4 Cinematic Victims of Hays Code Era Censorship
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- The Hays Code was a system of self-censorship that Hollywood subjected itself to from 1934 to 1968, in an attempt to stave off legislative censorship by the government. In that limited sense, the Hays Code served its purpose, but some would argue that it did even more damage to artistic expression than the government was prepared to do.
In this video, I outline 4 cinematic victims of Hays Code-era censorship -- not to make fun of the past... but rather to learn as much as we can from it.
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Also I think the thing about the whole Arbuckle story that really infuriates me is the fact that there were plenty of powerful men in Hollywood who were actually doing the things he was accused of and we don't even remember them or know their victims stories.
Totally agree.
Agreed. I know that almost since Hollywood's inception there's been good reporters, police, and people fighting this abusive power. The money is absolutely the only reason this was ever allowed to happen.
There were talks about a Fatty Arbuckle bio-pic in the works with Chris Farley interested as the lead. Sadly it never moved forward and Farley OD'd not long after.
@Timothy McCaskey also didn't Delmont have a lengthy history of extortion and blackmailing people?
@Timothy McCaskey I believe I that she died from a ruptured blatter and the prosecution used that as evidence that Arbuckle r*ped her but she did infact have a pre-existing condition plus she was drinking heavily that night. Also at the time Hollywood was dealing with several salacious scandals (for the most part just about how stars liked to party and their private lives didn't match their wholesome image, nothing crazy by our standards but of course was quite shocking for the time) William Desmond Taylor was murdered around this time as well and there was a large out cry from moralists and such. I think it was so easy to point the finger at Arbuckle because his story represented everything wrong with Hollywood and it allowed the men who were nasty to float under the radar. Yellow journalism worked against his favor
personally I thought Minions was one of the best Universal Horrors, props for mentioning it
It was certainly the most terrifying.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the ban on interracial relationships and how that cost many actors of colour really amazing roles during the Hays Code
*cough cough* West Side Story
@@hannahbellegamble2972 True with the topic but Natalie Wood wasn’t a PoC so it wouldn’t have been Hays Code non-compliant. It was almost gone by the 60s thanks to the Civil Rights Movement.
@@JuriAmari i think that's the point they're making, because of the hays code Maria wasn't played by an actress of colour like she shoildve been
@@cascharles3838 Everyone has color.
Just thinking the same. The Good Earth and Anna May Wong, for example.
Frankenstein wanting to help a Jesus figure down from a cross I find just naive and cute.
Yeah, what's up with that? How could that possibly offend anyone? It just makes the monster seem sweet. Maybe that's what that asshole objected to (which would make him a rather questionable Christian, for my money).
@johnmburt1960 It was Frankenstein's Monster. The Doctor is Frankenstein.
@johnmburt1960 yeah, you're right. That's actually the name of the Doc. The Monster stayed nameless. But pop culture messed the names up.
@@echoskolumne1962 why dont we just call him Frankenstein jr. And get this whole argument over with
@@aderyn7600 ahhaahahaa I am on board with that
you should really watch and do a review of the movie "Rope" by Alfred Hitchcock. it came out when the hays code was still a thing, but hitchcock was able to slip in a *LOT* of (gay) subtext
He was one of the Masters. The bulk of his movies were shot during the Hays Code years but he knew how to get away with taking more liberties than most of his contemporaries.
Check out the documentary "The Celluloid Closet", for a great rundown of how films in the Hays era dealt with queer sexuality. Really enlightening, and fun!
@@lilivonshtup3808 Agreed. That is one of many reasons why Hitchcock was one of the very best directors ever.
Rope is based on the crime committed by Leopold and Loeb. For a different take on that story, see the film Swoon (1992).
Trailer: th-cam.com/video/SL8vK9ico_k/w-d-xo.html
"Rope" is too gay too function.
I found this channel about a month ago after the sexist tropes video showed up on my home page. Currently working my way through your content and have yet to be disappointed. Thank you!
Thank YOU!
Same here!
