Ronald Colman introduces Clement C. Young, Governor of California from 1928 to 1931, in this short made for public viewing in 1928. This was two years before the passage of the Motion Picture Production Code (not actually enforced until 1934) in an effort to show lawmakers that the film industry was policing itself. This film obviously didn't work, since the Code was put into effect anyway.
The Code's stated objectives were a lot of legal-speak for "The Bad Guy must never win nor get away with anything", "No nudity or explicit sexual material", "No graphic methods of violence", and "No illegal drug use", among others.
The Code was enforced until the late 1950's when squeaky-clean Hollywood films were subject to competition from more explicit foreign films and from the convenience of television. The old Hollywood "studio system" was pretty much dead by then and the Code fell by the wayside with it.
The Code's stated objectives were a lot of legal-speak for "The Bad Guy must never win nor get away with anything", "No nudity or explicit sexual material", "No graphic methods of violence", and "No illegal drug use", among others.
The Code was enforced until the late 1950's when squeaky-clean Hollywood films were subject to competition from more explicit foreign films and from the convenience of television. The old Hollywood "studio system" was pretty much dead by then and the Code fell by the wayside with it.