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Motion Picture Production Code -

Introduced in 1930, the Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral guidelines applied to most American motion pictures released by major Hollywood studios from 1934 to 1968.

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Will H. Hays (1879–1954) -

The code is also known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, who was the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA)—later known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)—from 1922 to 1945.

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"Dont's" and "Be Carefuls" -

The MPPDA adopted the code in March 1930, effectively a series of key points known as the "Don'ts" and "Be Carefuls." In other words, what was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience. Things strictly off limits included profanity, scenes of nudity and sexual assault, excessive or lustful kissing, references to illegal substances, sexual relationships between the white and black races, a woman selling her virtue, and ridicule of the clergy.

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Joseph Breen (1888–1965) -

From 1934 to 1954, the Motion Picture Production Code was closely identified with film censor Joseph Breen, who headed the Production Code Administration (PCA), created to oversee its enforcement. No film could be exhibited in an American theater without a stamp of approval from the PCA.

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William Desmond Taylor (1872–1922) -

The code was born on the back of a series of risqué films and several notorious scandals that shook Hollywood during the 1920s, including the still unsolved murder of film director and actor William Taylor in 1922.

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Roscoe Arbuckle (1887–1933) -

The infamous case of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of sexual assault and manslaughter, drew widespread condemnation from religious, civic, and political organizations. Will H. Hays banned Arbuckle's films, and was ultimately called upon by the studios to rehabilitate Hollywood's image.

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New York City -

As early as 1924, Hays had introduced a set of censorship recommendations, which the studios were advised to heed. He even requested the plotlines of pictures they were planning on making. The stage also became a target of Hays' wrath, with theatrical productions (especially those on Broadway, a traditionally liberal platform) subject to the same stringent conditions.

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'The Blue Angel' (1930) -

Films made in the pre-code era and subsequently reviewed by the PCA included 'The Blue Angel.' It was passed as fit to view by one member of the administration, only to be considered indecent by a second film censor. This apparent contradiction in standards highlighted an early problem with the code, in that in could be interpreted in different ways. 

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'Frankenstein' (1931) -

After creating his monster, Victor Frankenstein declares:"Now I know what it feels like to be God!" The film's reissue in 1934 saw this line cut under PCA guidelines, as it was considered blasphemous.

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'The Sign of the Cross' (1932) -

When this 1932 pre-code Cecil B. DeMille historical epic was reissued in 1934, a "lesbian" dance had been cut, along with a number of gladiatorial fight scenes and a sequence involving a naked woman being attacked by wild animals. These were only restored in 1993.

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'The World Moves On' (1934) -

By 1934, the code was in full effect. The first film to receive an MPPDA seal of approval was 'The World Moves On.'

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Betty Boop -

The animated cartoon character suffered under the Motion Picture Production Code. Here, two still frames of Betty Boop in 'Snow-White' (1933) and in 'Musical Mountaineers' (1939) see her transformed overnight from a sexy, carefree flapper to a spinster housewife.

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'Casablanca' (1942) -

Joseph Breen wielded enormous power over filmmakers when it came to enforcing PCA guidelines. For example, adherence to the code ruled out any possibility of Bogart's and Bergman's characters consummating their adulterous love at the end of 'Casablanca.'

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'Tarzan and his Mate' (1934) -

In this 1934 take on the Tarzan tale, censorship was less subtle with the naked underwater swimming scene performed by Maureen O'Sullivan's body double (Josephine McKim). The scene was deleted from the film, along with one of O'Sullivan herself flashing a bare breast as she rises out of the water.

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'The Outlaw' (1941) -

The emphasis on and display of Jane Russell's bosom in Howard Hughes' Western fell foul of the code. However, the resulting publicity meant that Hughes managed to get the film into theaters for one week in 1943 before being pulled by the PCA. Reissued in 1946, it became a box-office hit.

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'Confessions of a Nazi Spy' (1939) -

The code's policy of avoiding adapting in an unfavorable light another country's religion, history, institutions, prominent people, and citizenry meant that even anti-Nazi films were prevented from being produced. Fortunately, 'Confessions of a Nazi Spy' was released in the wake of an FBI operation that had just uncovered a real-life German espionage case.

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'Notorious' (1946) -

Some directors circumnavigated the code by employing clever filmmaking. For example, Alfred Hitchcock worked around the rule of three-second-kissing by having Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman break off every three seconds.

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'Johnny Belinda' (1948) -

By the late 1940s, the PCA's guidelines were being flouted and the code began to weaken. Formally taboo subjects such as sexual assault were now beginning to be allowed. 'Johnny Belinda' is a good example, with the horror and consequences of sexual assault effectively the film's main plotline.

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'Pinky' (1949) -

Similarly, a mixed-race relationship is the theme explored in this controversial drama that, despite critical acclaim, provoked the MPAA in 1951 to revise the code to make it more rigid.

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Threat of television -

The advent of the 1950s saw television, which itself was under an even more restrictive censorship code, galvanize the movie industry into offering the public something they couldn't get by staying in and watching TV. But this meant working outside the constraints of the Motion Picture Production Code.

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'Bicycle Thieves' (1948) -

Hollywood was also under threat from increasing competition from foreign films that were not bound by the code. Theft and robbery, for example, were themes that could not be explored by American motion pictures. These underpin Vittorio De Sica's classic tale of a stolen bicycle. 

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'Summer with Monika' (1953) -

Ingmar Bergman's frank depiction of nudity in 'Summer with Monika' would never have been made by an American studio.

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Otto Preminger (1905–1986) -

One director who declared open war against the PCA was Otto Preminger, whose films violated the code repeatedly in the 1950s.

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'The Moon is Blue' (1953) -

Preminger's 'The Moon is Blue' follows the story of two men out to seduce the same woman, who's a virgin at that. The film explores the pressing moral and sexual issues of the day, which the PCA couldn't accept. The film was released without a certificate of approval.

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'The Man with the Golden Arm' (1955) -

Preminger also made 'The Man with the Golden Arm' with Frank Sinatra (pictured on set with the director). The film is about a man struggling with substance abuse who gets clean while in prison. Another no-no subject, and a film the PCA denied a certificate of approval.

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'Some Like It Hot' (1959) -

Even this evergreen romantic comedy was produced without the approval of the PCA: it plays with the idea of homosexuality and features cross-dressing. But the overwhelming success of 'Some Like It Hot' is considered one of the final nails in the coffin for the Hays Code.

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'Victim' (1961) -

By the early 1960s, a number of British films appeared that challenged traditional gender roles, and openly confronted the prejudices against homosexuals, all in clear violation of the Motion Picture Production Code. 'Victim,' which stars Dirk Bogarde, admittedly had trouble passing the censors in the United Kingdom, but was outright refused a seal of approval from the MPAA.

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'The Leather Boys' (1964) -

One British production that was shown in the US was this gritty drama about the rocker subculture in London, which also featured a gay motorcyclist. It was a sign that sexual themes previously banned by the code were slowly being retained.

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'The Pawnbroker' (1964) -

In another sign of the code's increasing irrelevance, 'The Pawnbroker' starring Rod Steiger was the first film featuring bare breasts to receive PCA approval. By the late 1960s, enforcement had become impossible and the Motion Picture Production Code was abandoned entirely. 

See also: 'And cut!' Movies that have been banned or censored.

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