Why Is Baby Face So Controversial?

The reasons that Baby Face was so controversial is that it involved several topics that were either an issue or looked down upon during that time period. In the original version of the film, Ed Sipple, a politician whom Lily’s father pays off to keep his speakeasy open comes to visit and a quick scene of her father counting money was cut in order to eliminate any evidence that Lily was prostituted. Another piece of evidence that was cut is a scene in Lily’s bedroom when Sipple calls her “sweetheart of the night”, again referring to her prostitution. Furthermore, another part of the film that was censored was a really intense scene between Lily and Sipple. In this scene, Lily leaves the bedroom and pours herself a beer, as she begins to drink,

Sipple comes and hugs her from behind and begins trying to kiss her. Lily was not pleased so she smashed her beer bottle and then proceeds to calmly drink her beer while he walks away. If not censored, this scene could be extremely controversial for a few reasons. First, Lily was drinking and during that time period it was not really accepted for women to drink alcohol, it was seen as “unladylike”. Second of all, and most important, this scene involved an attempt of rape. After the encounter with Sipple, Lily’s father is worried that he might lose his client so he gets upset at Lily. While they are arguing, the phrase “ever since I was 14 years old”, gets cut off in the censored version. This phrase was without a doubt eliminated because of the age that Lily began being prostituted at.

The cutting of scenes or even the changing of a few lines can dramatically affect the meaning of a film. For example, in the uncensored version, the cobbler insists that Lily uses men without any hesitation, “A woman, young, beautiful like you, can get anything she wants in the world. Because you have power over men. But you must use men, not let them use you” (2). As rewritten by Joseph Breen of the SRC, the cobbler’s words were replaced and infused with morality which altered the theme of the film, “A woman, young, beautiful, like you are, can get anything she wants in the world. But there is a right way and a wrong way. Remember, the price of the wrong way is too great” (3). This demonstrates how even the slightest change can be extremely altering to the concept of a movie.

Another example that depicts how the film was controversial is the fact that Lily moved to New York City with her African-American friend and servant, Chico.

During this time period, it was looked down by society when an African-American individual and a white individual had any kind of friendship, much less a romantic relationship. In both versions of the film, when Lily and Chico were departing Pennsylvania in a boxcar, they were caught by a railroad cop. However, in the original version, the rail man follows her to the back of the boxcar where it is seen that Chico’s gloves come off and the lamp go out which implies that Lily is sleeping with him. From this point, the two versions of the film follow almost completely different plots. In the censored version, Lily flirts her way to the top of Gotham Trust, while on the original version she sleeps her way to the

top.

Moreover, in the censored version it is shown how Lily seduces the young Clerk at the hiring office with the goal of obtaining a chance of getting hired at the bank. In the uncensored version, the young clerk follows Lily into his boss’s office which can easily imply that she is exchanging sexual favors for a job opportunity. The fact that Lily repeatedly uses her seducing skills to climb the corportate ladder adds to the many reasons why Baby Face was so controversial. In a film where one of the main themes is using sexual appeal to control men and acquire objectives, it is pretty difficult to include a sense of ethical quality. Yet by simply cutting about five seconds of the film, Lily’s personality was changed.

The next two scenes of the film were both really dramatic, but really different. In the censored rendition, Stevens, one of Lily’s many romantic partners throughout the film, shows up to her home and begs her to take him back, threatening her that he would commit suicide if she refuses. Soon after, he realizes that Lily’s new lover is in the room and pushes her out of the way to go confront him. Stevens immediately recognized her new partner Carter because they worked together at the bank. Therefore, brimming of adrenaline and rage, Stevens shoots Carter twice. In contrast, in the uncensored version this is shamelessly portrayed. First, Carter’s graphic wounds are unmistakeable, and then a few instants later a third shot is heard which implies that Stevens executed himself which is affirmed when Lily enters the room and discovers the dead men. The censored version illustrates the encounter more vaguely since it is not shown when Steven shoots Carter or when he cumples on the floor. This is replaced by two shots being heard with another one following shortly after, and Lily still finds both men dead, however it is not explicitly known how or with details. Since the audience does not know how the fight actually happened, they can imply that they both possessed a firearm and that Carter fired back at Stevens. This vanishes the fact that Stevens committed suicide, since it was and currently is considered a sin and to a great degree disallowed by the Catholic church. Lily handled the circumstance differently in both renditions of the film. In the uncensored, she is portrayed as careless and without any remorse while in the censored one she is full of sentiment and regret that she chose the wrong path in life.

Upon its release, Baby Face had immediate consequences as well as long term

Consequences that still exist today.

Darryl F. Zanuck, a talented filmmaker and writer who had been highly involved in Baby Face, resigned his position as production head at Warner Bros Studios (Wilson 352). This was due to the fact that when it came to censoring Baby Face to please Will Hays and the censors, Zanuck protested because he believed that the film must remain impact to reflect the original theme. Jack and Harry Warner therefore accepted Zanuck’s resignation after assuring Hays the film would undergo the necessary cuts to make it acceptable (Wilson 353). It is amusing how Baby Face is known to give a real effect to the production code. In 1934, it was pulled from theaters by the production Code disregarding the censorship cuts that had been made. It was said that no amount of cuts or clean-ups could make the film appropriate enough to be released to the public(Leff and Simmons 58-62) . The Production code was continued to be enforced in Hollywood until 1966 when it was replaced. In 1968 the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) instituted the first iteration of the voluntary ratings system, still used today (Jefferson Center). This system had the support of the MPPDA and theater owners. In fact, the ratings system enforced then and now is not government mandated but actually another adaptation of self-censorship in order to prevent the government from intervening in production or censorship. Hollywood’s liking for self-censorship and filmmakers’ continual

embracement of such practices have led to the current film censorship that exists today. To conclude, society, moral standards, and culture is constantly changing and evolving, Baby Face would definitely not be considered nearly as controversial as it did in the 1900s. In the future, Hollywood might eventually find the manner to move on from their current practices of self-censorship and begin a new era of filmmaking without fear.