Religious Influence in Hollywood

By Kathy Kovach

From the time Thomas Edison gifted a camera to Salvation Army founder William Booth in the 1890s to the bellowing megaphone of Cecil B. DeMille, Hollywood had to learn her place in the world. Much like a prepubescent child on the brink of adulthood, she needed to learn right from wrong.

Throughout the early 20th Century, movies were made with Christian content and were shown in churches as well as theaters. However, the theater industry protested this practice and stopped allowing it. They began to produce content that, shall we say, one wouldn’t want their grandmother to see.

The Majestic Theater, 1922

Untethered from the church, from 1918 to 1934, Hollywood acted in the only way she knew. Burlesque was her template, and movies coming from that era were often risqué, even violent for that time. Nothing seemed taboo. Yes, there were some offerings one could see in mixed company, but for the most part, the studio themes being churned out were diverse in moral content.

Will H. Hays

Enter the Hays Code of 1930. Will H. Hays was the Postmaster General under the William G. Harding administration. However, on January 14, 1922, he gave up his commission to take on a new role as President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) as it was forming.

The group had its work cut out. Besides the depraved themes coming out of Hollywood, actions behind the scenes were just as concerning. Because of their popularity, actors often felt they could do no wrong. Hollywood, tender as she was, had become a den of licentiousness, and the industry was suffering because of it. As a result, religious leaders, parent groups, educators, and civic organizations called for federal censorship.

Hays tried his best to reign in this new growing entity while still making everyone happy. He suggested a guideline consisting of thirty-six “Don’ts” and “Be Carefuls”. This list, however, held no penalties or enforcement.

By 1929, a group of Catholic leaders had had enough and came up with a stricter code. They presented it to Hays in 1930. In his words, "My eyes nearly popped out when I read it. This was the very thing I had been looking for." This later became known as the Hays Code.

The Code consisted of a detailed list of guidelines. This list, meant to safeguard "moral obligations," went through many revisions as time went on, but three principles remained consistent.

Hays Code guidelines:

• No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, or sin.

• Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.

• Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.

This system, also dubbed the Production Code, was still voluntary for the companies who wanted to avoid federal censorship. For filmmakers, it was mandatory if their desire was to play in American theaters.

Fast and Loose, 1930

Even so, Hollywood had finally reached her rebellious stage and for four years—a.k.a. the pre-Code years—she literally went insane and produced the worst of the worst in terms of moral character.

The tide turned in 1934 when two religious groups, the Roman Catholic Legion of Decency and the Protestant Film Group, joined forces. The Legion of Decency used a peer pressure tactic, calling for bans on movies they deemed unacceptable. Their indignation was felt at the box office, sending a clear message.

The Little Princess, Shirley Temple, 1934

In the years afterward, many beloved classics were produced. This system of self-censorship, albeit with stiff consequences, served itself well for over three decades with occasional flare-ups of rebellion.

A new code was formed in 1968:

• G - General Audiences

• M - for Mature Audiences (Later changed to PG for Parental Guidance)

• R - Restricted- under 17 admitted if accompanied by an adult

• X - not admitted if under 17 (Later highjacked by the pornographic industry to sensationalize their product)

This system gave filmmakers more leeway and consumers more control over what they chose to spend their money on.

My favorite era was the 1940s, when the MGM musical reigned supreme and honorable cowboys saved the day.

Pass the popcorn. It’s classic cinema night!

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband Jim raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado she's not only a grandmother, but a great-grandmother, though much too young for that. Kathleen is a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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