Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration

441 Pages·2007·5.93 MB·English

by  Thomas Doherty

1” spine
(contInued from front flap)
visionary auteurs, hardnosed journalists,
and bluenose agitators, Doherty’s insight-
ful, behind-the-scenes portrait brings a
tumultuous era—and an individual both rom 1934 to 1954 Joseph I. Breen,
feared and admired—to vivid life. a media-savvy Victorian Irishman,
reigned over the Production Code
Administration, the Hollywood office
tasked with censoring the American
screen. Though little known outside the
ranks of the studio system, this former
journalist and public relations agent was
one of the most powerful men in the mo-
Praise for Hollywood’s Censor tion picture industry. As enforcer of the
puritanical Production Code, Breen dic-
Joseph I. Breen and the production code administration tated “final cut” over more movies than
anyone in the history of American cinema.
“Joseph I. Breen’s life story has never been told in such detail before and, al- His editorial decisions profoundly influ-
though much has been written about the Production Code Administration, no enced the images and values projected by
one has brought together the stories of Breen and the Code—which is also a sto- Hollywood during the Great Depression,
ry of Catholicism and its influence on popular American culture—in the man- World War II, and the Cold War.
Thomas DoherTy is professor of ner Thomas Doherty has. Doherty convincingly demonstrates that, in a crucial Cultural historian Thomas Doherty tells
sense, Breen was the Production Code.”
American studies at Brandeis Universi- the absorbing story of Breen’s ascent to
ty. He serves on the editorial board of —mIchael anderegg, author of Orson Welles, Shakespeare, power and the widespread effects of his
Cineaste and is the author of Cold War, and Popular Culture and Cinematic Shakespeare reign. Breen vetted story lines, blue-pen-
Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, ciled dialogue, and excised footage (a pro-
“Thomas Doherty uncovers wonderful details in his research, and he presents
and American Culture; Pre-Code Holly- cess that came to be known as “Breening”)
them with aplomb. He writes a good book on an important figure in American
wood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection to fit the demands of his strict moral
film history about whom too little is known. This is a valuable contribution.”
in American Cinema, 1930-1934; Projec- framework. Empowered by industry in-
tions of War: Hollywood, American Cul- —chuck maland, Lindsay Young Professor of English, siders and millions of like-minded Catho-
ture, and World War II; and Teenagers University of Tennessee lics who supported his missionary zeal,
and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of Ameri- Breen strove to protect innocent souls
can Movies in the 1950s. from the temptations beckoning from the
ISBN 978-0-231-14358-5 motion picture screen.
9!BME=H<:PSRTWT!
There were few elements of cinematic pro-
Jacket Image [front] Joseph I. Breen looks over the ha-
duction beyond Breen’s reach—he over-
rem garb worn by Burnu Acquanetta (left) and Helen 
saw the editing of A-list feature films, low-
Pender in Universal’s Arabian Nights (1942). The origi-
nal cutline read: Nice Work If You Can Get It. (Urban  budget B movies, short subjects, previews
Archives / Temple University); [back] detail of fanciful  of coming attractions, and even cartoons.
prInted In the u.s.a.
advertisement (1946) recounting the censorship history  Populated by a colorful cast of characters,
of The Outlaw according to ad-pub man Russell Bird-
including Catholic priests, Jewish moguls,
well. (Provided by author.) columBIa unIversIty press | new york
Jacket desIgn  Lisa Hamm www.columbia.edu/cu/cup
(contInued on Back flap)
HOLLYWOOD’S CENSOR

(cid:2) THOMAS DOHERTY (cid:3)
JOSEPH I. BREEN

& the Production Code Administration
COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY
PRESS
NEW YORK
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Doherty, Th omas Patrick,
Hollywood’s censor : Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code
Administration / Th omas Doherty.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14358-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Motion pictures—Censorship—United States—
History. 2. Breen, Joseph Ignatius, 1890–1965. I. Title.
PN1995.62.D64 2007
791.430973—dc22 2007026146

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and
durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Designed by Lisa Hamm
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FOR SANDRA, AGAIN (cid:2)

