What do you think?
Rate this book
Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era [1930-1934]: When Sin Ruled the Movies
Filled with rare images and untold stories from filmmakers, exhibitors, and moviegoers, Forbidden Hollywood is the ultimate guide to a gloriously entertaining era when a lax code of censorship let sin rule the movies.
Forbidden Hollywood is a history of "pre-Code" like none other you will eavesdrop on production conferences, read nervous telegrams from executives to censors, and hear Americans argue about "immoral" movies. You will see decisions artfully wrought, so as to fool some of the people long enough to get films into theaters. You will read what theater managers thought of such craftiness, and hear from fans as they applauded creativity or condemned crassness. You will see how these films caused a grass-roots movement to gain control of Hollywood-and why they were "forbidden" for fifty years.
The book spotlights the twenty-two films that led to the strict new Code of 1934, including Red-Headed Woman, Call Her Savage, and She Done Him Wrong. You'll see Paul Muni shoot a path to power in the original Scarface; Barbara Stanwyck climb the corporate ladder on her own terms in Baby Face; and misfits seek revenge in Freaks.
More than 200 newly restored (and some never-before-published) photographs illustrate pivotal moments in the careers of Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Greta Garbo; and the pre-Code stardom of Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. This is the definitive portrait of an unforgettable era in filmmaking.
Forbidden Hollywood is a history of "pre-Code" like none other you will eavesdrop on production conferences, read nervous telegrams from executives to censors, and hear Americans argue about "immoral" movies. You will see decisions artfully wrought, so as to fool some of the people long enough to get films into theaters. You will read what theater managers thought of such craftiness, and hear from fans as they applauded creativity or condemned crassness. You will see how these films caused a grass-roots movement to gain control of Hollywood-and why they were "forbidden" for fifty years.
The book spotlights the twenty-two films that led to the strict new Code of 1934, including Red-Headed Woman, Call Her Savage, and She Done Him Wrong. You'll see Paul Muni shoot a path to power in the original Scarface; Barbara Stanwyck climb the corporate ladder on her own terms in Baby Face; and misfits seek revenge in Freaks.
More than 200 newly restored (and some never-before-published) photographs illustrate pivotal moments in the careers of Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Greta Garbo; and the pre-Code stardom of Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. This is the definitive portrait of an unforgettable era in filmmaking.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2019
325 people are currently reading
850 people want to read
About the author
Mark A. Vieira
22 books43 followersMark A. Vieira is a photographer and writer. He makes glamour portraits in the classic Hollywood mode, working in the historic Granada Buildings, where George Hurrell had his first Los Angeles studio. He writes books about the artists, genres, and photographic technique of Hollywood’s Golden Era.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
October 8, 2021
Worth the cost of the book for the gorgeous, luminous photographs alone, some shown here for the first time, Forbidden Hollywood is also a well written and succinct introduction to the pre-code era in La La Land. From 1930 until 1934, Hollywood studios created some of the best movies ever made.
There was sex and violence, sure, but also people, especially women, were shown as complicated and complex human beings with rich inner lives. They had careers and sought fulfillment in their personal lives, as well as the men did.
Social ills were addressed, such as abortion, rape, drug abuse, and child abuse. Gay women and men were portrayed. Love between different races was shown. Gangsters were shown as violent psychopaths, the violence wasn't made pretty.
Lots of stars had their launch in this period and went on to make tons of great films, but there is something about the freedom of this period that was never achieved again. Women took a backseat to the boys that they're still trying to undo.
There was sex and violence, sure, but also people, especially women, were shown as complicated and complex human beings with rich inner lives. They had careers and sought fulfillment in their personal lives, as well as the men did.
Social ills were addressed, such as abortion, rape, drug abuse, and child abuse. Gay women and men were portrayed. Love between different races was shown. Gangsters were shown as violent psychopaths, the violence wasn't made pretty.
Lots of stars had their launch in this period and went on to make tons of great films, but there is something about the freedom of this period that was never achieved again. Women took a backseat to the boys that they're still trying to undo.
April 5, 2024
11/2023
When movies were silent and words were written on Dialogue Cards, so much could be changed. The same movie could be shown in any country or language and, even in America, where everyone presumably spoke English, the words could be altered for changes in environment. For different senses of humor, different tolerances of sin, like alcohol and sex........ The introduction of "talkies", of dialogue, in the late 1920s, changed everything. The sound recording could not be easily edited. It quickly became clear that people in different places, like say the cities and the country, liked very different things. And movies, then like now and always, are very expensive to make. So how are you going to satisfy everyone everywhere? You won't.......... As soon as there were talking pictures there had to be a code and there was. Its just that before 1934 it was largely ignored. It was the Depression and they needed sex, sin and death to sell tickets.
When movies were silent and words were written on Dialogue Cards, so much could be changed. The same movie could be shown in any country or language and, even in America, where everyone presumably spoke English, the words could be altered for changes in environment. For different senses of humor, different tolerances of sin, like alcohol and sex........ The introduction of "talkies", of dialogue, in the late 1920s, changed everything. The sound recording could not be easily edited. It quickly became clear that people in different places, like say the cities and the country, liked very different things. And movies, then like now and always, are very expensive to make. So how are you going to satisfy everyone everywhere? You won't.......... As soon as there were talking pictures there had to be a code and there was. Its just that before 1934 it was largely ignored. It was the Depression and they needed sex, sin and death to sell tickets.
April 13, 2019
It is always a pleasure to read another book from Mark A. Vieira. I can rest assured that it will be well-researched, very readable, and (in the ones I have in my collection) filled with wonderful photographs. His book, SIN IN SOFT FOCUS, has been a joy to revisit and to use as a starting place for many of my own film history searches.
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD is not quite as good as SIN IN SOFT FOCUS which has more depth. The photographs are still wonderful, though, and there is a different perspective ... providing a glimpse into the discussions and correspondence of those commenting on the trends in what became known as “Pre-Code Hollywood.”
It is difficult for the younger Viewer of films today to fully appreciate the scope of film censorship that emerged in 1934 and lasted into 1968. This censorship resulted not only in production scripts being edited and segments removed from prints, but also camera negatives cut and the trimmings thrown away! A watchdog group determined what America’s filmgoing public was allowed to see, and this book details its rise.
When I talk with young film students, they laugh at our ratings system. After all, not being able to watch something in a movie theater doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to “stream” it in about 4- to 6-months. Yet, the Code went further and tried to make certain that “objectionable” content would never be available to anyone. (They failed in many cases, but not all.)
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD builds its story around 22 films that had a strong influence on the Production Code being developed, although it includes many other films in the discussion. It also samples the tone of the times, from film producers to filmgoers and religious groups. It also delves into some behind-the-scenes production stories.
If you are new to learning about the Production Code, this is a great place to start. If you have read about it before, FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD will add new details ... and more of those invaluable photographs.
