THE COST OF ARTISTIC FREEDOM:
CENSORSHIP vs. LIBERALISM IN HOLLYWOOD,
1940 – 1960

Destiny Adams
History 734 – Seminar in American History
Dr. Wintz – Texas Southern University
Spring 2009

Table of Contents

Part One 1.1 – Introduction – p. 3 1.2 – Social and Political Climate pp. 3-11 1.3 – Production Code Resolutions pp.11-15

Part Two
2.1- Production Codes – I, II, III and IV pp.16
2.2 – Production Codes V, VI, VII and VIII pp.17-18
2.3 - Production Codes IX, X, XI and XII pp.18

Part Three
3.1- Hollywood and Film making – 1940-1949 pp.18-21
3.2- Movies – Awarded, Nominated, Not Nominated pp.21

Part Four
4.1- Hollywood and Film making – 1950-1959 pp.22-26
4.2- Movies – Awarded, Nominated, Not Nominated pp.26

Part Five
5.1- Synopsis of Film making in the 1960’s – New Era pp. 27-28
5.2- Conclusion pp.28-29

The Red Scare of 1917-1920, was the primary influence for the emergence of censorship through McCarthyism and Anti- Socialist sentiments in filmmaking during 1940-1960. McCarthyism and three international wars enhanced Anti – Communist resentments within the United States. A brief emergence of Socialist organizations in America heightened the fervor of conservative versus liberal views within cinematography. Motion Movie producers and Distributors, in Hollywood, California were heavily encouraged to influence film directors, screenwriters and actors by incorporating strict codes within their artistic expression. The Dies Committee, former State Senator Jack Tenny’s California Joint Fact Finding Committee on Un-American Activities from the late 1930’s and early 1940’s; as well as the House on Un-American Activities Committee and The Production Code Administration from 1944 – 1959 were created in order to control filmmaking in America.1 War plagued America with the paranoia of imminent catastrophic Armageddon by Communists and Socialism.
The Red Scare began America’s paranoia against socialism and Communism during the World War I. By 1920, the concept of the Red Scare diminished and did not reemerge until the 1930’s. Talkie motion pictures were being introduced to the public as a new pastime and embryonic art form. In 1943 Congress instituted the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, which regulated and controlled the United States economy. Banks and investors

1. Firstworldwar.com/the war that end all wars.

dealing in big business, were strongly encouraged to follow the guidelines incorporated by the office to generate money into the American economy. The office also determined what kinds of financial business could be produced along with all industrial business prospects that attempted to turn a profit. The same year as its creation, Harry Truman vetoed the extension of the office.
Truman’s Doctrine declared, "It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."2 The sanction of aid to Greece and Turkey by a Republican Congress created bipartisanship within the American government over foreign policy which still is evident today. The Marshall Doctrine became effective in 1947, also proposed economic aid to foreign nations who were against communism and for democracy. In his address to Harvard University that same year, Marshall reiterated that “Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.”3 Both the plans by Truman and Marshall constituted the protection of democracy versus socialism.
Patriotic and what was deemed “wholesome and clean” movies such as Gentlemen’s Agreement, The Bishop’s Wife, Crossfire, Great Expectations and Miracle on 34th St., were nominated for Academy Awards that year. War movies also held a special place within American cinema from World War I through the Korean War. Several noted successful motion

2. Truman Doctrine.Truman-library.org, 2009 3. Ibid

pictures which include, The Best Years of Our Lives, Lifeboat, Rififi and The River Kwai, were well received by the general public and the Motion Picture Association, Inc. A few films overcame Hollywood’s enforcement of the production codes and resounding success was Rififi (1955), a foreign film directed by Jules Dassin and later Dalton Trumbo’s The Brave Ones (1956), which won an Academy Award under his alias Robert Rich. Finding alternatives to movie production and funding by transferring their business of filmmaking overseas to Europe generated at new avenue for independent creativity, thus eliminating the Production Code Administration’s authority over radical artists.
The primary purpose of the Administration was to “bring the motion picture to a still higher level of wholesome entertainment for all concerned.”4 The result of the Red Scare after World War I was the creation of McCarthyism in 1940’s; as well as the reemergence of the second Red Scare in the 1950’s. America’s fear of Communism continued to dominate cinematography for decades while liberal minded artists struggled to express their creative nature through independent means. The Motion Picture Association and the Association of Motion Picture Producers, at first sided against the blacklist. By 1934 they comprised the majority of the members in the Production Code Administration. Approximately sixty percent of Hollywood’s screenwriters and twenty percent of its actors were subpoenaed before the United States Congress to testify on behalf of their own individual moral character and political beliefs as well as fellow artists. 5

