The 'Naughty' Pre-Code Days

Censorship bills were introduced in many states and localities - but the vast complexity of various local, state and national censorship laws added to the problem of enforcement, i.e. in some states an ankle couldn't be displayed, or pregnancy couldn't be mentioned. In 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) was formed by the studios. Conservative former Postmaster General William H. Hays was appointed to head the organization, to begin efforts to clean up the motion picture industry before the public's anger at declining morality depicted in films hurt the movie business. One of his first acts in 'cleaning-up' Hollywood, due to pressure from Hollywood's top film executives, was to banish the acquitted actor-comedian Roscie "Fatty" Arbuckle from film, at least temporarily, in order to distract the public. [Arbuckle would continue to make films as a director under the pseudonym William Goodrich between 1925 and 1932.] Hays also approved the use of morality clauses in the standard actor's contract, to control the conduct of performers.


The Hays Office, with restrictions and guidelines on movie content to establish "correct standards of life," issued a self-regulating list of "Don'ts' and 'Be Carefuls' for film-makers in 1927. The following were targeted and specifically to be avoided:
suggestive nudity or perversion
lustful kissing
miscegenation
criminal murder
drugs
brutal violence, rape or attempted rape
cruelty to animals and children
racial slurs or anti-government diatribes
a man and woman in bed together
deliberate seduction of girls
profane swearing
capital punishment (hangings or electrocutions)
Most studios basically ignored the regulatory restrictions, because there was no enforcement that was effective, and they knew that film-going audiences wanted to see the kinds of things (sex and crime) that were being blacklisted. Many times, studios would circumvent problems with the new restrictions by wrapping up a film filled with sex and sinning with a quick climactic scene of moral repentance. Some of the illicit behaviors could be exhibited -- if later punished within the film. Other film-makers avoided censorship by changing the titles of plays forbidden to be adapted into films. One of the major difficulties with the repressive code was that it was open to varying interpretations. Hays assured state and local censorship boards that he would properly regulate the industry.