by Mark A. Vieira
Review by Cathleen Myers
This is not only a terrific coffee table book with lots of very provocative shots from Pre-Code (1930-1934) Hollywood films made back in the Golden Age before full-scale censorship almost ruined the art. It’s also a real page-turner and a valuable chapter in American History. You serious film buffs already know the story of the sinister rise of the Production Code Office, which put the American cinema - once so boldly experimental - in thrall for over three decades to an absurd set of rules regulating language and content - all in the interest of protecting America from non-Christian values, Communist conspiracy, and Hollywood immorality! But for those of you don’t know the story, Vieira’s book will be a real eye-opener.
In fact, though this is a serious book by a serious film scholar, the text is as interesting as a good pre-code movie and the many gorgeous stills are calculated to make you rush to Le Video to rent some of these controversial Pre-Code films. You will curse your luck that so many of them have been either destroyed or butchered beyond recognition by the censors. This book is, in short, a powerful argument against censorship of the arts.