4. The Production Code, p.1: par.1,1934 5. Dan Georgakas, The Hollywood Blacklist,(Modern American Poetry,2009)

J. Edgar Hoover was installed as head of the Bureau of Investigation in 1925 by Calvin Coolidge. He proceed to install white, college educated men as his federal agents; demanding that they abstain from alcohol and women. In 1933, after the death of several of his agents by gangsters, he managed to get criminal activities such as bank robbery and kidnapping under his jurisdiction. Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Hoover authorization in 1936 to investigate fascist and communist activity in the United States.6 The list also included suspicious individual with questionable character for their opposition and/or questioning of the government during wartime. Hoover also implemented his ideologies within Hollywood by closely monitoring and influencing the production of American films by forcing studios to eliminate the glorification of gangsters in their films. He had characters of crime portrayed negatively and person within the military and government objectified as heroic. An example of such an endeavor by Hoover to influence public opinion with his ideology was apparent in G-Men (1935) and later years in the television series FBI. The National Securities Act of 1947 and 1949 subsequently enhanced the Production Code Association’s power by collaborating with the newly formed CIA. The National Securities Act allowed investigations in business and personal information about any individual living in the United States and abroad, who may have sympathized with communist government and/or had affiliations or positive feeling toward socialist ideologies.7 Although the Communist party organizations in the United States were unsuccessful in gaining a substantial number of active supported during the 1940’s, persons of interest to the government were indicted and blacklisted. 6. The American Experience,(pbs.org/wgbh) 7. www.worldwar2.net
Some of who had never been a party member or sympathizer. Truman’s Fair Deal (1947), was proposed to ensure social and economic freedom within the Unites States. An enhancement of the New Deal, Truman proposed to create low income housing, conservation of the environment as well as social programs to help aid the health and financial well being of poor Americans.
The blacklisting of America appeared to focus on individuals who worked in the public eye or had access to the working class American such as entertainers, producers and union leaders. Congress did not have interest in bankers, doctors and other high paid professionals nor did they have interest in the poor American such as farmers and migrant workers. The focus of blacklisting relied on prosecuting and defaming those who did not agree with the conservative views that were encompassed in American politics. Espionage and unpatriotic acts were assumed by Congress and HUAC to generate from liberals, foreign born citizens and artists. Social issues such unionism, anti- socialism and patriotic duty was incorporated into many films approved by the Association for public viewing. Liberal artists felt the need to also reveal the corruption of big business and organizations such as HUAC. High Noon (1952), although set in western town and deemed a “cowboy” motion picture had many remnants of addressing social issues of the era. Justice, freedom and democracy was represented by the lone, courageous lawman against a large ban of ruffians attempting to take over decency in a small town. On the Waterfront (1954), although denied by its director was interpreted by critics as a subliminal revolt against the House of Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC.8 8. American Movie Classics, www.tv.com

The movie also reveals the evils of being under the control of socialized unions, when Marlon Brando’s character must decide if justice is more important than brotherhood. The creation of Americans for Democratic Action in 1947, by prominent Democrats, proposed liberal policies to combat the strict regime of conservative rhetoric and propaganda. The organization provided the voting records of politicians in Congress to the American public, allowing citizen more involvement with policy makers.
The Korean War began in 1950 with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea inciting an international battle that would rage for three consecutive years. Harry Truman’s decision to not run for reelection cost the Democratic Party its seat in the White House. Dwight Eisenhower as Commander and Chief along with Vice President Richard Nixon became a driving force for conservatism in 1952. The involvement of American troops intensified at that time with increased American and European forces in South East Asia. An increase in military themed motion pictures and advertisement for enlistment into the armed forces were displayed in cinemas throughout the United States. The need for patriotism took a firm hold on government and society prompting a second blacklist of radicals, foreign born and liberal artists. The McCarran Securities Act of 1950 required that all organizations suspect of being affiliated with communist activity by the Attorney General of the United States to submit a list of all members and financial statements to the Department of Justice for investigation. 9

