By 1968, it was formally dissolved during the New Hollywood revolution. So, the Hollywood Production Code Administration basically ruled Hollywood for a long time, from 1934 to about 1950. it wasn’t a good time for constitutional rights. If you’ve seen just one clip from the Pre-Code era, it’s probably this:Īt the time, cinema wasn’t legally protected under the First Amendment. There wasn’t a lot of Pre-Code nudity, even in the most risque Pre-Code movies, but Red Headed Woman made the Hays office so furious that they started to work with renewed vigor on the enforcement of the Code. Most of the time, she relies on her sexual prowess to advance herself. Jean Harlow stars in the picture as an ambitious young woman who will do anything it takes to get ahead. Pre Code Movies - Feminist Focus Red Headed Woman (1932)įew films of the Pre-Code era are as celebrated as Jack Conway’s Red Headed Woman. Ultimately, The Public Enemy gives us insight into both issues - and it just so happens to be one of the best gangster movies of all time. There was an outspoken minority who demanded rules be put in place, but they weren’t followed because the majority didn’t agree with them. In many ways, prohibition and Hollywood censorship guidelines were incredibly similar. Perhaps it was because of prohibition.Īlthough the sale and distribution of alcohol was illegal from 1920-1933, few people actually adhered to the law. Gangster movies were incredibly popular in the Pre-Code era - there was something innately alluring about criminal life to moviegoers at the time. These early guidelines are known as the “Don'ts and Be Carefuls.” The full list of rules stated that a myriad of things were either completely prohibited or strongly discouraged. However, for the early years of the Code’s development, Hays found it near-impossible to enforce the stringent censorship guidelines. As such, they paid Presbyterian leader William Hays an enormous salary to work with studios and the government to develop a censorship code. Several high-ranking members of Christian churches were upset about the direction cinema was going. It’s important to remember that women were only given the right to vote in 1920.īut whenever too much progress is made in the right direction, there are those who will try desperately to bring things back to the status quo. For the first time in the nation’s history, women were starting to become respected as professionals. The roaring '20s brought about a radical change in the way the American people viewed sexuality. Types of Pre Code Movies Pre-code movies and genresĪs far back as 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) was trying to censor Hollywood.
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