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD is not quite as good as SIN IN SOFT FOCUS which has more depth. The photographs are still wonderful, though, and there is a different perspective ... providing a glimpse into the discussions and correspondence of those commenting on the trends in what became known as “Pre-Code Hollywood.”
It is difficult for the younger Viewer of films today to fully appreciate the scope of film censorship that emerged in 1934 and lasted into 1968. This censorship resulted not only in production scripts being edited and segments removed from prints, but also camera negatives cut and the trimmings thrown away! A watchdog group determined what America’s filmgoing public was allowed to see, and this book details its rise.
When I talk with young film students, they laugh at our ratings system. After all, not being able to watch something in a movie theater doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to “stream” it in about 4- to 6-months. Yet, the Code went further and tried to make certain that “objectionable” content would never be available to anyone. (They failed in many cases, but not all.)
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD builds its story around 22 films that had a strong influence on the Production Code being developed, although it includes many other films in the discussion. It also samples the tone of the times, from film producers to filmgoers and religious groups. It also delves into some behind-the-scenes production stories.
If you are new to learning about the Production Code, this is a great place to start. If you have read about it before, FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD will add new details ... and more of those invaluable photographs.
July 30, 2019
4.0 stars
The pictures are swooningly beautiful and worth checking out even if you don't read the text. The text was full of direct quotes from trade publications, interoffice memos, and other such primary sources from the time; this makes the book a great look at attitudes of the time instead of a 21st century point of view.
However, I felt the chronology of the whole thing choppy and unclear, which is why it's only getting four stars from me.
The pictures are swooningly beautiful and worth checking out even if you don't read the text. The text was full of direct quotes from trade publications, interoffice memos, and other such primary sources from the time; this makes the book a great look at attitudes of the time instead of a 21st century point of view.
However, I felt the chronology of the whole thing choppy and unclear, which is why it's only getting four stars from me.
August 30, 2019
I had this book on my Amazon wish list, and my husband surprised me with it randomly one day. I set it aside to finish a few others, then decided to dive in to it this summer. I didn't know much about it except that the topic, the cover and the author were all great so I knew it would be good. I had assumed it was going to be a summary of different pre-code films, like the recent Christmas films book I read from TCM, but this was different. While it did summarize some of the most important pre-code films, its real focus was to give a detailed and interesting account of the Hays Code, what was happening from the 20's and each year of the 30's leading up to the 1934 enforcement by Breen. If you haven't read Vieira before, he is a great author that spends a lot of time interviewing and researching to give very detailed and factual accounts of his subjects (other favorites of mine are his Jean Harlow and Hurrell portraits books). The photos in the book were great and plentiful. It's fun to watch pre-codes and laugh at the lines you don't expect an early 30's lady to speak, and it was really fun to read the lines and scenes that were censored- so disappointing that some of those scenes were literally cut out of the film and destroyed.
This is a great book for any classic film lover to add to their bookshelf or coffee table- a great example of a Hollywood history book!
This is a great book for any classic film lover to add to their bookshelf or coffee table- a great example of a Hollywood history book!
May 8, 2019
Today’s is on Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies by Mark A. Vieira. It is 256 pages long and is published by Running Adult Press. The cover is a picture from a forbidden movie. The intended reader is someone who is interested in old Hollywood and the films that made it. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the dust jacket- It’s classic Hollywood- uncensored. Filled with rare images and untold stories from filmmakers, exhibitors, and moviegoers, Forbidden Hollywood is the ultimate guide to a gloriously entertaining and strikingly progressive era, when a lax code of censorship let sin rule the movies.
Forbidden Hollywood id s history of ‘pre-Code’ like none other: you will eavesdrop on production conferences, read nervous telegrams from executives to censors, and hear Americans argue about ‘immoral’ movies. You will see decisions on content artfully wrought so as to fool some of the people long enough to get films into theaters. You will read what theater managers thought of such craftiness, and hear from fans as they applauded creativity or condemned crassness. You will see how these films caused a grass roots movement to gain control of Hollywood- and why they were ‘forbidden’ for fifty years.
The book spotlights the twenty-two films that led to the strict new Code of v 1934, including red-headed Woman, Call Her Savage, and She Done Him Wrong. You’ll see Paukl Muni shoot a path to power in the Scarface, Barbara Stanwyck climb the corporate ladder on her own terms in Baby Face, and misfits seek revenge in Freaks.
More than two hundred newly restored (and some never-before-published) photographs illustrate pivotal moments in the careers of Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearere, and Greta Barbo; and the pre-Code stardom of Claudette, Colbert, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. This is the definitive portrait of an unforgettable era in filmmaking.
Review- An interesting and in-depth look into the films that made Hollywood forbidden. Vieira is a Hollywood historian and it shows in his research and access to original materials. He gives the reader a rough rundown of Hollywood before 1930 then we jump into the movies that were being made. The movies were very interesting and the best part of the book. Vieira spends most of the book writing about the movies and their impact. The movies impact varied from place to place and person to person. Some movies depended on where they were shown changed their reputation like if it was a more artist picture then it did not do well in the country and more homespun stories did not do well in the big city. The pictures were gorgeous and added so much to the book overall, they not showed the movies but give the reader an idea about how the movie where presented to the public in their time. I really enjoyed this book and I like to read more of Vieira’s work.
I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
From the dust jacket- It’s classic Hollywood- uncensored. Filled with rare images and untold stories from filmmakers, exhibitors, and moviegoers, Forbidden Hollywood is the ultimate guide to a gloriously entertaining and strikingly progressive era, when a lax code of censorship let sin rule the movies.
Forbidden Hollywood id s history of ‘pre-Code’ like none other: you will eavesdrop on production conferences, read nervous telegrams from executives to censors, and hear Americans argue about ‘immoral’ movies. You will see decisions on content artfully wrought so as to fool some of the people long enough to get films into theaters. You will read what theater managers thought of such craftiness, and hear from fans as they applauded creativity or condemned crassness. You will see how these films caused a grass roots movement to gain control of Hollywood- and why they were ‘forbidden’ for fifty years.
The book spotlights the twenty-two films that led to the strict new Code of v 1934, including red-headed Woman, Call Her Savage, and She Done Him Wrong. You’ll see Paukl Muni shoot a path to power in the Scarface, Barbara Stanwyck climb the corporate ladder on her own terms in Baby Face, and misfits seek revenge in Freaks.
More than two hundred newly restored (and some never-before-published) photographs illustrate pivotal moments in the careers of Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearere, and Greta Barbo; and the pre-Code stardom of Claudette, Colbert, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. This is the definitive portrait of an unforgettable era in filmmaking.
