The Hays Code
We've all heard of the infamous Hays Code,which governed for decades what could and could not be shown in a Hollywood film. But have you ever had a chance to actually read its 24 pages? Well, you do now!
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Comments
The Hays Code meant that Hollywood screenwriters and directors had to be clever. Audiences knew what was going on and what was meant. Any guesses as to what Captain Renault was doing with those women alone in his office, who wanted to get out of Casablanca? 😊
Posted by Patrick on 10/08/24 at 08:47 AM
My mom saw "Wonder Bar" (1934) in its initial release (since she grew up in a small town, it might have been as late as 1936 to reach the local theatre). One scene stuck in her mind (Wikipedia describes it as: "[. . .] a handsome man, asking a dancing couple if he could cut in. The female partner, expecting his attention, agrees, only to see him dance with her male partner. Jolson then flaps his wrist and says, "Boys will be boys! Woo!""). My mom, then in her early teens, had an inkling about gays because of her cousin Otto. She loved the scene so much, she was talking about it for days before her mom slapped her so hard her glasses fell off and told her to stop talking about such filth.
She remembered a few years later that her aunts were grateful for the Hays Code because it meant their tweens and teenagers were no longer asking embarrassing questions about things they saw in movies.
She remembered a few years later that her aunts were grateful for the Hays Code because it meant their tweens and teenagers were no longer asking embarrassing questions about things they saw in movies.
Posted by Phideaux on 10/08/24 at 11:41 AM
Saturday Night Live did a skit once about the Hays Code, specifically the part where one foot must remain on the floor when two people sit on the same bed. It "technically" upheld the code but was, nonetheless, quite scandalous. And pretty funny. (It was a very early SNL)
Posted by Brewvet on 10/08/24 at 12:41 PM
Wait, not allowed to mention a chippie? How were they ever going to show English films!?
Posted by Richard Bos on 10/19/24 at 06:48 PM
@Richard Bos
Good one. Were fish and chip sellers called 'chippies' that far back?
Good one. Were fish and chip sellers called 'chippies' that far back?
Posted by eddi on 10/20/24 at 04:04 AM
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s | Movies | Twentieth Century