Yeah the list of things that were forbidden is pretty interesting to reflect on and why each of them were chosen. Miscegenation is one, “white slavery” is another, incest. The heroine couldn’t be shown kissing the heavy in a passionate way. It started because churches thought the unregulated movies were turning into a corrupting influence on society back in the ‘20s. I think it was Clara Bow (?) who had a famous swimming scene where you could see her nipples through her bathing suit. Those pre-Code movies are interesting because they still have that old school morality compared to today, but they were pushing the line on what could be shown. With the Hayes Code and the 1930s, that’s when the Casablanca-style movie morality you are thinking of comes in. Those movies still have the same adult themes and subjects, but they had to dance around it, leave a lot more to imagination, or use euphemisms.
Yeah the list of things that were forbidden is pretty interesting to reflect on and why each of them were chosen. Miscegenation is one, “white slavery” is another, incest. The heroine couldn’t be shown kissing the heavy in a passionate way. It started because churches thought the unregulated movies were turning into a corrupting influence on society back in the ‘20s. I think it was Clara Bow (?) who had a famous swimming scene where you could see her nipples through her bathing suit. Those pre-Code movies are interesting because they still have that old school morality compared to today, but they were pushing the line on what could be shown. With the Hayes Code and the 1930s, that’s when the Casablanca-style movie morality you are thinking of comes in. Those movies still have the same adult themes and subjects, but they had to dance around it, leave a lot more to imagination, or use euphemisms.