Background Information for Teachers
The banning of public forms of entertainment, whether through theater or film, was nothing new to Pennsylvania. The First Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia in 1774 banned all theatrical performances "and other expensive diversions and entertainments" as a wartime measure. The prohibition would remain in place until 1789. But Pennsylvania would revisit this type of ban again in 1911, this time focusing on the new medium - film.
Established under P.L. 1067 signed by Governor John Kinley Tener on June 19, 1911, the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors was the first such body in the United States and also one of the strictest. It was responsible for reviewing all films prior to release in Pennsylvania and with approving only "such [films] as shall be moral, and to withhold approval from such as shall tend to debase or corrupt the morals." Though the Board was funded in April 1913, Governor Tener did not appoint the first board members until 1914. The initial law was amended by P.L. 534, the Act of May 15, 1915, to increase the Board from two to twenty-two members. The size of the paid staff fluctuated throughout the Board's history and it maintained offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. Almost all film screening took place in the Philadelphia office, with the Harrisburg office providing fiscal supervision and the Pittsburgh office distributing the seals of approval or disapproval for films shown in Western Pennsylvania.
Ohio and Kansas soon followed Pennsylvania's lead, adopting similar boards in 1913. In 1915, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the Ohio law giving government the right to censor films. At that time, the Supreme Court limited its free-speech consideration to the guarantees contained in the Ohio Constitution and concluded that movies were an entertainment medium distributed for a profit and not a protected form of communication.
It was this 1915 decision which opened the doors to local censorship boards nationwide. The first national censorship board began in 1922 with the creation of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association under the direction of former U.S. Postmaster General, William Hays.
The State Censorship Board required that all films submitted for review be accompanied by scripts, and foreign films had to have notarized affidavits swearing that their translations were accurate. Section twenty-two of the Standards of the Board required all movie advertising to meet the same standards as the film itself. Records at the State Archives that only cover fiscal year 1935 through 1949 reveal that the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors reviewed a total of 24,235 films during that period. During that same period, the Board ordered that eliminations be made in 2,226 different films and banned seventy-six films outright.
The extensive list of specifically banned subject matter included prostitution or "white slavery," seduction or assault of women or young girls, graphic depiction of (or subtitles describing) childbirth, the use of illegal drugs, the modus operandi of criminal activity, gruesome scenes, nudity or sexually suggestive use of exposed body parts, birth control, eugenics, abortion, venereal disease, men and women living together without benefit of marriage, adultery, sensual kissing or lovemaking, lewd or immodest bathing or dancing, sexually suggestive use of cigarettes by women, exhibition of women in night dresses, brutality, drunkenness, excessive use of gunplay and knives in an underworld setting, counterfeiting, lynching, ridiculing of races or social groups, irreverent or sacrilegious treatment of religion, themes that established "false standards of conduct or inflamed the mind to undertake improper adventures," use of profane or objectionable language, or vulgarities of a gross kind such as often appeared in slapstick and other screen comedies. Banners and posters used to advertise motion pictures were required to meet the same standards.
When the Board determined that scenes should be removed, the film distributor was notified that changes were necessary and the Board would generally work with the film company in finding ways to edit out offensive material or restructure the film. The Sunset Strip Case, also known as the Sunset Murder Case, was approved for viewing in Pennsylvania only after a number of scenes were removed. Several of the eliminations are listed on the Board's Eliminations sheet dated December 1, 1938. The advertising handbill depicting Sally Rand in costume for her "Dance of the Peacocks" in the movie Sunset Strip Case is clearly marked as disapproved.
The film Ecstasy was originally produced and released in Czechoslovakia in 1933. It stars Hedy Lamarr in her pre-Hollywood days as a young bride who discovers that her husband is impotent. She has an affair with another man and is shown in the nude for extended scenes. Pennsylvania's Board of Censors banned the film the day after it was first received on July 27, 1936. In May 1939, the film was again "rejected on the grounds that the ecstasy referred to is the ecstasy of immoral relations; also rejected on the grounds of a nude woman appearing in the picture and that the entire theme of the picture is immoral and indecent." In fact, the film was disapproved on four separate occasions in 1939 and again in 1940 and 1941. It was not until December 1942, that Ecstasy was finally approved for screening in Pennsylvania after numerous eliminations were made of scenes deemed "not moral nor proper." In the approved 1942 version, "the entire sequence of nudity was completely taken out as were the cabin scenes of passion." This controversial film played throughout Pennsylvania in January 1943. However, the Board of Censors once again saw fit to ban Ecstasy on March 2, 1948. The Certificate of Censorship - Not Approved is the official notice that was sent to the Eureka Productions notifying it that Ecstasy was again banned from being shown in the Commonwealth. It is possible that an uncut print had begun circulating, and that it was this version that prompted the Board to once again ban the film.
Even when the Board of Censors did not order any changes or eliminations to a film, it nonetheless influenced the film industry since all motion pictures exhibited in Pennsylvania were required to display the Board's stamp or seal of approval on screen for four feet of film. Pennsylvania's State Board of Censors believed that it was protecting individual citizens from harmful, salacious and violent subject matter and was particularly concerned about the negative impact that such movies could have on children. The reign of state censorship boards in the United States came to an end as a result of a series of court decisions grounded upon the free speech provision of the First Amendment during the 1950s and 1960s. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Pennsylvania's law unconstitutional on March 13, 1956.
