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HAYS CODE, MOVIE POSTERHAYS CODE AND THE HOLLYWOOD HAPPY ENDING
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Review by Emilia Moran




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What is WILDsound?

From the beginning the 1930s, the American public became increasingly concerned with the amount of violence and sex portrayed in films. The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America opted to form a strict production code to regulate the amount of crime, violence, and sex that appeared on screen. The Hays Code, so named for then-MPPDA president Will H. Hays, also imposed other kinds of restrictions (or “suggestions” as they referred them), such as: films, especially comedic films, needed to end happily with order restored and families reunited. Essentially, the Hays code regulated the amount of themes and emotions that were expressed by the producers and directors, who then sought alternative means of communicating their ideas.

There are numerous films between 1934 and the mid-1960s, the years the Hays Code existed, which could be cited as examples of “happy” endings, but upon analysis, reveal just the opposite. The films The Reckless Moment (1949) and There’s Always Tomorrow (1956) will demonstrate the subversive undertones beneath their big, red bow-wrapped endings, as they both contain the elements of “the sexual interloper” and the dysfunctional marriage.

The Reckless Moment, directed by Max Ophuls, has a number of clever themes within the framework of its scenes; the most clever, portrayed within its ending. In the final scenes of the film, the protagonist Lucia, the dutiful wife of an absentee husband who struggles to keep her family and household together, finally allows herself a moment of frailty as she mourns the death of a man with whom she’d shared a brief connection. (The man, Martin Donnelly, the “sexual interloper”, represented an alternate life for Lucia although his initial objective was to blackmail money from her. Their continual interactions throughout the film lead to a strange bond and attraction to one another and he subsequently died while trying to protect Lucia from his employer.) This moment of hysteria (an acknowledgment of Donnelly’s sacrifice, perhaps the only sacrifice that has ever been made for her) is interrupted by the news that Lucia’s husband Tom is waiting on the phone. Lucia descends her stairs, as her children arrive home with the news of a man’s (Donnelly’s) death nearby, and while still sobbing uncontrollably and now separated from the viewer by the staircase banister, Lucia grabs the phone and begins cheerfully telling Tom about the Christmas tree she’s bought.

While on the surface, the ending appears to be happy, the imagery within the frame shows something quite different. Supposing the scene’s audio track was muted, Lucia would clearly appear unhappy and trapped within the confines of her bourgeois household. An assumption could be made that the implication was merely coincidental; however because intelligent filmmakers carefully select what they want shown onscreen, this suggestion can be quickly disregarded. The presentation of Lucia behind that staircase banister merely materializes a theme present throughout the film—the entrapment/suffocation of the mother within the household. The Hays Code would never have allowed the possibility of Lucia abandoning her family to live happily ever after with the criminal Mr. Donnelly. Max Ophuls knew the restrictions he would face, so he complied with the Hays’ guidelines and delivered a seemingly proper ending—the criminals dead, the secret protected, the family unit restored, all loose ends tied. Yet an intelligent audience can see the underlying reality— Lucia returns to her prison, to a life so stressful that she’s hardly without a cigarette, a marriage she’s in alone, and with no emotional support of any kind. She’s back to living with no identity other than as “Mrs. Harper” or “Mom” and no form of social interaction, other than her family. She’ll continue to consume herself with managing the “perfect home” and again fail to recognize her own anxiety, with her fast-talking, hand clasping, and chain-smoking. She’s just experienced how very little, if any, power she has, how little significance, not even enough credibility to obtain a small bank loan, and now she’s come back, like a good wife and mother. Lucia’s mourning isn’t solely for Donnelly’s passing; they’re also for herself, her predicament, and the never-ending cycle encircling her: the future “warden” (son, David) and a future “inmate” (daughter, Bee).

The subversive themes contained within ending of There’s Always Tomorrow are not nearly as dramatic. The protagonist Clifford Groves returns home to his family and holds his wife Marion as he gazes sorrowfully at a plane passing overhead. Aboard that plane Norma Miller Vale (“the sexual interloper”) is crying hysterically over having left Clifford, an old flame with whom she’d recently reconnected. The Groves family was restored, while the longing shared by Clifford and Norma must be suppressed and locked away. The mandates of the Hays Code fulfilled once again.

Throughout the film, Clifford and Norma platonically spent time together, enjoying the company they could not share with their own spouses. Norma was either in the process of divorce or was divorced, while Clifford’s wife preoccupies herself with needs of their youngest daughter. Clifford’s older children suspect him of having an affair, and become rude with and cold towards him. They confront Norma, who expresses how deeply she loves their father, and chastises them for how much they’ve taken him for granted. They immediately express remorse and shame for their horrible treatment towards Clifford and explain how deeply they love their father, and how much they depend on him. The conflict with his children causes Norma to realize that she can’t remain so close to Clifford without their relationship eventually leading to the next level, opting to leave before they both passed a point of no return. She presents Clifford with a very real alternative to consider, which, to her surprise, he does; so she forces him back into his bourgeois prison, back to his ignorant and unappreciative family. Like Reckless’s Donnelly, Norma chooses to sacrifices her and Clifford’s happiness to keep the Groves family intact. Norma is conscious of Clifford’s misery, she herself has witnessed it, and yet she aids in pushing him back to that world. Norma chooses to return to New York, justifying her decision to Clifford with the excuse that while they could make a wonderful life together, he would never forgive himself for destroying his family.

In Clifford’s own final scenes, it appears his children may finally take an interest in him. They eagerly greet him, bombard him with affection, and inquire about his day; but, within seconds, once they realize he’s there to stay, they immediately regress to their old routines. Marion, finally home, invites Clifford out for the evening, leading to the belief that perhaps she, at least, has become aware of her neglectfulness and will make Clifford a priority at last. They embrace as Clifford, longingly, watches Norma’s plane fly passed. He’s deeply saddened by Norma’s departure, but like the rest, reverts to his old routine. He is fully aware of his own despondency, but resigns himself to it, choosing to live out his days like the very robot he markets – going to work, coming home, being ignored, in an endless cycle. Douglas Sirk, Tomorrow’s director, famous for his melodramas, effectively captures the simultaneous suffocation and isolation Clifford within the confines his own household. Duty over desire wins out yet again.

There are endless possibilities for how these films could have or should have ended. However, there is something remarkable to be said about the imposition of limitations and restrictions on the creative mind. One can only assume that had Hays Code never existed, the endings to these films would have been significantly different; the important ideas, themes, and emotions would have never been challenged. It’s in the manner these films were so deceptively and subversively made that enhances their brilliance and provokes audiences to think and feel, a legacy far more essential for any film to provide.

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