Tame the Lust, and Cover the Blood

Paper by Cecilia Gonzalez. Viewed on DVD.

What do you get when you get quality cinematography, storyline, actors, and directing combined into one film? It’s as simple as saying, film noir. There are various debates as to what classifies a film specifically as film noir. It’s list of traits and characteristics can be applied to many story lines, but it’s a select storyline along with traits such as lighting, camera angles, tailored costume design, and sounds that officially classify a film as film noir. It’s this dark and mysterious genre that has grasped my attention, had me sitting at the edge of my seat, and influence filmmaking from the time it was born. Starting in the thirties and going strong up into the sixties, the classics were mastered and became admired and watched by many during this era known as, “the classic era”.

Films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), The Big Heat (1953), and Touch of Evil (1958) had transformed films from then on. These outstanding films faced a variety of challenges and obstacles in order to become what they are today. Some, such as Double Indemnity were at risk of not being made, until they were—eight years after its screenplay was written. A long list of strictly enforced laws and regulations limited the mis-en-scene that was exposed or presented by the filmmakers of these films. Certain intimate scenes were unacceptable, violence was kept extremely minimal, and certain language was forbidden. All this was enforced in the 1930s by a code that was introduced—which put many restrictions on the content of films that was presentable. It pushed many filmmaker’s creatively in the craft of filmmaking. But because of them, today many filmmakers have been influenced by those films that were able to meet the challenges of the code, and exceed the expectations of what is known as a good film noir.

The code wasn’t just a list of requirements that filmmakers kept by their side during production. They were as specific as commandments, so much so that they became known, as stated by Stephen Weinberger as,, “the Ten Commandments of the film industry, and were created by Daniel Lord, a Jesuit and professor at St. Louis University, and Martin Quingley, a prominent Catholic layman and publisher of the Motion Picture Herald” (Weinberger, 380). Although they were created by Lord and Quingley, they were enforced by a very stern and dedicated man to his job, and to the Production Code department. His name was Joseph Ignatius Breen. It was Joseph (Joe) who pushed filmmakers creatively to the very edge of the steepest cliff in Hollywood, and delayed the release of some excellent films, while leaving us with the mystery of what else we could have seen. Although we may have missed having the pleasure of watching some other extraordinary film noirs, Weiberger quotes R. Schickel, and pleasantly states, “Being happy with some of what we have is not the same as being pleased about everything we missed” (Weinberger, 384).

The Production Code, also known as the Hays Code because of its creator William H. Hays, was extremely restrictive: its specific rules mainly concentrated on sex, as stated by Ballinger and Graydon from The Rough Guide to Film Noir, “Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown” (Ballinger, and Graydon, 7) . Sex was not the only targeted action that was regarded as unacceptable for films, but violence as well. For instance, as stated in The Rough Guide to Film Noir, “The technique of murder must not be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation” (Ballinger, and Graydon, 7). These were just some of the examples of what was enforced by Mr. Joe Breen. The main focus of the Production Code that Breen emphasized was that, “No picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it” (Weinberger, 380).

Many films were affected by Breen’s dedication to the Code. One especially being the famously known, Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944). The film was not expected to be as successful as it became. In the beginning of the production process as stated by Sheri Biesen in her article titled, “Censorship, Film Noir, and Double Indemnity” “…practically no one—neither studio, nor star—wanted to be involved with it” (Biesen, 381). This film was able to persevere through its little expectations of success, and become one of the most successful and admired films of all time. As stated by Biesen, “Indeed, Double Indemnity was both influenced by the Production Code, and influenced how the Code was applied (or not applied) to later films” (Biesen, 381). If It hadn’t been for James M. Cains dedication to his story for Double Indemnity he wouldn’t have been able to make the film eight years after Breen banned it, with Paramount studio to back it up.

