Cinema: Don’ts

Two months ago Will Hays, head of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc., keeper of Hollywood’s celluloid morals, toldpicture makers to find some less revealing garment than the sweater inwhich to clothe their shapely ingenues. Betimes, Mr. Hays worked on theHollywood dictionary. Some of his latest don’ts (the parentheses arehis):

> Words & phrases to be omitted from all pictures:

Alley cat (applied to a woman)

Broad (applied to a woman)

God, Lord, Jesus, Christ (unless used reverently)

“Fanny”

Fairy (in a vulgar sense)

“Fire”—cries of

Goose (in a vulgar sense)

Hot (applied to a woman)

“In your hat”

Lousy

Nuts (except when meaning “crazy”)

Razzberry (the sound)

Tomcat (applied to a man)

Buzzard (too similar in sound to bastard)

> Words & phrases invariablydeleted by political censor boards:

Bum (England)

Punk (England)

Stick ’em up (U.S. and Canada)

Shag (British Empire)

> Words & phrases particularly offensive to patrons in foreigncountries:

Frog (French)

Kike (U.S. and England)

Spig (Mexico and Central America)

Wop (Italian)