Was the Hollywood of the past better?

[GtoRA2]

?
I am no expert on this, but I know that back in the 40s and 50s Hollywood had self imposed rules about what could and could not be in movies.

No sex(well overt), no profanity, no really gory violence.

This made the movies from them pretty mild, but still good.

I see movies like Sahara, or Hatari and they are great movies, nothing in them that I would think would be bad for kids to see, what do you all think?

[Frogm4n]

movies were bland and not all the depths of a story were told or could be told. of course now there are only about 1-2 movies a year worth going to see anyways.

[Rasker]

there was an organization called the Hays Office that the major studios set up in the early thirties to forestall federal and state regulation of the movie industry.  It prescribed standards such as:  A kissing couple on the sofa must have one foot on the floor at all times; married couples must have separate beds; and so forth.  If you ever come across some of the early talkies made in the pre-Hays period, you can definitely tell the difference between them and the post-Hays flicks.

[hawk220]

I think when they allowed boobies, they took a major leap forward in filmmaking:D

[Hajo]

Seriously........growing up in the 50's and 60s' and having parents of the age ( father fought in WW2) I got to see and appreciate movies and stars of the 40s' 50s' and 60s'.

One of the greatest years for movies was 1939 when Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz were released.  Those two movies today are still regarded as two of the greatest.

In 1969, Gone with the Wind was re-released to Movie Theaters to celebrate its' 30 year anniversary.  My date and myself went downtown to see GWTW.  At that time there were no Malls, and movie theaters were huge and ostentatious.  They were products of the Movie Moguls....Paramount Theater, the Warner Theater etc.  Huge Theaters with Crystal lights in the Lobby, double staircases with thick carpeting.....Ushers in uniforms etc.

We were seated and we'd never seen GWTW because it hadn't been on Televison.  The Movie started and Clark Gable didn't appear in the picture for a short while.  But I'll never forget this for the rest of my life.  When Clark Gable first appeared in the Movie...believe standing at bottom or top of staircase, leaning non-chalantly on the bannister the biggest sigh came from the audience in unison.  I was suprised.  Never heard that before in a Theater.  Mr Gable stature as an actor and ww2 participant also, elicited a heartfelt  response from the females in the Theater.

I've never heard that since.  I miss the Great Actors, like Jimmy Stewart, Mr Smith goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story etc. Spenser Tracy, The Old Man and the Sea, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper etc.  Jimmy Stewart flew B24s in WW2 I believe and was an Air Force General during the Cold War.


Don't get me wrong.....I like a lot of todays movies.  But most need to see some explicit violence and sex with great special effects to draw a crowd.  Hell I'm no prude....I'll cheer on a ganbang  But few Actors Today, (there are a few) Sean Connery, James Garner etc.  But I really do miss those who I thought showed great talent and class and earned the prestige of millions of the worlds movie goers.  OPPPs forgot to mention Henry Fonda, and The Duke!

[Montezuma]

Originally posted by GtoRA2
?
I am no expert on this, but I know that back in the 40s and 50s Hollywood had self imposed rules about what could and could not be in movies.

Starting in 1930 the 'Code' spelled out all of the things that were not allowed in movies.  Sex and violence were prohibited, as was any depection of sexual relations between the different races.  The 'Code' was adopted in response to censorship threats from Congress, but it was entirely industry 'self regulation' by the MPAA, sort of like the movie and video game ratings boards of today.  

Some wierd things resulted from the Code.  Nudity and skimpy clothes were prohibited unless 'esstential to the setting and the plot', and that is why there were so many Tarzan movies.  Sex symbolds like Mae West thought the Code threatened their careers.  'Film noirs' like Double Indemnity were thought to be pushing the limits of the Code.

The Code started to fall apart in the 1960s, I think Bonnie and Clyde was one of the first movies released without a Code 'seal'.  Then they got rid of the code and moved to the G, PG, R, X system.  There were actually a few 'real' movies released with an 'X' rating like Clockwork Orange, but once the letter was adopted as a badge of honor by the porn industry the MPAA stopped using it.