Hays Code Breaker

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In 1931, a set of standardized guidelines of what was and was not considered acceptable in movies was introduced---this was commonly known as the Hays Code. There were no penalties for disobeying it, thus it was mostly ignored. Soon, however, religious groups pressured producers to conform their films to the Hays Code. In 1934, the Production Code Administration Office was established. Every script now had to be approved by the Hays office before it could be produced. From then on, producers took the Production Code seriously. The code lasted until 1968 when it was replaced by the MPAA rating system.

The head of photography at Columbia, A.L. Shafer, created the above photo that intentionally incorporated all of the items banned by the Hays Code into one image!

1. Law defeated

2. Inside of thigh exposed

3. Lace lingerie showing

4. Dead Man

5. Narcotics

6. Drinking

7. Exposed bosom

8. Gambling

9. Pointing a gun

10. Tommy Gun

Attributed: http://coilhouse.net/2010/02/one-vintage-photo-that-broke-ten-mpaa-rules/