Review- An interesting and in-depth look into the films that made Hollywood forbidden. Vieira is a Hollywood historian and it shows in his research and access to original materials. He gives the reader a rough rundown of Hollywood before 1930 then we jump into the movies that were being made. The movies were very interesting and the best part of the book. Vieira spends most of the book writing about the movies and their impact. The movies impact varied from place to place and person to person. Some movies depended on where they were shown changed their reputation like if it was a more artist picture then it did not do well in the country and more homespun stories did not do well in the big city. The pictures were gorgeous and added so much to the book overall, they not showed the movies but give the reader an idea about how the movie where presented to the public in their time. I really enjoyed this book and I like to read more of Vieira’s work.
I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
June 11, 2019
The topic is interesting, but the book doesn't really have any momentum. It tries to be a narrative, but isn't really good at it. This is mostly a series of short sections on some of the movies that caused some scandal in the early 1930s, helping lead to the stronger MPAA code of 1934. There are a lot of great photos in the book, gotta give it that.
July 6, 2019
This is an update of Sin in Soft Focus.
October 12, 2022
We tend to think of old movies as being quite chaste, particularly in comparison to films today. But for a few naughty years, Hollywood cranked out lots of "sinful" movies.
Mark Vieira looks at four years in Hollywood, the so-called 'pre-code' era, when the production code was in effect, but basically ignored. Vieira uses correspondence from censor boards, the Hollywood community, theatre owners and the moviegoing public to paint a vivid picture of a wild time in Hollywood history.
There was outrage over glamourized gangsters. Woman who lured men were called 'bad girls' or even 'sinful'. Sex was the prevailing preoccupation, and the movie titles made it clear what was to be expected: 'Red Headed Woman' 'Posessed' 'A Free Soul' 'Call Her Savage' 'Baby Face'.
The influence of Hollywood films was tremendous. In the film Dishonored, Marlene Dietrich dangled a leg over a chair in a very unladylike manner. Sure enough, teenage girls across the country started to sit down with one leg dangling over a chair.
Hollywood continued to crank out films that pushed the envelope, until the then-powerful Catholic church stepped in. In Philadelphia, when Cardinal Dougherty told Catholics there to boycott all films "under pain of sin", box office receipts fell 40%. With an organized boycott, Hollywood cleaned up its act.
Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of photos, Forbidden Hollywood is informative and great fun for fans of old Hollywood.
Mark Vieira looks at four years in Hollywood, the so-called 'pre-code' era, when the production code was in effect, but basically ignored. Vieira uses correspondence from censor boards, the Hollywood community, theatre owners and the moviegoing public to paint a vivid picture of a wild time in Hollywood history.
There was outrage over glamourized gangsters. Woman who lured men were called 'bad girls' or even 'sinful'. Sex was the prevailing preoccupation, and the movie titles made it clear what was to be expected: 'Red Headed Woman' 'Posessed' 'A Free Soul' 'Call Her Savage' 'Baby Face'.
The influence of Hollywood films was tremendous. In the film Dishonored, Marlene Dietrich dangled a leg over a chair in a very unladylike manner. Sure enough, teenage girls across the country started to sit down with one leg dangling over a chair.
Hollywood continued to crank out films that pushed the envelope, until the then-powerful Catholic church stepped in. In Philadelphia, when Cardinal Dougherty told Catholics there to boycott all films "under pain of sin", box office receipts fell 40%. With an organized boycott, Hollywood cleaned up its act.
Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of photos, Forbidden Hollywood is informative and great fun for fans of old Hollywood.
May 18, 2022
Marlene Dietrich as Lily in Shanghai Express (1932). As for the comedy, there are few things funnier than how Dietrich negotiates Pre-Code innuendo.
The term Pre-Code has become a trending topic among film buffs. Mark Vieira could have easily mentioned a bunch of Pre-Code movies, and left it at that. Not only those fascinating writings, but there were also beautiful photographs throughout the whole book. Glamour portraits, film stills, and more glossed over the pages. The pictures alone really enhanced the experience of reading this book. I can recommend it to you.
April 16, 2019
My full review here: https://www.outofthepastblog.com/2019...
Complete with video: https://youtu.be/U5HW3W8y_3U
Complete with video: https://youtu.be/U5HW3W8y_3U
January 28, 2020
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
This book covers an approximate four year period between the start of the "talkies" and the establishment of an effective Hollywood censorship program. The author, Mark Viera, covers this period on a year by year, topic by topic, and film by film basis. This makes for a very comprehensive coverage of the subject.
Viera is obviously extremely knowledgeable about his subject. His coverage of movies introduced me to a number of movies that I've heard about but never had any interest in seeing, e.g., Little Caesar, She Done Him Wrong, and The Story of Temple Drake. I am really looking forward to watching some Mae West movies.
The book is filled with fascinating singles from the movies. Also interesting is Viera's descriptions of the cycles that swept Hollywood, e.g., after Little Caesar was a success, everyone was doing gangster movies. Then, there was the fallen women cycle. There was a "monster cycle," which was when Paramount became known for Dracula - Bela Lugosi was paid a mere $3,500 - and Frankenstein, which made a star out of Boris Karloff.
Pre-Code movies are fascinating. The pictures occasionally featured nudity, which comes as a surprise to most of us with our prejudice that our grandparents and great-grandparents knew nothing about sex. Likewise, many of the story lines were "mature" in portraying prostitutes and adulterers. Finally, pre-Code movies occasionally featured homosexual and transexual characters and themes.
For all that, though, my sense is that these situations were treated lightly and non-seriously. The fact that they appeared at all is surprising, but I doubt that they were given the prurient attention they would be given in modern movies. Of course, Viera points quotes from viewers who had quite the vapors from watching these movies.
Ultimately, as Viera points out, the pre-Code era came to an end when an employee of the ineffective Hays ' office formed an alliance with "Midwest Catholics" to convince Protestants that the Jewish industry should be regulated. The result was a production code with teeth.
This book covers an approximate four year period between the start of the "talkies" and the establishment of an effective Hollywood censorship program. The author, Mark Viera, covers this period on a year by year, topic by topic, and film by film basis. This makes for a very comprehensive coverage of the subject.
Viera is obviously extremely knowledgeable about his subject. His coverage of movies introduced me to a number of movies that I've heard about but never had any interest in seeing, e.g., Little Caesar, She Done Him Wrong, and The Story of Temple Drake. I am really looking forward to watching some Mae West movies.
The book is filled with fascinating singles from the movies. Also interesting is Viera's descriptions of the cycles that swept Hollywood, e.g., after Little Caesar was a success, everyone was doing gangster movies. Then, there was the fallen women cycle. There was a "monster cycle," which was when Paramount became known for Dracula - Bela Lugosi was paid a mere $3,500 - and Frankenstein, which made a star out of Boris Karloff.
Pre-Code movies are fascinating. The pictures occasionally featured nudity, which comes as a surprise to most of us with our prejudice that our grandparents and great-grandparents knew nothing about sex. Likewise, many of the story lines were "mature" in portraying prostitutes and adulterers. Finally, pre-Code movies occasionally featured homosexual and transexual characters and themes.
