Censorship: Wielding the Red Pen - Censored Films and Television

Hollywood has a long history of censorship and self-regulation. The Production Code of 1930, also known also as the Hays Code, after then-president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) Will Hays, affected the content and distribution of all films produced in Hollywood regarding profanity, nudity, sexuality, and other potentially offensive situations (as determined by Hays and his office). In large part, the studios found self-regulation preferable to the threat of regulation by the government; but also wanted the seal of the MPPDA on their films to improve their chance of success at the box office. Studios voluntarily submitted their scripts to the Hays Office, which then gave detailed commentary. However, the recommendations were not always followed. In 1934, the Hays Code was made more powerful in joining forces with the Catholic-controlled Legion of Decency, which had the ability to call for boycotts throughout the nation if films didn't pass muster. This potential financial threat to the studios proved most effective in controlling content of films. After 1966, as social mores changed, censorship was more characterized by the response of the viewing public, which sometimes led to individual municipalities removing scenes from films or outright refusing to show them, or boycotts or other expressions of disapproval from the movie-goers themselves.

Monkey Business, 1931

The Marx Brothers

Thelma Todd

Norman Z. McLeod, dir.

Groucho Marx was the king of sexual innuendo. A little wiggling of his eyebrows, mustache, and cigar merely enhanced the raunchy dialog, and the censors would see red. Groucho's original line was as follows: "You bet I'm shy. I'm a shyster lawyer. And who are you, he countered roguishly, his beautiful white body aching to be held." It was changed to: "You bet I'm shy. I'm a shyster lawyer." Later in this scene, the script originally read: "I know, you're a misunderstood woman who's been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, polish your frame and oil your joints, but you have to stay in the garage all night." It was changed to: "I know, you're a misunderstood woman who's been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, but you have to stay in the garage all night."

She Done Him Wrong, 1933

Mae West

Cary Grant

Lowell Sherman, dir.

If Groucho Marx was the king of sexual innuendo, Mae West was the queen. West's movies were suggestive enough that they were partially the impetus for the strengthening of the Hays Code in 1934, which sought to protect innocent movie-goers from certain defilement. This film has a famous, but frequently misquoted, line of dialog that would send the censors scurrying for the scissors in the not-too-distant future: "Why don't you come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening."

Bringing Up Baby, 1938

Cary Grant

Katherine Hepburn

Howard Hawks, dir.

A mischievous moment in this film somehow escaped notice of the Hays Office. This particularly chaotic scene shows Cary Grant running around in a frilly women's bathrobe. When a matronly dowager appears at the door and questions why he's dressed in women's clothing, an exasperated Grant yells, "Because I just turned gay all of a sudden!" It probably slipped through because the slang word was relatively new at the time, and the objection wasn't raised until after the film was released.

Casablanca, 1942

Humphrey Bogart

Ingrid Bergman

Claude Rains

Michael Curtiz, dir.

This classic film set in Northern Africa in WWII contrasted a love affair with the desperation of people trying to escape the war. Captain Renault, played with likeable amorality by Claude Rains, required sexual favors from women who wanted visas to America. This aspect of Rains' character was considerably toned down after the Hays Office read the script. Similarly, the love affair between Rick and Ilsa was originally more "illicit": Ilsa rendez-voused with Rick in Paris while her husband was away on business. After the censors got hold of the script, the husband was "killed off" to lessen the sense of impropriety of a married woman cheating on her husband.

The Gang's All Here, 1943

Alice Faye

Carmen Miranda

Busby Berkeley, dir.

For reasons unknown, director and choreographer Busby Berkeley seemed to be able to skirt all requirements of the Hays Code that so hampered other directors. Perhaps the generally wholesome quality of musicals overcame any concerns about any erotic subtexts. This film features Carmen Miranda and a chorus line doing the suggestive "banana dance" with five-foot bananas Ç banned abroad, but embraced in America.

The African Queen, 1951

Humphrey Bogart

Katherine Hepburn

John Huston, dir.

Objectionable in this classic film was the "immoral relationship" between a missionary and a grizzled boat captain during WWI: the two main characters cohabitate without benefit of marriage. Other problems were found in the script: "The sound of”stomach-growlings seems in rather questionable taste"; and the film "ridiculed missionaries" and may be found offensive "to people of serious religious conviction." The director was asked to "delete reference to Âhymn-singing Methodists' and all nudity. Kissing should not be "passionate, lustful, or open-mouthed," and even the expression "on our behinds" was to be removed.

A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951

Vivien Leigh

Marlon Brando

Elia Kazan, dir.

Tennessee Williams, screenwriter Set in steamy, seductive New Orleans, this film was censored for the moral ambiguity of its characters. Tennessee Williams created men and women that were sometimes appealing, other times brutal, but always charged with sexual tension. Scenes about Blanche Dubois' infidelities were removed from the original 1951 version but later made available.