Established under P.L. 1067 signed by Governor John Kinley Tener on June 19, 1911, the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors was the first such body in the United States and also one of the strictest. It was responsible for reviewing all films prior to release in Pennsylvania and with approving only "such [films] as shall be moral, and to withhold approval from such as shall tend to debase or corrupt the morals." Though the Board was funded in April 1913, Governor Tener did not appoint the first board members until 1914. The initial law was amended by P.L. 534, the Act of May 15, 1915, to increase the Board from two to twenty-two members. The size of the paid staff fluctuated throughout the Board's history and it maintained offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. Almost all film screening took place in the Philadelphia office, with the Harrisburg office providing fiscal supervision and the Pittsburgh office distributing the seals of approval or disapproval for films shown in Western Pennsylvania.
Ohio and Kansas soon followed Pennsylvania's lead, adopting similar boards in 1913. In 1915, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the Ohio law giving government the right to censor films. At that time, the Supreme Court limited its free-speech consideration to the guarantees contained in the Ohio Constitution and concluded that movies were an entertainment medium distributed for a profit and not a protected form of communication.
It was this 1915 decision which opened the doors to local censorship boards nationwide. The first national censorship board began in 1922 with the creation of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association under the direction of former U.S. Postmaster General, William Hays.
The State Censorship Board required that all films submitted for review be accompanied by scripts, and foreign films had to have notarized affidavits swearing that their translations were accurate. Section twenty-two of the Standards of the Board required all movie advertising to meet the same standards as the film itself. Records at the State Archives that only cover fiscal year 1935 through 1949 reveal that the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors reviewed a total of 24,235 films during that period. During that same period, the Board ordered that eliminations be made in 2,226 different films and banned seventy-six films outright.
The extensive list of specifically banned subject matter included prostitution or "white slavery," seduction or assault of women or young girls, graphic depiction of (or subtitles describing) childbirth, the use of illegal drugs, the modus operandi of criminal activity, gruesome scenes, nudity or sexually suggestive use of exposed body parts, birth control, eugenics, abortion, venereal disease, men and women living together without benefit of marriage, adultery, sensual kissing or lovemaking, lewd or immodest bathing or dancing, sexually suggestive use of cigarettes by women, exhibition of women in night dresses, brutality, drunkenness, excessive use of gunplay and knives in an underworld setting, counterfeiting, lynching, ridiculing of races or social groups, irreverent or sacrilegious treatment of religion, themes that established "false standards of conduct or inflamed the mind to undertake improper adventures," use of profane or objectionable language, or vulgarities of a gross kind such as often appeared in slapstick and other screen comedies. Banners and posters used to advertise motion pictures were required to meet the same standards.
When the Board determined that scenes should be removed, the film distributor was notified that changes were necessary and the Board would generally work with the film company in finding ways to edit out offensive material or restructure the film. The Sunset Strip Case, also known as the Sunset Murder Case, was approved for viewing in Pennsylvania only after a number of scenes were removed. Several of the eliminations are listed on the Board's Eliminations sheet dated December 1, 1938. The advertising handbill depicting Sally Rand in costume for her "Dance of the Peacocks" in the movie Sunset Strip Case is clearly marked as disapproved.
The film Ecstasy was originally produced and released in Czechoslovakia in 1933. It stars Hedy Lamarr in her pre-Hollywood days as a young bride who discovers that her husband is impotent. She has an affair with another man and is shown in the nude for extended scenes. Pennsylvania's Board of Censors banned the film the day after it was first received on July 27, 1936. In May 1939, the film was again "rejected on the grounds that the ecstasy referred to is the ecstasy of immoral relations; also rejected on the grounds of a nude woman appearing in the picture and that the entire theme of the picture is immoral and indecent." In fact, the film was disapproved on four separate occasions in 1939 and again in 1940 and 1941. It was not until December 1942, that Ecstasy was finally approved for screening in Pennsylvania after numerous eliminations were made of scenes deemed "not moral nor proper." In the approved 1942 version, "the entire sequence of nudity was completely taken out as were the cabin scenes of passion." This controversial film played throughout Pennsylvania in January 1943. However, the Board of Censors once again saw fit to ban Ecstasy on March 2, 1948. The Certificate of Censorship - Not Approved is the official notice that was sent to the Eureka Productions notifying it that Ecstasy was again banned from being shown in the Commonwealth. It is possible that an uncut print had begun circulating, and that it was this version that prompted the Board to once again ban the film.
Even when the Board of Censors did not order any changes or eliminations to a film, it nonetheless influenced the film industry since all motion pictures exhibited in Pennsylvania were required to display the Board's stamp or seal of approval on screen for four feet of film. Pennsylvania's State Board of Censors believed that it was protecting individual citizens from harmful, salacious and violent subject matter and was particularly concerned about the negative impact that such movies could have on children. The reign of state censorship boards in the United States came to an end as a result of a series of court decisions grounded upon the free speech provision of the First Amendment during the 1950s and 1960s. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Pennsylvania's law unconstitutional on March 13, 1956.
