The Hays Code Hollywood's Self-Censorship Machine

"Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing." Adultery and illicit sex, although recognized as ... The Motion Picture Production Code. December, 1956. Pages 1-16. The Production Code spelled out specific restrictions on language and behavior, particularly sex and crime -- two sure-fire box office draws. It prohibited ... The code aims to sanitize movies -- no nudity, suggestive dancing, miscegenation, ridicule of religion, illegal drug use, or objectionable language. Hays. The code was created to avoid a code of external censorship being imposed on movie production given the contemporary social climate. The ... In pre-Code Hollywood, there were no guidelines around decency to the horror of religious organizations until the Hays Code was implemented. Let's just get this out of the way: the Hays Code was awful. It was sexist, racist, homophobic nonsense that set film back decades and ... The Hays Code was a set of industry guidelines to ensure films were appropriate for general audiences. It was in place between 1934 to 1968. Formally known as the Motion Picture Production Code, but more popularly remembered as The Hays Code, named after William H. Hays president of the Motion ... Excerpts from Maltby, “The Production Code and the Hays Office,” Grand Design 37-72. Their version of events adheres to the requirements of a familiar early ...