Editing Hays Code (section)

==Background==
[[File:Thou Shalt Not - Whitey Schafer - 1940.jpg|alt=Thou Shalt Not, a 1940 photo by Whitey Schafer deliberately subverting the Code's strictures |thumb|''Thou Shalt Not'', a 1940 photo by [[Whitey Schafer]] deliberately subverting some of the Code's strictures]]

In the 1920s, Hollywood was rocked by a number of notorious scandals, such as the murder of [[William Desmond Taylor]] and the alleged rape of [[Virginia Rappe]] by popular movie star [[Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]], which brought widespread condemnation from religious, civic and political organizations. Many felt that the [[film industry]] had always been morally questionable,<ref>''Encyc. of World Biog.: Suppl.'' (2001), "Will Hays" entry</ref> and political pressure was increasing, with legislators in 37 states introducing almost one hundred [[film censorship]] bills in 1921. In 1922, as they were faced with the prospect of having to comply with hundreds and potentially thousands of inconsistent, easily changed decency laws in order to show their films, the studios chose self-regulation as the preferable option, enlisting [[Presbyterian polity#Elder|Presbyterian elder]] [[Will H. Hays]], [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] under former President [[Warren G. Harding]] and former head of the [[Republican National Committee]],<ref name="SS190">Siegel & Siegel (2004), p. 190.</ref> to rehabilitate Hollywood's image. The move mimicked the decision that [[Major League Baseball]] had made in hiring judge [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] as [[Commissioner of Baseball (MLB)|League Commissioner]] the previous year to quell questions about the integrity of baseball in the wake of the [[Black Sox Scandal|1919 World Series gambling scandal]]; ''[[The New York Times]]'' even called Hays the "screen Landis".<ref name="ah">Yagoda (1980), [https://www.americanheritage.com/hollywood-cleans-its-act?page=1 "Hollywood Cleans Up&nbsp;..."]</ref>    Hays was paid the lavish sum of $100,000 a year {{USDCY|100000|1922}},<ref name="DH6" /><ref>Gardner (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=0QsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA92 p. 92].</ref> and served for 25 years as president of the [[Motion Picture Association of America|Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America]] (MPPDA), where he "defended the industry from attacks, recited soothing nostrums, and negotiated treaties to cease hostilities".<ref name="DH6">Doherty (1999), p. 6.</ref>

In 1924, Hays introduced a set of recommendations dubbed "the Formula", which the studios were advised to heed, and asked filmmakers to describe to his office the [[Plot (narrative)|plots]] of films they were planning on producing.<ref name="Pr20">Prince (2003), p. 20.</ref> In 1915, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] had decided unanimously in ''[[Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio]]'' that [[free speech]] did not extend to motion pictures.<ref>Jowett (1989), p. 16.</ref> While there had been token attempts to clean up the films before (such as when the studios formed the [[National Association of the Motion Picture Industry]] (NAMPI) in 1916), little had come of the efforts.<ref>Butters Jr. (2007), p. 149.</ref> [[New York (state)|New York]] became the first state to take advantage of the Supreme Court's decision by instituting a censorship board in 1921. [[Virginia]] followed suit the following year,<ref>Butters Jr. (2007), p. 148.</ref> with eight individual states having a board by the advent of sound film,<ref>LaSalle (2000), p. 62.</ref><ref>Vieira (1999), pp. 7–8.</ref> but many of these were ineffectual. By the 1920s, the New York stage, a frequent source of subsequent screen material, had [[Toplessness|topless]] shows, performances filled with [[curse word]]s, adult subject matter, and sexually suggestive dialog.<ref name="But187">Butters Jr. (2007), p. 187.</ref> Early in the sound system conversion process, it became apparent that what was acceptable in New York might not be so in [[Kansas]].<ref name="But187" /> Filmmakers were facing the possibility that many states and cities would adopt their own codes of censorship, necessitating a multiplicity of versions of films made for national distribution. [[Self-censorship]] was deemed a preferable outcome.

In 1927, Hays suggested to studio executives that they form a committee to discuss film censorship. [[Irving Thalberg|Irving G. Thalberg]] of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], [[Sol Wurtzel]] of [[Fox Film Corporation]], and E. H. Allen of [[Paramount Pictures]] responded by collaborating on a list they called the "Don'ts and Be Carefuls", based on items that were challenged by local censor boards. This list consisted of eleven subjects best avoided and twenty-six to be handled very carefully. The list was approved by the [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC), and Hays created the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) to oversee its implementation;<ref name="Vieira_p8">Vieira (1999), p. 8.</ref><ref>Prince (2003), p. 31.</ref> however, there was still no way to enforce tenets.<ref name="ah" /> The controversy surrounding film standards came to a head in 1929.<ref name="La1">LaSalle (2002), p. 1.</ref><ref name="Bu">Butters Jr. (2007), p. 189.</ref>