Joe Breen's Oscar

On March 25, 1954, Joseph Breen received an honorary Academy Award for "his conscientious, open-minded, and dignified management of the Motion Picture Production Code." Breen, about to retire, had served almost 21 years as the head of the Production Code Administration, the body that censored virtually all films shown in American theaters. His reputation countered the words attached to his award and seemed to be a hypocrisy by the film industry. Aside from Breen's public image as a feisty and profane defender of conventional morality, there is also the bigoted side of the man that appeared in his private correspondence. He also questioned himself as to whether he was up to the job. The author discusses Breen's leadership, personality, reputation, impact on the film industry, and the movies released during his tenure. The "Breen years" roughly coincide with Hollywood's "Golden Age."