No Virginia Rappe scandal: no Hays Code?

[Hendryk]

It would seem that the catalyst for the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) appointing Will H. Hays as its president was the tragic death of actress Virginia Rappe in 1921:

The goal of the organization was to renovate the image of the movie industry in the wake of the scandal surrounding the alleged rape and murder of model and actress Virginia Rappe, of which film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was accused, and amid growing calls by religious groups for federal censorship of the movies. Hiring Hays to "clean up the pictures" was, at least in part, a public relations ploy and much was made of his conservative credentials, including his roles as a Presbyterian deacon and past chairman of the Republican Party.

Of course the pressure by religious groups would still be there, and the MPPDA would still have to placate them to some extent. But without the need for a PR stunt, might a less dogmatic figure be chosen instead, and impose a less stringent censorship on American cinema?

 

[RyanF]

Kim Newman once did a short story on this subject, available online. Arbuckle never makes it to that party so the Hays Code never comes into effect. Though I'm not sure we would see the stats of the Golden Age as nature made them constantly, it's still a fun read.

I think something akin to it would still come into place, Hollywood was already seen as the new Soddom by the morally outraged, and something would come along sooner rather than later. There had already been an attempt in 1916 to introduce, and even then there were numerous subjects that were too be avoided. This initial body proved ineffectual and eventually led to the Hays Code. It should be remembered that the MPPDA was a self-regulatory body, and that a Supreme Court ruling had decreed free speech did not extend to film.

Such was the time that there wouldn't be simple guidelines like no nudity or no swearing or no graphic violence, but that these would go hand in hand with no portrayals of interracial marriage, no ridicule of clergy, and no sympathy for criminals. Promotion of traditional values was seen as linked to censoring what could be shown on screen.

 

[Hendryk]

Kim Newman once did a short story on this subject, available online. Arbuckle never makes it to that party so the Hays Code never comes into effect. Though I'm not sure we would see the stats of the Golden Age as nature made them constantly, it's still a fun read.

That's what I have in mind. That's a great story, thanks for bringing it to our attention

Not sure about Joe Kennedy and Charles Coughlin becoming presidents, though. Was Coughlin even eligible, as Canadian-born?

 

[Archibald]

That poor woman surely had an unfortunate name, Rappe, really ? talk about a bad coincidence... you can be sure some idiot misogynistic made very lame jokes about it (rappe - rape)

 

[napoleon IV]

That's what I have in mind. That's a great story, thanks for bringing it to our attention

Not sure about Joe Kennedy and Charles Coughlin becoming presidents, though. Was Coughlin even eligible, as Canadian-born?

My understanding is that he wasn't. Until 1940 the law said that children born abroad to US-citizen fathers were themselves citizens, but not natural born citizens. That said, if Coughlin gained enough popular support to run his eligibility would have to be decided by the Supreme Court. His best bet then would be for the Court to rule that eligibility is a political question rather than a judicial one, meaning that determining eligibility is the job of Congress rather than the courts.

 

[Bruno]

My understanding is that he wasn't. Until 1940 the law said that children born abroad to US-citizen fathers were themselves citizens, but not natural born citizens. That said, if Coughlin gained enough popular support to run his eligibility would have to be decided by the Supreme Court. His best bet then would be for the Court to rule that eligibility is a political question rather than a judicial one, meaning that determining eligibility is the job of Congress rather than the courts.

Huh - how utterly fitting; Charles Coughlin as a proto Ted Cruz in every sense.

It would seem that the catalyst for the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) appointing Will H. Hays as its president was the tragic death of actress Virginia Rappe in 1921:

Of course the pressure by religious groups would still be there, and the MPPDA would still have to placate them to some extent. But without the need for a PR stunt, might a less dogmatic figure be chosen instead, and impose a less stringent censorship on American cinema?

The problem was that Hollywood really was a den of notorious sex scandals, so it wasn't if something will come into effect but simply when.

link for your perusal

It's also important to note that the Hays Code was constantly being tested. If there was any kind of loophole that could be found, somebody tried it - and sometimes succeeded.

There's also the possibility that it could have been much worse.

 

[Creekmench]

So if the Rappe scandal is butterflied away, we could have a worse sex scandal forcing a government regulation board upon Hollywood and that would be dystopic.

 

[Alex Richards]

So if the Rappe scandal is butterflied away, we could have a worse sex scandal forcing a government regulation board upon Hollywood and that would be dystopic.

I wonder if that might see the UK film industry getting more prominence in the states?