Anyone seen pre-code movies? On this month at TCM
05-06-03, 01:57 PM
#1
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Anyone seen pre-code movies? On this month at TCM
I've never seen any but heard they are quite entertaining. TCM will be playing them on Tuesday nights this month. This month centers on women with next month being men's flicks.
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/T...ticle/0,,25792|25793||,00.html
Complicated Women - Spotlight of the Month
In silent films, female characters were divided into the categories of ingenue and vamp; and in the years when the Hollywood Production Code ran rampant (1934-68), women in movies behaved according to a strict set of rules guaranteed to protect the public against any suggestion of impropriety. But for five glorious years (1929-34), post-sound but pre-Code, the screen was dominated by what author/critic Mick LaSalle has termed "Complicated Women - the title of his book and a new documentary. Independent and uninhibited, these pre-Code women shared a penchant for scanty clothing and an appreciation of the power provided by their own sexuality. These "complicated women" were tough cookies.
In her Oscar®-winning role in The Divorcee (1930), Norma Shearer plays Jerry, a man's woman with a male name and a male viewpoint. When her husband cheats, she evens the score with a one-night stand with his best friend before announcing to hubby: "From now on, you're the only man in the world that my door is closed to." Claudette Colbert, told in Torch Singer (1933) that she's "hard," snaps back, "Sure I am. Just like glass. So hard nothing could cut it but diamonds. Come around with a fistful sometime."
Maybe the hardest of all is Barbara Stanwyck in the luridly entertaining Baby Face (1933). Coming from a brutal upbringing where she was pimped (and possibly molested) by her own father, Stanwyck's Lily Powers literally sleeps her way to the top, moving upward from floor to floor of a banking corporation and never looking back at the trail of male victims she leaves behind.
On the lighter side of pre-Code naughtiness is Mae West, who stretched the limits of what was allowed in movies with such vehicles as I'm No Angel (1933), in which she drawls her usual double entendres as a circus performer who lives with one man but dallies with several others including Cary Grant.
Relaxed standards of the day allowed Jean Harlow to play a happy-go-lucky prostitute who gets the man (Clark Gable) in the jungle romance Red Dust (1932), while prancing about in various stages of undress and going au naturel for a dip in a rain barrel.
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/T...ticle/0,,25792|25793||,00.html
Complicated Women - Spotlight of the Month
In silent films, female characters were divided into the categories of ingenue and vamp; and in the years when the Hollywood Production Code ran rampant (1934-68), women in movies behaved according to a strict set of rules guaranteed to protect the public against any suggestion of impropriety. But for five glorious years (1929-34), post-sound but pre-Code, the screen was dominated by what author/critic Mick LaSalle has termed "Complicated Women - the title of his book and a new documentary. Independent and uninhibited, these pre-Code women shared a penchant for scanty clothing and an appreciation of the power provided by their own sexuality. These "complicated women" were tough cookies.
In her Oscar®-winning role in The Divorcee (1930), Norma Shearer plays Jerry, a man's woman with a male name and a male viewpoint. When her husband cheats, she evens the score with a one-night stand with his best friend before announcing to hubby: "From now on, you're the only man in the world that my door is closed to." Claudette Colbert, told in Torch Singer (1933) that she's "hard," snaps back, "Sure I am. Just like glass. So hard nothing could cut it but diamonds. Come around with a fistful sometime."
Maybe the hardest of all is Barbara Stanwyck in the luridly entertaining Baby Face (1933). Coming from a brutal upbringing where she was pimped (and possibly molested) by her own father, Stanwyck's Lily Powers literally sleeps her way to the top, moving upward from floor to floor of a banking corporation and never looking back at the trail of male victims she leaves behind.
On the lighter side of pre-Code naughtiness is Mae West, who stretched the limits of what was allowed in movies with such vehicles as I'm No Angel (1933), in which she drawls her usual double entendres as a circus performer who lives with one man but dallies with several others including Cary Grant.
Relaxed standards of the day allowed Jean Harlow to play a happy-go-lucky prostitute who gets the man (Clark Gable) in the jungle romance Red Dust (1932), while prancing about in various stages of undress and going au naturel for a dip in a rain barrel.
05-06-03, 02:38 PM
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The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code)
General Principles
1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
Particular Applications
I. Crimes Against the Law
These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.
1. Murder
a. The technique of murder must be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation.
b. Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail.
c. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified.
2. Methods of Crime should not be explicitly presented.
a. Theft, robbery, safe-cracking, and dynamiting of trains, mines, buildings, etc., should not be detailed in method.
b. Arson must subject to the same safeguards.
c. The use of firearms should be restricted to the essentials.
d. Methods of smuggling should not be presented.
3. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented.
4. The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization, will not be shown.
II. Sex
The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld. Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.
1. Adultery, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively.
2. Scenes of Passion
a. They should not be introduced when not essential to the plot.
b. Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown.
c. In general passion should so be treated that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element.
3. Seduction or Rape
a. They should never be more than suggested, and only when essential for the plot, and even then never shown by explicit method.
b. They are never the proper subject for comedy.
4. Sex perversion or any inference to it is forbidden.
5. White slavery shall not be treated.
6. Miscegenation (sex relationships between the white and black races) is forbidden.
7. Sex hygiene and venereal diseases are not subjects for motion pictures.
8. Scenes of actual child birth, in fact or in silhouette, are never to be presented.
9. Children's sex organs are never to be exposed.
III. Vulgarity
The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.
IV. Obscenity
Obscenity in word, gesture, reference, song, joke, or by suggestion (even when likely to be understood only by part of the audience) is forbidden.
V. Profanity
Pointed profanity (this includes the words, God, Lord, Jesus, Christ - unless used reverently - Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd), or every other profane or vulgar expression however used, is forbidden.
VI. Costume
1. Complete nudity is never permitted. This includes nudity in fact or in silhouette, or any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture.
2. Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot.
3. Indecent or undue exposure is forbidden.
4. Dancing or costumes intended to permit undue exposure or indecent movements in the dance are forbidden.
VII. Dances
1. Dances suggesting or representing sexual actions or indecent passions are forbidden.
2. Dances which emphasize indecent movements are to be regarded as obscene.
VIII. Religion
1. No film or episode may throw ridicule on any religious faith.
2. Ministers of religion in their character as ministers of religion should not be used as comic characters or as villains.
3. Ceremonies of any definite religion should be carefully and respectfully handled.
IX. Locations
The treatment of bedrooms must be governed by good taste and delicacy.
X. National Feelings
1. The use of the Flag shall be consistently respectful.
2. The history, institutions, prominent people and citizenry of other nations shall be represented fairly.
XI. Titles
Salacious, indecent, or obscene titles shall not be used.
XII. Repellent Subjects
The following subjects must be treated within the careful limits of good taste:
1. Actual hangings or electrocutions as legal punishments for crime.
2. Third degree methods.
3. Brutality and possible gruesomeness.
4. Branding of people or animals.
5. Apparent cruelty to children or animals.
6. The sale of women, or a woman selling her virtue.
7. Surgical operations.
Reasons Underlying the General Principles
I. No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin.
This is done:
1. When evil is made to appear attractive and alluring, and good is made to appear unattractive.
2. When the sympathy of the audience is thrown on the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, sin. The same is true of a film that would thrown sympathy against goodness, honor, innocence, purity or honesty.
Note: Sympathy with a person who sins is not the same as sympathy with the sin or crime of which he is guilty. We may feel sorry for the plight of the murderer or even understand the circumstances which led him to his crime: we may not feel sympathy with the wrong which he has done. The presentation of evil is often essential for art or fiction or drama. This in itself is not wrong provided:
a. That evil is not presented alluringly. Even if later in the film the evil is condemned or punished, it must not be allowed to appear so attractive that the audience's emotions are drawn to desire or approve so strongly that later the condemnation is forgotten and only the apparent joy of sin is remembered.
b. That throughout, the audience feels sure that evil is wrong and good is right.
