Otto Preminger
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| == The production code and foreign films == | == The production code and foreign films == | ||
| - | At the forefront of challenges to the code was director [[Otto Preminger]], whose films violated the code repeatedly in the 1950s. His [[1953 in film|1953]] film ''[[The Moon is Blue]]'', about a young woman who tries to play two suitors off against each other by claiming that she plans to keep her virginity until marriage, was the first film to use the words "virgin", "seduce" and "mistress", and it was released without a certificate of approval. He later made ''[[The Man with the Golden Arm]]'' ([[1955 in film|1955]]), which portrayed the prohibited subject of drug abuse, and ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' ([[1959 in film|1959]]) which dealt with [[rape]]. Preminger's films were direct assaults on the authority of the Production Code and, since they were successful, hastened its abandonment. | + | At the forefront of challenges to the code was director [[Otto Preminger]], whose films violated the code repeatedly in the 1950s. His [[1953 in film|1953]] film ''[[The Moon is Blue]]'', about a young woman who tries to play two suitors off against each other by claiming that she plans to keep her virginity until marriage, was the first film to use the words "[[virgin]]", "[[seduce]]" and "[[mistress]]", and it was released without a certificate of approval. He later made ''[[The Man with the Golden Arm]]'' ([[1955 in film|1955]]), which portrayed the prohibited subject of drug abuse, and ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' ([[1959 in film|1959]]) which dealt with [[rape]]. Preminger's films were direct assaults on the authority of the Production Code and, since they were successful, hastened its abandonment. |
| == ''The Moon Is Blue'' == | == ''The Moon Is Blue'' == | ||
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Otto Ludwig Preminger (December 5, 1906 – April 23, 1986) was an Austrian actor and film director. [1] [Apr 2007]
The production code and foreign films
At the forefront of challenges to the code was director Otto Preminger, whose films violated the code repeatedly in the 1950s. His 1953 film The Moon is Blue, about a young woman who tries to play two suitors off against each other by claiming that she plans to keep her virginity until marriage, was the first film to use the words "virgin", "seduce" and "mistress", and it was released without a certificate of approval. He later made The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), which portrayed the prohibited subject of drug abuse, and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) which dealt with rape. Preminger's films were direct assaults on the authority of the Production Code and, since they were successful, hastened its abandonment.
The Moon Is Blue
The Moon Is Blue is a 1953 comedy film directed by Otto Preminger which tells the story of a young girl who meets an architect in the Empire State Building and quickly turns his life upside down.
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The film was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency for its plot in which a young girl makes fun of her parents' concerns for her virtue. It was the first film to use the words "virgin", "seduce" and "mistress" since the enactment of the strict Production Code in mid-1934, and as a result was at first independently released, but achieved success and was nominated for several Oscars. Preminger's refusal to back down and get the film released helped to break down the Catholic censorship that had controlled Hollywood output since 1934. [2]
