MovieChat Forums > Five Graves to Cairo (1943) Discussion > How'd This Get Past the Censors?

How'd This Get Past the Censors?

posted 19 years ago by terrythomas
20 replies | jump to latest

This is one of my favorite "classic Hollywood" movies (and one of Billy Wilder's most underrated movies), but one thing that astonished me was the fact that they were actually able to get this past the Hollywood censors. I mean, we're talking about the same censors who demanded that, if a man and a woman were in bed together in a movie, one of them had to have their feet firmly ON THE FLOOR. That this film managed to get into theaters without being severely cut or being condemned by the catholic church is astounding.

Maybe its because the end of the film is some good, old fashioned pro-war propaganda? I know that there was another film (can't remember what it was) that was made at the time and had similar content but it got past the censors because it was made during the middle of WWII, and featured a healthy dose of pro-war sentiment.

[–] Shopnowandsave 19 years ago

Terry!

You've got to tell me, just what did it show that might have raised the ire of said censors?

Hmmmmm?

"The King wore enough clothes for both of us." Mohandes Ghandi

[–] terrythomas 18 years ago

The film (none too subtley) depicts Anne Baxter's character prostituting herself to Nazi officers in an effort to get her brother of a concentration camp; first she offers herself to Field Marshall Rommel, then to a Nazi lieutenant played by Peter Van Eycks.

By the way, let's all share in a hearty laugh over the fact that it's taken me almost a YEAR to reply to this thread.

[–] BritTigger 18 years ago

I don't claim to be an expert on the Hays Code, but I think it comes down to what is *shown*. Although her prostituting herself is implied, her actually on-screen behavior is completely chaste.

Plus: [spoiler ahead]

She doesn't survive the film. Characters who compromised their morals were generally allowed so long as they were punished. Certainly, Ann Baxter's character is no more prostituting herself than Marlene Dietrick in Wilder's A Foreign Affair.

I must say, though I'm no fan of the Hays Code (which was silly and arbitrary). It *did* force writers to find creative and imaginative ways of dealing with situations, which I sometimes miss in these show everything days ... one's imagination can do so much more when not all the detail is filled in, don't you think!

Hope you catch this in the next year :)

[–] susan_s53051 18 years ago

HI ALL!
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[email protected]

[–] urciolo 17 years ago

When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, it was the Catholic Legion of Decency that determined which movies our parents would let us see. As I got older, we all would talk about the "banned" movies and how much we appreciated Holy Mother Church "screening" all the best movies for us - the banned were the ones we REALLY wanted to see!

[–] terrythomas 17 years ago

Interesting points, BritTigger, especially in regards to the "not being shown". I think technically the Production Code was supposed to sniff out ANYTHING that might possibly be offensive, but it seems that the Hayes Office was staffed entirely by witless people with apparently no ability to pick up on irony, insinuation or innuendo (as is especially demonstrated by the material that, say, Billy Wilder was able to sneak past).

I also agree that, to a certain extent, the Hayes Code was actually kind of a good thing, in that it forced writers and directors to be more creative in the ways they depicted, for example, sex and violence on the screen. I agree that today's filmmakers often tend to underestimate the audience's intelligence. That was what made certain directors of the classic era so great (I'm thinking of Wilder, Lubitsch, Hawks, Sturges ect.); they gave the audience just as much information as they needed, and let their imaginations fill in the rest.

(And as a side note, it only took me 9 months to respond this time. I'm getting quicker. :)

[–] Shopnowandsave 18 years ago

Thankyou, now I can sleep anights without the mystery running through my head.

"The King wore enough clothes for both of us." Mohandes Ghandi

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] TongueFu 14 years ago

Are you implying that there's something wrong with prostitution?

[–] zaraath 9 years ago

Don't forget the Bulgarian girl in Casablanca who was going to sleep with Capt. Renault for exit papers for herself and her husband.

[–] Pythe 14 years ago

Billy Wilder's mentor was the great Ernst Lubitsch, who managed to cram his Hays Code era comedies with tons of sexual innuendo and sexual taboos. Lots of movies from this time period imply infidelity, polyamory, incest, prostitution, but so long as they implied it rather than explicitly stated it, it seemed to get past the censors.

---------------------------------
"It was night. I could tell because it was getting dark."

[–] slawking 14 years ago

Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, Say no more!

[–] greenbananas 14 years ago

Could it be, perhaps, Talk of the Town with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers?

[–] heathentart 14 years ago

Jean Arthur co-starred with Cary Grant in "The Talk of the Town." It wasn't Ginger Rogers.

People who don't like dogs should be killed. - Simon Marchmont

[–] verbumctf 14 years ago

Don't forget it's the 'bad guys' that bargain their help for the services of a prostitute, and to top that,the chief baddie involved wasn't going to keep his end of the bargain .
None of our good guys would ever behave like that. No censor, nor any patriotic ally, would stand for that!

[–] zaraath 9 years ago

This was a very unsympathetic portrayal of Rommel, as a stereotypical Prussian. Was this the only Western film made during the war with him as a character?

[–] judith-mcgee1025 14 years ago

I had never seen "Five Graves to Cairo" until this year when I became a cable subscriber. I really liked the film, too. It's a wonderfully written and photographed film. Franchot Tone was marvelous in it; I always forget what a good actor he was. This is a good example of his film acting as a starring actor. In the right part he was quite a bit more than a beautifully-voiced actor.

Concerning the scene which I think you are writing about - the one between Erich von Stroheim and Anne Baxter - I think some, but not all, filmmakers of that era got away with more pushing the limits of censorship than others and that it depended on that filmmaker's skill and the censors' willingness to turn a blind eye. Billy Wilder was certainly one of those filmmakers.

The World War II era in filmmaking began an era of increasing candor on all things which increased post-war.

The combination of Mr. von Stroheim and Mr. Wilder in a film seemed to guarantee some wonderful moments, and "Five Graves to Cairo" certainly provided them, and "Sunset Boulevard" continued the trend. If only they had been able to make more films together.

[–] chicago85 14 years ago

The movie that surprises me about getting past the censors is "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" from 1944. It is very funny comedy even in this day and time. A young girl who sees men off from her hometown goes to a wild farewell party.

She wakes up realizing she apparently married someone but can't remember who. Then she finds herself pregant. A young 4-f who loves her tries to help only to find the two of them in legal hot water.

[–] mikeoak840 13 years ago

RE: Morgan Creek - I know - why'd the censor let that one through has always floored me.

But regarding Five Graves - the evil-doer (as far as the Hayes office was concerned) died in the end, "paying for her sins" as noted above. That's their mindset, not mine.

Some of the pre-code movies are pretty amazing in how far they went before being reined in. Barbara Stanwyck sleeping her way up the chain of command at an insurance company in...hmmm...can't remember the name. I seem to remember a young, unknown John Wayne was the only one who turned her down...and he ends up being the one who got fired.

[–] 13 years ago

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