II. Correct standards of life shall, as far as possible, be presented.
A wide knowledge of life and of living is made possible through the film. When right standards are consistently presented, the motion picture exercises the most powerful influences. It builds character, develops right ideals, inculcates correct principles, and all this in attractive story form.
If motion pictures consistently hold up for admiration high types of characters and present stories that will affect lives for the better, they can become the most powerful force for the improvement of mankind.
III. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
By natural law is understood the law which is written in the hearts of all mankind, the greater underlying principles of right and justice dictated by conscience.
By human law is understood the law written by civilized nations.
1. The presentation of crimes against the law is often necessary for the carrying out of the plot. But the presentation must not throw sympathy with the crime as against the law nor with the criminal as against those who punish him.
2. The courts of the land should not be presented as unjust. This does not mean that a single court may not be presented as unjust, much less that a single court official must not be presented this way. But the court system of the country must not suffer as a result of this presentation.
Reasons Underlying the Particular Applications
I. Sin and evil enter into the story of human beings and hence in themselves are valid dramatic material.
II. In the use of this material, it must be distinguished between sin which repels by it very nature, and sins which often attract.
a. In the first class come murder, most theft, many legal crimes, lying, hypocrisy, cruelty, etc.
b. In the second class come sex sins, sins and crimes of apparent heroism, such as banditry, daring thefts, leadership in evil, organized crime, revenge, etc.
The first class needs less care in treatment, as sins and crimes of this class are naturally unattractive. The audience instinctively condemns all such and is repelled.
Hence the important objective must be to avoid the hardening of the audience, especially of those who are young and impressionable, to the thought and fact of crime. People can become accustomed even to murder, cruelty, brutality, and repellent crimes, if these are too frequently repeated.
The second class needs great care in handling, as the response of human nature to their appeal is obvious. This is treated more fully below.
III. A careful distinction can be made between films intended for general distribution, and films intended for use in theatres restricted to a limited audience. Themes and plots quite appropriate for the latter would be altogether out of place and dangerous in the former.
Note: The practice of using a general theatre and limiting its patronage to "Adults Only" is not completely satisfactory and is only partially effective.
However, maturer minds may easily understand and accept without harm subject matter in plots which do younger people positive harm.
Hence: If there should be created a special type of theatre, catering exclusively to an adult audience, for plays of this character (plays with problem themes, difficult discussions and maturer treatment) it would seem to afford an outlet, which does not now exist, for pictures unsuitable for general distribution but permissible for exhibitions to a restricted audience.
I. Crimes Against the Law
The treatment of crimes against the law must not:
1. Teach methods of crime.
2. Inspire potential criminals with a desire for imitation.
3. Make criminals seem heroic and justified.
Revenge in modern times shall not be justified. In lands and ages of less developed civilization and moral principles, revenge may sometimes be presented. This would be the case especially in places where no law exists to cover the crime because of which revenge is committed.
Because of its evil consequences, the drug traffic should not be presented in any form. The existence of the trade should not be brought to the attention of audiences.
The use of liquor should never be excessively presented. In scenes from American life, the necessities of plot and proper characterization alone justify its use. And in this case, it should be shown with moderation.
II. Sex
Out of a regard for the sanctity of marriage and the home, the triangle, that is, the love of a third party for one already married, needs careful handling. The treatment should not throw sympathy against marriage as an institution.
Scenes of passion must be treated with an honest acknowledgement of human nature and its normal reactions. Many scenes cannot be presented without arousing dangerous emotions on the part of the immature, the young or the criminal classes.
Even within the limits of pure love, certain facts have been universally regarded by lawmakers as outside the limits of safe presentation.
In the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law, the following are important:
1. Impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful.
2. It must not be the subject of comedy or farce, or treated as material for laughter.
3. It must not be presented in such a way to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience.
4. It must not be made to seem right and permissible.
5. It general, it must not be detailed in method and manner.
III. Vulgarity; IV. Obscenity; V. Profanity; hardly need further explanation than is contained in the Code.
VI. Costume
General Principles:
1. The effect of nudity or semi-nudity upon the normal man or woman, and much more upon the young and upon immature persons, has been honestly recognized by all lawmakers and moralists.
2. Hence the fact that the nude or semi-nude body may be beautiful does not make its use in the films moral. For, in addition to its beauty, the effect of the nude or semi-nude body on the normal individual must be taken into consideration.
3. Nudity or semi-nudity used simply to put a "punch" into a picture comes under the head of immoral actions. It is immoral in its effect on the average audience.
4. Nudity can never be permitted as being necessary for the plot. Semi-nudity must not result in undue or indecent exposures.
5. Transparent or translucent materials and silhouette are frequently more suggestive than actual exposure.
VII. Dances
Dancing in general is recognized as an art and as a beautiful form of expressing human emotions.
But dances which suggest or represent sexual actions, whether performed solo or with two or more; dances intended to excite the emotional reaction of an audience; dances with movement of the breasts, excessive body movements while the feet are stationary, violate decency and are wrong.
VIII. Religion
The reason why ministers of religion may not be comic characters or villains is simply because the attitude taken toward them may easily become the attitude taken toward religion in general. Religion is lowered in the minds of the audience because of the lowering of the audience's respect for a minister.
IX. Locations
Certain places are so closely and thoroughly associated with sexual life or with sexual sin that their use must be carefully limited.
X. National Feelings
The just rights, history, and feelings of any nation are entitled to most careful consideration and respectful treatment.
XI. Titles
As the title of a picture is the brand on that particular type of goods, it must conform to the ethical practices of all such honest business.
XII. Repellent Subjects
Such subjects are occasionally necessary for the plot. Their treatment must never offend good taste nor injure the sensibilities of an audience.
1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
Particular Applications
I. Crimes Against the Law
These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.
1. Murder
a. The technique of murder must be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation.
b. Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail.
c. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified.
2. Methods of Crime should not be explicitly presented.
a. Theft, robbery, safe-cracking, and dynamiting of trains, mines, buildings, etc., should not be detailed in method.
b. Arson must subject to the same safeguards.
c. The use of firearms should be restricted to the essentials.
d. Methods of smuggling should not be presented.
3. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented.
4. The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization, will not be shown.
II. Sex
The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld. Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.
1. Adultery, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively.
2. Scenes of Passion
a. They should not be introduced when not essential to the plot.
b. Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown.
c. In general passion should so be treated that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element.
3. Seduction or Rape
a. They should never be more than suggested, and only when essential for the plot, and even then never shown by explicit method.
b. They are never the proper subject for comedy.
4. Sex perversion or any inference to it is forbidden.
5. White slavery shall not be treated.
6. Miscegenation (sex relationships between the white and black races) is forbidden.
7. Sex hygiene and venereal diseases are not subjects for motion pictures.
8. Scenes of actual child birth, in fact or in silhouette, are never to be presented.
9. Children's sex organs are never to be exposed.
III. Vulgarity
The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.
IV. Obscenity
Obscenity in word, gesture, reference, song, joke, or by suggestion (even when likely to be understood only by part of the audience) is forbidden.
V. Profanity
Pointed profanity (this includes the words, God, Lord, Jesus, Christ - unless used reverently - Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd), or every other profane or vulgar expression however used, is forbidden.
VI. Costume
1. Complete nudity is never permitted. This includes nudity in fact or in silhouette, or any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture.
2. Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot.
3. Indecent or undue exposure is forbidden.
4. Dancing or costumes intended to permit undue exposure or indecent movements in the dance are forbidden.
VII. Dances
1. Dances suggesting or representing sexual actions or indecent passions are forbidden.
2. Dances which emphasize indecent movements are to be regarded as obscene.
VIII. Religion
1. No film or episode may throw ridicule on any religious faith.
2. Ministers of religion in their character as ministers of religion should not be used as comic characters or as villains.
3. Ceremonies of any definite religion should be carefully and respectfully handled.
IX. Locations
The treatment of bedrooms must be governed by good taste and delicacy.
X. National Feelings
1. The use of the Flag shall be consistently respectful.
2. The history, institutions, prominent people and citizenry of other nations shall be represented fairly.
XI. Titles
Salacious, indecent, or obscene titles shall not be used.
