Convention City (lost risqué comedy film; 1933)
Convention City is a 1933 comedy film produced by Warner Bros. It was notable for its risqué humor, lewd dialogue, and full-frontal nudity. This film was among those responsible for the implementation of The Hayes Code, which censored sex and violence in Hollywood movies.
During production, Jack Warner urged costume designer Hal Wallis many times to tone down the costumes in the film. Fearing the film's artistic vision would be compromised, Wallis refused to make the costumes more family-friendly. Warner also ordered for a few lines to be cut from the film, of which only a few were. When the film opened, it was heavily censored and banned outright in certain areas despite its critical acclaim. Many theaters destroyed their copies of the film, thinking it promoted corrupt morals and anti-Christian messages.
Warner Bros reportedly "junked" the print of the film they kept in their archives as it had begun to deteriorate and posed a fire hazard. However, other copies potentially survived. A movie theater in Spain continued to show the film as late as 1942 and reportedly held onto its copy. Warner Bros also continued renting the movie out to theaters as late as 1937. However, no copies have been located. [1] Over 200 production stills, as well as the script, survive.
In the 1990s, it became the only film whose stock footage has survived longer than the actual film itself. Stock footage of various Atlantic City establishing shots was discovered in a studio vault.[2] In 1994, a dramatic reading of the film's script was held at a pre-Hayes Code film festival.
External Link
- Wikipedia article on Convention City. Retrieved 15 Mar '16
Reference
- ↑ Vitaphone View: Where is “Convention City” Hiding? Retrieved 13 Sept '20
- ↑ Examiner article including this film. Retrieved 15 Mar '16