@@coldcrashpictures Same! =)
You should do a video about how creative directors found ways around the Hays Code. One of the most notable examples being Alfred Hitchcock. In his 1946 film Notorious he wanted to have a long kissing scene with his two leads but the Hays Code had a rule saying two people couldn't kiss for more than three seconds. So Hitchcock came up with the brilliant idea of having his actors break off kissing every few seconds. So he in the end he managed to get a two-minute long kissing scene pass the censors by just having them break off every once in a while.
That's a very dumb rule
The unedited speech from 'Baby Face' is so much more empowering than the edited one. You really need more subs, man.
Only if you prefer Nietzsche.
The unedited version of 'Baby Face' is the only version I've ever seen since they've been running it on TCM for the last few years. Had no idea of anything different.
Amazing, isn't it? With that speech, she goes on to be a powerful, self-aware woman getting what she wants in the world. Without it, she's a pathetic sinner too addicted to her own selfishness to know she's going to hell. It's true what they say - it's not the director that makes the film, it's the editor.
Anti-russian Aktion we’re gonna be sexualized either way, so we should at least get to use it to our advantage.
The original "Baby Face" speech would have made American film seem as daring and experimental as German Expressionist cinema in the pre-Hitler glory days. Stanwyck never made enough films playing a smart, tough and ambitious woman. Think of her role in "Lady Eve" with Henry Fonda and producer Preston Sturges.
Hayes was not the "enforcer of the code." He was the representative of the studios, looking out for their interests. Joseph Breen was the "enforcer," as depicted in the film "The Aviator." Breen was angry that Hayes was the public face of the code, owing to his being a well-known political figure at the time. Breen was fond of saying, "It should be called the BREEN code!"
I enjoyed this video. It's truly sad what happened to Mr. Arbuckle.
I disliked the video for its rigid condemnation of others, but yes, it is sad what happened to Arbuckle.
@@howtubeable ?????? you disliked it for its condemnation of sexual predators?
Since the Arbuckle incident and trial took place in San Francisco, it has long been an item followed by the local TV news around here. (At least in my lifetime.) And they have been very good about the complete story, telling us locals about Virginia Rappe's medical problems long before it was known elsewhere, telling us about the DA's issues, talking about Hearst's interest in the trial (multiple daily editions of the SF Examiner with scandalous coverage of the trial), and informing us about Arbuckle's conflict with studio executives. It is an awful legacy that this BS has led to the loss of a treasure trove of good movies.
One I think you could have included would be William Haines, who was an indirect victim since he decided to give up his successful film career and be with his male partner instead of entering a sham marriage as the studio was pressuring him to do.
They murdered Arbuckle. Jealous, evil parasites who were all partaking in all sorts of debauchery themselves.
You need way more subs man. Great video!
Thank you! Although my number of subscribers has actually doubled in the last 3 months. I'm nothing if not speechlessly grateful.
I think I read that differently than was intended
i cannot believe that a man in a movie from the 1930s has a more realistic, nuanced, and empowering view of sex work than gloria steinam
Sometimes an astute observer, distanced from the subject, can see much that is lost to those caught up in the fray.
Imagine how many great movies could have been created and how different our culture would be if the Hays Code never existed... Makes me sad to think about what we missed
we really need more videos about old hollywood and pre-hays code.
We just need more videos about old hollywood!
@@RatelHBadger Boys will be boys - wonder bar
Found one
Through biographies and the autobiographies of Keaton and Chaplin, I saw what kind of man Roscoe Arbuckle was. Generous, kind, salt of the earth, teddy bear type. Sort of like the Keanu Reeves of his day. He and Keaton were like brothers. In their shorts, you could see the closeness and sheer happiness they were experiencing.That to me is what makes his story so soul crushing sad.
I love the pre code movies, too. So gritty and realistic.
They were like brothers. I believe that after the scandal, Keaton started giving Arbuckle 20% of all he earned as a filmmaker, given that it was Arbuckle who gave him a leg up.
In the podcast “You Must Remember This”, in the season “Fake News:Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon”, Karina Longworth does a masterly treatment of the era when the Hays Code descended on Hollywood. She does a great dissection of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal.