For all that, though, my sense is that these situations were treated lightly and non-seriously. The fact that they appeared at all is surprising, but I doubt that they were given the prurient attention they would be given in modern movies. Of course, Viera points quotes from viewers who had quite the vapors from watching these movies.
Ultimately, as Viera points out, the pre-Code era came to an end when an employee of the ineffective Hays ' office formed an alliance with "Midwest Catholics" to convince Protestants that the Jewish industry should be regulated. The result was a production code with teeth.
July 29, 2020
If you want a scholarly book on pre-Code films that is the best at explaining the historical context, read “Pre-Code Hollywood” by Thomas Patrick Doherty. If you want one that combines fanboy enthusiasm, great anecdotes, and understands how empowering the period was to women, read “Complicated Women” by Mick LaSalle. If you want one with extraordinary pictures, has great balance, and gives the best insights into the audience reactions at the time, read this one, “Forbidden Hollywood” by Mark Viera.
Viera’s book, building upon what he published previously (“Sin in Soft Focus”) is the newest of the three, having been published in 2019, and he takes full advantage of this to include photos that are simply fantastic. This is a very handsome book and leafing through its pages is an absolute joy. If you’re new to the pre-Code films this would be a great book to start with, because its beautiful visuals communicate the emotion and feeling of the era, as if the people involved were looking through time at you.
On top of that, Viera focuses on 20-25 films, giving the reader information about the origin of the script, comments from the cast/director/studio heads, how it ran up against conservative criticism, and how it was commented on by viewers across America in letters to movie magazines. It’s a very well researched account with plenty of new information, giving the book a great balance. His chapter on “The Sign of the Cross” is particularly impressive, and I also loved reading about “Convention City,” a film that was unfortunately lost, literally destroyed by censors. Reading comments like the one from B.P. McCormick of Canon City, Colorado, objecting to the use of the directness of saying a mother is “having a baby” in film, is eye-opening, and there are many others.
There are some odd chapter divisions in trying to break things out by major film, but then including several other films in the chapter, and the book sometimes gets a little too much into the details of the specifics of the process, but these are quibbles. I have to say, it would also have been nicer if it had dealt a little more with the issue of race in these films, though it touches on it.
My biggest criticism, however, is how it makes a point of softening the view of Joseph Breen, a political reactionary and anti-Semite who between mid-1934 and 1954 single-handedly had the most power over content produced in America. Not only did he ruin a lot of movies in that interval by dogmatically imposing his own narrow-minded views on them, but he had pre-1934 movies censored – many irrecoverably, to the master negative (which Viera himself does acknowledge). It’s mind-boggling to me that Viera feels Breen’s legacy is the subject of a misconception though, pointing out his industry friendships over his tenure as evidence of his “not being a lifelong anti-Semite,” without a shred of reflection that during this time, Breen held all the power. It’s as if he was seeking some kind of artificial happy ending, and unprotected as the industry was by the Supreme Court between 1915 (Mutual Film vs. Industrial Commission of Ohio which ruled the films were not protected under the First Amendment) to 1952 (the case involving Rossellini’s The Miracle which overturned it), there was no recourse, resulting in a dark period for the freedom of expression.
That’s what makes the pre-Code era such a delight though. While the salacious aspects of films in this period were played up in the effort to boost sagging box office numbers because of the Depression, they touched on so many other things, challenging traditional gender roles and the institution of marriage, acknowledging sexual pleasure and freedom, satirizing businessmen, the police, and the justice system, and showing that sometimes evil did win in this world. That’s what made the films so “dangerous” in the eyes of the Midwest Catholics who led the charge to put a lid on all this. Viera is successful in capturing at least some of this, and he’s certainly successful in capturing the joy of these old films, and for that I’m very happy he published this book.
Quotes:
On censorship, this extracted from the 1930 book Censored by Morris L. Ernst and Pare Lorentz, speaking of Will Hays (who was a pussycat compared to Breen, making it ironic that the Production Code is referred to as the Hays Code):
“A man used to the ways of political subterfuge, with no especial literary or scientific background, Will Hays particularly epitomizes the class-conscious, fearful yet aggressive spirit that has made the American movie an industry, and little else. Search hard and find a man more fitted to handle petty politicians, middle-aged meddling prudes, and aggressive financiers. The controllers, the movie barons are satisfied with his work. We can expect no fight for freedom, taste, or mature thought in this product so long as the Bishop of Hollywood chants his platitudes and swings his incense pot of purity.”
On “dangerous ideas”, this from Father Daniel Lord, who drafted the original Production Code:
“These authors are injecting into basic stories an underlying philosophy of life. These stories discuss morals, divorce, free love, unborn children, relationships outside of marriage, single and double standards, the relationship of sex to religion, marriage and its effects upon the freedom of women. These subjects are fundamentally dangerous.”
On sex, from Tallulah Bankhead in an interview with Gladys Hall of Motion Picture magazine:
“When I first started to make pictures, I was said to be trying to ‘do a Garbo.’ A fatal thing to say about anyone. If there’s anything the matter with me now, it’s certainly not Hollywood’s state of mind about me. The matter with me is I haven’t had an affair for six months. Six months is a long, long while. I want a man!”
Viera’s book, building upon what he published previously (“Sin in Soft Focus”) is the newest of the three, having been published in 2019, and he takes full advantage of this to include photos that are simply fantastic. This is a very handsome book and leafing through its pages is an absolute joy. If you’re new to the pre-Code films this would be a great book to start with, because its beautiful visuals communicate the emotion and feeling of the era, as if the people involved were looking through time at you.
On top of that, Viera focuses on 20-25 films, giving the reader information about the origin of the script, comments from the cast/director/studio heads, how it ran up against conservative criticism, and how it was commented on by viewers across America in letters to movie magazines. It’s a very well researched account with plenty of new information, giving the book a great balance. His chapter on “The Sign of the Cross” is particularly impressive, and I also loved reading about “Convention City,” a film that was unfortunately lost, literally destroyed by censors. Reading comments like the one from B.P. McCormick of Canon City, Colorado, objecting to the use of the directness of saying a mother is “having a baby” in film, is eye-opening, and there are many others.
There are some odd chapter divisions in trying to break things out by major film, but then including several other films in the chapter, and the book sometimes gets a little too much into the details of the specifics of the process, but these are quibbles. I have to say, it would also have been nicer if it had dealt a little more with the issue of race in these films, though it touches on it.