9. Colorado.edu/AMStudies,2009

If any illegal activity was thought to occur, party members were questions and at times indicted. One case of anticommunist fervor created by the Second Red Scare, in 1953 during the Korean War caused the execution of husband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.10 The American justice system found them guilty of treason, espionage and other unpatriotic acts based solely on the witness testimony of individuals Harry Greengrass and Harry Gold. By proclaiming the Rosenbergs as accomplices in communist activity, they eliminated themselves from the same fate as their alleged comrades. Decades later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, documents revealed that the Rosenbergs were indeed guilty of their accused crimes. Senator Joseph McCarthy also played an important role in manifestation of increased paranoia of communism in America. Distrust of liberals increased during his brief but substantial position in power. The Second Red Scare after the Korean War presented and allowed McCarthy a platform for hysteria. Four decades of periodic wars had left many Americans, especially in regions of the Midwest, distrusting liberal views. Opponents counter attacked the wave of censorship against industry workers by arguing their rights guaranteed under the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. Freedom of Religion, Speech and Press had validity with movie producers, screenwriters and actors ability to generate art that encompassed their point of view. 10. Worldwar2.net

The Fifth Amendment was used by some of those blacklisted during the HUAC subpoenas to abstain from incriminating their colleagues. The Hollywood Ten were comprised of Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dymytrk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson (screen actors guild president), Albert Maltz, Sam Orbitz, Robert Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo (also known as Robert Rich). 11
Several of the Hollywood Ten served prisons sentences for their refusal to cooperate with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Other actors and screenwriters who resisted the United States Congress, Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover’s attempt to have them confess procommunist and fascist beliefs were indeed political leftists and social liberals. Many individuals such as Charlie Chaplin (A King in New York 1957), a British citizen was forbidden to enter the United States for being a supporter of the Popular Front but not a Communist Party member. Artists who satire and criticized the House of Un-American Commission also known as HUAC were subject to blacklisting as well as, political and personal investigation. Some artists such as Elia Kazan and Ronald Reagan benefited for their support for conservatism in cinematography. Kazan (Viva Zapata! 1952) protected himself from prosecution by testifying against hundreds of his colleagues.12 Ostracized from those who had been investigated and isolated by friends of such people, discredited Kazan within the filmmaking community. In his 1982 book titled A Life, Elia Kazan, one of the creators of the Actor’s Studio, maintained that he did nothing wrong by testifying as a witness for the HUAC.13 He along with other individuals 11. Georgakas, p.2 12. Elia Kazan, A Life, (New York: Da Capo Press,1997) 13. Ibid

such as Albert Maltz and Dalton Trumbo were in agreement that the investigations were a deplorable action which destroyed many creditable and talented people’s lives. Ronald Reagan became head of the Screen Actors Guild from the 1940’s through the 1950’s after the indictment and removal of John Howard Lawson. He maintained a relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about any “suspicious” activity of possible unpatriotic actors in Hollywood. Veteran actors who had already established a massive following of moviegoers managed to earn a living doing stage plays, whereas new actors loss their careers for good. Roy Brewer was Head of the Hollywood craft unions and anticommunist supporter revealed that technical workers and other craftsmen who specialized in the film industry could not find alternate work. Less than ten percent of the blacklisted artists received the opportunity to return to the Hollywood film industry.7 Some actors who were initially on the investigation list such Lucille Ball were omitted from persecution by testifying in prewritten monologue acceptable to the Committee.
By 1947, the enforcement of regulations issued through the Production codes allowed Congress to cite at least ten screenwriters for contempt, eliminate the ability for many liberal artist from earning a living in their profession such as actor Canada Lee (Lifeboat 1944).14

14. filmsite.org/milestones

African American, Lee was bombarded not only by the paranoia against leftist liberals, but endured the horrors of prejudice and racism in America. Sam Jaffe (The Asphalt Jungle 1950), blacklisted was forced into teaching for a brief period of time, eventually reemerging in the Ben Casey television series during the 1960’s. 15
Resolutions for Uniform Interpretation of the Production Codes were initially amended on June 13, 1934 with three major provisions. The first allowed the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. to obtain any information on the possible reception of the film by the audience. The organization also maintained the privilege of making suggestion to alter the process in which the movie would be written, directed, produced and distributed. Second, production managers were required to submit the film’s initial script and final work to the Association for review and approval. Third, The Production Code Administration ultimately decided if the script adhered to or departed from the provisions of the code.16 All production managers who were members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. and producers who intended to distribute and market all film through the Associations facilities had to submit the negative of the film before editing and printing. The third resolution also stated, 15. The Production Codes 1934-1956 16. Ibid

Production Administration, having seen the picture, shall inform the production manager in writing whether in its opinion the picture conforms or does not conform to the Code, stating specifically wherein either by theme, treatment, or incident, the picture violates the provisions of the Code…. The picture shall not be released until the changes indicated by the Production Code Administration have been made.17