I Love Lucy, 1952

Lucille Ball

Ricky Ricardo

The Hays Code forbid the showing of a married couple with a double bed. Some scenes from this popular 1950's sit-com show Lucy in "her" bed, clearly distanced from Ricky's. Another episode showed how "I Love Lucy" pushed the edges of the envelope by dealing with Lucy's pregnancy, a topic also previously forbidden. The script managed to carefully dance around the term "pregnant" for 30 minutes without actually having a character utter it.

Guys and Dolls, 1955

This musical joins the ranks of the censored due to suggestive lyrics and dance in "Take Back Your Mink" and "Adelaide's Lament." Also of concern were the apparent mockery of religion (Sarah, a missionary, becomes inebriated) and an objection to one character giving the "Bronx cheer."

Bonnie and Clyde, 1967

Warren Beatty

Faye Dunaway

Gene Hackman

Arthur Penn, dir.

Produced only shortly after the demise of the Hays Code, this film is most notable for its influence in redefining violence in movies. Many reviews argued that the brutal and gruesome scenes managed to glamorize violence, in part because the characters committing violent acts were themselves glamorous, likeable people.

The Last Picture Show, 1971

Goaded by nude partygoers, a young and reluctant Cybil Shepherd disrobes and goes skinny-dipping. It was banned in Phoenix, Arizona in 1973 when the city attorney notified a drive-in theater manager that the film violated a state obscenity statute, and told him to stop showing it. The manager acquiesced. Arguments in federal court focused on the nudity in this party scene, and eventually the courts disagreed that it was obscene.

Carnal Knowledge, 1971

While the prurient title helped bring 20 million people to the theaters, the storyline involved more than just sex. A fascinating character study of two men with lousy attitudes towards women, this film shows its characters displaying raw emotion and frailty. Still, the censors only saw the sex, or rather, the suggestion of sex. A search warrant was issued in Albany, Georgia in 1972, leading to the arrest of the manager of the theater in which it was showing, and the film was seized. The theater manager was convicted, but the Supreme Court eventually overturned the decision.

If You Love This Planet, 1982

This Canadian documentary featured Australian physician and internationally known antinuclear activist Helen Caldicott discussing the medical and social effects of nuclear war interspersed with short clips from Ronald Reagan movies. The 23-minute film was destined for obscurity; then was labeled as "political propaganda" by the U.S. Justice Department, which sought to limit its distribution in the United States. Director Terri Nash eventually won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary, and in her acceptance speech, thanked the U.S. Government for so effectively "advertising" her film.

Year of the Dragon, 1985

Oliver Stone, screenwriter Angry Vietnam-veteran-turned-police-officer Stanley White pledges to "clean up" New York's Chinatown. Assisted by a beautiful Asian-American reporter, White uncovers a powerful Asian mafia responsible for murder, corruption, and a thriving drug trade. Based loosely on a novel of the same name, Chinese-Americans protested the racial stereotyping and sexism well before the film opened. Protesters from a coalition of organizations picketed the various premiers around the country, and statements were issued from groups fearing a negative economic impact on Chinatown if movie-goers thought it unsafe. These numerous objections led the studio to add the following disclaimer to the beginning of the film: "This film does not intend to demean or to ignore the many positive features of Asian Americans and specifically Chinese American communities. Any similarity between the depiction in this film and any association, organization, individual or Chinatown that exists in real life is accidental."

Last Temptation of Christ, 1988

Reverand Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association commented that the script was "absolutely the most perverted, distorted account of the historical and Biblical Jesus I have ever read." Jesus is portrayed as sometimes frail and questioning, and has a sexual relationship with prostitute Mary Magdelan, which some movie-goers found to be blasphemous. This film was controversial as early as five years before it was finished, and many religious groups picketed and boycotted the film after it reached movie theaters, some waving signs reading "Don't Crucify Christ Again," "Stop This Attack on Christianity," and "Scripture Not Scripts."

Basic Instinct, 1992

Joe Eszterhas, screenwriter Some members of the gay and lesbian community objected to the premise of a homicidal lesbian maniac terrorizing the men of San Francisco. Carolco Pictures was asked to cancel the project, and when that was not successful, the screenwriter, director, and others associated with the film were asked to make script changes that would portray gays and lesbians in a more positive light. The requested changes were largely ignored, leading to protests designed to disrupt the filming on city streets, and, eventually, protests outside theaters where the film was being shown. One group even attempted to give away the ending of "Basic Instinct" in hopes that it would dissuade movie-goers from seeing it. In the original cut, suspect Sharon Stone taunts police with a daring panty-less flash while being interrogated. The scene was later modified to be less graphic. Later, police detective Michael Douglas has rough and not-quite-voluntary sex with girlfriend Jeanne Tripplehorn, a scene that was also toned down. Some say the director seemed deliberate in his attempt to either offend or titillate everyone, and this amoral attitude is perhaps at the heart of the objections to this film.