My biggest criticism, however, is how it makes a point of softening the view of Joseph Breen, a political reactionary and anti-Semite who between mid-1934 and 1954 single-handedly had the most power over content produced in America. Not only did he ruin a lot of movies in that interval by dogmatically imposing his own narrow-minded views on them, but he had pre-1934 movies censored – many irrecoverably, to the master negative (which Viera himself does acknowledge). It’s mind-boggling to me that Viera feels Breen’s legacy is the subject of a misconception though, pointing out his industry friendships over his tenure as evidence of his “not being a lifelong anti-Semite,” without a shred of reflection that during this time, Breen held all the power. It’s as if he was seeking some kind of artificial happy ending, and unprotected as the industry was by the Supreme Court between 1915 (Mutual Film vs. Industrial Commission of Ohio which ruled the films were not protected under the First Amendment) to 1952 (the case involving Rossellini’s The Miracle which overturned it), there was no recourse, resulting in a dark period for the freedom of expression.
That’s what makes the pre-Code era such a delight though. While the salacious aspects of films in this period were played up in the effort to boost sagging box office numbers because of the Depression, they touched on so many other things, challenging traditional gender roles and the institution of marriage, acknowledging sexual pleasure and freedom, satirizing businessmen, the police, and the justice system, and showing that sometimes evil did win in this world. That’s what made the films so “dangerous” in the eyes of the Midwest Catholics who led the charge to put a lid on all this. Viera is successful in capturing at least some of this, and he’s certainly successful in capturing the joy of these old films, and for that I’m very happy he published this book.
Quotes:
On censorship, this extracted from the 1930 book Censored by Morris L. Ernst and Pare Lorentz, speaking of Will Hays (who was a pussycat compared to Breen, making it ironic that the Production Code is referred to as the Hays Code):
“A man used to the ways of political subterfuge, with no especial literary or scientific background, Will Hays particularly epitomizes the class-conscious, fearful yet aggressive spirit that has made the American movie an industry, and little else. Search hard and find a man more fitted to handle petty politicians, middle-aged meddling prudes, and aggressive financiers. The controllers, the movie barons are satisfied with his work. We can expect no fight for freedom, taste, or mature thought in this product so long as the Bishop of Hollywood chants his platitudes and swings his incense pot of purity.”
On “dangerous ideas”, this from Father Daniel Lord, who drafted the original Production Code:
“These authors are injecting into basic stories an underlying philosophy of life. These stories discuss morals, divorce, free love, unborn children, relationships outside of marriage, single and double standards, the relationship of sex to religion, marriage and its effects upon the freedom of women. These subjects are fundamentally dangerous.”
On sex, from Tallulah Bankhead in an interview with Gladys Hall of Motion Picture magazine:
“When I first started to make pictures, I was said to be trying to ‘do a Garbo.’ A fatal thing to say about anyone. If there’s anything the matter with me now, it’s certainly not Hollywood’s state of mind about me. The matter with me is I haven’t had an affair for six months. Six months is a long, long while. I want a man!”
January 10, 2021
Forbidden Hollywood traces the Pre-Code years in Hollywood right after the Silent Film years. Of course, these risqué movies all were filmed in black and white. So many young and unknown actresses rose to fame in this era: Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, and many others. The 1934 Code that outlined what was acceptable in films: violence, sex, topics, and language. The book includes pictures of these beautiful actresses in their pictures and scenes from Scarface with Paul Muni. The book covers all the problems and the solutions to many of the banned films.
September 6, 2020
Outstanding!
Before the censorship began, movies were such that sin was an insufficient word to describe them. Some moviegoers complained long and loud because, at the time, going to the movies was entertainment for the whole family. Many of the films weren't decent enough for adults, much less impressionable youngsters.
The movie industry attempted to police itself by submitting unreleased films to a moral patrol group for approval. It became a game for studios to see how much they could get past the censors.
There's a nice bit about Mae West, how she came to be in the movies, but very little personal information. I love her movies even though they have been censored. It just makes me wonder what they cut out.
Photos.
Before the censorship began, movies were such that sin was an insufficient word to describe them. Some moviegoers complained long and loud because, at the time, going to the movies was entertainment for the whole family. Many of the films weren't decent enough for adults, much less impressionable youngsters.
The movie industry attempted to police itself by submitting unreleased films to a moral patrol group for approval. It became a game for studios to see how much they could get past the censors.
There's a nice bit about Mae West, how she came to be in the movies, but very little personal information. I love her movies even though they have been censored. It just makes me wonder what they cut out.
Photos.
February 21, 2024
The era of pre-code/flaunt-code movies is always interesting. I remember the Catholic "Legion of Decency" published in the Catholic Standard being the "go to" for parents in my little town. My own mother certainly perused it, but made up her own mind, as did my dad, as to what we could see.
Anyhow, interesting for sure, and certainly predictable, that mostly Protestant white men decided what was moral for the masses.
Anyhow, interesting for sure, and certainly predictable, that mostly Protestant white men decided what was moral for the masses.
October 21, 2024
Great collection of information and photos about the movies. Anything from Turner Classic Movies will be a hit, and this one was informative and fun.
May 14, 2019
At first glance, film historian Mark A. Vieira's FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD looks like a beautiful coffee-table art book filled with some never-before-seen vintage film stills. But on closer examination, it's revealed to be an illuminating, superbly researched treasure trove of Hollywood history and gossip.
In the late 1920s, the film industry created a production code to avoid local censorship in various U.S. communities. Many filmmakers ignored the code and accelerated the depiction of sexual innuendo, violence, prostitution, drug use, sexual infidelity and homosexuality. The industry finally clamped down on things in 1934, with the creation of the Production Code Administration that was enforced until 1968. Forbidden Hollywood profiles dozens of films created between 1930 and 1934 that broke through censorship guidelines--and were usually rewarded with huge audiences. In 1930's "The Divorcee", Norma Shearer sleeps with her philandering husband's best friend and tells him, "From now on, you're the only man in the world my door is closed to!" In 1932, Howard Hughes produced "Scarface" with an incest subplot and a death toll of more than 40 people. In 1933's "Search for Beauty", Ida Lupino uses binoculars to check out Buster Crabbe's bulging swimsuit and, later, a half-dozen naked men wander through a locker room. Other profiled films that ignited the stricter production code include "She Done Him Wrong", "Tarzan and His Mate", "Frankenstein", "The Sign of the Cross" and "Baby Face".
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD is a real treat for film buffs. The hundreds of photos are dazzling and evocative, and Vieira's history lessons are compelling and fresh.
A dazzling, photo-filled profile of numerous racy, violent and provocative pre-Code films that ignited stricter censorship in motion pictures.
In the late 1920s, the film industry created a production code to avoid local censorship in various U.S. communities. Many filmmakers ignored the code and accelerated the depiction of sexual innuendo, violence, prostitution, drug use, sexual infidelity and homosexuality. The industry finally clamped down on things in 1934, with the creation of the Production Code Administration that was enforced until 1968. Forbidden Hollywood profiles dozens of films created between 1930 and 1934 that broke through censorship guidelines--and were usually rewarded with huge audiences. In 1930's "The Divorcee", Norma Shearer sleeps with her philandering husband's best friend and tells him, "From now on, you're the only man in the world my door is closed to!" In 1932, Howard Hughes produced "Scarface" with an incest subplot and a death toll of more than 40 people. In 1933's "Search for Beauty", Ida Lupino uses binoculars to check out Buster Crabbe's bulging swimsuit and, later, a half-dozen naked men wander through a locker room. Other profiled films that ignited the stricter production code include "She Done Him Wrong", "Tarzan and His Mate", "Frankenstein", "The Sign of the Cross" and "Baby Face".
FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD is a real treat for film buffs. The hundreds of photos are dazzling and evocative, and Vieira's history lessons are compelling and fresh.
A dazzling, photo-filled profile of numerous racy, violent and provocative pre-Code films that ignited stricter censorship in motion pictures.
February 22, 2021
I love the new series of books coming out from Turner Classic Movies and this one was no exception! It gives a great overview of precode Hollywood before censorship became extremely heavy during the summer of 1934. It’s amazing how people could argue at the time that film was a medium not worthy of protecting solely because it had the ability to “corrupt” the minds of the country. There are still people today who would make the same argument, but nevertheless the movies also persist. It’s crazy to think of a world without She Done Him Wrong or Shanghai Express. In a sense, this book unlocks a completely different world because it shows us Hollywood before society began to truly effect it. My heart broke when Vieira mentions that cuts were made to master negatives in order to censor undesired portions of a film. Looking back now, this should have been a crime, but back then it was perceived as preserving America’s dignity. Why do school marms and religious nuts have to impose their standards on everyone else? If you don’t want your kid to see a movie, don’t let them go. If a movie goes against your spiritual or moral beliefs, don’t go see it. It’s as simple as that, but as we all know, society’s ability to come to terms with a new technology is never smooth sailing. There will always be pushback and an adjustment period. This book does a fantastic job at showing how both Hollywood, Society, and cinema itself was changed by this era and it’s an essential read for any film buff out there. I highly recommend!
April 29, 2021
Not what I thought it'd be. A beautiful book, to be sure, but the author presupposes that the readers have knowledge and familiarity of the subject. As someone who knows very little about early Hollywood, a lot of the discussion was confusing and annoying - basically, it boiled down to a bunch of sexually repressed Catholic men deciding that they would be the ones to arbitrate morality for a Jewish industry, and they succeeded for 34 years in doing just that. What a waste.
If you are not a film afficiando, give this book a pass.
If you are not a film afficiando, give this book a pass.
April 30, 2019
Forbidden Hollywood is a history of the American movie industry from 1930 to 1934, beautifully enhanced by photographs of stars and stills from the movies of the time.
The dominant question of the industry at the time was what was allowed and what was not allowed in the movies. The industry’s executives knew that there were boundaries. But the boundaries were inevitably moving targets — shaped by politics, the public conscience, and any number of less identifiable factors.
Some studios and producers would push the edge, and they could also suffer. If they didn’t police themselves, someone — government or otherwise — was going to step in and do it for them. The Hays Code (formally the Motion Picture Production Code) was adopted in 1930 as the way the movie industry would self-regulate.
The Hays Code includes a pretty long list of prohibited content, including sexual content (“licentious or suggestive nudity”, sex perversion, etc.), “ridicule of the clergy”, “illegal traffic in drugs”, and so on.
What we now call “pre-Code” movies were made in this time of the Hays Code.
It didn’t work. Vieira brings up some of the factors at work, both for and against the movie industry’s interests in the 30s and for and against the effectiveness of the code.
The 30s were the first years in which talkies became common, and talkies opened up new opportunities and new freedoms for moviemakers — dialog could be longer and more expressive, action scenes and dramatic scenes could be more continuous, without interruptions from intertitles.
Of course, the 30s were the heart of the depression, and movie houses and studios were fighting for their lives. Not to mention competition from radio — with radios and radio networks now common, people didn’t have to leave their homes and go to movie houses for regular entertainment.
Vieira doesn’t talk too much about prohibition, but he does spend a fair amount of time talking about the moral climate of the time — activist religious organizations taking on industries who, in their eyes, encouraged sinful behavior.
Certainly a big part of why self-regulation under the Hays Code didn’t work was the need for profit. Movie studios needed to make money in a hard market, and movies that included sexual content, gangsters, and questionable characters in general proved to be good draws.
It’s also true that the Hays Code lacked teeth. The committee that tried to enforce the code couldn’t prohibit movies from being made or distributed if they violated the code. At best, they could only try to influence moviemakers to tone down their content, maybe remove some violating scenes.
The best part of Vieira’s book, to me, is his commentary on the movies themselves. He takes particularly controversial movies, or just ones representative of the time, tells us what the movies were about, who their stars were, the circumstances under which they were made, and what their reception was like.
The movies include ones that you would recognize, if you’re familiar with them, as difficult to square with the Hays Code — Red Dust, Baby Face, The Sign of the Cross, Little Caesar, . . . And some others that are just movie classics we take for granted — Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong, A Farewell to Arms, Grand Hotel, . . .
And, of course, there were great actors, producers, directors, and personalities like Irving Thalberg, Norma Shearer, Mae West, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Barbara Stanwyck, the Barrymores, Greta Garbo, . . .
The pictures and stills in the book are almost worth the price of the book by themselves.
Eventually, opposition to the movies’ content won out. By 1934, opposition groups began to organize to boycott movies and put real economic pressure on the industry. The Catholic Legion of Decency is especially called out by Vieira as having a great influence and effect.
The industry had to do something, and it did. Moviemakers knew they had to up their self-regulatory game or lose their chance to control their own industry.
In 1934, the Production Code was drawn up and implemented, this time with teeth. Administrators of the Code, Joseph Breen in particular, could prohibit member theaters from showing unapproved movies, and they could halt production of unapproved movies. They examined scripts to catch violations early in the production process so that movies wouldn’t reach the point where sunk costs would argue against halting production or rewriting and re-filming problem scenes.
The Production Code stayed in effect until 1968.
Vieira’s book really filled a gap for me. I’ve seen many of the movies he talks about, and I’d always had a feel for the freedom the people who made them had in making them, compared to the movies that came shortly afterwards. They were free to explore subjects that became too sensitive for the industry until the modern era.
Mostly though I think that, now, when I go back to watch some of these movies again, inspired by Vieira’s book, I’m seeing them differently. I know so much more now of the conditions under which they were made. Sometimes it’s a shame now to see compromises made even to the Hays Code, much less cuts and edits that came later as the Production Code was applied to movies still in circulation. But now I can appreciate much more of what I’m looking at.
The dominant question of the industry at the time was what was allowed and what was not allowed in the movies. The industry’s executives knew that there were boundaries. But the boundaries were inevitably moving targets — shaped by politics, the public conscience, and any number of less identifiable factors.
Some studios and producers would push the edge, and they could also suffer. If they didn’t police themselves, someone — government or otherwise — was going to step in and do it for them. The Hays Code (formally the Motion Picture Production Code) was adopted in 1930 as the way the movie industry would self-regulate.