Eeep. I've never seen Bride of Frankenstein because I'm crazy protective of the novel and characters of the original Frankenstein. (Seriously. I'm a fangirl. I get into monthly internet fights about the thematic importance of the creature remaining nameless and being eloquent. Nobody should ever be that lame). But I might watch it now specifically for that mini Henry VIII scene. That looked amazing.
What I find fascinating about the Hays code is that, not only, like you said, does progress not happen in a linear fashion, but it's also interesting how it shapes my and others thoughts about the past. Like that scene in Baby Face. It didn't even occur to me that someone then would write a scene arguing *for* the exploitation of men who'll already objectify a woman. It's like my brain sees the films of that era and forgets there's a censor in place interfering with the storytellers. It shapes the way I see the public mindset of that era in a slightly misleading way.
Thanks for that last disclaimer. I understood what you were trying to say, and I certainly didn't think the situation to the current sexual assault scandals are the same as Rappe and Arbuckle given who the accuser was (NOT a victim coming forward). But I can see how some people would twist it to some witch hunt style argument.
To me, it also has the same foundation, in a way. It doesn't sound like Arbuckle was banned from films because there was reasonable thought that he was a predator and the industry needed to protect potential victims. It seems that after the scandal got out of control, the ban was more or less done to push an unpleasant story out of people's minds. And that's what I've noticed is a common thread with sexual assault allegations. When victims come forward, the impulse is to silence them, and that almost comes from wanting to go back to a sense of normality.
I also loved House of Cards. Despite being a woman who's had to deal with sexually predatory men, a part of me immediately wanted to ignore the accusations against Spacey. It didn't last long, granted, but that impulse happened nonetheless because I didn't want something I was used to and something I liked (so much of his films and shows. He's also the best part of a shitty-but-fun Call of Duty campaign) being tarnished.
When someone comes forward and says, "I was raped", you obviously don't want it to be true. Sadly, most people don't know how to deal with that feeling of horror in any other way than, "well I don't want it to be true, so obviously that means it isn't true." When it comes to work place allegations involving assault, the entire industry is going to want to distance themselves from those allegations. And sometimes they'll do that by punishing the innocent and the victims.
Woah--ramble. Just wanted to say I appreciate the explanation.
Also, I had a film history professor who said she always divided people between Chaplin fans and Keaton fans--because she claimed you always love one more even if you love them both. (I don't know if I agree with that as a universal rule, although I am definitely a Keaton girl). We saw a lot of their films, but I don't recall her ever mentioning Arbuckle. At least not at length. I'll check out his work for sure!
Rebeca I never understood why someone would choose to create a false Chaplin/Keaton dichotomy. They're just so different in my mind. Besides, I'd rate Harold Lloyd just as high and often higher than both at times. And you definitely need to watch the Frankenstein films. They stand on their own. Frankenstein is more than just the novel. I learned that at a young age. I first read the novel when I was thirteen, and have subsequently read it again three times. I've seen it adapted for the stage. But I think what cemented it for me was a collection of short stories by horror and science fiction writers I read immediately after my first read through of the novel. The were just so many "takes" and ruminations in the story and it's characters. I realized that the novel stands on its own, but it hardly owns the story. James Whale's first Frankenstein film is perfectly serviceable. In fact, it's enjoyable and even moving. As an adaptation of it's source material, I much prefer Tod Browning's Dracula. But with Bride of Frankenstein, you get a great film that is untethered from its source material. It's a sequel that has nothing to do with Mary Shelley's novel and it is a work of art. Oh how I wish they'd have kept the crucifixion scene in! It would have given me such nightmares as a child.
Progress does not happen in a linear fashion. It happens in fits and starts and jumps up and down and back and forth all over our history of the world.
Your teacher's observation may be true, but it's a rather arbitrary distinction that doesn't really mean anything. How did she think this applied in other areas, i.e., what did she think the difference actually was, other than preferring one of those two performers?
