watch so many these horrible art films to find out answer to this question.
    – Sergio Oleva
    Feb 19, 2019 at 16:38
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In "55 days at Peking" about 2 hrs and 20 min in an off screen voice uses the f word in haranguing his men to put out fires with buckets. This was 1963.

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  • Well, wait for someone to verify. If it's true, that's going to be hard to beat. Unfortunately, seems only bits are online for free streaming. Fragments on YouTube, none of which match the time you cite.
    – Meat Trademark
    May 30, 2016 at 19:22
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    I watched the sequence from 55 Days at Peking and the word is not the "F word", it's What.
    – user41783
    Oct 2, 2016 at 22:38
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It was an intentional use of the word in two Warner Bros. films, both in 1933. Bosko, the cartoon, pretty clearly says, "The dirty fuck!" in Bosko's Picture Show.

The movie Gold Diggers of 1933 has character actor Guy Kibbee sitting down talking to Warren William. Kibbee reminisces about a love he had some years back. He said, "She always called me Fucky...I don't know why, but she called me Fucky. Even if he was saying Vucky or Vuckie, with no hard emphasis on the V, it would sound like Fucky". And it did.

Warners always pressed the envelope in the face of what they could get by with, after all there was not yet a real censorship office set up until the following year.

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It was used by James Caan near the finale of LADY IN A CAGE (1964).

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    This takes downloading or renting the movie to verify. It's a difficult question. Care to narrow down the time-frame, or even give an approximate time? Near the finale is fairly open. Especially given that the finale is often not the end. There may be an added denouement or whatever. If you know this answer is true, do you have the movie to verify it? And just because you don't remember hearing it in the background of 55 Days doesn't mean it wasn't there. Please keep in mind I am not claiming you are wrong.
    – Meat Trademark
    Jun 5, 2016 at 5:51

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