The Hays Code includes a pretty long list of prohibited content, including sexual content (“licentious or suggestive nudity”, sex perversion, etc.), “ridicule of the clergy”, “illegal traffic in drugs”, and so on.
What we now call “pre-Code” movies were made in this time of the Hays Code.
It didn’t work. Vieira brings up some of the factors at work, both for and against the movie industry’s interests in the 30s and for and against the effectiveness of the code.
The 30s were the first years in which talkies became common, and talkies opened up new opportunities and new freedoms for moviemakers — dialog could be longer and more expressive, action scenes and dramatic scenes could be more continuous, without interruptions from intertitles.
Of course, the 30s were the heart of the depression, and movie houses and studios were fighting for their lives. Not to mention competition from radio — with radios and radio networks now common, people didn’t have to leave their homes and go to movie houses for regular entertainment.
Vieira doesn’t talk too much about prohibition, but he does spend a fair amount of time talking about the moral climate of the time — activist religious organizations taking on industries who, in their eyes, encouraged sinful behavior.
Certainly a big part of why self-regulation under the Hays Code didn’t work was the need for profit. Movie studios needed to make money in a hard market, and movies that included sexual content, gangsters, and questionable characters in general proved to be good draws.
It’s also true that the Hays Code lacked teeth. The committee that tried to enforce the code couldn’t prohibit movies from being made or distributed if they violated the code. At best, they could only try to influence moviemakers to tone down their content, maybe remove some violating scenes.
The best part of Vieira’s book, to me, is his commentary on the movies themselves. He takes particularly controversial movies, or just ones representative of the time, tells us what the movies were about, who their stars were, the circumstances under which they were made, and what their reception was like.
The movies include ones that you would recognize, if you’re familiar with them, as difficult to square with the Hays Code — Red Dust, Baby Face, The Sign of the Cross, Little Caesar, . . . And some others that are just movie classics we take for granted — Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong, A Farewell to Arms, Grand Hotel, . . .
And, of course, there were great actors, producers, directors, and personalities like Irving Thalberg, Norma Shearer, Mae West, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Barbara Stanwyck, the Barrymores, Greta Garbo, . . .
The pictures and stills in the book are almost worth the price of the book by themselves.
Eventually, opposition to the movies’ content won out. By 1934, opposition groups began to organize to boycott movies and put real economic pressure on the industry. The Catholic Legion of Decency is especially called out by Vieira as having a great influence and effect.
The industry had to do something, and it did. Moviemakers knew they had to up their self-regulatory game or lose their chance to control their own industry.
In 1934, the Production Code was drawn up and implemented, this time with teeth. Administrators of the Code, Joseph Breen in particular, could prohibit member theaters from showing unapproved movies, and they could halt production of unapproved movies. They examined scripts to catch violations early in the production process so that movies wouldn’t reach the point where sunk costs would argue against halting production or rewriting and re-filming problem scenes.
The Production Code stayed in effect until 1968.
Vieira’s book really filled a gap for me. I’ve seen many of the movies he talks about, and I’d always had a feel for the freedom the people who made them had in making them, compared to the movies that came shortly afterwards. They were free to explore subjects that became too sensitive for the industry until the modern era.
Mostly though I think that, now, when I go back to watch some of these movies again, inspired by Vieira’s book, I’m seeing them differently. I know so much more now of the conditions under which they were made. Sometimes it’s a shame now to see compromises made even to the Hays Code, much less cuts and edits that came later as the Production Code was applied to movies still in circulation. But now I can appreciate much more of what I’m looking at.
November 4, 2019
This is one very beautiful book. I'm talking about the content as well as the physical copy. I read it from start to finish learning a lot about Hollywood during 1930-1934 and how movie studios pushed the limit of the patience of the movie censors of the day. The book is thoroughly researched. It includes lots of gorgeous pictures and stories about the questionable pre-Code scenes that sneaked by the censors in some parts of the county or were cut in other parts of the country.
This book is set up chronologically and focuses on specific movies. A lot more skin was shown. Insinuation, outright sexual references, risque dances and language, and violence were common. By today's standards, a lot of these scenes would play out in a PG-13 rated movie. There were some "clean" movies being produced in those days but they didn't do as well in the Box Office.
The book talks about the Box Office superstars of the day and quotes a lot of period reviews and letters about the movies highlighted in this quality book. A great resource for movie historians. I learned a lot by reading this book. Legendary actors and actresses flaunted it on the big screen and I really did not know that until I read this book. Oh yes, I knew about the censorship but this defines it in an easy to read fashion.
After reading this book I went looking for many of the movies discussed here, which can be found on DVD or online. Some are restored to their original content including the so called racy scenes. But sadly. some of the original masters were cut and the content is lost forever. Things have changed in 90 years and I have a whole new appreciation for the movies of this era. Bravo! Bravo!
This book is set up chronologically and focuses on specific movies. A lot more skin was shown. Insinuation, outright sexual references, risque dances and language, and violence were common. By today's standards, a lot of these scenes would play out in a PG-13 rated movie. There were some "clean" movies being produced in those days but they didn't do as well in the Box Office.
The book talks about the Box Office superstars of the day and quotes a lot of period reviews and letters about the movies highlighted in this quality book. A great resource for movie historians. I learned a lot by reading this book. Legendary actors and actresses flaunted it on the big screen and I really did not know that until I read this book. Oh yes, I knew about the censorship but this defines it in an easy to read fashion.
After reading this book I went looking for many of the movies discussed here, which can be found on DVD or online. Some are restored to their original content including the so called racy scenes. But sadly. some of the original masters were cut and the content is lost forever. Things have changed in 90 years and I have a whole new appreciation for the movies of this era. Bravo! Bravo!
February 20, 2024
A look at pre-code Hollywood films - an era beginning at the start of the talkies and abruptly coming to an end in mid-1934. Before 1934, there was agreement between film making companies and authorities as to what was acceptable in films - but it was not strictly adhered to. This all changed on 1st July 1934 when pressure (much of it from religious groups) forced strict rules upon filmmakers that technically lasted until 1968. This book looks at many of the films from this short period that can surprise with their bawdy dialogue and sexual antics, revealing attire, horror, and verbal and physical violence - generally anything that was enough to shock the stiff and respectable!
On a first glance I was pleased to discover a book with many wonderfully reproduced photographs, accompanied by linking text chronologically guiding us through the subject. But on starting to read, the clear and engaging prose pulled me into the fascinating narrative. Not overly detailed; it still contains a good deal of the relevant information and tells its story with an easy and enjoyable flow. It’s a good starting point on the subject and mentions many of the relevant films.