Watch "The Bride of Frankenstein" already. With its articulate monster, the inclusion of the scene in the hermit's cabin (taken almost word-for-word from the novel), and the plot line revoiving around the creation of a female monster (in the novel Frankenstein starts to create a woman but then tears her up because he fears what might happen to the world if the monster could mate and create offspring), it's by far the closest Frankenstein movie ever made to the original conception of Mary Shelley (who appears in the movie in a prologue, in which she's played by Elsa Lanchester, who also played the Bride). And I still think it's a major cultural tragedy that no one got Boris Karloff to record an audiobook of the "Frankenstein" novel; one aches to hear Shelley's prose, especially the chapters narrated by the monster, in that brilliant, cultured voice!
Rebeca you gotta check out Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy (Silents and Early Sound period) Marx Brothers and last for a reason Harry Landon from the Silent era. Good Day!
"Give me the bird! Give me the bird!"
"If da Hayes Office would only let me I'd give him da boid alright...."
Classic Warner Brothers cartoon featuring Babbit and Catstello.
There is no comparison between Arbuckle's story and what has been exposed today. What happened to him was a complete injustice.
Something the videographer takes pains to spell out.
I believe Fatty Arbuckle continued to work behind the scenes for some of his friends under the pseudonym of "Will B Goode"
Buster also tried to help him by letting him direct Sherlock Jr. Unfortunately, Roscoe had lost all confidence in himself and ended up having meltdowns on set.
I agree when I first saw The Big Sleep I found it to be incomprehensible. I need to read the book.
i was wondering why i felt so confused. i figured it was just a movie from not of my time.
I really like the book - Chandler’s descriptive writing is excellent
The obscurity of "The Big Sleep" had one good effect: it got a lot of people (including me) to read Raymond Chandler's original novel just to find out what the hell the movie was about! When the film was in production director Howard Hawks asked who committed the murder of Owen Taylor, the chauffeur who stole the bad guys' little black book of porn customers and blackmail victims. His screenwriters could't tell him, so they called Raymond Chandler -- and he couldn't tell them either! He'd written the book in such a headlong fashion (as a mashup of two previously published short stories, "Killer in the Rain" and "The Curtain") he'd never decided who killed Taylor.
The pre-code films had a mystic of their own.
It should also be said the WIlliam Hearst also exploited the trial of Arbuckle and intentionally helped spread the witch hunt against him. It is said that after the the trial when Arbuckles career was over, he met Hearst and asked him why he printed all those stories about him to which Hearst replied "it was just good copy" (or something along those lines).
I remember reading about Arbuckle, I took a deep dive into old actors careers after I saw a documentary about one. A lot those actors and actresses had very sad endings I feel, really was cutthroat business back then.
I think it is time for another version of The Big Sleep.
Check out the 1978 remake starring Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.
There is no single reference to "Organised Religion" in Bride of Frankenstien, just references to Religion.
Personally I love The Big Sleep for all those reasons, the Detective I like movies making me use my imagination. You can conclude Bacal's character is a killer from the movie alone, Razorfist made that argument in his video.
I saw Roscoe in the thumbnail and was like ohhh this is gonna be sad
I wished I hadn't kept thinking how much that pic looked like Louie Anderson.
I am a feminist, and I appreciate your thoughful assessments. Please keep on keeping on....
This was a great video. I love finding people who really appreciate classic cinema. Black-and-white movies are amazing, if you haven’t seen The Thin Man I highly suggest it, it is high on my favorite classic films list. The banter between Myrna Loy and William Powell in fantastic and only reason to watch.
Really glad I found your channel
In that last photo of Hayes, he looks like the wicked witch of the West. Now I am wondering if that was some kind of intentional casting.
Now that you mention it. I had never seen a photo of Hayes before, but yes, I see it.
The woman who made the accusations against Arbuckle was part of a group of three people who had made accusations of different sorts against people in the past, apparently to get money. William R Heart seemed to be a Rupert Murdoch type who would hype and lie to sell his news.
And now it turns out that the guy who accused Kevin Spacey of groping him has refused to testify in court. Apparently, he was just trying to shake down Spacey for money. Spacey always maintained his innocence and all charges have now been dropped. Too bad Kevin Spacey will never get his career back though.