XII. Repellent Subjects
The following subjects must be treated within the careful limits of good taste:
1. Actual hangings or electrocutions as legal punishments for crime.
2. Third degree methods.
3. Brutality and possible gruesomeness.
4. Branding of people or animals.
5. Apparent cruelty to children or animals.
6. The sale of women, or a woman selling her virtue.
7. Surgical operations.
Reasons Underlying the General Principles
I. No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin.
This is done:
1. When evil is made to appear attractive and alluring, and good is made to appear unattractive.
2. When the sympathy of the audience is thrown on the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, sin. The same is true of a film that would thrown sympathy against goodness, honor, innocence, purity or honesty.
Note: Sympathy with a person who sins is not the same as sympathy with the sin or crime of which he is guilty. We may feel sorry for the plight of the murderer or even understand the circumstances which led him to his crime: we may not feel sympathy with the wrong which he has done. The presentation of evil is often essential for art or fiction or drama. This in itself is not wrong provided:
a. That evil is not presented alluringly. Even if later in the film the evil is condemned or punished, it must not be allowed to appear so attractive that the audience's emotions are drawn to desire or approve so strongly that later the condemnation is forgotten and only the apparent joy of sin is remembered.
b. That throughout, the audience feels sure that evil is wrong and good is right.
II. Correct standards of life shall, as far as possible, be presented.
A wide knowledge of life and of living is made possible through the film. When right standards are consistently presented, the motion picture exercises the most powerful influences. It builds character, develops right ideals, inculcates correct principles, and all this in attractive story form.
If motion pictures consistently hold up for admiration high types of characters and present stories that will affect lives for the better, they can become the most powerful force for the improvement of mankind.
III. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
By natural law is understood the law which is written in the hearts of all mankind, the greater underlying principles of right and justice dictated by conscience.
By human law is understood the law written by civilized nations.
1. The presentation of crimes against the law is often necessary for the carrying out of the plot. But the presentation must not throw sympathy with the crime as against the law nor with the criminal as against those who punish him.
2. The courts of the land should not be presented as unjust. This does not mean that a single court may not be presented as unjust, much less that a single court official must not be presented this way. But the court system of the country must not suffer as a result of this presentation.
Reasons Underlying the Particular Applications
I. Sin and evil enter into the story of human beings and hence in themselves are valid dramatic material.
II. In the use of this material, it must be distinguished between sin which repels by it very nature, and sins which often attract.
a. In the first class come murder, most theft, many legal crimes, lying, hypocrisy, cruelty, etc.
b. In the second class come sex sins, sins and crimes of apparent heroism, such as banditry, daring thefts, leadership in evil, organized crime, revenge, etc.
The first class needs less care in treatment, as sins and crimes of this class are naturally unattractive. The audience instinctively condemns all such and is repelled.
Hence the important objective must be to avoid the hardening of the audience, especially of those who are young and impressionable, to the thought and fact of crime. People can become accustomed even to murder, cruelty, brutality, and repellent crimes, if these are too frequently repeated.
The second class needs great care in handling, as the response of human nature to their appeal is obvious. This is treated more fully below.
III. A careful distinction can be made between films intended for general distribution, and films intended for use in theatres restricted to a limited audience. Themes and plots quite appropriate for the latter would be altogether out of place and dangerous in the former.
Note: The practice of using a general theatre and limiting its patronage to "Adults Only" is not completely satisfactory and is only partially effective.
However, maturer minds may easily understand and accept without harm subject matter in plots which do younger people positive harm.
Hence: If there should be created a special type of theatre, catering exclusively to an adult audience, for plays of this character (plays with problem themes, difficult discussions and maturer treatment) it would seem to afford an outlet, which does not now exist, for pictures unsuitable for general distribution but permissible for exhibitions to a restricted audience.
I. Crimes Against the Law
The treatment of crimes against the law must not:
1. Teach methods of crime.
2. Inspire potential criminals with a desire for imitation.
3. Make criminals seem heroic and justified.
Revenge in modern times shall not be justified. In lands and ages of less developed civilization and moral principles, revenge may sometimes be presented. This would be the case especially in places where no law exists to cover the crime because of which revenge is committed.
Because of its evil consequences, the drug traffic should not be presented in any form. The existence of the trade should not be brought to the attention of audiences.
The use of liquor should never be excessively presented. In scenes from American life, the necessities of plot and proper characterization alone justify its use. And in this case, it should be shown with moderation.
II. Sex
Out of a regard for the sanctity of marriage and the home, the triangle, that is, the love of a third party for one already married, needs careful handling. The treatment should not throw sympathy against marriage as an institution.
Scenes of passion must be treated with an honest acknowledgement of human nature and its normal reactions. Many scenes cannot be presented without arousing dangerous emotions on the part of the immature, the young or the criminal classes.
Even within the limits of pure love, certain facts have been universally regarded by lawmakers as outside the limits of safe presentation.
In the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law, the following are important:
1. Impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful.
2. It must not be the subject of comedy or farce, or treated as material for laughter.
3. It must not be presented in such a way to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience.
4. It must not be made to seem right and permissible.
5. It general, it must not be detailed in method and manner.
III. Vulgarity; IV. Obscenity; V. Profanity; hardly need further explanation than is contained in the Code.
VI. Costume
General Principles:
1. The effect of nudity or semi-nudity upon the normal man or woman, and much more upon the young and upon immature persons, has been honestly recognized by all lawmakers and moralists.
2. Hence the fact that the nude or semi-nude body may be beautiful does not make its use in the films moral. For, in addition to its beauty, the effect of the nude or semi-nude body on the normal individual must be taken into consideration.
3. Nudity or semi-nudity used simply to put a "punch" into a picture comes under the head of immoral actions. It is immoral in its effect on the average audience.
4. Nudity can never be permitted as being necessary for the plot. Semi-nudity must not result in undue or indecent exposures.
5. Transparent or translucent materials and silhouette are frequently more suggestive than actual exposure.
VII. Dances
Dancing in general is recognized as an art and as a beautiful form of expressing human emotions.
But dances which suggest or represent sexual actions, whether performed solo or with two or more; dances intended to excite the emotional reaction of an audience; dances with movement of the breasts, excessive body movements while the feet are stationary, violate decency and are wrong.
VIII. Religion
The reason why ministers of religion may not be comic characters or villains is simply because the attitude taken toward them may easily become the attitude taken toward religion in general. Religion is lowered in the minds of the audience because of the lowering of the audience's respect for a minister.
IX. Locations
Certain places are so closely and thoroughly associated with sexual life or with sexual sin that their use must be carefully limited.
X. National Feelings
The just rights, history, and feelings of any nation are entitled to most careful consideration and respectful treatment.
XI. Titles
As the title of a picture is the brand on that particular type of goods, it must conform to the ethical practices of all such honest business.
XII. Repellent Subjects
Such subjects are occasionally necessary for the plot. Their treatment must never offend good taste nor injure the sensibilities of an audience.
05-06-03, 02:49 PM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: May 2002
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Originally posted by Rypro 525
When did the hayes code end? I heard it ended in the 60s?
When did the hayes code end? I heard it ended in the 60s?
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collectio...files/pre.html
From the beginning of American motion picture history, a debate has raged over film's role in promoting social and moral values. In the late 1920s, increased local and state regulation of film exhibition, calls for federal censorship, and a series of Hollywood scandals united industry leaders in an effort to fend off threats to the industry's autonomy and profit-making ability. And, in 1930, the Motion Picture Production Code was developed in order to appease Hollywood's critics. The Code was a self-regulatory measure which outlined specific dos and don'ts concerning what should appear on American movie screens. The code began to be strictly enforced in 1934 when all films were required to have certificates of approval issued by the Production Code Administration.
Many motion picture historians have argued that Hollywood sound films produced prior to enforcement of the Code were not only more provocative but also offered more diversity than those produced while the Code was in place (1934-1966). Often cited notorious examples include BABY FACE (Alfred E. Green, 1933), THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (Paramount, 1933. Stephen Roberts) and COMMON CLAY (Fox, 1930. Victor Fleming).
