Hollywood History for Dummies Part One: The Hays Code and the BlackList

Don’t grumble dear readers. History can be painless. Especially when it’s chewed up first; I am no history teacher but I know one thing: I rarely come across writers who know much of anything about the history of Hollywood pre-GREMLINS. And that, my friends, is not a good thing. Even more rarely do I come across writers who care. And I find that a bit heartbreaking.

Suppose I were to go into the computer chip business today. (The very nomenclature is a hint that the first time I saw how a computer worked it was a Moog synthesizer.) Do I need to know the clumsy intricacies of the very first computers in order to do my job today? Probably not. But in order to really appreciate a slim, sleek, 2 ounce laptop, it is helpful to have laid eyes on a beeping, buzzing four hundred square foot behemoth. Or at minimum to have seen blurry photos of Bill Gates with a mop top and bad plastic 70s glasses. It puts things in context. It gives me an appreciation of my Blackberry. Even if I still don’t quite know how to use it.

To strive to be rewarded by an industry that you know little or nothing about except what you read in the trades or on the cover of People Magazine seems foolhardy and presumptuous in my view. How can we relish where we are as writers and as moviegoers if we know not from whence we came? How can we not tip our hats on a daily basis to the Hollywood Ten?

The truth is that Hollywood history, culture and politics matters and it matters very much. Because like all history, it hasn’t stopped and been frozen and framed in sepia tones. It continues to evolve and have repercussions. The Hays Code is a significant period in the history of Hollywood that very few younger writers are familiar with. Sure, it seems vaguely familiar… is that like Gilda Haysworth? No, that would be GILDA. And Rita Hayworth.

Hays Code
As the power of the medium of moving pictures skyrocketed, a number of scandals rocked Hollywood during the 1920s including the infamous murder of Virginia Rappe by Fatty Arbuckle. There was public outcry over the perceived indecency of movie makers and movies themselves. In an attempt to cultivate a positive view of the movie industry and to prove that it was an upright and responsible business, the Hays code, adopted in 1930 and enforced from 1934 to 1967 was put in place. It was a method through which the content of movies was controlled so that only that which was deemed suitable for audiences would make it to the silver screen. It was actually adopted by the studios quite willingly; it seemed wiser to institute self-imposed censorship than to wait for the other shoe to drop and be censored by the federal government. After all, the movies were generating a lot of money and to allow the industry to be undone would be suicide. So the Hays Code went into effect. For a look at the contents of the code, blow by blow, go to Wikipedia and be amazed.

In the 1950’s, the rise of television took the focus off of the movies. Mores began to shift and foreign films began to hit our shores that were quite a bit racier than Americans were used to – and the Code didn’t apply to foreign films. The Code became less and less effective; the influx of foreign films and movies made outside of the studio system created a system that was rapidly eroding.

In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America put a film rating system into effect. The ratings were G, M, R, and X. The “m” rating was changed to GP in 1970 and then to PG in 1972. In 1984 PG-13 was introduced and in 1990 the X rating was replaced by NC-17, in part because pornographic bookstores and theaters had co-opted the rating and it had become synonymous with pornography.

The genesis of the ratings system is an important chapter in the history of movies and really, in the history of American popular culture. Will a thumbnail understanding of the Hays Code up your chances of writing an amazing script and winning an Oscar? Probably not. But knowing nothing about it will make you look like you haven’t studied up on the industry you want to be a part of. The term “pre-code movies” is something you should be familiar with. And on a lighter note – watching pre-code movies is a delightful treat.

Some of my favorite pre-code movies:
DINNER AT EIGHT (Jean Harlow)
I’M NO ANGEL (Mae West)
THE THIN MAN (Myrna Loy and William Powell).

MPAA and Hays Code Movie Homework:
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED

The Black List and the Hollywood Ten
Without question, the most ignominious moment in Hollywood history has to be the black list. After the Spanish Civil War and World War II, many actors, musicians and artists in Hollywood expressed interest in left wing political views including Communism. In 1947 the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) invited forty one “friendly witnesses” to testify in Washington, D.C. It was simple, really. All they had to do was cooperate and name names. Ten of those forty one witnesses refused. Claiming that a little something called the First Amendment protected their rights. It was during this testimony that Ring Lardner, Jr., famously offered that he could name names – but “I’d hate myself in the morning.” Lardner was blacklisted and went to jail for 12 months. In fact, his book “I’d Hate Myself in the Morning” is a must read if you are interested to learn more about the black list. The Hollywood Ten refused to yield to the scare tactics of McCarthyism. And they paid for it with their careers. They also unwittingly intensified the witch hunt in Hollywood and the black list grew to unbelievable proportions.

Here’s a short list – a tiny list – of some performers and writers who were blacklisted:

Stella Adler
Artie Shaw
Aaron Copland
Leonard Bernstein
Alan Lomax
Lee Grant
Meredith Burgess
Waldo Salt
Arthur Miller
Lillian Hellman
Zero Mostel
Jose Ferrer
Dashiell Hammett
Ruth Gordon
Langston Hughes
Pete Seeger
Gypsy Rose Lee
Orson Welles

The Hollywood Ten:

Ring Lardner, Jr.
Dalton Trumbo
Edward Dmytryk
Alvah Bessie
Herbert Biberman
Lester Cole
John Howard Lawson
Samuel Ornitz
Adrian Scott
Albert Maltz

As writers and citizens both, we should all remember the Hollywood Ten with a great deal of respect. In this era of the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay, the Hollywood Ten are more relevant than ever.

Blacklist Movie Homework:
THE FRONT
GOODNIGHT AND GOODLUCK

To discuss amongst yourselves: Elia Kazan, formidable director of ON THE WATERFRONT, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS and far too many to name here testified before the HUAC and named names. Coward? Rat? A guy trying to make a living who happened to cave to the prevailing winds?

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