There WAS censorship of films before 1934, but it was state by state. Hays was appointed by the studios themselves, and the moguls were actually very happy with the code once prints started coming back to them that weren't hacked up.
You may want to do.a video about the film “Gaslight” with Ingrid
Berg man and Charles Boyer.
Hays has like.. The ESSENCE of Tarkin from Star Wars.
I don't know how I didn't know this, but damnb.
According to tcm the 1945 unedited version of the big sleep was a much stronger film but it was only shown to service men. Another reason the plot is so uncompressible is because the film makers rushed to expand Bacall's role to capitalize on her relationship with Bogie. Production began shortly after to have and to have not in 1944. Definitely the weakest of their films although I love the opening where Bogie and Bacall are both smoking a cigarette in the dark. Classic noir setting
The Motion Picture Production Code was actually written and first issued in 1930, but in its earliest years it was only loosely enforced. The so-called "Hays Office" had actually been started in 1922, after the scandals involving Arbuckle and the murdered director William Desmond Taylor (a Gay sexual predator who would send out his Black chauffeur to pick up boys for him). The reason the studios feared government censorship was that in 1912 the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that movies were just "a business" and not a form of free expression protected by the First Amendment. This was eventually reversed, but not until 1953 in a case involving an Italian film, "The Miracle," in which a prostitute becomes pregnant and is convinced her baby-to-be is the Second Coming of Jesus. And how could you do a video about the victims of the Production Code without mentioning victim number one, Mae West, whose films so incensed the leadership of America's Roman Catholic Church that in 1934 they formed a group called the Legion of Decency (a name which says it all) to demand strict enforcement of the Production Code, and in particular to get Mae West off the screen?
Brilliant analysis. Baby Face is a masterpiece!
Am i the only one fallin for this guy's mind? :D not many poeple take the time to elaborate argument and counter arguments to their thesis. Time for the subtilities, the grey zones, the relative truths
I wish I could "like" a video twice.
set up another email id. that should work
This was amazing. You've done a truly stupendous job. Please keep up the good work.
Aw the Hays Code, the original “Cancel Culture”
The Hays code started losing its grip when the studios weren't allowed to own chains of movie houses any more . It was done by the early 60s.
"Society doesn't always progress in a straight line". It makes a lot of sense nowadays. I couldn't understand why, after all the social milestones achieved lately, there's also so much hate and voluntary ignorance preventing us from moving even further. It wasn't until very recently that I've learned how media censorship wasn't a thing so early in the history of cinema. Another example is Russia being a super homophobic country, years (more than a decade) AFTER launching t.A.T.u (probably some of the most -If not the only- worldwide mainstream artists over there) who's entire concept was explicit and unapologetic homosexuality. It's terrifying and fascinating.
I seem to recall that Lauren Bacall said she and Bogart had several script meetings regarding many of the confusing elements with Howard Hawks. They realized that no one could figure out who murdered whom. This was an excellent and detailed video! You have a new subscriber.
How about REBECCA?
...in the book Max murders Rebecca and hides the body....in the film, bc he was the male lead, Rebecca trips and falls and hits her head and dies....he only hides the body.
The code wouldn't allow for him to be a murderer AND the romantic lead. The Masterpiece Theatre version with Charles Dance rectifies this.
Great video
The case against Kevin Spacey has been dropped since this first aired.
I don’t watch a lot of old movies myself but hearing your descriptions and appreciation for them is incredibly fascinating to me. Thank you for your work.
I agree with you about House of Cards (which wore out for me sometime during the second season), but doesn't the knowledge of Spacey's real-life nefariousness put an interesting spin on Verbal Kint?
Please do a video on The Bride of Frankenstein and the potential homosexual undertones Director James Whale May have purposefully included! You said it could be its own post, and I think that’s a brilliant idea.
I see David Lynch's DUNE on your shelf right behind your shoulder. I'm really curious for you to review it, especially in anticipation of the new film coming out soon.
Now I get why 'The Big Sleep' is such a mess. So it was made to capitalize on Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. At least they could've spent more time in pre-production figuring out how to make a coherent picture of the book's subject matter before giving us this mess of a convolution of a movie.
