Perhaps you’ve heard the term Pre-Code film but didn’t know exactly what it meant. The “Code,” also referred to as the Hays Code, was named after Will Hays who was hired to “clean up” the movies after their early sin-city image took hold during the late 1920s. Enforcement was lax prior to 1934. Filmmakers continued to make “naughty” films from 1929 through the end of 1933, but disguised them as “nice,” using various, mostly transparent, techniques. It was easy for audiences to mentally fill in between the lines and figure out the real message of these very popular films. By early 1934, enforcement really began. Fortunately, lots of these Pre-Code movies were preserved so we can examine them in a new and different framework. Many of them set the ground work for incidents that propelled the Me-Too movement because of how women were portrayed. The most famous of those films, Baby Doll, starring a young Barbara Stanwyck, was the catalyst for stricter regulations. PLEASE NOTE: This series includes a bonus film, presented on Thursday, October 17, in your regular enrolled time slot (1:30pm or 7 pm).
Presenting Sponsor: Roberta G. Olsen
Supporting Sponsors: Connie and Don Patterson, Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Unruh, Jr.
Patron Sponsors: Herb and Vicki Aspbury, Ann Bowling Endowment for Film, Sue and Charlie Thomas
Additional Support: Rehmann, Financial and Business Advisory Services
Special thanks to Mrs. Helen Stone for her support of the Film program.