The production manager had the option of making an appeal to the Board of Directors for a final judgment. Although the Resolution for Uniform Interpretation document is finely worded to appear receptive to probable negotiation, evidence shows that the Association served the purpose of “policing” the American movie industry. The Production Code from December 1944 to January 1949 stated that ninety nine percent of motion pictures created in The United State adhered to the provisions implemented by the Administration, which was under the power of the Production Code Association.18 Two offices were established, one in Hollywood, California and the other in New York City. The 1944 provision stated that “This service is voluntary and no one is compelled to produce motion pictures in accordance with the Code regulations.19 The Association administered a “double edged” sword to the Hollywood community by emphasizing a lack of pressure and bullying 17. The Production Codes, 1934-1956 18. Ibid 19. Ibid

through sinister tactics yet producing investigations and imprisoning artists who did not cooperate with them. The major factor for a movie production to be able to distribute and release the film was to comply with the rules and regulations emphasized by the Production Code Association and its affiliates.
The purpose of first the Dies Committee and Tenny’s California Joint Fact Finding Committee of Un-American Activities and later the Production Code Administration and HUAC was to enforce three major provisions established in 1930. 1. No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin. 2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented. 3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed nor shall sym- pathy be created for its violation.20

According to the Production Code industrial democracy was to be taken seriously and defended because of its threat to the national economy. The Association felt that there was a need to govern over the problem of maintaining freedom of industrial enterprise.
By attempting to increase their influence within American filmmaking the Production Code Administration believed that the provisions created would instill high moral and artistic standards in which the public would benefit from. Incorporating the Motion Picture Production codes within film production meant that specified items of moral corruption would not be

20. The Production Codes, 1934-1956

permitted for public viewing. Viewing themselves as a self governing force required that artists, screenwriters and movie producers conform to the rules delegated while still maintaining artistic expression. In 1949, and several years after, the provision was rewritten to include that equivalent responsibility by movie producers must include the reservation of high moral, social and economic standards.21 The Preamble of The Production Codes required the incorporation of movie producers to recognize their responsibility in having the trust and confidence of the American public. The Association believed that entertainment was an art form in which influence the social, political and moral standards of the viewer. Entertainment was considered in its primary purpose to stimulate the audience without propaganda or rhetoric which would hinder the morality or spirituality of the moviegoer. The Association perceived motion pictures as an important form of artist expression but with severe responsibility to the American public. They believed that Hollywood producers, screenwriters and entertainers held the persuasion of the audience in their power therefore having the probability of lowering living conditions and moral ideals of its national citizens. As stated by the Board of Directors, art was considered an important and intimate portion of social life, as well as the creative force behind whether people would be morally good or evil. The freedom of expression given to newspapers, book and plays was not considered to be more expansive than could be allowed to motion pictures.22 Reasons for censorship within cinematography, was issued as having the purpose limiting the effect of filmmakers influence on the American psyche. 21. The Production Codes,1934-56 22. Ibid

The Production Code Administration also felt that art mostly appealed to adults and was difficult to create a production that did not affect the masses. “Films unlike books and music can with difficulty be confined to certain selected groups.”23 Reasons for such censorship in motion pictures was considered due to the factors that evil should never be presented as attractive, good should not be condemned and the sympathy of the audience to never lie with the villain over the hero. Art was also considered essential in the uplifting of the human race from brutes and savages to a civilized society of hardworking, patriotic women and men by the Association. They also incorporated their belief system of regulating the content matter in which the film could influence the audience during an era of war torn economic depression in the 1930’s through a second scare of Communism in the 1950’s. Their goal was to ensure that what they felt was good prevailed and evil defeated. By providing regulations and censorship of motion pictures, the Association rendered the affect of limiting the point of view of the artist who wrote, acted within or produced the film. They distributed movies based on the availability to the size of the audience, with the concept that the smaller the audience, the more easily influence they would be. Larger audiences were viewed as less sympathetic to the human plight due to their cosmopolitan lifestyle in industrial cities.24 This atmosphere was considered the ultimate barrier between naivety about the issues of imminent war, economic depletion and social and moral corruption. 23. The Production Codes, 1934-1956 24. Ibid