Some film scholars have even attributed the appearance of homogenized portrayals of women, sexuality, race and religion to the imposition of the Code. Mae West's career at Paramount Pictures, for example, illustrates the effects of the Production Code's enforcement. Her popularity in films such as SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933), I'M NO ANGEL (1933) and BELLE OF THE NINETIES (1934) was derived in part from her characters' predilection for double entendres, sexual innuendo and implied promiscuity. Following the Production Code crack-down, films such as GOIN' TO TOWN (1935) and KLONDIKE ANNIE (1936) feature a considerably sanitized, and some would argue, stifled version of the Mae West persona.
Many motion picture historians have argued that Hollywood sound films produced prior to enforcement of the Code were not only more provocative but also offered more diversity than those produced while the Code was in place (1934-1966). Often cited notorious examples include BABY FACE (Alfred E. Green, 1933), THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (Paramount, 1933. Stephen Roberts) and COMMON CLAY (Fox, 1930. Victor Fleming).
Some film scholars have even attributed the appearance of homogenized portrayals of women, sexuality, race and religion to the imposition of the Code. Mae West's career at Paramount Pictures, for example, illustrates the effects of the Production Code's enforcement. Her popularity in films such as SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933), I'M NO ANGEL (1933) and BELLE OF THE NINETIES (1934) was derived in part from her characters' predilection for double entendres, sexual innuendo and implied promiscuity. Following the Production Code crack-down, films such as GOIN' TO TOWN (1935) and KLONDIKE ANNIE (1936) feature a considerably sanitized, and some would argue, stifled version of the Mae West persona.
05-06-03, 02:53 PM
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Even after the code came in, there were still films that weren't approved that got distribution. It wasn't like it was Nazi Germany and everything HAD to be approved, but most films were for financial reasons.
Just like today, most films are submitted to the MPAA. Unrated and even NC-17 films have a harder time getting playdates, even though they are perfectly legal.
Just like today, most films are submitted to the MPAA. Unrated and even NC-17 films have a harder time getting playdates, even though they are perfectly legal.
05-06-03, 04:50 PM
#6
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Here are the movies scheduled to air as part of TCM's "Complicated Women" series.
5/6
8:00 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
9:00 PM The Divorcee (1930) The double standard destroys a liberal couple's marriage. Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery. D: Robert Z. Leonard. BW 82m. CC
10:30 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
11:30 PM Design For Living (1933) An independent woman can't chose between the two men she loves. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 91m.
1:15 AM Anna Christie (1930) Eugene O'Neill's classic about a romantic prostitute trying to run away from her past. Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie Dressler. D: Clarence Brown. BW 90m. CC
3:00 AM A Free Soul (1931) A hard-drinking lawyer's daughter falls for one of his underworld clients. Lionel Barrymore, Norma Shearer, Clark Gable. D: Clarence Brown. BW 94m. CC
4:45 AM Downstairs (1932) An evil chauffeur seduces and blackmails his way through high society. John Gilbert, Virginia Bruce, Paul Lukas. D: Monta Bell. BW 78m.
6:15 AM One Sunday Afternoon (1933) A small-town dentist longs to avenge an old friend who stole his love, but discovers there's no need. Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, Neil Hamilton. D: Stephen R. Roberts. BW 69m
5/13
8:00 PM Torch Singer (1933) A night club singer hosts a children's radio show in hopes of finding the child she gave up years earlier. Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners. D: Alexander Hall, George Somnes. BW 71m.
9:30 PM Baby Face (1933) A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, John Wayne. D: Alfred E. Green. BW 71m. CC
11:00 PM Female (1933) A female CEO who's used to buying love meets her match in an independent young executive. Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Johnny Mack Brown. D: Michael Curtiz. BW 60m.
12:15 AM Queen Christina (1933) Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat. Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 99m. CC
2:00 AM Men In White (1934) A young doctor has to choose between his studies and his marriage to a society girl. Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt. D: Richard Boleslawski. BW 74m.
3:30 AM Ladies They Talk About (1933) A lady bank robber becomes the cell block boss after she's sent to prison. Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Talbot, Preston Foster. D: Howard Bretherton. BW 69m.
4:45 AM So Big (1932) A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Bette Davis. D: William A. Wellman. BW 81m.
6:15 AM Frisco Jenny (1933) A district attorney prosecutes his own mother for murder. Ruth Chatterton, Donald Cook, Louis Calhern. D: William A. Wellman. BW 71m.
5/20
8:00 PM I'm No Angel (1933) A carnival dancer evades the law and invades high society. Cary Grant, Mae West, Edward Arnold. D: Wesley Ruggles. BW 87m.
9:30 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
10:30 PM Shanghai Express (1932) A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey. Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong. D: Josef von Sternberg. BW 82m. CC
12:00 AM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
1:00 AM Red Dust (1932) A plantation overseer in Vietnam is torn between a married woman and a lady of the evening. Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor. D: Victor Fleming. BW 83m. CC
2:30 AM Gold Diggers Of 1933 (1933) Three chorus girls fight to keep their show going and find rich husbands. Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell. D: Mervyn LeRoy. BW 98m. CC
4:15 AM The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) A misfired flirtation lands a young lieutenant married to a princess instead of the one he loves. Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 89m.
6:00 AM Faithless (1932) A spoiled rich girl is wiped out by the Depression. Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Montgomery, Hugh Herbert. D: Harry Beaumont. BW 77m.
7:30 AM Untamed (1929) An oil heiress raised to be wild falls for a penniless young man. Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence. D: Jack Conway. BW 86m.
5/27
8:00 PM Morocco (1930) A sultry cabaret singer falls hard for a Foreign Legionnaire. Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou. D: Josef von Sternberg. BW 91m. CC
9:45 PM Bed Of Roses (1933) A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin . Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Pert Kelton. D: Gregory La Cava. BW 67m.
11:30 PM She Done Him Wrong (1933) A saloon singer fights off smugglers, an escaped con and a Salvation Army officer out to reform her. Mae West, Cary Grant, Owen Moore. D: Lowell Sherman. BW 64m.
1:00 AM The Animal Kingdom (1932) An intellectual publisher can't choose between his society wife and his free thinking former love. Leslie Howard, Ann Harding, Myrna Loy. D: Edward H. Griffith. BW 85m.
2:30 AM Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932) Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a scientist who unleashes the beast within. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 96m. CC
4:15 AM Night Nurse (1931) A nurse discovers that the children she's caring for are murder targets. Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Clark Gable. D: William A. Wellman. BW 72m.
5:30 AM Employees' Entrance (1933) An unscrupulous department store manager stops at nothing to get what he wants. Warren William, Loretta Young, Alice White. D: Roy Del Ruth. BW 75m. CC
5/6
8:00 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
9:00 PM The Divorcee (1930) The double standard destroys a liberal couple's marriage. Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery. D: Robert Z. Leonard. BW 82m. CC
10:30 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
11:30 PM Design For Living (1933) An independent woman can't chose between the two men she loves. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 91m.
1:15 AM Anna Christie (1930) Eugene O'Neill's classic about a romantic prostitute trying to run away from her past. Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie Dressler. D: Clarence Brown. BW 90m. CC
3:00 AM A Free Soul (1931) A hard-drinking lawyer's daughter falls for one of his underworld clients. Lionel Barrymore, Norma Shearer, Clark Gable. D: Clarence Brown. BW 94m. CC
4:45 AM Downstairs (1932) An evil chauffeur seduces and blackmails his way through high society. John Gilbert, Virginia Bruce, Paul Lukas. D: Monta Bell. BW 78m.
6:15 AM One Sunday Afternoon (1933) A small-town dentist longs to avenge an old friend who stole his love, but discovers there's no need. Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, Neil Hamilton. D: Stephen R. Roberts. BW 69m
5/13
8:00 PM Torch Singer (1933) A night club singer hosts a children's radio show in hopes of finding the child she gave up years earlier. Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners. D: Alexander Hall, George Somnes. BW 71m.
