RetroIndy: Will Hays set Hollywood morals standards
The motion picture industry found itself in scandals that rivaled the story lines of the movies it produced.
Will Hays was known to many Hoosiers as the "Son of Sullivan," but those in Hollywood knew him as the "movie morals czar."
William Harrison Hays was born Nov. 5, 1879 in Sullivan, Ind. After graduating from Wabash College in 1900, he joined his father in the Hays and Hays law firm in Sullivan. At the age of 38, he became chairman of the national Republican Party and served from 1918-1921. He was a close confidant and adviser to four presidents, serving as manager of Warren G. Harding's successful 1920 presidential campaign.
Harding rewarded Hays by appointing him postmaster general, a job he held for one year until he resigned to take a job as president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America.
The motion picture industry was well aware of the public's lack of acceptance of motion pictures. As the silent era gave way to "talkies," moviegoers were shocked at the language they had never before heard uttered on the screen. Films included risque language and behavior including violence, infidelity, prostitution, drug use and sexual innuendo. The industry also suffered from scandal. The most famous was the rape and murder of actress Virginia Rappe involving film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. He was acquitted after a third trial, but Hollywood's image had been tarnished.
Hays was cast to clean up the industry. Some argued that the appointment of the conservative, Midwestern Presbyterian was nothing more than a move to appease those critical of the industry. But Hays was determined to represent the interests of movie industry while setting standards of decency. He held the job for 24 years.
During the 1920s, known as pre-code Hollywood, many states adopted censorship boards, in part because what was acceptable in New York, may not have been acceptable in Iowa or Nebraska. Indiana tried unsuccessfully, for several years, to push a measure through the state legislature. Studios paid state boardsaccording to how many cuts were required to a the movie — duration of a kiss, child abuse, too much flesh shown — and each movie had to adhere to each state's censorship rules.
Hays proposed industry self-censorship to keep costs down when the movie went to the state boards. Among the items on "don't's" and "be carefuls" lists were: No white slavery, no ridicule of religions, no silhouettes of nudity, surgical operations could not be portrayed, no sympathy for criminals and be careful about dynamiting trains. The recommendations had little to no enforcement.
In 1929, the motion picture industry agreed to the production code of standards submitted to the studios by a group of Catholic leaders known as the Legion of Decency, who also threatened a Catholic boycott of unfit movies. While Hays did not write the code, he approved and implemented the standards and enforcement, which prevented federal intervention into the movie business. Nevertheless, the production code is often referred to as the Hayes Code.
The Motion Picture Association of America dropped the out-of-date Hays Code in 1966 and adopted the current movie rating system.
After his retirement in 1945, Hays returned to Sullivan were he practiced law until his death in 1954.
His son, Will Hays Jr., served two-terms as mayor of Crawfordsville from 1965-1973. He also was a script writer for the television program "This Is Your Life," and he taught creative writing at Wabash College. In 1994, he wrote, "Come Home With Me Now," an exchange of correspondences between him and his famous father. He died in 2000.
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Dawn Mitchell is a fan of classic movies, her favorite is the pre-code classic "The Thin Man." Follow her on Twitter: @dawn_mitchell61.