Loading Page
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema(2007)
Status: Released
Date: 2007-05-23
49%
4 Votes
Time: 1h 10m
Overview:
Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.
Languages: English.
Countries:
United States of America
ProductionCompanies: 
A&F Productions
Movie: Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Top 10 Billed Cast
Diane Lane
Narrator (voice)
Leatrice Joy Gilbert
Self
A.C. Lyles
Self
Maria Riva
Self
HomePage
Overview
Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.
Release Date
2007-05-23
Average
4.9
Rating:
2.5 startsTagline
Genres
Languages:
EnglishKeywords
Recommendations Movies
74%
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead(en)
2009-04-11
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
78%
Doctor Who: Last Christmas(en)
2014-12-25
The Doctor and Clara face their Last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus!
68%
Step Up 3D(en)
2010-08-04
A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke and Natalie, team up with NYU freshman Moose, and find themselves pitted against the world's best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.
60%
Object: Alimony(en)
1928-12-22
Ruth Butler, a clerk in an emporium, marries Jimmy Rutledge and thereby greatly displeases his mother, the owner of the emporium, because of Ruth's lowly origins. Renaud Graham, one of Mrs. Rutledge's friends, becomes interested in Ruth, forces his way into her apartment, and attempts to make violent love to her. Jimmy walks in on their embrace and, suspecting the worst, leaves Ruth. In the family way, Ruth finds refuge in a boardinghouse where she meets Al Bryant, an aspiring writer. Ruth tells Al her life story, and he makes it into a bestselling novel and then into a play. Jimmy sees the play and comes to his senses, winning Ruth's forgiveness.
77%
Doctor Who: The Snowmen(en)
2012-12-25
The Doctor has retired to 1892 London. Despite the protests of his allies, he is determined to keep out of mankind's affairs. However, a governess named Clara has stumbled upon a plot which only the Doctor can unravel, involving the death of her predecessor in ice and the sinister Dr. Simeon, who controls monsters made of sentient snow. And there is another mystery afoot: Clara is the spitting image of Oswin Oswald, whom the Doctor saw die in the Dalek asylum...
64%
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones(en)
2013-08-21
In New York City, Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary teenager, learns that she is descended from a line of Shadowhunters — half-angel warriors who protect humanity from evil forces. After her mother disappears, Clary joins forces with a group of Shadowhunters and enters Downworld, an alternate realm filled with demons, vampires, and a host of other creatures. Clary and her companions must find and protect an ancient cup that holds the key to her mother's future.
81%
Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor(en)
2013-12-25
Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe's deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.
60%
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice(en)
2016-03-23
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
56%
Max Steel(en)
2016-10-14
The adventures of teenager Max McGrath and alien companion Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged superhero Max Steel.
74%
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor(en)
2008-12-25
The Doctor arrives in Victorian London. It's Christmas, but snow isn't the only thing descending on the tranquil and jubilant civilization, as familiar silver giants from an alternate reality are amassing in numbers. The Cybermen are on the move again, and the only beings who can stop them are the Doctor and... another Doctor?
59%
Sinister 2(en)
2015-08-19
A young mother and her twin sons move into a rural house that's marked for death.
65%
Pitch Perfect 3(en)
2017-12-20
After the highs of winning the world championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.
64%
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song(en)
2011-09-05
In this modern telling of the classic tale, aspiring singer Katie Gibbs falls for the new boy at her performing arts high school. But Katie's wicked stepmother and stepsister are scheming to crush her dream before she can sing her way into his heart.
60%
Till Luck Do Us: Part 3(pt)
2015-12-31
After waking from a coma, Tino learns his future in-laws have given him a high-powered financial job, for which he is woefully unqualified.
61%
Into the Storm(en)
2014-08-06
As a new day begins in the town of Silverton, its residents have little reason to believe it will be anything other than ordinary. Mother Nature, however has other plans. In the span of just a few hours, an unprecedented onslaught of powerful tornadoes ravages Silverton. Storm trackers predict that the worst is still to come, as terrified residents seek shelter, and professional storm-chasers run toward the danger, hoping to study the phenomenon close up and get a once-in-a-lifetime shot.
69%
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2(en)
2015-11-18
With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale, Finnick, and Peeta – Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.
52%
Ratter(en)
2015-01-24
Emma is a young and beautiful graduate student just starting a new life in New York City. Like most people her age, she is always connected - her phone and laptop are constant companions, documenting her most intimate moments. What she doesn't realize is that she's sharing her life with an uninvited and dangerous guest. A hacker is following Emma’s every move. When the voyeuristic thrill of watching her digitally isn't enough, the situation escalates to a dangerous and terrifying level.
69%
Pitch Perfect 2(en)
2015-05-07
The Bellas are back, and they are better than ever. After being humiliated in front of none other than the President of the United States of America, the Bellas are taken out of the Aca-Circuit. In order to clear their name, and regain their status, the Bellas take on a seemingly impossible task: winning an international competition no American team has ever won. In order to accomplish this monumental task, they need to strengthen the bonds of friendship and sisterhood and blow away the competition with their amazing aca-magic! With all new friends and old rivals tagging along for the trip, the Bellas can hopefully accomplish their dreams.
60%
Wilson(en)
2017-03-24
Middle-aged and divorced, Wilson finds himself lonely, smug, and obsessed with his past.
Similar Movies
75%
Video Nasties: Draconian Days(en)
2014-03-01
The highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP & VIDEOTAPE documentary, director Jake West and producer Marc Morris continue uncovering the shocking story of home entertainment post the 1984 Video Recordings Act. A time when Britain plunged into a new Dark Age of the most restrictive censorship, where the horror movie became the bloody eviscerated victim of continuing dread created by self-aggrandizing moral guardians. With passionate and entertaining interviews from the people who lived through it and more jaw dropping archive footage, get ready to reflect and rejoice the passing of a landmark era.