9:30 PM Baby Face (1933) A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, John Wayne. D: Alfred E. Green. BW 71m. CC
11:00 PM Female (1933) A female CEO who's used to buying love meets her match in an independent young executive. Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Johnny Mack Brown. D: Michael Curtiz. BW 60m.
12:15 AM Queen Christina (1933) Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat. Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 99m. CC
2:00 AM Men In White (1934) A young doctor has to choose between his studies and his marriage to a society girl. Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt. D: Richard Boleslawski. BW 74m.
3:30 AM Ladies They Talk About (1933) A lady bank robber becomes the cell block boss after she's sent to prison. Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Talbot, Preston Foster. D: Howard Bretherton. BW 69m.
4:45 AM So Big (1932) A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Bette Davis. D: William A. Wellman. BW 81m.
6:15 AM Frisco Jenny (1933) A district attorney prosecutes his own mother for murder. Ruth Chatterton, Donald Cook, Louis Calhern. D: William A. Wellman. BW 71m.
5/20
8:00 PM I'm No Angel (1933) A carnival dancer evades the law and invades high society. Cary Grant, Mae West, Edward Arnold. D: Wesley Ruggles. BW 87m.
9:30 PM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
10:30 PM Shanghai Express (1932) A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey. Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong. D: Josef von Sternberg. BW 82m. CC
12:00 AM Complicated Women (2003) BW & C 55m. CC
1:00 AM Red Dust (1932) A plantation overseer in Vietnam is torn between a married woman and a lady of the evening. Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor. D: Victor Fleming. BW 83m. CC
2:30 AM Gold Diggers Of 1933 (1933) Three chorus girls fight to keep their show going and find rich husbands. Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell. D: Mervyn LeRoy. BW 98m. CC
4:15 AM The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) A misfired flirtation lands a young lieutenant married to a princess instead of the one he loves. Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 89m.
6:00 AM Faithless (1932) A spoiled rich girl is wiped out by the Depression. Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Montgomery, Hugh Herbert. D: Harry Beaumont. BW 77m.
7:30 AM Untamed (1929) An oil heiress raised to be wild falls for a penniless young man. Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence. D: Jack Conway. BW 86m.
5/27
8:00 PM Morocco (1930) A sultry cabaret singer falls hard for a Foreign Legionnaire. Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou. D: Josef von Sternberg. BW 91m. CC
9:45 PM Bed Of Roses (1933) A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin . Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Pert Kelton. D: Gregory La Cava. BW 67m.
11:30 PM She Done Him Wrong (1933) A saloon singer fights off smugglers, an escaped con and a Salvation Army officer out to reform her. Mae West, Cary Grant, Owen Moore. D: Lowell Sherman. BW 64m.
1:00 AM The Animal Kingdom (1932) An intellectual publisher can't choose between his society wife and his free thinking former love. Leslie Howard, Ann Harding, Myrna Loy. D: Edward H. Griffith. BW 85m.
2:30 AM Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932) Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a scientist who unleashes the beast within. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 96m. CC
4:15 AM Night Nurse (1931) A nurse discovers that the children she's caring for are murder targets. Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Clark Gable. D: William A. Wellman. BW 72m.
5:30 AM Employees' Entrance (1933) An unscrupulous department store manager stops at nothing to get what he wants. Warren William, Loretta Young, Alice White. D: Roy Del Ruth. BW 75m. CC
05-07-03, 09:37 AM
#7
Moderator
The Library of Congress is also presenting a retrospect of Pre-Code films here in DC:
-Thursday, May 8 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
A House Divided (Universal, 1931). Dir William Wyler. With Walter Huston, Kent Douglas, Helen Chandler. (70 min, 35mm).
Tensions between a macho father and his sensitive son reach a fevered pitch with the arrival of the elder man's young mail order bride.
The Purchase Price (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir William Wellman. With Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Lyle Talbot. (70 min, 35mm).
A sexy showgirl tries to escape her old lover by becoming a mail order bride to a naïve farmer.
-Friday, May 9 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Applause (Paramount, 1929). Dir Rouben Mamoulian. With Joan Peers, Fuller Mellish, Jr., Jack Cameron, Henry Wadsworth. (80 min, 35mm).
Generally acknowledged as one of the first sound features to get away from static shots and a stodgy soundtrack, Rouben Mamoulian's 1929 breakthrough talker features flexible camera work, creative use of street sounds and a bawdy 1910s style Burlesque show with a hefty chorus line! Helen Morgan's Kitty Darling turns from tough to pathetic as she tries to do right by her young daughter only to continually sob the classic "What Wouldn't I Do for That Man," by Jay Gorney and E. Y. Harburg.
-Tuesday, May 13 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Hotel Continental (Tiffany Productions, 1932). Dir Christy Cabanne. With Theodore von Eltz, Alan Mowbray. (67 min, 35mm).
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir Michael Curtiz. With Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee. (70 min, 35mm).
In Tiffany Productions' extremely low-budget precursor to Grand Hotel (showing April 25), the Hotel Continental is about to close permanently, and a recently paroled thief must find a way to retrieve his stash from room 707. But uh-oh--that room's already taken! And gangsters have hired the lovely Peggy Shannon (and put her up in room 708) to further foil his plan. In our second feature, Ann Dvorak gives a very honest portrayal of Molly Louvain, a young woman who has an affair, gets pregnant, runs off with a "bad boy," leaves him, and then takes up with a reporter. Based on the 1931 play Tinsel Girl, the story, considered quite racy for its time, is chock full of pre-code sexual innuendo.
-Thursday, May 15 (7:00 pm)
Wiser Sex (Paramount, 1932). Dir Berthold Viertel. With Lilyan Tashman, Melvyn Douglas. (90 min, 35mm).
A society girl (Claudette Colbert) decides to go undercover as a "kept woman" to prove the innocence of her boyfriend when he is railroaded into a murder charge by a gangster and his moll.
-Friday, May 16 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Blondie of the Follies (MGM, 1932). Dir Edmund Goulding. With Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove (90 min, 35mm).
A routine backstage story about a chorus's girl romance with a debonair playboy greatly benefits from a witty screenplay by Frances Marion and an exuberant performance by Marion Davies. The film's highlight is Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante impersonating John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in MGM's then current hit, Grand Hotel (which plays April 25).
-Tuesday, May 20 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Her First Mate (Universal, 1933). Dir William Wyler. With Una Merkel, Warren Hymer. (67 min, 35mm).
Blessed Event (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir Roy Del Ruth. With Lee Tracy, Mary Brian. (84 min, 35 mm).
Both Her First Mate and Blessed Event are full of the sorts of sly innuendo the Production Code eventually limited, and make for a delightful double bill. Her First Mate is a charming William Wyler comedy of a lowly seaman on a night ferry who dreams of sailing the high seas on his own schooner, starring ZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville. In Blessed Event, Al Roberts is a glib-tongued reporter who delights in exposing Broadway notables in their brief marriage-to-maternity spans. He has a particular disdain for crooners and is merciless toward Bunny Harmon (Dick Powell in his film debut). Al's column soon gets him in hot water with a gangster and he finds himself entangled in murderous intrigue. A fast-paced, funny film-especially when parodying the era's radio jingles-with great performances. One of several early films inspired by the famed gossip columnist Walter Winchell. The previously scheduled screening of Age of Consent has been cancelled.
-Thursday, May 22 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Cocktail Hour (Columbia, 1933). Dir Victor Schertzinger. With Randolph Scott, Sidney Blackmer. (80 min, 35mm).
A successful artist (Bebe Daniels) sets out to prove to her male chauvinist boss that she can have it all. Her pursuit of love, free of possession and inequality, goes astray when she falls for a deceptive man.
-Friday, May 23 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Love Me Tonight (Paramount, 1932). Dir Rouben Mamoulian. With Charlie Ruggles, Charles Butterworth, Myrna Loy. (90 min, 35mm).
Jeanette MacDonald's buggy collides with Maurice Chevalier's automobile and the fun begins. Although the PCA trimmed away 14 minutes of objectionable footage for the re-issue version (shown here), the naughtiness and vibrancy remain, along with MacDonald's negligee. A marvelous score by Rodgers and Hart adds to the depth and beauty of this pre-Code masterpiece.