CONTENTS
Opening Credits ix
Prologue: Hollywood, 1954 1
1 Th e Victorian Irishman 7
Catholicity in Philadelphia 9
Th e XXVIII International Eucharistic Congress
(Fox–Catholic Church) 21
2 Bluenoses Against the Screen 31
Banned in Chicago 37
Holy Writ: Th e Production Code, 1930 41
3 Hollywood Shot to Pieces 49
Pre-Breen Hollywood 52
Legions at the Barricades 56
Signed and Sealed: Th e Production Code Administration, 1934 60
Will Hays the Second, the Hitler of Hollywood, the Mussolini
of American Films, the Dictator of Movie Morals, etc. 70
4 Th e Breen Offi ce 77
Offi ce Work 80
God’s Work 89
5 Decoding Classical Hollywood Cinema 97
Th e Breen Offi ce Shuffl e 109
Th e Advisory Function 115
6 Confessional 121
7 Intermission at RKO 132
Th e PCA in Limbo 141
Th e Censor as Mogul 146
8 At War with the Breen Offi ce 152
Shattering the Myth of Mere Entertainment 153
“Señor Presidente” 165
9 In His Sacerdotalism 172
Th e Catholic Prohibition Movement 175
Two-Fisted Priests and Beatifi c Nuns 187
10 “Our Semitic Brethren” 199
Ir religious Animosity 203
Hollywood’s Restricted Covenants 213
11 Social Problems, Existential Dilemmas, and Outsized
Anatomies 225
Th e Genre with All the Answers 230
Th e Genre without a Name 243
Shoot-out over Th e Outlaw (1940–1949) 251
12 Invasion of the Art Films 264
Th e Swank Appeal of the Art House 269
Th e Rebuke from Italian Neorealism 276
Ingrid Bergman: From St. Joan to Jezebel 283
13 Amending the Ten Commandments 292
Th e Revolt of the Elites 295
Th e Revolt of the Independents 303
14 Not the Breen Offi ce 313
Cracking the Code 316
“Pious Platitudes Take It on Chin” 329
15 Final Cut: Joseph I. Breen and the Auteur Th eory 337
Appendix: Th e Production Code 351
Notes 365
Film Index 409
Index 415
vIII (cid:4) CONTENTS
OPENING CREDITS
W
hat follows is not a biography of Joseph I. Breen but a cultural
history of Hollywood and America with the life and charac-
ter of Breen as the spine of the story. Along the way, Catholic
priests, Jewish moguls, visionary auteurs, studio hacks, hardnosed journal-
ists, and bluenose agitators will be clashing over the great art of the twenti-
eth century, classic Hollywood cinema, during its high renaissance between
the arrival of sound and the rise of television.
Th ough not certifi ed by a Code Seal, the following production has an
extensive credit list. Two players warrant top billing: Mary Pat Dorr, Joseph
Breen’s granddaughter, who graciously shared her memories of a doting
grandfather and generously granted permission, with no strings attached,
to quote from his private correspondence; and Barbara Hall, head of Spe-
cial Collections at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, a fellow “Breeniac” who shared her unmatched
expertise in matters Production Code. Martin S. Quigley, Pat Breen, Albert
Van Schmus, and Monsignor Francis Weber patiently answered questions
about the man they knew. Leonard Leff off ered advice and research materi-
als. Charles Maland lent his keen eye to the manuscript.
A number of kind scholars, researchers, and archivists provided in-
valuable guidance: Gregory Beal, Bob Dickson, Shawn Guthrie, Kristine
Kreuger, and Linda Mehr at the Margaret Herrick Library and AMPAS;
Nicholas B. Scheetz and Scott S. Taylor at Special Collections at George-
town University; Rev. William Mugan, S.J., Nancy Merz, and Mary Struckel
at the Midwest Jesuit Archives; Don H. Buske at the Historical Archives of
the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; Julie Satzik at the Archdiocese of Chicago’s
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center; W. John Shep-
herd at the Catholic History Research Center and University Archives at