Cine-matters

Cracking the Code:
Will Hays and the Pursuit of Hollywood Morality

The so-called “Roaring Twenties” brought the film industry into a state of uproar.  Barely beyond its infant stages, the new, experimental medium threatened to collapse in the face of scandal.

Gossip columns went wild upon discovering that actress Mary Pickford, recently christened “America’s Sweetheart,” had divorced her husband and married the younger Douglas Fairbanks within a matter of weeks.  Fatty Arbuckle, the classic silent slapstick comedian, was falsely accused of raping and murdering young starlet Virginia Rappe.

Although Arbuckle was later acquitted, the damage was done—the trust between the filmmakers and the audience had been severely breached.

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