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