The worst thing about the Hays code is that people watch these time capule movies and actually believe that that was what the world was like in the forties and fifties, squeaky clean and polite. It makes people want to return to "simpler times".
Throwing the minions in lol nice 😆
King Kong I remember was a victim of censorship as well since when it was re-released, several scenes that were thought to be too violent were removed. Ask Big Jack Films and he would explain.
You mentioned the necrophilia aspect of The Bride of Frankenstein, but not the fact that the Hays' Code also censored Elsa Lanchester's breasts when she was playing Mary Shelly at the film's beginning?
That was very interesting In secondary school (in the UK) we could choose a project to do for O Level History .I chose the History of the Silent movies though concntrated mainly on the stars . Lilian and Dorothy Gish . Mary Pickford. Theda Bara. Clara Bow. Ramon Navaro (what a terrible sad end) Valentino etc etc
Speaking of “The Big Sleep”, check out “The Sinister Urge” (as featured by MTS3k) - the movie calls porn “smut”. It’s great!
Great recommendation, thanks .
Also, I was vaguely familiar with Arbuckle's story but it was great to hear more details of the injustice he endured. It's rather sad how much he lost in life even after being proven innocent.
I just found your channel by chance a bit ago and I'm already hooked. I think you're my new favorite creator as far as the film commentary genre goes. I look forward to seeing more of your insights, thanks for the time and effort you've put into these.
I, Frankenstein and Victor Frankenstein weren't attempts by Universal.
I love that you ended with Cat Stevens. Maligned for coming out as Muslim just as we went thru the horrors of 9/11, his music transcends religions.
The pre-Hayes movies are awesome! Good on you for getting your fellow youngsters interested in taking a look at these wonderful gems.
To be fair, the writer of the book for The Big Sleep couldn’t explain the plot.
The comments at the end of this video about Kevin Spacey are troubling now that the case was dismissed and the prosecution refused to provide the "lost" deleted text messages between the "victim" and Kevin Spacey. While I'm no proponent of sexual harassment, we have to rely on "innocent until proven guilty" for someone just accused of these acts by one or two people. Kevin Spacey's career is likely ruined and it could simply be the result of a "victim" who was embarrassed or ashamed of his own part in the whole encounter and wished to blame someone else for his own lack of judgement and willpower.
This is only one of many instances of Spacey's behavior. There are too many and too similar to proclaim him innocent because one case was messed up for court.
I'm off to use men
Wow. Imagine if women of that era had heard those lines about using men to get what they want. Imagine how empowered they would have felt. And what an utter *surprise* that a man edited it to be more "respectable" and uphold power structures. *eyeroll* Thank you for bringing the unedited version to my attention!
Are women really more powerful after hearing the same speech from Madonna and Lady Gaga? Nope.
@@howtubeable you... Sound like a loser.
The studios love remarks and there's moves have reasons to be remade and they already have the scripts. So why aren't any of these movies being remade with the censored parts back in?
Re: Kevin Spacey. Don’t watch the US version of House of Cards, try the original British version with Ian Richardson - it’s way better.
thanks, I will!
I’m not sure Breen was paying attention in Sunday school, given that he objected to a scene where Karloff’s reanimated (and sympathetic) character emphathizes with the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Goes to show, when you give a bureaucrat a button that can silence people, they’re going to keep hitting it like a chimpanzee hooked up to a joy buzzer.
Well, they did allow Frankenstein's own "crucifixion".
I always loved the line Joan Blondell says in "Footlight Parade" 1933 .... " Don't Worry Sister as Long as there are Sidewalks,You'll Have a Job!"
This was an excellent video. I love the history and am now interested in reading about the Hayes Code era and the resulting birth of certain tropes, some that still exist today. I’d also love to see more about the relationships between film, history, and film history, like your outstanding video about Gone with the Wind. I find your videos wonderfully bingewble and more importantly to me, rewatchable, too!
The Hayes code did some harm, but the modern era's emphasis on bloody violence, sadism and amorality is not exactly producing a golden era of filmmaking, either.