So, how were they able to finally get the quality of this film just right? As stated by Biesen, “First, the hard-boiled fiction tradition which flourished in America during the Depression, combined the equally significant impact of wartime conditions, overrode the Production Code’s constraints on the studio production process…..this restriction helped produce the dark visual and narrative qualities which would become identified with film noir” (Biesen, 381). The dark visual qualities included in films such as Double Indemnity weren’t the only ones that became identified with film noir, but characteristic such as, corruption within an industry, disillusion amongst people, betrayal, forbidden love, and crime. But, because of the rules of the production code, no crime had gone without showing punishment to the criminal, and no passion for love had become lustful.

For Example, Double Indemnity’s story focuses on a romance between Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson. Although they love each other, they can’t be together because Mrs. Dietrichson is married to a mean, Mr. Dietrichson. As a result of their unconditional love for one another Neff and Dietrichson plan to kill Mr. Dietrichson so they could be together and collect the insurance money from the murder, in the hopes that they don’t get caught. Because of the enforcement of the regulations of the Production Code, these two criminals were not to go without a punishment. Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson experienced a punishment with one another that allowed them to be together forever.

In Cain’s original story from his novel Neff and Dietrichson flee the country with no retribution for their crime. Breen didn’t approve of this idea so, in an effort to comply to the Code’s objections to the original ending, the director (Billy Wilder), according to Biesen, had spent $4,695 dollars on a set to build a gas chamber for the execution of the criminals. Also according to Biesen, “ After the PCA had viewed the new scene, they had determined the “whole sequence in death chamber to be very questionable in its present form…specifically the details of the execution…are unduly gruesome to the Code.” (Biesen, 48). Both the director Billy Wilder and writer James M. Cain were able to make a compromised decision that would benefit the quality of the films conclusion, and meet the requirements of the Code.

Many of the film noir films were based around the theme of romance. Romance films today are very explicit in their ways of showing romance between two people. Scenes can be very graphic with their sexual content. During the time of the Production Code, no sexual content was allowed. Passion between two characters had to be presented in more subtle ways, such as through verbal expressions, and subtle kissing. That’s not to say that passion was not presented well in films compared to ones of today. The verbal passion played a strong role in expressing to the audience that two characters wanted and needed each other, and would go to great lengths to be together. Something as simple as was stated between Mr. Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) and Mrs. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). Twenty-five minutes into the movie Walter grabs Phyllis by the arm, and pulls her close to him and says, “I’m crazy about you baby” Phyllis then hugs him and says, “I’m crazy about you Walter”. It’s these short yet simple statements that expressed so much passion for each character to one another that presented to the audience that these two people were indeed crazy for each other. From that moment on they were going to make sure that they would be together—no matter what it took.

So much of what characterized a good film noir, which included violence, murder, illicit lovers, and corruption were all traits that had become forbidden, and not underestimated. They were carefully looked for in the scripts that were submitted to studios and then to most importantly, Joe Breen and the Production Code for approval. For instance, as stated in Censorship, Film Noir, and Double Indemnity, “[Once] James M. Cain had completed his screenplay for Double Indemnity in 1935, he had sent the first copy to producer Lawrence Weingarten at MGM, who according to Cain, had expressed interest” (Biesen, 43). But unfortunately, Biesen also stated, “Cain’s opportunity to sell Double Indemnity—and the studios’ interest in producing it—was blocked when Breen read it and launched his unambiguous rejection on October 10, 1935” (Biesen, 43). In the end, all the filmmakers came to know Joe Breen as the man with the final say on the production and release of their films.

In this letter, Breen sent a response to all of the major studios who had showed interest in the film, such as Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros, and Columbia Pictures and stated that, “Cain’s original story violated the Production Code which “compelled [him] to reject” any consideration of it for studio production. His detailed account of violations include “murder”, (illicit) “lovers”, the story’s “violent” nature, as well as its criminal’s confession to the [insurance] agent who withholds information”—all in all, characterizing the story as “a gross miscarriage of justice” (Biesen, 43). It was because of these challenges and obstacles that Breen had placed before the filmmakers and production companies that forced filmmakers to figure out a way to get their movie made, while using implied forms of expression in romance, violence, and crime.

