Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Elaina Archer2007-05-23
4.9
70 min
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.
Cast
| Name | Character | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Diane Lane | Narrator (voice) | Goutbreak |
 |
Chris Basinger | Self | Unowned |
|
Jeanine Basinger | Self | Unowned |
|
Cari Beauchamp | Self | Unowned |
 |
Leatrice Joy Gilbert | Self | Unowned |
 |
A.C. Lyles | Self | Unowned |
|
Bob Mitchell | Self | Unowned |
|
Barry Paris | Self | Unowned |
 |
Maria Riva | Self | Unowned |
|
Michael Schlesinger | Self | Unowned |
 |
Budd Schulberg | Self | Unowned |
|
Kevin Thomas | Self | Unowned |
 |
Mark Viera | Self | Unowned |
 |
Marc Wanamaker | Self | Unowned |
 |
William Wellman Jr. | Self | Unowned |
 |
Michael Westmore | Self | Unowned |
 |
Holly Madison | Model: Special Shoot | Unowned |
|
Betsy Moore | Silent Movie Theatre Actor | Unowned |
|
Paul Tucci | Silent Movie Theatre Actor | Unowned |
 |
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Theda Bara | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Clara Bow | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Louise Brooks | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Charlie Chaplin | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Joan Crawford | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Bebe Daniels | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Bette Davis | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Cecil B. DeMille | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Marlene Dietrich | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Douglas Fairbanks | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Greta Garbo | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
John Gilbert | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Cary Grant | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
D.W. Griffith | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Texas Guinan | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Ann Harding | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Jean Harlow | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Sessue Hayakawa | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
William H. Hays | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
|
William Randolph Hearst | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Leslie Howard | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Myrna Loy | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Mary Miles Minter | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Colleen Moore | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Owen Moore | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Pola Negri | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Mabel Normand | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Mary Pickford | Self (voice) (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Edna Purviance | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Virginia Rappe | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Theodore Roosevelt | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Barbara Stanwyck | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Gloria Swanson | Self (voice) (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Rudolph Valentino | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Fannie Ward | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Mae West | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |
 |
Woodrow Wilson | Self (archive footage) | Unowned |