-Tuesday, May 27 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Dames (Warner Bros., 1934). (Warner Bros., 1934). Dir Ray Enright. With ZaSu Pitts, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert. (90 min, 35mm).
This classic story of a chorus girl backing a Broadway musical by squeezing money out of an elderly would-be millionaire, features some of Busby Berkeley's most imaginative production numbers. Among them is the dazzling "Girl at the Ironing Board," in which Joan Blondell serenades a pile of pajamas and men's underwear, and Al Dubin's and Harry Warren's "I Only Have Eyes For You," with Dick Powell dreaming of his sweetheart Ruby Keeler on the New York subway. For the record, Warner's publicity department coined the term "cinematerpsichorean" to describe Berkeley's choreography.
-Thursday, May 29 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
The Mad Parade (Paramount, 1931). Dir William Beaudine. With Evelyn Brent, Lilyan Tashman, Louise Fazenda, Irene Rich. (70 min, 35mm).
Professional jealousy and romantic rivalry turns deadly when a group of disillusioned women canteen workers are stranded in a bunker on the allied front line in France during WWI. The film, reissued as Nine Girls and Hell was promoted as the first all-female cast motion picture.
-Friday, May 30 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
The Show of Shows (Warner Bros., 1929). Dir John G. Adolfi. With Myrna Loy, Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Frank Fay. (128 min, 35mm).
A sumptuous all-star picture made to rival MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and billed by the studio as "a connoisseur's collection of the supreme examples of almost every form of stage and screen entertainment." The revue items include Noah Beery leading the screen's best known heavies in "The Execution Number," eight sets of real-life sisters wearing national dresses of different countries and singing "Meet My Sister," John Barrymore in a scene from Shakespeare's Henry VI, and comedy sketches by Beatrice Lillie, Louise Fazenda and Lloyd Hamilton.
A good book on the subject, which I recently bought coincedently is Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood by Mark A. Vieira
-Thursday, May 8 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
A House Divided (Universal, 1931). Dir William Wyler. With Walter Huston, Kent Douglas, Helen Chandler. (70 min, 35mm).
Tensions between a macho father and his sensitive son reach a fevered pitch with the arrival of the elder man's young mail order bride.
The Purchase Price (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir William Wellman. With Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Lyle Talbot. (70 min, 35mm).
A sexy showgirl tries to escape her old lover by becoming a mail order bride to a naïve farmer.
-Friday, May 9 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Applause (Paramount, 1929). Dir Rouben Mamoulian. With Joan Peers, Fuller Mellish, Jr., Jack Cameron, Henry Wadsworth. (80 min, 35mm).
Generally acknowledged as one of the first sound features to get away from static shots and a stodgy soundtrack, Rouben Mamoulian's 1929 breakthrough talker features flexible camera work, creative use of street sounds and a bawdy 1910s style Burlesque show with a hefty chorus line! Helen Morgan's Kitty Darling turns from tough to pathetic as she tries to do right by her young daughter only to continually sob the classic "What Wouldn't I Do for That Man," by Jay Gorney and E. Y. Harburg.
-Tuesday, May 13 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Hotel Continental (Tiffany Productions, 1932). Dir Christy Cabanne. With Theodore von Eltz, Alan Mowbray. (67 min, 35mm).
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir Michael Curtiz. With Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee. (70 min, 35mm).
In Tiffany Productions' extremely low-budget precursor to Grand Hotel (showing April 25), the Hotel Continental is about to close permanently, and a recently paroled thief must find a way to retrieve his stash from room 707. But uh-oh--that room's already taken! And gangsters have hired the lovely Peggy Shannon (and put her up in room 708) to further foil his plan. In our second feature, Ann Dvorak gives a very honest portrayal of Molly Louvain, a young woman who has an affair, gets pregnant, runs off with a "bad boy," leaves him, and then takes up with a reporter. Based on the 1931 play Tinsel Girl, the story, considered quite racy for its time, is chock full of pre-code sexual innuendo.
-Thursday, May 15 (7:00 pm)
Wiser Sex (Paramount, 1932). Dir Berthold Viertel. With Lilyan Tashman, Melvyn Douglas. (90 min, 35mm).
A society girl (Claudette Colbert) decides to go undercover as a "kept woman" to prove the innocence of her boyfriend when he is railroaded into a murder charge by a gangster and his moll.
-Friday, May 16 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Blondie of the Follies (MGM, 1932). Dir Edmund Goulding. With Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove (90 min, 35mm).
A routine backstage story about a chorus's girl romance with a debonair playboy greatly benefits from a witty screenplay by Frances Marion and an exuberant performance by Marion Davies. The film's highlight is Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante impersonating John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in MGM's then current hit, Grand Hotel (which plays April 25).
-Tuesday, May 20 (6:30 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Her First Mate (Universal, 1933). Dir William Wyler. With Una Merkel, Warren Hymer. (67 min, 35mm).
Blessed Event (Warner Bros., 1932). Dir Roy Del Ruth. With Lee Tracy, Mary Brian. (84 min, 35 mm).
Both Her First Mate and Blessed Event are full of the sorts of sly innuendo the Production Code eventually limited, and make for a delightful double bill. Her First Mate is a charming William Wyler comedy of a lowly seaman on a night ferry who dreams of sailing the high seas on his own schooner, starring ZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville. In Blessed Event, Al Roberts is a glib-tongued reporter who delights in exposing Broadway notables in their brief marriage-to-maternity spans. He has a particular disdain for crooners and is merciless toward Bunny Harmon (Dick Powell in his film debut). Al's column soon gets him in hot water with a gangster and he finds himself entangled in murderous intrigue. A fast-paced, funny film-especially when parodying the era's radio jingles-with great performances. One of several early films inspired by the famed gossip columnist Walter Winchell. The previously scheduled screening of Age of Consent has been cancelled.
-Thursday, May 22 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
Cocktail Hour (Columbia, 1933). Dir Victor Schertzinger. With Randolph Scott, Sidney Blackmer. (80 min, 35mm).
A successful artist (Bebe Daniels) sets out to prove to her male chauvinist boss that she can have it all. Her pursuit of love, free of possession and inequality, goes astray when she falls for a deceptive man.
-Friday, May 23 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Love Me Tonight (Paramount, 1932). Dir Rouben Mamoulian. With Charlie Ruggles, Charles Butterworth, Myrna Loy. (90 min, 35mm).
Jeanette MacDonald's buggy collides with Maurice Chevalier's automobile and the fun begins. Although the PCA trimmed away 14 minutes of objectionable footage for the re-issue version (shown here), the naughtiness and vibrancy remain, along with MacDonald's negligee. A marvelous score by Rodgers and Hart adds to the depth and beauty of this pre-Code masterpiece.
-Tuesday, May 27 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
Dames (Warner Bros., 1934). (Warner Bros., 1934). Dir Ray Enright. With ZaSu Pitts, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert. (90 min, 35mm).
This classic story of a chorus girl backing a Broadway musical by squeezing money out of an elderly would-be millionaire, features some of Busby Berkeley's most imaginative production numbers. Among them is the dazzling "Girl at the Ironing Board," in which Joan Blondell serenades a pile of pajamas and men's underwear, and Al Dubin's and Harry Warren's "I Only Have Eyes For You," with Dick Powell dreaming of his sweetheart Ruby Keeler on the New York subway. For the record, Warner's publicity department coined the term "cinematerpsichorean" to describe Berkeley's choreography.
-Thursday, May 29 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Cinema
The Mad Parade (Paramount, 1931). Dir William Beaudine. With Evelyn Brent, Lilyan Tashman, Louise Fazenda, Irene Rich. (70 min, 35mm).
Professional jealousy and romantic rivalry turns deadly when a group of disillusioned women canteen workers are stranded in a bunker on the allied front line in France during WWI. The film, reissued as Nine Girls and Hell was promoted as the first all-female cast motion picture.
