Synopses & Reviews
In response to a series of sex scandals that rocked the movie industry in the early 1920s, the Production Code Administration and the Catholic Legion of Decency implemented a code stipulating that movies stress proper behavior, respect for government, and "Christian values." Based on an extensive survey of original studio records, censorship files, and the Catholic Legion of Decency archives (whose contents are published here for the first time), Hollywood Censored examines how hundreds of films were expurgated to promote a conservative political agenda during the 1930s. By taking an innovative view of how movies were made, and the conditions that made them, Hollywood Censored brings together such chapters as "Movies and Modern Literature," "Beer, Blood and Politics," and "Film Politics and Industry Policy" to form a rare look at America's most famous industry.
Review
"Several books about that phase of movie censorship dealing with the Motion Picture Production Code and the Catholic Legion of Decency have been published recently. Hollywood Censored can be counted among the better ones because it is extensively researched and maintains a nice balance between the serious, the ironic and the amusing aspects. Also, it publishes a lot of previous buried material from the Legion archives." George Turner, American Cinematographer
Review
"His mastery of the voluminious primary sources ensures a thorough description with no significant gaps." James M. Skinner, American Historical Review
Synopsis
Examines how films were censored and edited to promote a conservative political agenda during the 1930s, Hollywood's golden age.
Synopsis
In response to a series of sex scandals which rocked the movie industry in the early 1920s, the Production Code Administration and the Catholic Legion of Decency enforced a code which stipulated that movies stress proper behaviour, respect for government, and 'Christian values'. Hollywood Censored, based on an extensive survey of original studio records, censorship files, and Catholic Legion of Decency archives, whose contents are published here for the first time, examines how hundreds of films were censored to promote a conservative political agenda during the 1930s, the golden era of studio production.
Synopsis
Based on an extensive survey of original studio records, censorship files, and the Catholic Legion of Decency archives, this analysis examines how hundreds of films were expurgated to promote a conservative political agenda during the 1930s.
Description
Filmography: p. 321-326. Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-319) and index.
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. Restricting entertainment: the movies censored; 2. The Hays office and a moral code for the movies; 3. Sex, sex and more sex; 4. Movies and modern literature; 5. Beer, blood and politics; 6. Legions march on Hollywood; 7. Sex with a dash of moral compensation; 8. Film politics and industry policy; 9. Conclusion; Appendices; Index.