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May 1999, Week 4

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Subject:
From:
Peter Warren <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Date:
Thu, 27 May 1999 17:44:16 -0400
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Michael Gant: The Hays Office (under Will H. Hays, a former US Postmaster
General), was originally established in 1922, when it was called the Motion
Picture Producers And Distributors of America (MPPDA). The Hays Office
Production Code was introduced in 1930, fully implemented in 1934 thanks
mainly to Mae West, and the Hays Office terminated in 1945, though the Code
remained in weakening effect until the mid sixties, when it was replaced by
a ratings system in 1968. Joseph Breen (not Brean as in your email) was the
Director of Administration of the Hays Office. There are a number of books
that deal with censorship and the Code administration (eg: The Face On The
Cutting Room Floor by Murray Schumach) and other books about the history of
particular studios which deal with the problems they faced with the Hays
Office (including the $5,000 fine Selznick had to pay for Gable to say the
word "damn" as in 'I don't give a..." in Gone With The Wind). With the
tendency of the Hollywood studios to dispose of their history, and the
changes in the Hollywood studio system over the years, you may have trouble
locating the information you are looking for, but someone more familiar
with the inner workings and archives of the film business may be able to
help. Good luck with your search. Peter Warren

----------
> From: Michael Gant <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Documents re censorship
> Date: Thursday, May 27, 1999 5:58 AM
>
> Dear all
>
> Can anyone tell me how who to approach in order to get access to
> correspondence between film companies and the Brean and Hays offices
> relating to those offices' pre production approval of scripts etc. for
> films and the changes they may have required before the films were shot?
> Is there some kind of public record office where this kind of document
> would be stored or would it be a question of approaching the film
> companies involved in relation to individual films?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Mike Chopra-Gant
> Media and Communications Dept
> Goldsmiths College
> University of London
>
>
> email [log in to unmask]
>
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