General Principles relayed by the Motion Picture Industry, Inc. comprised of twelve topics of industrial interest. Item one dealt with Crimes Against the Law, which entailed that strategies of murder, brutal killings and murder in respect to revenge not be permitted in film. according to the Production codes from 1934 to 1956, mercy killings, methods of crime such as theft, robbery, arson, the use of firearms, methods of smuggling as well as illegal drug trafficking were forbidden subjects.25 The reasons were based on the assumption that by depicting such acts on screen, actors would glamorize acts of crime, therefore influencing audience members to indulge by imitation. The use of alcohol was also condemned unless absolutely necessary for the story plot or characterization in accordance to theme of the movie. Kidnapping or the illegal abduction of children was prohibited unless the storyline avoided restraint, details, gruesome and acts of horror.26 The child had to always be returned unharmed and the villain apprehended. Brutality could not be presented as of 1956, with excessive and inhuman brutality or cruelty which included torture and abuse.
Second,” the use and sale of sex, as well as, sex hygiene should not be glamorized in any way to seem appealing.” Prohibited concepts such as adultery and illicit sex were not allowed as justifiable acts. Scenes of passion could only be presented if within the context of the story plot. Excessive kissing, lustful embraces and gestures were forbidden as “to not stimulate the lower and baser emotions”.27 Seduction and rape could merely be mentioned through suggestion that the act had occurred and could not be presented as comedy. 25. The Production Codes, 1934-1956 26. Ibid 27. Ibid

Later in 1956, miscegenation, white slavery, abortion, venereal disease and sexual perversion were also prohibited. Methods of prostitution, especially the sale of white women, scenes of childbirth in actuality and/or in silhouette could not be presented. Adult nudity as well as, children’s sex organs except for infants could never be exposed.
The third and fourth item of the General Principles required that vulgarity such as “low, disgusting, unpleasant, though necessarily evil, subjects” and Obscenity which included words, gestures, referenced through song, joke or suggestion was forbidden.28 Profanity was installed as the fifth item of regulation in the effect that from 1934 through 1960, references to the Christian God, Jesus Christ and words such as hell, damn, etcetera was impermissible in motion pictures. From 1939 words such as “Alley cat, bat, broad, fairy, fanny, Gawd, louse, nuts, toilet gags, tom cat whore, traveling salesman and farmer’s daughter jokes”, along with score of other material were prohibited from being incorporated into motion pictures. Political censor boards also deleted from use Bum, bloody, sissy, Gigolo, poisons, punk, sex appeal,
Sex life, shag, shyster, “stick em up”, Chink (Chinese), Dago (Italian), Frog (French), Greaser (Hispanic), Hunky (Hungarian), Kike (U.S./England)… Nigger (U.S.), Spic (Hispanic), Wop (Italian), and Yid (U.S./England)29 28. The Production Codes, 1934-1956 29. Ibid

Costume and Dance were items six and seven in the Production Code provisions whereas, complete nudity or the implication of thereof were not permitted on screen. Undressing on screen, indecent exposure and dancing costumes which promoted the stimulation or idea of sex were not allowed. Sexual actions and passionate kissing, touching or the interpretation of a sex through dance was considered objectionable and obscene. In the 1956 revision of the production codes section VII – Dances, was completely taken out. The content was then rewritten and placed in the Obscenity section of the codes.
Religion, item eight required censorship of any film or television episode that ridiculed religion, ministers or their moral character and religious ceremonies was strictly prohibited. Ministers of religion could not be portrayed as villains or comical characters. Respectful representation of religious faith, ceremonies and rituals were also demanded by the production codes. From March 31, 1930 through 1959, the Association also forbade bedrooms as a location; item IX along with X; which censored hangings, electrocutions, liquor and drinking, as well as, special operation and childbirth.30 Patriotism was encouraged and negative feeling towards the United States of America was strictly prohibited in the sense that the American flag could not be destroyed or mocked, and that all nations were to be treated fairly without disrespect of its history, institutions, prominent people and citizens.
Hollywood filmmaking in the 1940’s began to evolve into a major form of entertainment for America and Europe. Walt Disney Studios created the second feature animation film with Pinocchio (1940), followed by the expensive and well received Fantasia. 30. The Production Codes, 1934-1956

The animation film which starred cartoon character Mickey Mouse costs four times more to produce than the average live action film at the time. Although not nominated for an Academy, Fantasia was considered an appropriate example of what the Production Code Association deemed wholesome entertainment for all audiences. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, starring Joan Fontaine received the Academy award for Best Picture beating out the nominated film John Ford’s the Grapes of Wrath, which included lead actor Peter Fonda. Rebecca, loosely based on the novel Jane Eyre depicts a young woman of shy demeanor who becomes the wife of a rich, older man whose first wife’s ghosts along with the house keeper taunts her into madness.
“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter for the way was barred to me. Then, like all dreamers, I was possessed of a sudden with supernatural powers and passed like a spirit through the barrier before me. The drive wound away in front of me, twisting and turning as it had always done. But as I advanced, I was aware that a change had come upon it. Nature had come into her own again, and little by little had encroached upon the drive with long tenacious fingers, on and on while the poor thread that had once been our drive. And finally, there was Manderley - Manderley - secretive and silent.”31 The excerpt from the opening scene reveals the drama, suspense and intrigue in which the film encompasses. The film adhered to the production codes of 1936-1940, which emphasized that brutality, violence and sexual content be prohibited.
The Grapes of Wrath portrays the depression of the people in the Oklahoma dust bowl in the 1930’s. Families moved west to California by the thousands and searching for work, food 31. Rebecca, American Movie Classics