Where do you see an "emphasis on bloody violence, sadism and amorality" in today's films? To my knowledge, most of the big budget movies aren't overly bloody or sadistic and generally see the "good guys" win in the end.
@Sinjin Smyth You lost me at "feminist/trans agenda". But I'm going to answer anyway. Please put your preconceived notions on the sideline for a minute and really think about what I have to say, I'd appreciate it.
When you watch a horror movie, or a Quentin Tarantino movie for that matter, you get what you sign up for. Films like that are nothing new and neither is the violence in them. And they certainly have their audiences, but do you know what the most watched films of 2018 were? Mostly superhero movies, remakes and spin-offs of older films, some dramas, some comedies, some musicals. Also, why do you think superhero movies are for kids? What kinds of movies are for adults?
Now, the "agenda"... Movie studios want to make money. For a long time, most movies pandered only to a straight white cisgender male audience. Some specific genres such as romance catered to a straight white cisgender female audience. With other groups fighting for visibility, studios are noticing that there might be money to be made by giving them a little representation. And yeah, it's just a LITTLE. Try find a romance between a man and a woman, you've got thousands to choose from. Now try the same with a romance between two men. Of the top my head, I can think of three, one of them ends in tragedy, the other two I haven't watched, so I don't know. Find a movie with a cis male protagonist, they're everywhere, now one with a trans male protagonist, I heard they wanted to make on about a real life person who was like, a trans male gangster or something, but it was shut down. When it comes to catering to a female audience, the easiest and cheapest way for a studio to do that is by taking a movie they've already made and putting female characters in it. I'm not a fan of it, because I think it's lazy, but that's capitalism for you, they want to maximize the profit by minimizing the expense.
If you have read this whole comment, thank you for your time. I'm not trying to lecture you, I just want to ask you to see this from a different perspective. There will always be films about straight white cis men, just because other people are starting to get represented as well, doesn't mean
a) that there's an agenda behind it, or
b) that something is being taken away from you.
Is it really so bad when a woman sees an action movie where someone like her is the hero and not just a reward for him?
"Father & Son". I'm not crying... I'm just thinking of crying.
It feels like you're romanticizing Chaplin's perfectionist an abusive way of filming. City Lights alone has the record of 342 tales of a single scene because he wanted a "genuine" or "honest"performance. Same goes for Stanley Kubrick in The shining he actively abused the lead actress both mentally and physically in that film so I think you''d be doing a disservice to the women involved by romanticizing Chaplin. Love your videos though!
You can be a genius AND abusive; they are not mutually exclusive. And acknowledging genius does not mean you automatically endorse the abusive aspects. People are complex, and it's time we evolve to be able to comprehend that complexity.
I never commented that he wasn't a genius, I was simply pointing out that we should mention the good AND the bad parts. My thinking that lacking that information is doing a disservice to women involved was my opinion, kinda like how some people think that the #MeToo movement should've been brought up sooner; that's THEIR opinion and as ridiculous as it seems, they are entitled to that opinion.
Everyone put thumbs up if you hate the Hayes code
buster keatons " the general " WATCH IT !
I've seen The General more then once. In my opinion that is Buster Keaton at his best!
I think that it was sweet that monster tried to save what he thought was a person (at that point in time he almost certainly had never encountered statues).
This was a really great video!
Kevin Spacy's case has been dropped.
Good point, but what really happened? Spacey is no celibate saint.
"Dropped" or he's paid someone off. That Pedo ring Corey Feldman has been on about for years has a looooong reach.
But "Weinstein" has been found guilty.
I can’t believe they called arbuckle fatty in the paper And accused him with no evidence and the joke of a trial lasted six months wtf.
Please explain to me how the pre Hays code Fatty Arbuckle incident is a result of the Hays Code. The idea that films from the Hays code would have been better without those restrictions, while plausible, is impossible to test. Restrictions are often a spur to creativity, as artists have to become increasingly clever to work around restrictions.
