"Oh why, why, why be good?"

Last night I received the documentary, Why be Good? Sexuality and Censorship in Early Cinema from NetFlix. Just over an hour long, it covers conflicts between filmmakers and censors from the 1890s to the implementation of the Hays Code in the 1930s. Mary Pickford, Louise Brooks, Fatty Arbuckle, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, and Clara Bow are a few of the stars it follows under this focus.

This film did not tell me much I did not already know, but I loved the selection of film clips (Many were from the 1890s and 1910s!!), rare interviews with Mary Pickford, Louise Brooks, and Gloria Swanson, and the 1920s-inspired soundtrack. Not to mention, no matter the depth, this subject remains interesting to me. I think it's so typical to treat sex in such a taboo, hypocritical way.  It's worth checking out if you like film history.

In other news, has anyone kept up with TCM's annual 31 Days of Oscar? I am excited to watch Father of the Bride tonight, and Viva Zapata! and Sunrise tomorrow.