Crime is another dimension of film noir that makes this genre so captivating. It’s a moment when you may think everything is going fine, until someone gets killed. For instance, in Fritz Lang’s murder-mystery The Big Heat which seeks to uncover the death of Tom Duncan, and then the protagonist’s wife, Kate whom is killed in a dynamite incident—where dynamite was placed in her car, and kills her. Prior to the incident everything among the Bannion family seemed to be going fine. Dave Bannion was happily reading a bedtime story to his daughter when he suddenly hears an explosion. He runs out the door, only to see his car in his driveway partially on fire, with his wife in it. He rapidly tries to break the driver’s door open to pull out Kate. When he finally gets to her, an unconscious Kate is lying in Dave’s arms. In an explosion as horrible as that one that occurred, you would suspect there to be some blood and scratches on Kate, but because of the restrictions of the Production Code at that time, those details had become implicit to the mis-en-scene of the film.

Compared to films of today where violent events are explicitly shown in great detail, gruesome details were held back during the “classic film era”. Today films where crime becomes the center of the plot, blood is shown frequently, and becomes a concentrated part of the film. The details in films today such as blood, make for a more suspenseful feel in a movie because it makes the scene more gruesome, detailed, and unexpected. In films such as The Big Heat, or Double Indemnity where someone gets shot, the crime is the main focus of the story. Even though the Production Code affected the look of many films during the thirties—it effected them more positively then negatively. Leaving the gruesome details during a death to the imagination, allowed the audience to focus on the event occurring before them.

In a film such as The Big Heat where crime and death play a large role in the plot, the blood may have been a distraction to the scene. For instance, in the end when Debby Marsh is shot and killed by Vince, she is clearly wounded, but isn’t bleeding. Instead they show her sweating, her eyes gradually opening and closing, and talking while taking deep breaths. If Debby had been bleeding during that scene, the blood form a gun shot wound would have distracted the audience from the questions she was asking Dave, and what Dave was saying in response. Also, in a scene as deep as that one, something as simple yet graphic as blood would have distracted the viewer from Debby’s character. She played the role of the femme fetal, but was showing how much she cared about the male protagonist, even though she had started on the antagonists side in the beginning.

Even though crime was a highly regulated subject—next to sex, it was to be presented in a very specific way. For instance, in The Big Heat where the story is based around a suicide and a murder, the challenges faced for the filmmakers was double the work. For instance, as stated by Stephen Prince in his book titled, Classic Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood 1930-1968, as stated in section 5 of Appendix A, “Suicide, as a solution of problems occurring in the development of screen drama, is to be discouraged as morally questionable and as bad theatre—unless absolutely necessary for the development of the plot” (Prince, 302). If the idea of suicide hadn’t been accepted for the story in The Big Heat, it would have become a completely different film. But, it’s because they were able to imply the idea of suicide around the story so well, that it was acceptable to the standards of the Production Code

The Production Code was trying to instill positive moral traits into its audience by enforcing positive moral messages in its films. Although it achieved that, it also introduced an audience to a collection of quality films that always had a good message and lesson to learn from. From these films, watching movies became the extraordinary experience so many enjoy today. And amongst all the magnificent writing, directing, cinematography, acting, and editing there may be some hidden truths in the implicit details presented. It’s all those qualities that make this dark genre based on corruption, forbidden love, mystery, and crime that makes this the classic genre of today. The film industry was positively impacted because it was able to conquer its many challenges it faced in various events such as, from the Production Code, the Great Depression, and times of war. It became influenced by these various significant historical events, while creatively inspiring the filmmakers of then, and of today from what had come of those great filmmakers.

Bibliography:

1.) The Rough Guide to Film Noir by Aldexander Balinger and Danny Graydon
Balinger, Alexander, and Danny Graydon. The Rough Guide to Film Noir. London: Rough Guides Limited, 2007. 7. Print.

2.) Film Violence: Designing and Regulating brutality in Hollywood crime, 1930- 1968 by Stephen Prince—Google books
Prince, Stephen. Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood cinema, 1930-1968. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2003. 302.