I was surprise the censors didn't catch this one... - The Women (1939) Discussion

[–] Haifis 14 years ago

Can you imagine the young boys in 1939? They probably purposely watched the film just to see their first glimpse of a lady's nip nips!

It was considered "Oh so bad" back then for breasts to be shown on film!

Nowadays, you can just type a lil' something in the search engine.

reply

[–] netshopper-2 14 years ago

Paulette Goddard's nips were also visible through her dress in the final powder room scene.

reply

[–] hunterofserenity-2 14 years ago

Also in the final powder room scene there was a woman who was wearing a very silky, thin dress. It showed the full shape of her butt, and it didn't look like she was wearing any panties.

reply

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] denis-38 11 years ago

Not to mention Paulette's obvious lack of a brassiere in the fight w Russell.

reply

[–] libby2130 11 years ago

was this before they even had movie censors??

reply

[–] robertmarcl 11 years ago

This was the Helen Hayes Code back then, but still some do slip up once in a while. I noticed this happened more than once, despite the censorship that was prevalent since 1934.

reply

[–] TheLightFantastic 11 years ago

Helen Hayes Code? The censors did miss a lot, and not just in this film. They were more concerned with silly things like making sure the "bad" person didn't win in the end because showing something like that would just ruin society. They were too preoccupied with that kind of stuff to notice nipples, women running around in sheer/tight dresses with no undergarments (this happened a LOT!), etc.

reply

[–] GoUSN 11 years ago

Yes, because society is so markedly improved since 1968, year the Hays Code was abandoned, that those poor dim censors were all wrong about the effect big entertainment could have on society. Glad they weren't around to interfere with the delightfully violent and grisly video game industry. We need more extremes of just everything!

reply

[–] GoUSN 11 years ago

It was not the Helen Hayes Code. It was the "Hays" Code, named after a founding official. It had nothing to do with Helen Hayes.

reply

[–] raymondhng 10 years ago

The Code was named after Will H. Hays, chairman of the Republican National Committee (1918–21) and U.S. Postmaster General (1921–22) after which he resigned to become the President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_Code

reply

[–] King_Of_Fuh 10 years ago

I'm surprised he was a Republican. They are usually so open-minded, fun-loving and non-obtrusive into other people's affairs.

If you put me on ignore, then how can I notify you when I win the lottery?

reply

[–] raymondhng 10 years ago

Just look at that picture. He's such a party animal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_H._Hays

reply

[–] King_Of_Fuh 10 years ago

Yes, you can tell that he was a heartbreaker with the ladies.

If you put me on ignore, then how can I notify you when I win the lottery?

reply

[–] denis-38 10 years ago

Goddard was obviously braless in the big fight scene with R Russell. In fact, she was going commando in all her scenes.

reply

[–] skipper 10 years ago

Yeah, I noticed that too.

reply

[–] AfroGeek 11 years ago

I watched a documentary about the Hayes code in Hollywood. Apparently there was a period in Hollywood where censorship was pretty weak which would ha e been when this movie was made.

Amy: I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!

reply

[–] mjr1114 11 years ago

The 'CODE' took full effect mid 1934. The films prior to that are the ones you hear the phrase 'pre-code' being kicked about.
Check out Claudette Colbert in 'Sign of the Cross' during the milk bath scene.

I think it's funny how people really think the world was such an innocent and wonderful place until the 70's. LOL.
Just shows they've never taken the time to read up on their history. The world has always been filled with death, sin, raunchiness, violence, as well as love, life, etc etc. Read the Bible, even if you don't believe, there's plenty of all of the bad and the good in it, and it was written in the early AD years.

Credo ergo sum

reply

[–] HeywoodJablomy 11 years ago

I think it's funny how people really think the world was such an innocent and wonderful place until the 70's.

LOL, my teenage daughter actually asked me if married people really slept in twin beds back in the "old days". This was a few years ago, and she's since seen plenty if pre-code and foreign films of that era, which show that premarital sex, abortion, and homosexuality were prevalent long before the swingin' 60s

reply

[–] King_Of_Fuh 10 years ago

Will Hays, former Postmaster General in the 1920z. He could not catch one film from 1938 being released, Child Bride, showed a fully nude 12-yr-old girl skinny-dipping in a natural pool with a waterfall in Columbia, CA. The girl had full, ample breasts, surprisingly, and a fully nude German Shepherd jumped in afterwards. This was on TCM Underground last weekend.

If you put me on ignore, then how can I notify you when I win the lottery?

reply

[–] mjr1114 10 years ago

I saw that movie, I was thinking, 'how did that get by the censors'? It was a weird little film, not bad, just a little odd.

Credo ergo sum

reply

[–] King_Of_Fuh 10 years ago

It was a bit entertaining, admittedly. I still would love to know what the townfolk of Columbia, CA thought when - or if - they ever saw the final product. The actress who played the little girl always said to her recent dying day that she was proud of it.

If you put me on ignore, then how can I notify you when I win the lottery?

reply