I’ve seen many of the films here (generally those in the horror and gangster genres) – such as Island Of Lost Souls, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Public Enemy and Scarface; but there are many that I haven’t seen. Many of the films are available via the Warner Archive – which is both joyous and not-so-joyous. Being a collector of films on disc, this will be another of those expensive avenues I’ll not be able to resist taking a wander down.
After a long run of very average fiction books – which triggered a temporary loss of interest in reading, this has come as a welcome relief…
On a first glance I was pleased to discover a book with many wonderfully reproduced photographs, accompanied by linking text chronologically guiding us through the subject. But on starting to read, the clear and engaging prose pulled me into the fascinating narrative. Not overly detailed; it still contains a good deal of the relevant information and tells its story with an easy and enjoyable flow. It’s a good starting point on the subject and mentions many of the relevant films.
I’ve seen many of the films here (generally those in the horror and gangster genres) – such as Island Of Lost Souls, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Public Enemy and Scarface; but there are many that I haven’t seen. Many of the films are available via the Warner Archive – which is both joyous and not-so-joyous. Being a collector of films on disc, this will be another of those expensive avenues I’ll not be able to resist taking a wander down.
After a long run of very average fiction books – which triggered a temporary loss of interest in reading, this has come as a welcome relief…
April 4, 2024
Don't let the title of this book fool you. This is much more a textbook than a salacious behind the scenes expose. My guess is, in true Hollywood style, they went for a tantalizing title to fool readers. The good news is this is a very good and thorough textbook dealing with the early transition from silents to talkies. The focus is on the 30's movies and the lack of any "moral code" as to what studios could put on the big screen ... and they pretty much tried it all: suggestive poses, double entree dialogue, lace and lingerie clad starlets and much more.
To add to the text are some phenomenal pictures of the many stars who led the way in making Hollywood a great and unforgettable financial force that helped lead the country out of the depression. Depending upon your age, it is heartening and in some cases breathtaking to see the female stars you've always heard of when they were young. Photographed in the most iconic poses and costumes lit with loving care, and cost to the studios.
In the end this a welcome history of the beginning of cinema as it grew into a megastar structure vaulting both the deserved/undeserved to fame and in many cases fortune.
Do yourself a favor the next time your in a used or new bookstore and seek this book out and just browse it's pages. I'd bet if you're any kind of film fan of that era you'll end up buying it ... and won't be sorry.
To add to the text are some phenomenal pictures of the many stars who led the way in making Hollywood a great and unforgettable financial force that helped lead the country out of the depression. Depending upon your age, it is heartening and in some cases breathtaking to see the female stars you've always heard of when they were young. Photographed in the most iconic poses and costumes lit with loving care, and cost to the studios.
In the end this a welcome history of the beginning of cinema as it grew into a megastar structure vaulting both the deserved/undeserved to fame and in many cases fortune.
Do yourself a favor the next time your in a used or new bookstore and seek this book out and just browse it's pages. I'd bet if you're any kind of film fan of that era you'll end up buying it ... and won't be sorry.
September 8, 2019
3.5. A history of the pre-code era, with quotes from memos, meetings, reviews, trade publications, letters, and more, and plenty of photos highlighting the sexy nature of the films. For something that covers 4-5 years with a main chapter for each, the timeline was pretty wonky and hard to follow. The two columns on each page made this a long and dragging read, too.
It was interesting to see the differences between Joy, the first censor who was thoughtful and looked at intent of art, and Breen, who only wanted his morals to control everything. If the studios had worked better with Joy, could they have continued to push the envelope and avoided the draconian Code and all the cuts?
It was also interesting to see that people were seeing different movies depending on where they lived and who was on their regional censor board. It was frustrating to see the people who were trying to make their religious views everyone's view, especially when the public generally seemed to enjoy the films being made. All of the protests about the poor kiddies, but theaters did have 16 and older shows even before ratings were a thing.
It was interesting to see the differences between Joy, the first censor who was thoughtful and looked at intent of art, and Breen, who only wanted his morals to control everything. If the studios had worked better with Joy, could they have continued to push the envelope and avoided the draconian Code and all the cuts?
It was also interesting to see that people were seeing different movies depending on where they lived and who was on their regional censor board. It was frustrating to see the people who were trying to make their religious views everyone's view, especially when the public generally seemed to enjoy the films being made. All of the protests about the poor kiddies, but theaters did have 16 and older shows even before ratings were a thing.
January 12, 2023
One of the more disturbing aspects of the code’s enactment was the fact we were deprived of so many more fantastic films. And as if that wasn’t enough, Breen, the person who was in charge of overseeing the code, went so far as to enforce it retroactively, doing so by cutting pre-code films not by the dupe negatives but from the master camera negatives, thus permanently altering dozens of classics, the likes of which will never be seen in their originally intended form. Monstrous to say the least.
The book is well-written and beautifully illustrated. Highly recommended for people who love watching pre-code cinema and for people who know nothing about it.
The book is well-written and beautifully illustrated. Highly recommended for people who love watching pre-code cinema and for people who know nothing about it.
February 18, 2023
For my money, Mick LaSalle has written the ultimate books on Pre-Code. He's a hard act to follow, even if Viera wrote one of the first books on the subject. While I'm grateful that he has produced this complemantary sequel, it feels a bit like he's scratching the barrel looking for a new angle (mostly from the pov of the crusading would-be censors, but also knowingly contradictory reactions from contemporary audiences and exhibitors) to spread more light on one of my favourite era of Hollywood movie making. The result isn't bad at all. It's just not as entertaining or informative as it should have been.
January 17, 2020
Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies by Mark A. Vieira is a guide by Turner Classic Movies to the pre-Code era. These movies prompted extreme censorship to be placed on movies in the future as outrage erupted.
It was very interesting to read about the history of pre-Code films, and the Code in general. There are quite a few pre-Code movies I adore. It surprises me to read why some of these movies caused a stir in their day. I liked seeing the differing reactions from theater owners when they showed these films.
It was very interesting to read about the history of pre-Code films, and the Code in general. There are quite a few pre-Code movies I adore. It surprises me to read why some of these movies caused a stir in their day. I liked seeing the differing reactions from theater owners when they showed these films.
March 9, 2020
Enjoyed this look at the naughtiness of the Pre-Code era, and learned much more about the Hays code and its enforcement/non-enforcement than I will ever need. I especially liked the look at these strong actresses - Dietrich, Garbo, Shearer, West, Harlow - and the controversial roles they took on. I wish more time had been spent talking about specific movies other than just the basics, but overall, it was a good introduction to films I didn't know about (but plan to find!). And, the photos are incredible, featuring many that have never been published before.
December 22, 2020
I found this book at a very interesting time in my life. While it combines what are my two loves: history and film. It also gives insight and nuance on a period and moment in moviemaking that still has impact even today. The reason outside of my interests that it has the rating it does is that it has made me contextualize and re-evaluate some of my old beliefs and has come into my life while I am in the process of doing so. Who would have thought a book about early films would bring such kismet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews