Culture Shock Episodes

“Hollywood Censored: Movies, Morality and the Production Code” (Part 3 of four) recalls the film industry's move to self-censorship in the early '30s. The reason: church-instigated boycotts of movies deemed too violent or salacious (“Scarface” and Jean Harlow's “Red-Headed Woman” are examined) were cutting into box-office receipts. The censor: Production Code Authority chief Joseph Breen, “an altar boy with teeth,” says film historian Thomas Doherty. Also interviewed: MPAA president Jack Valenti; screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr.; director Peter Bogdanovich. Ellen Barkin narrates.