Sin on the Silver Screen: The Story of Hollywood Censorship Part 3/3 • The Code Crumbles

Prostitution and drug use. Glorified gangsters. Savage monsters and unpunished villains. During the mid-20th century, many Hollywood moviemakers defiantly ignored the strict “Production Code” guidelines created in 1930, which were supposed to keep movies morally “clean.” In this three-week series, hosted by documentarian Steven C. Smith, we’ll hear the fascinating story of how Hollywood censorship began, in the wake of Jazz Age scandals, and find out what brought the era to an end.
During the 1950s, Hollywood box office cratered. Its audience was being stolen by a rival that was free: television. Foreign films shown in large U.S. cities, with sexy stars like Brigitte Bardot, began baring flesh. By the 1960s, the Production Code existed in name only. In 1968, it was replaced by the MPAA ratings system, in a major victory for filmmakers. We’ll watch 1960’s Best Picture winner: director Billy Wilder’s masterful comedy-drama The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. A major influence on the recent TV series Mad Men, The Apartment’s depiction of sex, love and corruption in the world of corporate America is funny, moving, and unmistakably adult.