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Hollywood's Censor
Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration
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Book Presentation:
From 1934 to 1954 Joseph I. Breen, a media-savvy Victorian Irishman, reigned over the Production Code Administration, the Hollywood office tasked with censoring the American screen. Though little known outside the ranks of the studio system, this former journalist and public relations agent was one of the most powerful men in the motion picture industry. As enforcer of the puritanical Production Code, Breen dictated "final cut" over more movies than anyone in the history of American cinema. His editorial decisions profoundly influenced the images and values projected by Hollywood during the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.
Cultural historian Thomas Doherty tells the absorbing story of Breen's ascent to power and the widespread effects of his reign. Breen vetted story lines, blue-penciled dialogue, and excised footage (a process that came to be known as "Breening") to fit the demands of his strict moral framework. Empowered by industry insiders and millions of like-minded Catholics who supported his missionary zeal, Breen strove to protect innocent souls from the temptations beckoning from the motion picture screen.
There were few elements of cinematic production beyond Breen's reachhe oversaw the editing of A-list feature films, low-budget B movies, short subjects, previews of coming attractions, and even cartoons. Populated by a colorful cast of characters, including Catholic priests, Jewish moguls, visionary auteurs, hardnosed journalists, and bluenose agitators, Doherty's insightful, behind-the-scenes portrait brings a tumultuous eraand an individual both feared and admiredto vivid life.
About the Author:
Thomas Doherty is professor of American studies at Brandeis University. He serves on the editorial board of Cineaste and is the author of Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture; Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934; Projections of War: Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II; and Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s.
Press Reviews:
Doherty writes with such wit and verve, bringing the past to life... a very entertaining read. Publishers Weekly
Compelling, colorful, insightful, and nearly encyclopedic in detail, this book seems destined to become the definitive scholarly biography of Breen. Highly recommended. Library Journal
[An] entertaining and rigorous biography of Breen. Ada Calhoun, New York Times Book Review
A fascinating read for anyone interested in American film history. Carol O'Sullivan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[An] authoritative, entertaining, unexpectedly unnerving biography. Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
[A] brilliant and absorbing new book. Gerald Peary, The Phoenix
Hollywood's Censor is a stinging portrait of a cultural strongman who made it his business to baby his fellow citizens. Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post
Written with controlled exuberance, and much wit. Scott Eyman, Palm Beach Post
A pleasure to read. Rob Hardy, Commercial Dispatch
An exemplary biography... Highly recommended. CHOICE
See the publisher website: Columbia University Press
> From the same author:
Projections of War (1999)
Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II, revised and updated edition
Subject: Sociology
Pre-Code Hollywood (1999)
Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934
> On a related topic:
Censoring Hollywood (2011)
Sex and Violence in Film and on the Cutting Room Floor
Forbidden Hollywood (2019)
The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies
Better Left Unsaid (2015)
Victorian Novels, Hays Code Films, and the Benefits of Censorship
by Nora Gilbert
Subject: Sociology
Sin and Censorship (1996)
The Catholic Church and the Motion Picture Industry
by Frank Walsh
Subject: History of Cinema
Sick and Dirty (2025)
Hollywood's Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness
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