3.4 The Hays Code, Gangsters and Prohibition

 3.4 The Hays Code, Gangsters and Prohibition

Notes from myself:
Prohibition 1920-1933
Great Depression 1929-1932
Hays Code 1934-1954

In 1933, American society was enduring what was arguably the worst year of the Depression. With the unemployment rate a staggering 24.9 percent, and honest jobs scarce, “dishonest ones sometimes seemed more attractive than standing in soup lines.”[2] (Links to an external site.)[3] (Links to an external site.)The real-life outlaws and gangsters of the day—John Dillinger, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and Al Capone—were portrayed to the public as having anti-establishment attitudes and being free of the daily burdens with which average citizens were encumbered.

At the theaters, moviegoers vicariously lived out the feelings they shared with gangsters. Those fortunate enough to have a few coins in their pockets to spend at the movies were not immune to the dire suffering of those in their community. People were angry and shared a common enemy with Dillinger and the like:
banks and the government.
 Lorena Hickcock, who traveled throughout the country as chief investigator for the head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), Harry Hopkins, reported via letters on the horrific living conditions many Americans were forced to endure. In a letter dated August 6, 1933 from Pennsylvania she wrote that those with whom she had spoken did not “see any let-up” of the Depression. The following day she witnessed a man “re-soling shoes for his family with pieces of automobile tire.”[4] (Links to an external site.) October found Hickock in New York City where she reported that 1.25 million people were on relief. More importantly, she noted that another one million needed but were not receiving relief. She witnessed some of those one million who were “barely existing, undernourished, in rags, constantly threatened with eviction from their homes, utterly wretched and hopeless, their nerves taut, their morale breaking down.” The impoverished of New York City were a diverse group represented by “business and professional men, immigrants, uneducated, and intelligent and educated.”[5] (Links to an external site.)With poverty on every street in every neighborhood, no one remained ignorant to the plight of his neighbor. People wanted an escape, and they found it in the theaters.

Prior to the enforcement of the Production Code in 1934, which censored films for content and morality, the movie industry was free to portray its heroes and villains more realistically and less romantically, thus providing honest insight into 1930’s society.

The Code was the ultimate product of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) which was established in 1922. Acting as president, Will Hays helped to establish the MPPDA in order to curtail censorship that was being implemented by local and state governments.[6] (Links to an external site.)

Hays, former chairman of the Republican Party and Postmaster General under President Warren Harding, established the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) in 1928. Movie scripts and treatments had to pass before the SRC, which then made recommendations to the studio for editing. These recommendations were generally overlooked by studio executives who continued to produce films that depicted very liberal attitudes toward violence, sex, and drinking. Faced with harsh backlash from community and religious leaders, Hays realized that more severe action had to be taken. The Motion Picture Production Code (MPPC) was adopted by the studios on March 31, 1930. Most studios viewed the MPPC as merely more unenforceable recommendations and dismissed the notes of the SRC.[7] (Links to an external site.) As tensions continued to grow between Hollywood and religious leaders, specifically the Catholic Church, Hays placed Joseph Breen, a former journalist who had worked for the MPPDA since 1931, in charge of the SRC in 1933. An Irish American with a strong Catholic upbringing, Breen realized harsher measures needed to be taken.

On July 1, 1934 Breen replaced the ineffective SRC with the Production Code Administration (PCA). The PCA not only reviewed scripts prior to filming, it also scrutinized the final production of the film and either issued a “Seal of Approval” or returned the film to the studios to make the recommended changes.
If the film was released without the approval of the PCA, the studio was fined $25,000. More importantly, without the PCA’s Seal, major urban theaters did not show a film, thus leaving the studios with no other choice but to adhere to the regulations stipulated under the Code.[8] (Links to an external site.)
The new “morality” stipulated by the Code had dramatic consequences for the gangster genre.
The ability of the gangster to evade capture and enjoy a brief period of luxury, sin, and excitement was stifled by the first general principle of the Code, which stated that “the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing or sin.”[9] (Links to an external site.)Additionally, the Code forbade the ridicule of law enforcement and sex was off limits.

Many people saw no futures for themselves during the Depression and were captivated by the gangsters, both real and fictional, who lived for the moment, however brief.
The events of 1934 changed the opinions of movie audiences as the Hays Code dictated morality, real-life gangsters were killed in non-heroic and well publicized situations, and the end of Prohibition (1920-1933) meant the end of the bootlegger.

Although the gangster genre continued after 1934, it did so without the grit and authenticity of the pre-Code films that were made when outlaws and bootleggers lived off the screen.

- "The Hays Code, Gangsters and Prohibition:

How Did 1934 Change Hollywood?" - Link