Joseph I. Breen
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Joseph Ignatius Breen (October 14, 1888 – December 5, 1965) was an American film censor with the
Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Fo ...
who applied the
Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...
to film production.Staff report (December 8, 1965). Joseph I. Breen, Film Code Chief; Watchdog of Movie Morals For Years Is Dead at 75. ''
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''


Early life and career

Breen was the youngest of three sons born to Mary and Hugh A. Breen in
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. His father had emigrated from
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and met his mother Mary in New Jersey. Breen was raised in a strict
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home and attended Gesu Parish School until the eighth grade. He then attended Boys Catholic High School. He attended Saint Joseph's College but dropped out after two years, after which he worked as a newspaper reporter for fourteen years in Philadelphia,
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, and
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. After working as a reporter, Breen worked for the
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for four years, serving in
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,
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, and in
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, Canada. In 1926, he served as the publicity director for the
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in Chicago.


As film censor


1934–1941

Breen was a journalist and an "influential layperson" in the Catholic community. Breen worked for
Will H. Hays William Harrison Hays Sr. (; November 5, 1879 – March 7, 1954) was an American politician, and member of the Republican Party. As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1918 to 1921, Hays managed the successful 1920 presidential ...
as a "troubleshooter" as early as 1931. In 1933, the Roman Catholic
National Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was an American Catholic group founded in 1934 by the Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content i ...
was founded, and began to rate films independently, putting pressure on the industry. In 1933 and 1934 the Legion along with a number of Protestant and women's groups launched plans to boycott films that they deemed immoral. The
Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Fo ...
(MPPDA) had, up until then, enforced the motion picture industry's own self-censorship standards, albeit not very seriously. Hays, who had been in charge of enforcing this voluntary code since 1927, worried that the NLD's efforts could weaken his own power and that of his office, and hurt industry profits. Hays appointed the "tough Irish Catholic" Breen to head the
Production Code Administration The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Fo ...
(PCA), a newly created department of the MPPDA, created to administer the
Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the Cinema of the United States, United States from 1934 to 1968. It ...
.Pryors, Thomas S. (October 15, 1954). "Breen is Retired as Movie Censor; At Own Request, Director of Code Leaves Office -- Chief Aide Successor", ''
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''; accessed May 4, 2017.
Unlike previous attempts at self-censorship, PCA decisions became binding — no film could be exhibited in an American theater without a stamp of approval from the PCA. Any producer attempting to do so faced a fine of $25,000. After ten years of unsuccessful voluntary codes and expanding local censorship boards, the studio approved and agreed to enforce the codes, and the nationwide production code was enforced starting on July 1, 1934. ''
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'' wrote in 1936 that Breen's appointment gave him "more influence in standardizing world thinking than Mussolini, Hitler, or Stalin." Breen wrote
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
letters in the early 1930s including phrases like "Ninety-five percent of these folks are Jews of an Eastern European lineage. They are, probably, the scum of the scum of the earth". After 1934, he was "publicly and forthrightly anti-antisemitic." He occasionally collaborated with Georg Gyssling, the Nazi representative in Hollywood.
William Dudley Pelley William Dudley Pelley (March 12, 1890 – June 30, 1965) was an American fascist activist, journalist, writer, and occultist. He was noted for his support of Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler during the Great Depression and Second World War. Pel ...
, founder of the antisemitic organization the
Silver Legion of America The Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, was an American fascist and pro-Nazi organization which was founded by William Dudley Pelley and headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. History Pelley was a former journal ...
, believed that Jews controlled the movie industry, which he thought to be the "most effective propaganda medium in America", during the 1930s. Hence he applauded the fact that Breen had assumed the power to censor Hollywood. Breen, who also expressed antisemitic views, was deeply worried that Jewish filmmakers would try to use Nazi mistreatment of Jews during the 1930s as a vehicle for propaganda. He was concerned that Germans would be offended by harsh depiction of Nazis. He specifically warned Hollywood producers to avoid the topic altogether, saying that " ere is a strong pro-German and antisemitic feeling in this country ... and while those who are likely to approve of an anti-Hitler picture may think well of such an enterprise, they should keep in mind that millions of Americans might think otherwise." Breen claimed that plans to make such pictures were being coordinated through the
Hollywood Anti-Nazi League The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League (later known as the American Peace Mobilization) was founded in Los Angeles in 1936 by Soviet agent Otto Katz and others with the stated purpose of organizing members of the American film industry to oppose fascism ...
, which he claimed was "conducted and financed almost entirely by Jews". Breen pressured
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
to drop plans to film
Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...
's best-selling anti-fascist novel, ''
It Can't Happen Here ''It Can't Happen Here'' is a 1935 dystopian political novel by the American author Sinclair Lewis. Set in a fictionalized version of the 1930s United States, it follows an American politician, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, who quickly rises to pow ...
'' after insisting on 60 edits with more to follow. He also asked MGM in 1938 to change the villain from Nazis in the adaptation of the anti-Nazi novel '' Three Comrades'' in order to "get away from the suggestion that we are dealing with Nazi violence or terrorism." Breen did not issue a statement against antisemitism until July 1939, which said, in part, "In my judgement there is nothing more important for us Catholics to do at the present moment than to use our energies in stemming the tide of racial bigotry and hostility."Doherty 2009, pp. 211–12 This followed statements in late 1938 by Pope Pius XI denouncing antisemitism, stating that "it is not possible for Christians to take part in antisemitism" as well as the newly formed Committee of Catholics to Fight Anti-Semitism. The two authors of the
Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...
, Martin J. Quigley and the Rev. Daniel Lord, SJ, promoted the cause. Quigley asked Breen to help gather statements of support from Catholics in the Hollywood film industry.