-Friday, May 30 (7:00 pm)
Pre-Code Musicals
The Show of Shows (Warner Bros., 1929). Dir John G. Adolfi. With Myrna Loy, Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Frank Fay. (128 min, 35mm).
A sumptuous all-star picture made to rival MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and billed by the studio as "a connoisseur's collection of the supreme examples of almost every form of stage and screen entertainment." The revue items include Noah Beery leading the screen's best known heavies in "The Execution Number," eight sets of real-life sisters wearing national dresses of different countries and singing "Meet My Sister," John Barrymore in a scene from Shakespeare's Henry VI, and comedy sketches by Beatrice Lillie, Louise Fazenda and Lloyd Hamilton.
A good book on the subject, which I recently bought coincedently is Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood by Mark A. Vieira
05-07-03, 01:50 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
I think thats why like bonnie and clyde and wild bunch were consitered very violent at the time (and still are imo), since it was right when the code ended.
Did all movies have to get "the code", since I know a few movies got away with some of the rules. (that 1930's movie where the woman shows her leg)
Did all movies have to get "the code", since I know a few movies got away with some of the rules. (that 1930's movie where the woman shows her leg)
05-07-03, 04:45 PM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: May 2002
Location: The unknown world of the future
Posts: 5,525
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275 Posts
Originally posted by Rypro 525
Did all movies have to get "the code", since I know a few movies got away with some of the rules. (that 1930's movie where the woman shows her leg)
Did all movies have to get "the code", since I know a few movies got away with some of the rules. (that 1930's movie where the woman shows her leg)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock...hollywood.html
It was a rash of Hollywood scandals in the late teens and the early twenties that helped intensify the ire of local censors and forced the film industry leaders to address the industry's image problems. In 1921, comedian Fatty Arbuckle was accused of the rape and murder of a young actress; director William Desmond Taylor was found murdered; actor Wallace Reid died of a drug overdose; and America's sweetheart, actress Mary Pickford, obtained a quickie divorce to marry dashing matinee idol, Douglas Fairbanks. Studio heads hired a public relations man, Will Hays, to bolster the industry's tainted reputation by convincing the nation that Hollywood was not all scandalous and that the movie industry would censor itself.
But Hays was merely a spokesperson. Since he had very little power to change the content of films, the criticism escalated, exploding into a national crisis when sound technology gave the movies a voice. In the late 1920s, state censorship boards were working overtime to keep up with the "talkies." These talking pictures incensed religious leaders concerned about America's youth. "Silent smut had been bad, vocal smut cried to the censors for vengeance," wrote Father Daniel Lord, an influential Jesuit teacher in the twenties. Catholic religious leaders especially turned up the heat on Hollywood, calling for strict moral standards and a Code of conduct for movie content based on the premise that "no picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it."
The Production Code spelled out specific restrictions on language and behavior, particularly sex and crime -- two sure-fire box office draws. It prohibited nudity, suggestive dances, and the ridicule of religion. It forbade the depiction of illegal drug use, venereal disease, childbirth, and miscegenation. The language section banned dozens of "offensive" words and phrases. Criminal activity could not be presented in a way that led viewers to sympathize with criminals. Murder scenes had to avoid inspiring imitation, and brutal killings could not be shown in detail. The sanctity of the marriage and the home had to be upheld. Adultery and illicit sex, although recognized as sometimes necessary to the plot, could not be explicit or justified and were not supposed to be presented as an attractive option.
Hays convinced the studios that accepting the Code was the safest and cheapest answer to their troubles. If the movie industry policed itself, it could ward off the high probability of government intervention. After losing money in the stock market crash of 1929 and paying big bills for introducing sound to the movies, the studios were also deep in debt and desperate to cut costs. Hays sold the Code as the money-saving measure they were searching for. Instead of paying to revise the film after the censorship boards made their edits, the studios could simply follow the Code before making their movies and everyone would be happy. The Code was adopted in 1930.
As the Depression wore on, moviemakers slacked off on their adherence to the Code. Dozens of films produced in 1932 and 1933 presented women using their sexuality to get ahead. The "bad girl" movies, including Red Headed Woman starring Jean Harlow, were huge box office hits. "She slept her way to the top, she was into S&M; there's a very naughty scene where he starts beating her, and she just loves it," comments Eve Golden, Jean Harlow biographer.
Continued pressure from the Catholic Church with support from Jewish and Protestant leaders, economic hardships, and the growing threat of federal censorship forced Hays and the studios to change their ways. In 1934, Joe Breen, a strict Catholic moralist from Philadelphia, was hired to run Hollywood's Production Code Administration, set up to enforce the Code. The PCA had the authority to review all movies and demand script changes. Any theater that ran a film without the PCA seal of approval would be fined $25,000. The Code had power at last. "The vulgar, the cheap, and the tawdry is out. There is no room on the screen at any time for pictures which offend against common decency. And these the industry will not allow," pledged Breen.
Moviemakers and scriptwriters acquiesced. They accepted the Code as the rule by which they had to work and created films that met Breen's standards. Some actors survived; others were not so fortunate. Under the watchful eye of Breen and the PCA, Jean Harlow learned to play the all-American, girl-next-door and her career flourished. Others, like Mae West, were ruined in part because sexual innuendo and the double-entendre -- her trademarks -- were forbidden by the Code.
But Hays was merely a spokesperson. Since he had very little power to change the content of films, the criticism escalated, exploding into a national crisis when sound technology gave the movies a voice. In the late 1920s, state censorship boards were working overtime to keep up with the "talkies." These talking pictures incensed religious leaders concerned about America's youth. "Silent smut had been bad, vocal smut cried to the censors for vengeance," wrote Father Daniel Lord, an influential Jesuit teacher in the twenties. Catholic religious leaders especially turned up the heat on Hollywood, calling for strict moral standards and a Code of conduct for movie content based on the premise that "no picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it."
The Production Code spelled out specific restrictions on language and behavior, particularly sex and crime -- two sure-fire box office draws. It prohibited nudity, suggestive dances, and the ridicule of religion. It forbade the depiction of illegal drug use, venereal disease, childbirth, and miscegenation. The language section banned dozens of "offensive" words and phrases. Criminal activity could not be presented in a way that led viewers to sympathize with criminals. Murder scenes had to avoid inspiring imitation, and brutal killings could not be shown in detail. The sanctity of the marriage and the home had to be upheld. Adultery and illicit sex, although recognized as sometimes necessary to the plot, could not be explicit or justified and were not supposed to be presented as an attractive option.
Hays convinced the studios that accepting the Code was the safest and cheapest answer to their troubles. If the movie industry policed itself, it could ward off the high probability of government intervention. After losing money in the stock market crash of 1929 and paying big bills for introducing sound to the movies, the studios were also deep in debt and desperate to cut costs. Hays sold the Code as the money-saving measure they were searching for. Instead of paying to revise the film after the censorship boards made their edits, the studios could simply follow the Code before making their movies and everyone would be happy. The Code was adopted in 1930.
As the Depression wore on, moviemakers slacked off on their adherence to the Code. Dozens of films produced in 1932 and 1933 presented women using their sexuality to get ahead. The "bad girl" movies, including Red Headed Woman starring Jean Harlow, were huge box office hits. "She slept her way to the top, she was into S&M; there's a very naughty scene where he starts beating her, and she just loves it," comments Eve Golden, Jean Harlow biographer.
Continued pressure from the Catholic Church with support from Jewish and Protestant leaders, economic hardships, and the growing threat of federal censorship forced Hays and the studios to change their ways. In 1934, Joe Breen, a strict Catholic moralist from Philadelphia, was hired to run Hollywood's Production Code Administration, set up to enforce the Code. The PCA had the authority to review all movies and demand script changes. Any theater that ran a film without the PCA seal of approval would be fined $25,000. The Code had power at last. "The vulgar, the cheap, and the tawdry is out. There is no room on the screen at any time for pictures which offend against common decency. And these the industry will not allow," pledged Breen.
