* Wednesday February 11

Dear Diary,

I have more room here so I can go into detail a little more about seeing Bob Hope. I got there a little early and watched Bob get in a few practice shots. I really didn’t expect him to be half as good as he was, but he fooled me. I also saw Bing Crosby and Johnny Weismuller practicing. I didn’t see Bing any after that, but I saw Johnny once more. I was walking along behind Bob (close enough to touch him) when we passed the foursome Weismuller was in. Bob yelled over and asked him how “Tarzan” was doing, and ended by attempting a Tarzan yell. Johnny made a “V for victory” sign with his fingers and actually let out part of the famous yell.

Although I have seen Bob before, I have never seen him so close. He actually is handsomer off the screen that I think he is on, and I heard a lot of other people saying so too. Every time Bob made a shot he’s do something to let out his emotions. On one particularly hard hold, everyone else in his foursome was just barely making it in par and up popped Bob who made it in just about half of par. He started jumping up and down and flapping his arms as if they were wings. On another hole he shot a beautiful ball and everyone just knew it would land right on the green, but it fooled us and went right over it. He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand and moaned, “Oh, no! No! They can’t do this to us. Somebody call a cop!”

Bob was walking along with a bunch of small boys once, when Louise Suggs, another member of Bob’s foursome, ran into a couple of the boys. She said, “Pardon me, boys.” And without an instant’s hesitation Bob sang, “Pardon me, boys. It that the Chatanooga Choo-Choo? Well, yes!”

Bob wore a sweater that is rather difficult to describe. It wasn’t red and it wasn’t wine colored. It just struck a medium—and not a very happy one either. However, I must admit it made it easy for me to find him when he mingled with the crowd. He wore dark gray pants, and his shoes—well, they just about the the description Crosby gave them in “The Road To Zanzibar”—twelve double a’s. At least that’s the ipression I got at first glance. I gradually got used to them.

When that gang of boys was following Bob, one of them made a remark that Bob pretended not to like one bit. He said, “Listen, sonny, I’m too big to beat you up, and my kid’s too little, but I’ll bet if he saw you he’d spit in your eye!”

Every once in a while Bob’s ball was between the cup and some other ball. WHen that happened, he would drop a coin where the ball was and move the ball out of the way. He always had a hard time finding the coin, but one time in particular he spent about four minutes just turning around and looking for the place where he drop;ped the coin. Finally someone in the gallery yelled, “What’s the matter, Bob, don’t you know where your ball’s supposed to be?” Bob answered, “To heck with the ball! Where’s my dime?” Once he accidentaly dropped several coins and someone asked him if he was rich. He said, “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just bragging.”

By the end of the eighteenth hole I was no longer walking—my feet were just moving from memory. Bob looked at a couple of boys and said, “You want to earn an easy 50¢? Just carry me the rest of the way in.”

However, he wasn’t too tired to kid the spectators a little after the game, over the loudspeaking system. He say, “Boy on those first nine holes I was really going to town, but on the last nine I was pretty stupid. I took one swing at my ball and imssed. I took another swing and missed. There were two little ants sitting on the ground, and one of them said to the other, ‘For heaven’s sake, let’s get up on the guys ball before he murders us’.” In speaking of Mady Carroll he said, “Mady and I are just like that (Holding up three fingers.) That’s Will Hayes in the middle.”

The crowd wanted him to sing “Thanks for the Memory” but all we could get out him were gags and the first line.

The novel on which it was based involved a homophobic murderer, but of course the Hays Code never would’ve allowed such a thing to come out of Hollywood, so Crossfire ended up turning an eye toward another hot-button issue: Antisemitism. It is surprisingly frank in its depiction of antisemitism, which adds an edge to its evocative noir lighting and flashback-riddled narrative. As the characters piece together the events that led to an innocent man’s murder, the murderer’s identity quickly comes into focus, and nailing him down proves to be quite intense in a small-scale, button-downed fashion. Robert Young is effective as an inquisitive homicide captain, and so is Gloria Grahame as a nervy prostitute, but it’s clearly Robert Ryan’s show. Ryan gives an intense, disturbing performance as a cocky soldier, and the sheer fact that soldiers are the ones suspected of the murder makes the story that much darker and more controversial (though if the film had stuck with the homophobia, the subject matter would undoubtedly have been more topical). As for Robert Mitchum, who gets top billing? Well, Mitchum reportedly hated working on the film, saying that any American actor could’ve played his part, and you know what? That’s the truth. He does fine work, but his character more often than not blends into the background, and it’s ironic that the cast’s most famous face turns out to be the movie’s most anonymous.

A-

The Hays Code I thought had releavance to the original script Scarface (1932) in regards to Mrs. Camonte showing sympathy toward the behavior of Tony.    The evil -Tony’s bribing sister with money, murdering, and bootlegging beer- may appear attractive, if the beahvior is condoned by  Mrs. Camonte. The evil also tended to appear attractive because of the use of humor -in scenes with shooting and arousing womens appetites- and pompous lifestyle associated with the gangster.   The Hays Code implied that if evil appeared attractive then it lowers the moral standards of people who see it ( Black 305).

The court system did seem to be presented in an unjust way and ridiculed  for example when Detective Guarino was shown disrespected by Camonte in the second scene of the film.  And the Judge Fleming issued the habeuas corpus Lawyers did seem to be presented in an unjust way- like when the writ of habeuas corpus was brought into to free Camonte.

The presentation of crime seemed a little bit more than enough to carry out the presentation of the plot-especially the shooting in the car chase scenes.

Was the loading of machine guns clear enough to present a teaching of crime?  Would this film inspire potential criminals to imitate the behaviors?  Were the criminals made heroic in their portrayal?

I think that some of the issues that the Hays Code presented were important for the industry to consider because of the wide spectrum of the audience.  I think because of the amount of violence portrayed by evil forces in the film it was enough to inspire potential criminals.  Though there was a counter balance of” correct standards”presented in added scenes and changes that the Hays Office advised- some of it was really cheesy and out of place.

Hays office used Hays code, drafted by Lord Quigley, to censor Scarface. The code introduces why films are need to be censored and the guideline to do so. Code explains the importance of films, whether its for entertainment or an art form, to keep people from immoral behavior and support good morality. Also because of its importance and its “trust placed in it by the peoples of the world”, they have “moral obligation”, to keep people from “lower their standards of life and living”.

In reasons supporting the general principles, code indicates specific examples of scenes to be avoid. One of the scenes that may refer in Scarface is that “evil is made to appear attractive”. Because Hays office saw Scarface describing evil gangster, Tony, to be materially successful, film makers later added scenes of Tony being collapsed.

Also the hays code refers “law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation”. The representation of this statement and changes exist in Scarface, when Tony ended up being hanged or being shot by police in coward way. Even with his great success as a gangster, Tony later faces consequences of the law and faces sentence. It is a good example of code’s enforcement, “the courts of the land should not be presented as unjust”.

In understanding the Hay’s Office censorship of Scarface, a viewer must look at the beginning of the Code, which states in section I.b. that “wrong entertainment lowers the whole living conditions and moral ideals of a race.”  This implies that Scarface was censored so much because of its morally wrong content that would lower the conditions and ideals of Americans.  While the Code recognizes motion pictures as art, the Code also emphasizes the quality that art as an entertainment has on “affecting the moral standards of those who through the screen take in these ideas and ideals.” (II.2.)

It is through these qualities of influence, that the argument begins for why it is legitimate to censor film.  The Code discusses in section III that films should be held to a different standard because they are more powerful than books, newspapers and ordinary plays.  In portion H of section III, it is mentioned that films are more accessible for every class of people because of the “emotional appeal, vividness.”

Also important in the Code’s relationship in censoring Scarface is Section I. under Reasons Supporting the General Principles.  Along the guidelines of disallowing any immorality is the part that describes that a film won’t be produced “when evil is made to appear attractive or alluring, and good is made to appear unattractive.  It is only okay to present evil if it is not presented alluringly.  In general, the Code makes it clear that any issue such as crime or impure love must be presented so the audience understands it as bad—and not as alluring or attractive and beautiful.

The Hay’s Office, using the guidelines of the Code, censored the film Scarface so that the gangster criminal would be not be glorified.  While it takes away from what the producers were seeking to capture—the Hay’s Office strict regulations were based off the moral principles of the Code.  The desire to tone down Tony Camonte’s character is also noticeable as he is turned into a coward at the end to not give attractiveness to his exciting lifestyle.

In order for Scarface to abide by the Hay’s Code, the movie makers had to agree to make some changes.  In order to prevent a feeling of sympathy towards evil, the ending had to be changed from Tony Camonte coming out in a barrage of bullets ready to take down officer Guarino, with no bullets available at the end, to a scene of Camonte being portrayed as a coward and a scene of him being arrested and hung after being found guilty.  Section 1 under the “Reasons Supporting the General Principles states that “The sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin.”  If the original script ending was not changed, the audience would feel sympathetic towards Camonte because his sister was killed by a ricochet of a bullet and he was left alone to fight an army of officers, which he tried to do but immediately failed.

Another section that was important in the code was the part regarding Sex.  It states that, “Impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful”.  This guideline can be intended towards the incestuous relationship between Tony and Cesca.  In the original script, Tony and Cesca were supposed to be seen as having a perverted relationship but that was changed by removing the lines, “Because you’re me and I’m you, and it’s always been that way”.  That type of relationship was just too beautiful to be held by a brother and sister, which is the reason there had to be changes enforced to prevent it as being “attractive and beautiful”.

Scarface was trying not to glorify crime and make Camonte the hero.  In “Crimes against the Law”, “the treatment of crimes against the law must not make criminals seem heroic and justified.”  The audience would indeed get the wrong idea if Tony represented a hero  to society, even with his killings.  To prevent this, the movie scenes had to add the hanging scene and most probably the editor’s scene to inform the public to stand up and petition the government from the indecent crimes that were occurring from the gangsters in the public community.

