Hi, Dave, Actually, according to the book, the Breen Office and the code came into being BECAUSE of the local and state censor boards which were more destructive than anything the Hayes or Breen offices did. High-up Hollywood cooperated WITH Breen to blunt the effect of those local censorship boards. Interestingly (and not surprisingly to this US-Southerner) the two boards that stayed the longest and were the most "powerful" were in Memphis and Atlanta. Each was run by a true blue-nose--- female in TN and male in GA-- "protector of morals." These are the type people who often make headlines in sex-scandals....witness the squawking from an Atlanta Hypocrite of the current day!! Joe PS-- The code effectively died with Breen...even though it took Hollywood a few more years and a guy like Jack Valenti to put a more sensible way of "control" into place. Joe
--- On Tue, 9/28/10, Dave Rosen <[email protected]> wrote: From: Dave Rosen <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOPO] It was the BREEN office......operating under Hayes To: [email protected] Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 8:28 AM Thanks for the heads-up, Joe. I'll definitely add that to my reading list. I find the era fascinating. I recently watched Alien Trespass, a spoof of 50s sci-fi movies, and in one scene after what has presumably been a night of lovemaking, a married couple wake up the next morning fully dressed lying across one of a pair of twin beds, the husband with one foot on the floor! An obvious poke at the Code. >From what I know already about the Production Code, it was initially written >after the Fatty Arbuckle debacle but not really enforced until the Legion of >Decency threatened to start picketing theaters, which would have had an impact >on the studios' bottom line. I believe the LoD also had an in on the many >state censor boards across the country and could outright ban movies if it >thought them too "indecent." This is what gave them clout. By the 60s, though, their power had waned, the culture had shifted and the studios could finally break away from the Code. I look forward to reading the Breen bio. Thanks again for the tip! Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: Joseph Bonelli To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 10:50 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] It was the BREEN office......operating under Hayes I just finished the bio of Joe Breen which is a history of the Hayes and Breen era of censorship in Hollywood from 1934 to the mid-1960s. It's one of the most fascinating books I've ever read!! Little did I realize as a 1950s teen, fascinated in the Catholic school library reading about forbidden movies, that it was representatives of what was then "my" church that controlled Hollywood censorship for 30 years!! The production code was written by a Jesuit-- Fr. Daniel A Lord, S.J. Please let no one be offended when I point out (as I learned in this book) that the Irish-Catholic point of view prevailed in most Hollywood films for over a quarter of a century. Read it and be amazed!! Fascinating stuff. Joe B in NOLA http://www.amazon.com/Hollywoods-Censor-Joseph-Production-Administration/dp/0231143583 --- On Mon, 9/27/10, Richard Halegua Comic Art <[email protected]> wrote: From: Richard Halegua Comic Art <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOPO] FA: Were there sexier European versions of early 1930s U.S. movies? To: [email protected] Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 6:05 PM At 03:52 PM 9/27/2010, Roland Lataille wrote: > I thought the early Tarzan movies were pretty racy as far as what Jane was > wearing or not wearing. can we say "Hayes office" Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
