Motion Picture Production Code

E8655

The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry moral guidelines that strictly governed the content of American films for several decades in the early-to-mid 20th century.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf film censorship code
moral guidelines
self-regulatory code
administeredBy Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
Production Code Administration
administeredFrom Hollywood, California
alsoKnownAs Hays Code
appliesTo American motion pictures
Hollywood studio films
basedOn Catholic moral teaching influences
country United States
effectiveEnforcementStart 1934
endDate late 1960s
enforcementMechanism denial of distribution without approval
requirement of PCA seal of approval
goal to avoid government censorship
to promote moral standards in films
to protect the film industry’s public image
historicalContext Golden Age of Hollywood
industry film industry
influencedBy Catholic Legion of Decency
jurisdiction major Hollywood studios
language English
namedAfter Will H. Hays
periodOfProminence 1934–1950s
regulates portrayal of adultery
portrayal of blasphemy
portrayal of childbirth
portrayal of clergy
portrayal of crime so that crime does not pay
portrayal of law enforcement
portrayal of marriage and family
portrayal of national symbols
portrayal of nudity
replacedBy MPAA film rating system
Motion Picture Association of America rating system
scope content of films
depiction of crime
depiction of drug use
depiction of homosexuality
depiction of miscegenation
depiction of profanity
depiction of religion
depiction of sex
depiction of violence
morality in films
startDate 1930
typeOfRestriction prior restraint on content


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