1. Hays Code (1930-1968) and the Crime Movie

2. The start… 1922—Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association
Hollywood’s scandals:
Early 20’s: a murder, a drug overdose, and a manslaughter trial.
Hollywood as “Sin City”
1922—Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association
Slaps on the wrists and a lot of “tsk, tsk, tsk”

3. Formal Enforcement :
Great Depression comes along, film makers want to make $$
Sex sells. Violence sells.
1934: Production Code Administration
Films required a certificate of approval for showings and distribution

4. sex, violence, and crime = bad.
What’s in the code…
specific restrictions on language and behavior:
sex, violence, and crime = bad.
None of the following:
Illegal drug use
Suggestive dancing
Religious ridicule
nudity
Venereal diseases
childbirth
Profanity

5. Other Issues No films that make audiences sympathize with criminals
Crime never pays (bad guys get bad ends)
Murder and violent scenes must not be shown to make it want to be imitated
Murder and violent scenes cannot be graphic, detail, or, in some cases, visible.

6. What? More issues?
Sanctity of marriage and the home will be upheld (Huh?)
Adultery and sex cannot be shown
Granted, these may be necessary to plot
If so, they are to be off camera and not discussed.
Directors did find ways around them.

7. Production Codes Tumble!
Golden Age of Hollywood goes
Ah-buh-bye!
What happened to Hollywood?
TV! Fie and a pox on that squawk box!
Hollywood needed sex and violence to sell tickets
There was none of that on TV!

8. I don’t like these here new dang-fidnagled movies
Hays Code and the administrators needed to change
Films were changing, becoming racier despite tougher regulations in 1951
Ticket sales were plummeting
MGM released Blow Up even though it was rejected. (Oh well. So much for the fun!)
1968, Rating system was then formed by the Motion Picture Association of America.
No restrictions on what was filmed
No crazy stuff quite yet—slow to change.
I don’t like these here new dang-fidnagled movies

9. The Crime Film. The original Gangstaz
1920’s—a wild time with lots of colorful figures
Many came straight out of history: Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger.
1930’s—Great Depression.
A time of unrest and turmoil
Allowed viewers to do what
they could never do

10. Early gangster films helped give birth to Hays Code
Violent! Violent! They were violent! And un-American!
Once production codes came along, gangester films need to become more American
Crime film is American: hard work brings power, wealth and fame.

11. James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces (Curtiz, 1938)
Bad guys die dishonorably:
Gunned down in streets
Die in the gutter
Lovers die together but cannot touch each other
Falling from a height (literal and figurative fall)
Die a coward, begging and pleading
James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces (Curtiz, 1938)

12. Some symbols to watch for:
Guns: used as a sense of power and prestige, also a charm to remain invinsible
Clothing: shows growth, from floppy hats and rags, to pin stripe suits and fedoras.
Images from Public Enemy (Wellman, 1931)