Some of the most relevant and interesting points of the Hays Code draft by Lord-Quigley are in the first section, which discusses the “Reasons Supporting Preamble of Code.” One of the reasons given is that entertainment could be “helpful” or “harmful” for the human race. Although the draft points out that one of the types “improves the race” and the other “degrades the humans,” it does not clarify as to what type of entertainment is classified under which category.  Based on this draft of the Hays Code, the film makers or the common people can not really know what type of films are “degrading.” Criminal movies could seem to be degrading to certain sections of the society, but at the same time, another section of the society might find such movies as representatives of the truth.

The filmmakers of Scarface too wanted the people to know the truth, and realize that gangsters are a reality. But the Hays Office maintained that watching such gangster movies could have an adverse effect on the people, specially the youngsters.

Reading further into the draft, various other interesting points come up. Some of these points could by related to Scarface. In the “Reasons Supporting the General Principles” section, point 1.1 states that “when evil is made to appear attractive or alluring and good is made to appear unattractive.” Scarface too portrays the evil as more attractive than the good (at least to a point), as Tony is shown to be very powerful and has lots of money, but on the other hand the law and order officials are initially shown as helpless.

Howards Hawks had to edit and sometimes even cut scenes so that Scarface could be released. The scenes he had to edit and cut depended on the stipulations of the Hays Code. There are many sections of the Hays Code that are quite relevant in understanding the Hays’ Office censorship of Scarface.

First off, the Hays Code stated that “Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation…the courts of the land should not be presented as unjust…” This means that movies were not allowed to show corrupt courts, corrupt officials, or corrupt politicians. Scarface originally contained a scene in which Tony Camonte was on a boat carousing with many political officials. This scene had to be cut because the Hays Office didn’t want people to view the court systems as unjust.

Secondly, the Hays Code specifies that “in the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law…impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful.”  Due to this section of the Code, Hawks had to change the relationship between Francesca, Tony’s sister, and Tony himself because they were supposed to have an incestuous relationship. Intimate relationships between two people that weren’t married, much less brother and sister, were not usually allowed to be seen in films.

Lastly, the Hays Code makes it clear that “the treatment of crimes against the law must not…make criminals seem heroic and justified.” In the movie that was released to most of the public, Tony Camonte was arrested and put on trial. In the final scenes, Camonte is condemned for his behavior then he is hung. However, in the original scripts, Tony Camonte came out of his house with his guns blazing. He was ready to take down anybody he could. The Hays Office wouldn’t allow this because they thought that if Camonte went out like that then the movie would be glorifying gangsters, which is why the ending was changed.

To better understand the censorship used in Scarface, it is necessary to study the draft of the Hays’ Code written by Father Lord and Martin Quigley in 1930. The document begins by explaining why such a code needed to be created. This section of the code reveals Lord and Quigley’s views about the film industry. The authors of the code recognized that films are great entertainment with “value in rebuilding the bodies and souls of human beings.” In the same idea, movies are a form of art that can be “morally good, lifting men to higher level.” Unfortunately, movies also have the potential to be harmful entertainment. Indeed, the authors argue that entertainment can be used “to degrade human beings, or to lower their standards of life and living.” Movies as a form of art can be “morally evil.” Therefore, because of their popularity, movies have a “morale obligation” to produce “clean movies.” In these circumstances, Hays’ office censorship of Scarface is justified by this morale obligation.

Some of the sections of this code clarify some of the changes and cuts made to the final version of Scarface. For instance, Hays and the moviemakers probably referred to the section titled “Sex” to justify the change in Tony’s relationship with Cesca. This section stipulates that “impure love must not be presented.” Tony was supposed to have an incestuous relationship with his sister, but this relationship is barely suggested in the released version. The same section could be used to explain Cesca quick wedding with Guino. If Guino is married to Cesca, their relationship is legitimate, and it could be shown.

The third section of “Reasons Supporting the General Principles” states that “law, natural or human shall not be ridiculed.” This section justify the censorship of the corrupted lawyer in the movie.

In the section “Crimes Against the Law,” the code specified that movies should not “make criminals seem heroic and justified.” Hays must have mentioned this section when he refused the two first ending of Scarface. The first ending was cut because Tony comes out of his apartment firing his weapon until his very last breath. This ending would have shown Tony in a heroic way, and it would have been against the Hays’ code.

Probably the most relevant section of the code in understanding the reasons of the censors for the demanded changes to Scarface is under CRIMES AGAINST THE LAW, particularly 3, which says that crimes as represented in a film should not “make criminals seem heroic and justified.” The main argument of the censorship board was that the movie was a glorification of gangsterism and Muni’s character ( and his death) seemed too heroic. A similar point is expressed in section II. b., which states that among sins that attract (especially “those who are young and impressionable”) are “crimes of apparent heroism, such as banditry…, leadership in evil, organized crime, revenge,etc.”

 Another section that clearly addresses one of the film’s issues is the SEX one and the part about impure love. The relationship between Cesca and Gino certainly falls into the category of “wrong” and “banned by divine law.” According to the Code impure love “must not be made to seem right or permissible.” In the original version Cesca and Gino are enjoying their affair before Tony’s mother brings it to his attention and the Hays Office demanded that they be secretly married  because their out of wedlock relationship was a clear violation of the Code.