The Hays Code , or the Motion Picture Production Code is a set of rules that were enforced onto all films from 1930 to 1968. This was done to ensure that "no picture produced would lower the standards of those who see it." Some of the things excluded from American cinema for the next couple of decades or so were:
· Adultery
· Sexual perversion
· Miscegenation
· Illegal drug traffic
· Explicit violence
· Revenge justified
· Crime going unpunished
American films were not allowed to be produced and screened unless they earned the seal of approval, granted to them after the screenplay had been scrutinised. For this reason, the screening of film noirs, which are renowned for their dabbling with crime and sexual themes, such as Double Indemnity was especially hard.
Double Indemnity was originally unapproved by the Hays Office for being too “sordid”. Eight years later it was dismissed again but director Billy Wilder decided to produce a film treatment anyway. This time the only objections that the Hays Office had were the dumping of a body, a gas-chamber execution scene and Phyllis wearing nothing but a towel in one of the scenes.
When scripting Double Indemnity, screenwriters Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler had to overcome the challenge of adhering to the Hays Code while still showing the mutual attraction between Walter and Phyllis and portraying the darker themes such as murdering Mr Dietrichson. They successfully managed to do this by including sex innuendoes and witty dialogue, for example, to show Walter and Phyllis flirting. The dialogue has gone on to become one of the most outstanding characteristics of the film.
Another example of Wilder and Chandler adhering to the Hays Code and still maintain the aspects of film noir is the alternate ending. The original ending of the novel had Phyllis and Walter committing double suicide. However, the Hays Office objected to this because suicide was among one the things that were not allowed to be screened. He then shot a scene that had Walter walking into a gas chamber after talking to Keyes but changed his mind later when he saw that the conversation between Walter and Keyes was enough. The omission of the gas chamber scene, thjough it was already shot and proved to be the most expensive scene, removed the biggest objection that the Hays Office had to the film.
The PCA can be seen as a controlling power, which distorts the original themes that would question the ways of society. Once we understand the circumstances under which the Double Indemnity was made, we can truly appreciate the beauty of the film. The making of one of the most important film noirs of all time while still adhering to the Hays Code adds a beauty to the film that would have been lost if it were shot in our day.
The PCA can be seen as a controlling power, which distorts the original themes that would question the ways of society. Once we understand the circumstances under which the Double Indemnity was made, we can truly appreciate the beauty of the film. The making of one of the most important film noirs of all time while still adhering to the Hays Code adds a beauty to the film that would have been lost if it were shot in our day.
· Adultery
· Sexual perversion
· Miscegenation
· Illegal drug traffic
· Explicit violence
· Revenge justified
· Crime going unpunished
American films were not allowed to be produced and screened unless they earned the seal of approval, granted to them after the screenplay had been scrutinised. For this reason, the screening of film noirs, which are renowned for their dabbling with crime and sexual themes, such as Double Indemnity was especially hard.
Double Indemnity was originally unapproved by the Hays Office for being too “sordid”. Eight years later it was dismissed again but director Billy Wilder decided to produce a film treatment anyway. This time the only objections that the Hays Office had were the dumping of a body, a gas-chamber execution scene and Phyllis wearing nothing but a towel in one of the scenes.
When scripting Double Indemnity, screenwriters Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler had to overcome the challenge of adhering to the Hays Code while still showing the mutual attraction between Walter and Phyllis and portraying the darker themes such as murdering Mr Dietrichson. They successfully managed to do this by including sex innuendoes and witty dialogue, for example, to show Walter and Phyllis flirting. The dialogue has gone on to become one of the most outstanding characteristics of the film.
Another example of Wilder and Chandler adhering to the Hays Code and still maintain the aspects of film noir is the alternate ending. The original ending of the novel had Phyllis and Walter committing double suicide. However, the Hays Office objected to this because suicide was among one the things that were not allowed to be screened. He then shot a scene that had Walter walking into a gas chamber after talking to Keyes but changed his mind later when he saw that the conversation between Walter and Keyes was enough. The omission of the gas chamber scene, thjough it was already shot and proved to be the most expensive scene, removed the biggest objection that the Hays Office had to the film.
The PCA can be seen as a controlling power, which distorts the original themes that would question the ways of society. Once we understand the circumstances under which the Double Indemnity was made, we can truly appreciate the beauty of the film. The making of one of the most important film noirs of all time while still adhering to the Hays Code adds a beauty to the film that would have been lost if it were shot in our day.
The PCA can be seen as a controlling power, which distorts the original themes that would question the ways of society. Once we understand the circumstances under which the Double Indemnity was made, we can truly appreciate the beauty of the film. The making of one of the most important film noirs of all time while still adhering to the Hays Code adds a beauty to the film that would have been lost if it were shot in our day.