and shelter. The film reveals the corruption of big business and banks which maintained a monopoly over many families’ income and controlled the livelihood of landowners and farmers. Socialism is revered as the answer to the characters plight through a depiction of a communal camp where all people are treated fairly and with equality. This film was the last Socialist based, liberal movie produced in the pre- World WAR II era. In 1941, the United States Senate subcommittee launched investigations into the Hollywood production process. The purpose of the investigation was to discover if film makers were trying to involve America in the war. The probe was short-lived due to the attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Best Years of Our Lives was awarded during a time when the U.S. government found the need for patriotism from fellow Americans. The concept of wholesomeness was evident in James Stewarts’s portrayal of a downtrodden and suicidal business man in It’s A Wonderful Life. Patriotic themes as well as the concept of redemption through faith and family won nominations for both movies. Films such as Little Tokyo, U.S.A. were racist in nature, with depictions of anti- Japanese sentiments and the concept of internment of the Japanese. By 1943, the Office of Censorship prohibited the release of films outside the United States that depicted racial discrimination, American dominance and portraying imperialism. The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers was founded in 1941, geared to protecting independent

producers’ rights against motion picture studios. Artists such as Charlie Chaplin, and Orson Welles were founding members.32 By 1944, the U.S. government lifted the provisions in which forbade the depiction of Japanese as brutal enemies. After World War II, in 1945 restrictions on the export and import of American motion pictures to foreign nations were eradicated. 1949 proved a turning point in American cinema with foreign film The Bicycle Thief winning an award. The film was a part of the European Neo- Realism movement of Italian directors. Nomination of American director Elia Kazan’s Pinky contained the plot of an interracial love affair, although the role of the African American was played by a white woman. The provision against miscegenation was upheld by Kazan. In less than a decade, the provision codes against interracial love and sexuality would soon be ignored by more than one motion picture producer. Movies Awarded by the Academy1940-1949 | Movies Nominated | Movies Not Nominated | Rebecca (1940)Casablanca (1943)The Best Years of Our Lives(1946)Hamlet (1948)The Bicycle Thief (1949) Best Foreign Film | Grapes of Wrath(1940)Citizen Kane (1940)It’s A Wonderful-Life(1946)The Red Shoes(1948)Pinky (1949) | Fantasia (1940)Little Tokyo- U.S.A(1942)The Outlaw (1943/1946)Mighty Joe -Young(1949) | 32. American Movie Classics, www.amctv.com HUAC could not successfully squash efforts by radical independent artist and foreign film makers to alter their films. Efforts to ban movies such as Rosselini’s The Miracle (1952) generated not only public intrigue but a profit of three million dollars for United Artist. Otto Preminger 1953 film The Moon is Blue generated publicity by openly defying the Production Codes by using the word “virgin” in the film.33 The two movie productions initiated the defiant nature of independent artists and foreign filmmakers to create motion picture which did not adhere to the Production Code Association’s provisions. Banks began to loosen their control over financing non-conservative movies after United Artists released The Man With the Golden Arm (1953) starring Frank Sinatra to a receptive audience and high profit. The content of the movie was heavily debated by the producer versus the Production Code Administration due its storyline about a man with a drug addiction. Between the years of 1951–1954, the Production Code Administration altered provisions due to the fact that some movie producers were no longer voluntarily submitting their films for approval. By the early 1950’s, television was the new visual past time of Americans who could afford to purchase or view at a neighbor’s home. The Motion Picture industry found its financial profits decrease substantially. Through gimmicks such as Cinema Scope, 3-D sun glasses and Smell- O – Vision to name a few, production studios had to rely on marketing in order to gather audiences.34 The slackening of the use in full context of the production codes allowed production managers and staff to evolve their product into more liberal oriented entertainment. 33. Film.org/milestones 34. Ibid

