Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Writer:

Steven Smith (writer)

Release Date:

3 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Movie History | Censorship | Narration

Cast

Valerie Spencer	...	Narrator (voice)
John Landis	...	Himself - interviewee
Jonathan Kuntz	...	Himself - interviewee
Rudy Behlmer	...	Himself - interviewee
Jerry Beck	...	Himself - interviewee
Camille Paglia	...	Herself - interviewee
Hugh M. Hefner	...	Himself - interviewee (as Hugh Hefner)
Jack Valenti	...	Himself - interviewee
Will H. Hays	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Will Hayes)
Jeffrey Vance	...	Himself - interviewee
Molly Haskell	...	Herself - Interviewee
Mark Vieira	...	Himself - Interviewee (as Mark A. Vieira)
Norma Shearer	...	Various Roles (archive footage)
Clark Gable	...	Various Roles (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Various Roles (archive footage)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive clips) | Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA

Company:

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Trivia:

Included in Warner Home Video's 2008 DVD set "TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2".

Movie Connections:

References Sleepers East (1934)

Soundtrack:

Anchors Aweigh

Fascinating glimpses of pre-code Hollywood during the early '30s...

TCM aired this documentary on the pre-code era of Hollywood films during the early '30s: THOU SHALT NOT: SEX, SIN AND CENSORSHIP IN PRE-CODE Hollywood, and it lives up to its title with a rundown of various films that pushed the envelope before the Hays Office came into existence and censorship in films began with some rigid codes about what could and could not be shown.

As someone else pointed out, a lot of films went unmentioned and could have been included with reference to racy dialog that got past the censors, even in innocuous Laurel & Hardy comedies. Of the films mentioned, we get fleeting looks at NIGHT NURSE, THE Divorcée, THE PUBLIC ENEMY, and other such films that were considered risqué at the time but got past the censors. There's barely a mention of Mae West and her many one-liners, so there's a lot of material that isn't covered in the documentary's brief running time.

Comments from people like Camille Paglia, Rudy Behlmer, Leonard Maltin and others is incisive and to the point. Most amusing is the fact that twin beds always had to be shown in the budoir and there were rules about bedroom etiquette that included something about a man's foot had to be shown on the floor. Curious do's and don'ts ruled the day as soon as censorship boards were taken seriously.

Covers quite a bit of ground but leaves out a lot of other information which would have made for a more complete documentary.