66%
Princess Diana: The Mourning After(en)
1998-08-01
In "Diana: The Mourning After" Christopher Hitchens sets out to examine the bogusness of "a nation's grief", tries to uncover the few voices of sanity that cut against the grain of contrived hysteria. His findings suggested that the collective hordes of emotive Dianaphiles sobbing in the streets were not only encouraged but emulated by the media. In the aftermath of Diana's death a three-line whip was enforced on newspapers and on TV, selling the sainthood line wholesale. The suspicion was that journalists, like the public, greeted the death as a chance to wax emotional in print, as a change from the customary knowing cynicism, to wheel out all those portentous phrases they'd been saving up for the big occasion. Sadly, they just seemed to be showboating; the eulogies, laments and tear-soaked platitudes ringing risibly hollow.
75%
You Can’t Watch This(en)
2019-05-15
Peer through the lens of a high profile political dissident, banished from the online world. After introducing the viewer to each of the five characters, the film recounts how each individual then came to lose their access to social media and the affect it had on them at the time, and since the event. With their stories told, they present the broader issues raised by their media de-platforming and what they foresee in their future in media and the whole of Western Culture at-large.
80%
Manda huevos(es)
2016-09-30
A look at the different masculinities portrayed in Spanish cinema through time. (A sequel to “Barefoot in the Kitchen,” 2013.)
69%
His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th(en)
2010-04-20
A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.
66%
The Wikipedia Promise(de)
2021-01-03
In 2001, Jimmy Wales published the first article on Wikipedia, a collaborative effort that began with a promise: to democratize the spreading of knowledge, monopolized by the elites for centuries. But is Wikipedia really a utopia come true?
79%
CORONA.FILM - Prologue(de)
2021-03-23
As the first part of our investigation, the CORONA.FILM prologue will delve into the science behind the pandemic. Starting at the very beginning, we shine a light on the responses. The aim is not to point the finger; our aim is to tell the whole story in all its complexity, as we believe that justice cannot prevail if only one side of the story is told.
63%
The ABCs of Book Banning(en)
2024-02-16
In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues. By weaving together a lyrical montage of young readers and authors, THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING reveals the voices of the impacted parties, and inspires hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.
69%
Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth(en)
2000-09-21
A documentary primarily focusing on the filming and release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
76%
The Secret Life of Brian(en)
2007-01-01
A documentary about the making of the controversial Life of Brian and the surrounding accusations of blasphemy.
66%
Cleanflix(en)
2009-09-11
When a small Utah-based edited movie company is caught sanitizing Hollywood's copyrighted material, the film industry strikes back with a devastating blow.
68%
Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape(en)
2010-08-30
A documentary analyzing the furore which so-called "video nasties" caused in Britain during the 1980s.
64%
Forbidden Films(de)
2014-03-06
Between 1933 and 1945 roughly 1200 films were made in Germany, of which 300 were banned by the Allied forces. Today, around 40 films, called "Vorbehaltsfilme", are locked away from the public with an uncertain future. Should they be re-released, destroyed, or continue to be neglected? Verbotene Filme takes a closer look at some of these forbidden films.
70%
Taxi(fa)
2015-04-15
A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…
53%
Freedom to Love(de)
1969-08-29
It is a sex education film of sorts dedicated to all forms of human sexuality.
72%
The Cleaners(de)
2018-05-17
A deep dive into the hidden industry of digital cleaning, which rids the Internet of unwanted violence, porn and political content.
72%
Censored without Censorship(sr)
2007-03-02
Through the conversation with Yugoslav film authors and excerpts from their films, this documentary film tells a story of a film phenomenon and censorship, and its focus is, in fact, a painful epoch of Yugoslav film called “a Black Wave”, which was the most important and artistically strongest period of Yugoslav film industry, created in the sixties and buried in the early seventies by means of ideological and political decisions. The film tells a great “thriller” story of the ideological madness which characterised the totalitarian psychology having left multiple consequences felt up to our very days. It stresses similarities between totalitarian regimes defending their taboos on the example of the persecution of the most important Yugoslav film authors. Those film authors have, however, made world careers and inspired many later authors. The film is the beginning of a debt pay-off to the most significant Yugoslav film authors.
68%
The Emma Bovary Trial(fr)
2021-09-15
On January 31, 1857, the French writer Gustave Flaubert (1821-80) took his place in the dock for contempt of public morality and religion. The accused, the real one, is, through him, Emma Bovary, heroine with a thousand faces and a thousand desires, guilty without doubt of an unforgivable desire to live.
0%
Viva o Cinema! Uma História da Mostra de São Paulo(pt)
2024-10-26
The series tells the story of the São Paulo International Film Festival, one of the most traditional cultural events in Latin America. For 48 years, the festival has showcased hundreds of films from all over the world, bringing vibrancy to the city. Filmmaker Marina Person provides an irreverent perspective, highlighting the exciting and unusual stories that have marked the festival’s journey of resistance. The series reveals the individuals who have embraced the challenge of organizing this significant cultural event in Brazil every year, despite often challenging conditions. We also delves into how the Mostra has grown to become one of the main festivals globally, shedding light on the changes in cinema, Brazil, and the world over the years.
57%
Porn to Be Free(it)
2016-06-24
Italy, 1970. An increasing legion of harmless warriors begins a peaceful struggle for sexual freedom through pornography, shaking and shocking religious authorities and conservative political institutions. They are ironic, happy, crazy. They are dreamers, defenders of definitive communion between body and soul. But they were censored and humiliated. They were mistreated and arrested for demanding loud a new cultural renaissance.