John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo were imprisoned in 1950, for contempt by Congress.
Artists of various avenues of visual, musical and literary compositions relocated themselves from American soil entering into Europe with virtual freedom. Others fought the rules and regulations set by the Association by initiating liberal content into films and ignoring conservative views. James Stewart remained in the United States but fought motion picture giant Universal Studios out of his seven year contract. His action led to a revolution of change within the mechanism of high powered business versus the working man. Iconic for his movie roles from It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, after his triumph over the movie executives, Stewart proceeded make blockbuster hits as an independent artist in film. Far Country (1954) is a western film which depicts themes such as revenge, land prospectors and the cattle drive from Wyoming to Canada’s Yukon. Stewart received a percentage of the movie’s profits rather than take a paycheck. Words such as murder, corruption and evil were used in the story line. In Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) suicide, deception and suspense, provision codes were overlooked in portraying death scenarios, silhouetting of the female form and acts of violence.
Marlon Brando starred in A Streetcar Named Desire, with actress Vivien Leigh which was nominated for the Academy award. Brando’s character is an abusive husband living in the ghetto of New Orleans with his pregnant wife. Director Elia Kazan moves away from the Production codes in this adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, by producing onscreen the

concepts of insanity, physical abuse and rape. Sexual lust, adultery and brutality are also included revealing the lack of control the motion picture studios had begun to have over Hollywood cinematography. Three acting Oscars were given with Brando loosing the award for best actor to Humphrey Bogart in African Queen. The same year An American in Paris won the Academy award for best picture starring Gene Kelly. Lavish painted backdrops in resemblance to French painters and musical score such as I Got Rhythm. Dance scenes in which Kelley and Leslie Caron are featured throughout the film. The film strictly adheres to the production code regulations with its family oriented script that loosely relates to a love triangle between Kelly and his two co- stars.
Carmen Jones pushed the production code approval further away from filmmaking with the implications of prostitution, sexual references and murder by a United States military soldier. Dorothy Dandridge who portrayed Carmen Jones and Harry Belafonte as the soldier were cast in the black cast, noir film. Obsession, physical abuse and lust were used in the plot which did not adhere to the codes constituted by the Production code Association. Another of Dandridge’s movies created major publicity with the interracial marriage, adultery, murder, profane implications throughout The Decks Ran Red. As the 1950’s dwindled to an end, so did most of the administering of the Production Codes power over film making in Hollywood.
Female actor turned director; Ida Lupino had a successful debut of her work in the B-film suspense drama, The Hitch-Hiker (1953). The film was based on the true story of the deranged mass murderer and kidnapper William Talman. The intention of the film was to portray the

emotion of paranoia that many American felt about strangers during the Second Red Scare. Alien themed motion pictures and horror films gained their foundation during the 1950’s. Some movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Japan’s Godzilla (starting in 1954), were popular with the American public. In 1954, The American Releasing Company created low budget, exploitation films for drive – in theatres such as The Fast and the Furious (1954). The movie relates to a prison break, escape, auto theft, kidnapping and sympathy for the framed convict by his victim. Authorities are not revered with concepts of vilifying them against a supposed innocent man wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. Production codes against theft, glamorizing crime and the negative portrayal of authorities are apparent.
The C.I.A, did manage to alter adaptation to film George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, directed by Michael Anderson. “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.”35 is the anthem of the pigs who take control of the farm after they and the other animals overthrow the abusive and neglectful Farmer Jones. The concept of over throwing the oppressor is entailed with the greed that power brings. Going from a human tyrant to a pig tyrant, the animals soon learn that all is not fair in love and war. In documents released in the late 1990’s it was revealed that the movie was modified to create a more anti-communist theme and a lighter, “more upbeat” ending.

35. Animal Farm, American Movie Classics

Movies Awarded by the Academy1950-1959 | Movies Nominated | Movies Not Nominated | All About Eve(1950)An American in Paris(1951)The Greatest Show on Earth(1952)Around the World in 80 Days(1956)The Bridge Over Kwai(1957)Gigi (1958)Ben Hur (1959)Sleeping Beauty(1959) - animation | A Streetcar Named- Desire(1951)High Noon (1952)Blackboard Jungle-(1955)Giant(1956)12 Angry Men(1957)Cat on a Hot Tin –Roof(1958)Some Like It Hot(1959) | Roshomon(1950)The Thing(1951)Animal Farm(1954)Carmen Jones(1954)Rififi(1955)Invasion of the-Body Snatchers(1956)And God Created –Woman(1957)Vertigo(1958)The Decks Ran-Red(1959) |