1941–1954

Breen resigned from the PCA in April 1941, attributing his departure to "overwork and the need of a long rest." He briefly put in a stint as the general manager of
RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...
, but returned to the PCA in 1942. By the mid-1950s, Breen's power over Hollywood was diminishing. For instance,
Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...
publicly insisted that the production code be revised. Around the same time,
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...
, owner of RKO, released ''
The French Line ''The French Line'' is a 1953 American musical film starring Jane Russell made by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes as executive producer. The screenplay was by Mary Loos and Richa ...
'', featuring revealing images of actress
Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, model, and singer. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s and starred in more than 20 films throughout her career. R ...
in a bathing suit, despite the fact that Breen had refused to approve the picture for release. In 1951, Breen's office refused to approve
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...
's film ''
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'' because of objections to the dialogue.
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backed Preminger in his decision to release the movie without Breen's approval. In 1954, the same year he retired, in responding to these events in an interview with Aline Mosby, Breen claimed that "after the events of the past 10 months — ''The French Line'', ''The Moon Is Blue'' and Goldwyn — the code is more entrenched than ever before. Those events brought tremendous support from groups all over the country." Breen retired from the PCA and was replaced by Geoffrey Shurlock. On his retirement, he was presented with an honorary
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for "his conscientious, open-minded and dignified management of the Motion Picture Production Code".


Personal life

In February 1914, Breen married Mary Dervin, with whom he had six children, three boys and three girls. Their son Joseph Breen, Jr. was a writer and director. One of their other children, Thomas, whose right leg was amputated due to a combat injury on
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during World War II, was cast in a feature role in
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...
's 1950 film '' The River'', playing a wounded war veteran. Renoir was not aware at the time that Thomas was Joseph Breen's son. After his retirement, Breen moved to
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, with his wife Mary. He suffered from poor health in his later years and eventually lost the use of his legs. He died at the age of 77 on December 5, 1965, at the Brentwood Convalescent Home in Los Angeles and was buried at
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Holy Cross Cemetery is a Catholic Church, Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Archdiocese. It is partially in the Culver City city limi ...
.Doherty 2009 pp. 346–48


Legacy

After Breen's death, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine wrote that Breen was "one of the most influential figures in American culture" and that "more than any single individual, he shaped the moral stature of the American motion picture."Doherty, Thomas Patrick. ''Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema 1930-1934''. New York: Columbia University Press 1999. , pg. 9 The trade magazine went on to say that Breen enforced the PCA code "with a potent mix of missionary zeal and administrative tenacity." In the 2004 film '' The Aviator'', Breen was portrayed by
Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film musical '' An ...
.


See also

Nazism and cinema Nazism made extensive use of the cinema throughout its history. Though it was a relatively new technology, the Nazi Party established a film department soon after it rose to power in Germany. Both Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister, Jos ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Joseph I. 1888 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Roman Catholics Academy Honorary Award recipients American anti-communists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American people of Irish descent American Roman Catholic writers Antisemitism in California Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Catholics from California Catholics from Pennsylvania Censors Film censorship in the United States Saint Joseph's University alumni Writers from Philadelphia Anti-Masonry