It very much depends on the viewer. To me, over sexualized scenes aren't really appealing. I find them boring and mostly unnecessary to the overall plot. However I understand a lot of people out there enjoy them and think they add a lot to a film, especially in the case of something like Baby Face. To me, the idea of them having to skip over sex scenes in order to sneakily throw in some innuendos within the dialogue is a lot more interesting. However, again, I can understand how this can damage a story (The Big Sleep) or have a very frustrating side effect to the viewer (Tell dont show scenario).
Overall, we dont know how the restrictions really affected some films. Some may have been better off with them and vice versa. But it's an interesting look into past filmmaking and how much interference from an outside source can affect a film. Even if we do see this interference problem today with big movie studios, movies aren't exactly the same as they were back then either.
Go read "I, Fatty" by ( 'Permanent Midnight' author and former Alf writer and ex-junkie ) Jerry Stahl. It's a gas. Very sad and funny...
I'd love to see studios start re-making movies based on pre-censored scripts.
This is some serious research man, I don't know how I came across this video but I'm impressed. All this for TH-cam? Are you a film major or something?
good deal. youre the best.
I am just glad that liked movies the likes of Scarface(1932) and The Outlaw(1943), I also preferred films and animated shorts that were made outside of The Motion Pictures Production and Distributors's Code!
American Beauty is one of my favorite movie of all time and I will keep re-watching it. And KS is a terrific actor. I can separate art from life. I think the cancel mentality has a multitude of flaws. But to each their own.
You summarised my thoughts on The Big Sleep absolutely perectly! I had never been able to articulate why I hated that movie until you just said that everything important is off-screen.
Superbly researched, thought through, written and put together as always. Very enlightening about early movies which I haven't up til now watched. Thank you for expanding my cinematic education.
Nicely done. Both parts.
You've done a fine job with this video. It does a great job of explaining the Hays Code and the social and political background, in which it began and flourished. Be careful with one assertion that you made. A lot of people get their information about past events off the Internet and that can be very misleading. While it is true that the Hays Code existed until 1968, on paper, it really had been on a steep reversal since the mid-1950s. It was abolished altogether by the time the MPA met in 1967 in order to create the ratings system now in use. The official end of the Production Code came a few years after it's power to control films actually ended. The Hays Code was really enforced only when Joseph Breen, a staunchly Catholic writer and member of the MPA, was nominated and installed as the ahead of the MPA. Because he was in agreement with the Catholic Legion of Decency, which was mounting effective movie boycotts during the Depression, the Hays (Production) Code took on new strength and force. That should be noted in any discussion of the Code.
Baby Face is an AMAZING film.
I loved this video but admittedly the most excited i got was hearing Cat Stevens. I love his music but not many people know about him these days
Honestly, same.
How do people not know about Cat Stevens?
There actually is a remake of The Big Sleep from 1978 with Robert Mitchum as Marlowe and Jimmy Stewart as The General. It actually is a more faithful adaptation to the original novel. Unfortunately no one ever talks about it and only brings up the original with Bogart and Bacall.
I honestly really like both versions because we get a look at the story in the lens of a 40's film noir at its hight in cinema of that era with the genre's biggest star and we also get a post Hayes Code version in sleazy 70's Britain with another great Noir star. I might honestly need to rewatch them both to see which one I like more.
how the heck I missed your channel before?
The Big Sleep could have been as good as The Maltese Falcon, had the potential... The screenwriters didn't work around Hays Code problems as well...
In regards to The Big Sleep, try to find the 1945 copy. It makes the plot more comprehensible. It was held back so the studio could release the war themed films that were soon to become irrelevant as WWII was drawing to a close. During that time, Bacall's agent encouraged the studio head to re-shoot some scenes and create more scenes to showcase Bacall more, and to show the on screen chemistry between Bogart and Bacall. The studio head agreed and the film was cut accordingly at the expense of the story. There's a DVD release that features the familiar 1946 version on Side A and the 1945 version on Side B. It's well worth a look. [Full disclosure: I prefer the 1945 version]. Thank you.
For future reference: TONS of great old movies (and some newer)
Bride of Frankenstein: (FULL HD): ok.ru/video/97864387310
Making of: ok.ru/video/373479049870
great video, unfortunately the Babylon movie seemed to imply that Arbuckle was guilty