Tamango (1959) was a Hal Roach film whose plot revolved around an interracial romance between a slave captain and his slave mistress on board a ship sailing from Africa to Cuba. Initially banned in the United States, the Motion Picture Association went against its on production codes to release the film that same year. The 1960’s entailed rapid social and political change. From Beatle mania, to election and assassination of John F. Kennedy to the rebirth of the Women’s movement, American cinema managed to evolve with the times. Elizabeth Taylor was the highest paid actor in Hollywood with the 1963 release of Cleopatra. A portrayal of the Egyptian queen and lover to Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, seduction, assassination and suicide are major themes within the story plot. The production Codes were becoming a distant memory as films began to emerge with leading male actors such as Sidney Poitier, breaking the color barrier. In the Heat of the Night (1967), Poitier plays the character of an educated, northern police detective sent to the rural, racially charged south to help solve a murder. The pivoting scene as Poitier’s character retaliates back at the white police chief with a counter slap created much debate. The murder mystery is solved by the two police officers agreeing to let go of their culture bias for the common good of their work. Unity is the end theme of the movie with both characters acknowledging their differences and learning to appreciate one another.
Censorship in Hollywood was most apparent starting with the first Red Scare during World War I. Other influences that continued the paranoia about strangers, foreigners and liberal ideals were World War II, McCarthyism, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Second Red Scare during the Korean War. Conservative views within the American government were instilled with several organizations created to monitor and regulate the distribution of American film making. Studio owners strengthened their control over the script and production of motion pictures, by creating a self regulated association. The production codes created and administered from 1934 through 1956, were due to the pressure by Congress, HUAC and others in political power to gain access to the American public’s psyche as well as receive publicity for their perspective careers. Through the blacklisting of many liberal artists and imprisonment of a few for contempt, American cinematography became a platform form a duel between conservatives like Ronald Reagan and liberal such as Dalton Trumbo. Some artists managed to keep their careers intact like Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock while evolving their film production from the strict production code regulations to blatantly ignoring them by the mid 1950’s.
As the atmosphere changed politically and socially, so did the slackening of the administration’s regulation enforcement. By 1954, film makers were starting to overcome the strict rules of the production codes by not submitting their work voluntarily for approval. Film noir, alien invasion and horror films became a major theme within cinematography. Teenagers and drive in theatres took control of the demand for specific styles of motion pictures. Rock – Roll and television changed the climate of the 1950’s with new innovative paths to entertainment. Hollywood’s liberal artists began to reemerge with renewed energy and creativity no longer stifled by censorship and conservative ideals, which once dominated America during time of anti-fascist, anti-communist and anti-socialist resentments.

Bibliography

American Movie Classics, www.AMCtv.com
Academy of Motion Pictures, The Production Codes 1934-1956.Hollywood, California www.filmsite.org/milestones Georgakas, Dan. The Hollywood Blacklist. Modern American Poetry/file://mcarthart1_files\blacklist.htm

www.colorado.edu/AMStudies/Lewis/2010/mccarthy.htm

Firstworldwar.com/the war that end all wars

Freedland, Michael. Hollywood on Trial, McCarthyism’s War Against Movies. Anova Books: www.anovabooksonline. 2008

Hellman, Lillian, Scoundrel Time. Little Brown: Boston.1976

Kazan, Elia – A Life. Da Capo Press: New York.1997

www.koreanwar.com

www.Netflix.com –movies in chronological order from 1940-1959 1. Rebecca 2. Grapes of Wrath 3. Citizen Kane 4. Fantasia 5. Casablanca 6. Little Tokyo, U.S.A. 7. The Best Years of Our Lives 8. It’s A Wonderful Life 9. The Outlaw 10. Hamlet 11. The Bicycle Thief 12. The Red Shoes 13. Pinky 14. Roshomon 15. The Thing 16. Mighty Joe Young 17. An American in Paris 18. A Streetcar named Desire 19. High Noon 20. The Hitchhiker 21. On the Waterfront 22. The Man with the Golden Arm 23. Animal Farm 24. Carmen Jones 25. Far Country 26. Rififi 27. Blackboard Jungle 28. Sunset Boulevard 29. Around the World in 80 Days 30. Giant 31. The Brave One 32. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 33. And God created Woman 34. The Bridge Over Kwai 35. 12 Angry Men 36. I was a Teenage Werewolf 37. Gigi 38. Cat on A Hot Tin Roof 39. Vertigo 40. The Decks Ran Red 41. Animal Farm 42. Ben Hur 43. Some Like it Hot 44. Tamango 45. Cleopatra 46. In the Heat of the Night Truman-library.org/Avalon.law.yale.edu www.pbs.org/wgbh- The American Experience www.thefreelibrary.com/politics worldwar2.net