Will H. Hays

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Will H. Hays (1921)

William Harrison "Will" Hays (born November 5, 1879 in Sullivan , Sullivan County , Indiana , † March 7, 1954 ) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) and long-time president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA ). As such, he was also largely responsible for the so-called “ Hays Code ”, which censored Hollywood films for decades.

biography

Republican politician and minister of post

Hays, son of a lawyer, was also admitted to the Indiana state bar in 1900 after graduating from Wabash College . From 1918 to 1921 he was chairman of the Republican National Committee , which is responsible for coordinating fundraising , coordinating election campaign strategy , and developing and nationally representing the political positions of the entire party. In this role he was also the campaign manager for Warren G. Harding in the 1920 presidential election .

After the election, Harding's this called him on March 5, 1921 as Postmaster General ( Postmaster General ) in his Cabinet . Hays held this office for almost a year until March 4, 1922, when he had to resign because of his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal .

President of the MPPDA and the Hays Code

Caricature of Hays as "the savior of the film industry" (1922)

Subsequently, from 1922 to 1945, he was President of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), today's Motion Picture Association of America , which evaluates films and then decides for which target group and age group each film is suitable.

In the early years, Hollywood films often told stories that broke the social or political regulations of the time. A movie night could include topics such as nudity , vulgar language , illegal drugs, or BDSM . The film director William Desmond Taylor was murdered, Charles Chaplin had underage girls as lovers, Fatty Arbuckle was involved in a rape case which resulted in death, and a murder had occurred in the home of director and producer Cecil B. DeMille . Regardless of the truth, there was a growing perception that Hollywood was a “ den of sin ”, full of decadence , drugs, orgies , gambling , prostitution and rampant social decline.

By the early 1920s, some cities and states had censorship laws that allowed films to be reviewed before public performances and officials to cut out certain scenes from the film. At the same time, debates began in Congress about the introduction of a federal law to control film content. To evade this legislation, the film industry founded the Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) as an instrument for voluntary self-regulation of films.

Hays seemed very suitable for the office of president of the MPPDA, as he had already followed the mailing of pornographic material by the United States Postal Service with drastic criminal charges. Right at the beginning of his inauguration, the MPPDA office issued a black list with the names of film actors and employees who should no longer be employed by the film studios . At the same time, contract clauses on the morality of actors were introduced and a formal list of behavioral guidelines for film producers was published. Although actors and directors risked their careers if they did not obey these “don'ts” and “be carefuls” rules, the films continued to be criticized for lack of morality despite the regulations .

Following the formation of the Catholic League of Decency by the Catholic Church and emerging nationwide boycotts , on March 31, 1930, Hays issued a formal production code called the Hays Code . However, these rules did not contain any penalties until 1934, so few followed them. In fact, it came to the pre-code era, addressing issues such as sex and crime. Only then was it determined that films could not be published without certification by the MPPDA. After that, the Production Code was practically law in Hollywood.

Title page of the Hays Code (1930)

The Hays Code banned depictions of homosexuality , nudity, "ambiguous dances" and childbirth . In addition, each clergyman was to be represented in a serious and respected manner. Vulgarity, retribution, racial mixing , inappropriate language and "excessive and lustful kissing" also violated these rules. The Code also mandated that crime, adultery, or premarital sex should not appear in a positive light, and that the US government and its employment should be seen as nothing more than a force for good.

In practice, for the film industry for around 30 years, this meant that evil was always convicted and the good hero received nothing more than a kiss. Ultimately, the Hays Code also meant an impairment of art in film, as the choice of filmmakers was limited. On the other hand, the production code meant that films could ultimately be watched by the whole family without hesitation. Shortly after Hays resigned in 1945, the MPPDA changed its name to MPAA. This introduced a new rating system in the 1960s .

He made film history in 1926 when Warner Brothers for the film "Don Juan" with John Barrymore for the first time added individual passages of the film to an extra sound carrier with dialogues spoken by Hays. The success of the project laid the foundation for the sound film . On the cover of Time Magazine on September 13, 1926, Hays appeared with the title "Filmkönig" (Movie Monarch).

In 1955 his autobiography appeared posthumously under the title "The Memoirs of Will H. Hays".

The Hays Mountains in Antarctica bear his name.

literature

  • Una McGovern (Ed.): Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers, Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2 , p. 697.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hays, Will H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hays, William Harrison (full name); Hays, Will (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and manager in the film industry
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Sullivan , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1954
Place of death Sullivan , Indiana