Moviemakers and scriptwriters acquiesced. They accepted the Code as the rule by which they had to work and created films that met Breen's standards. Some actors survived; others were not so fortunate. Under the watchful eye of Breen and the PCA, Jean Harlow learned to play the all-American, girl-next-door and her career flourished. Others, like Mae West, were ruined in part because sexual innuendo and the double-entendre -- her trademarks -- were forbidden by the Code.
Barring attacks from local censors, smaller theaters, not owned by the studios, were free to show independent productions (exploitation movies) like Maniac (1934), Reefer Madness (1938), She Shoulda Said No (1949), and Glen or Glenda (1953) which would never have been passed by the PCA.
05-11-03, 06:00 PM
#10
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First, I'd like to complement Buford T Pusser for starting this excellent and underrated (going by the number of replies) thread.
I'd also like to give a big
to my pal Dimension X, who loaded this thread with a huge amount of pertinent and interesting information.
Looking at the code there is just sooooooo much that can be discussed. On the surface I will briefly say that "The Code" is a mixture of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."
Many of the principals are IMHO things that are unfortunately missing from the morality of the industry today, such as:
I. Crimes Against the Law
These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.
and
II. Sex..........9. Children's sex organs are never to be exposed.
However
Other things (of which there are too many to list are just plain nuts. Such as the following examples:
c. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified.
3. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented.
I also found it very interesting that 5. White slavery shall not be treated. as opposed to just plain "slavery"
Looking at this it has become clear to me that whenever the industry is to be censored (as with all things outside the industry), the censorship will only represent the morals of those in charge of its application.
Yet, looking at the motion picture industry as it has evolved since "The Code", a great argument can be made for how out of control things may become due to a strong minority of individual filmmakers, who have no limits to the immorality (often in bad taste) they seek to portray.
My solution is a lot easier said than done. It would be to retain the current rating system, while the Hollywood majority (with proper intentions and regard to decent morality) do a better job in policing their own. In short, studios as well as major directors, producers and actors, should take more care in the products they create, even if it means making a little bit less than the enormous sums they're currently earning.
If they were more energetic in doing this, many who now have problems with what is being produced would look upon the name of their industry in a better light. At the same time, artistic integrity will be preserved while helping society as a whole.
For those who think "artistic integrity and freedom" means that the more shocking, anti-social, immoral and horrific a production can be should and must be produced (such as the way a strong Hollywood minority feels), I can not feel more strongly that their beliefs are misplaced and do little good but great harm.
As far as the shows in this series go, I've thoroughly enjoyed all of those I have thus far seen. However, I must draw special attention to one, which I must admit was 100% new to me.....Well, almost 100%
11:30 PM Design For Living (1933) An independent woman can't chose between the two men she loves. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 91m.
Design For Living (1933) is a film I saw for the first time (except for a few scenes which I vaguely remember from years ago). It was witty, exciting, provocative and expertly acted, written and directed. Even though this is a pre-coded movie, I am glad it was made in 1933 rather than 2003, as the unnecessary graphic nature of today's production would have added a great deal of gratuitous additional skin and destroyed this "masterpiece".
I'd also like to give a big
to my pal Dimension X, who loaded this thread with a huge amount of pertinent and interesting information.Looking at the code there is just sooooooo much that can be discussed. On the surface I will briefly say that "The Code" is a mixture of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."
Many of the principals are IMHO things that are unfortunately missing from the morality of the industry today, such as:
I. Crimes Against the Law
These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.
II. Sex..........9. Children's sex organs are never to be exposed.
Other things (of which there are too many to list are just plain nuts. Such as the following examples:
c. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified.
3. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented.
I also found it very interesting that 5. White slavery shall not be treated. as opposed to just plain "slavery"
Looking at this it has become clear to me that whenever the industry is to be censored (as with all things outside the industry), the censorship will only represent the morals of those in charge of its application.
Yet, looking at the motion picture industry as it has evolved since "The Code", a great argument can be made for how out of control things may become due to a strong minority of individual filmmakers, who have no limits to the immorality (often in bad taste) they seek to portray.
My solution is a lot easier said than done. It would be to retain the current rating system, while the Hollywood majority (with proper intentions and regard to decent morality) do a better job in policing their own. In short, studios as well as major directors, producers and actors, should take more care in the products they create, even if it means making a little bit less than the enormous sums they're currently earning.
If they were more energetic in doing this, many who now have problems with what is being produced would look upon the name of their industry in a better light. At the same time, artistic integrity will be preserved while helping society as a whole.
For those who think "artistic integrity and freedom" means that the more shocking, anti-social, immoral and horrific a production can be should and must be produced (such as the way a strong Hollywood minority feels), I can not feel more strongly that their beliefs are misplaced and do little good but great harm.
As far as the shows in this series go, I've thoroughly enjoyed all of those I have thus far seen. However, I must draw special attention to one, which I must admit was 100% new to me.....Well, almost 100%
11:30 PM Design For Living (1933) An independent woman can't chose between the two men she loves. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Gary Cooper. D: Ernst Lubitsch. BW 91m.
Design For Living (1933) is a film I saw for the first time (except for a few scenes which I vaguely remember from years ago). It was witty, exciting, provocative and expertly acted, written and directed. Even though this is a pre-coded movie, I am glad it was made in 1933 rather than 2003, as the unnecessary graphic nature of today's production would have added a great deal of gratuitous additional skin and destroyed this "masterpiece".
05-12-03, 01:14 AM
#11
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Thread Starter
Here's a thread on this that I just came across. It's from the Harold Lloyd forum that I frequent.
http://pub39.ezboard.com/ftheharoldl...icID=776.topic
http://pub39.ezboard.com/ftheharoldl...icID=776.topic
05-13-03, 03:05 PM
#12
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Bumped to repost tonight's schedule:
5/13
8:00 PM Torch Singer (1933) A night club singer hosts a children's radio show in hopes of finding the child she gave up years earlier. Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners. D: Alexander Hall, George Somnes. BW 71m.
9:30 PM Baby Face (1933) A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, John Wayne. D: Alfred E. Green. BW 71m. CC
11:00 PM Female (1933) A female CEO who's used to buying love meets her match in an independent young executive. Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Johnny Mack Brown. D: Michael Curtiz. BW 60m.
12:15 AM Queen Christina (1933) Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat. Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 99m. CC
2:00 AM Men In White (1934) A young doctor has to choose between his studies and his marriage to a society girl. Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt. D: Richard Boleslawski. BW 74m.
3:30 AM Ladies They Talk About (1933) A lady bank robber becomes the cell block boss after she's sent to prison. Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Talbot, Preston Foster. D: Howard Bretherton. BW 69m.
4:45 AM So Big (1932) A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Bette Davis. D: William A. Wellman. BW 81m.
6:15 AM Frisco Jenny (1933) A district attorney prosecutes his own mother for murder. Ruth Chatterton, Donald Cook, Louis Calhern. D: William A. Wellman. BW 71m.
5/13
8:00 PM Torch Singer (1933) A night club singer hosts a children's radio show in hopes of finding the child she gave up years earlier. Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners. D: Alexander Hall, George Somnes. BW 71m.
9:30 PM Baby Face (1933) A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, John Wayne. D: Alfred E. Green. BW 71m. CC
11:00 PM Female (1933) A female CEO who's used to buying love meets her match in an independent young executive. Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Johnny Mack Brown. D: Michael Curtiz. BW 60m.
12:15 AM Queen Christina (1933) Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat. Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone. D: Rouben Mamoulian. BW 99m. CC
2:00 AM Men In White (1934) A young doctor has to choose between his studies and his marriage to a society girl. Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt. D: Richard Boleslawski. BW 74m.
3:30 AM Ladies They Talk About (1933) A lady bank robber becomes the cell block boss after she's sent to prison. Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Talbot, Preston Foster. D: Howard Bretherton. BW 69m.
4:45 AM So Big (1932) A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son. Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Bette Davis. D: William A. Wellman. BW 81m.
6:15 AM Frisco Jenny (1933) A district attorney prosecutes his own mother for murder. Ruth Chatterton, Donald Cook, Louis Calhern. D: William A. Wellman. BW 71m.
