Note: This page is a supplement to the Production Code texts available elsewhere on the site at https://productioncode.dhwritings.com. This page offers the Motion Picture Production Code dated September 20, 1966. In that sense, it generally is outside the years which are focus of the site as a whole. The main page on the site to present the texts of the Production Code does so by reproducing all of the text in the various versions of the Code introduced from 1934 to 1955, while also indicating key changes from the 1930 Code and key changes which went into effect in versions beginning 1956.
If you reached this page without first viewing the texts from earlier years, you are urged to visit that part of the site before proceeding. The main pages not only reproduce longer, more detailed texts affecting greater portions of the contents of movies, but also the main pages of this site enable the visitor to read specific instances of content of movies which violated the Code, preceded the Code, circumvented the Code, or were forced to change owing to the Code. Although the instances on the main pages describe some scenes in films from 1966 and later, those remarks are not duplicated on this page. Nothing appears on the present page but these introductory notes and the text of the September 20, 1966, Production Code itself.
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE OF SELF-REGULATION OF
THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION:
This revised Code is designed to keep in closer harmony with the mores, the culture, the moral sense and the expectations of our society.
The revised Code can more completely fulfill its objectives, which are:
1. To encourage artistic expression by expanding creative freedom
and
2. To assure that the freedom which encourages the artist remains responsible and sensitive to the standards of the larger society.
Censorship is an odious enterprise. We oppose censorship and classification-by-law (or whatever name or guise these restrictions go under) because they are alien to the American tradition of freedom.
Much of this nation’s strength and purpose is drawn from the premise that the humblest of citizen has the freedom of his own choice. Censorship destroys this freedom of choice. It is within this framework that the Motion Picture Association continues to recognize its obligation to the society of which it is an integral part.
In our society the parents are the arbiters of family conduct.
Parents have the primary responsibility to guide their children in the kind of lives they lead, the character they build, the books they read, and the movies and other entertainment to which they are exposed.
The creators of motion pictures undertake a responsibility to make available pertinent information about their pictures which will enable parents to fulfill their function.
An important addition is now being made to the information already provided to the public in order to enable parents better to choose which motion pictures their children should see.
As part of the revised Code, there is a provision that producers in cooperation with the Code Administration, will identify certain pictures as SUGGESTED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.
Such information will be conveyed by advertising, by displays at the theatre and by other means.
Thus parents will be alerted and informed so that they may decide for themselves whether a particular picture because of theme, content or treatment, will be one which their children should or should not see, or may not understand or enjoy.
We believe self-restraint, self-regulation, to be in the tradition of the American purpose. It is the American society meeting its responsibility to the general welfare. The results of self-discipline are always imperfect because that is the nature of all things mortal. But this Code, and its administration, will make clear that freedom of expression does not mean toleration of license.
The test of self-restraint
All members of the Motion Picture Association, as well as many independent producers, cooperate in this self-regulation. Not all motion pictures, however, are submitted to the Production Code Administration of the MPA, and the presence of the Seal is the only way the public can know which pictures have come under the Code.
We believe in and pledge our support to these deep and fundamental values in a democratic society:
Freedom of choice
The right of creative man to achieve artistic
excellence
The role of the parent as the arbiter of the family’s conduct.
The men and women who make motion pictures under this Code value their social responsibility as they value their creative skills. The Code, and all that is written and implied in it, aims to strengthen both those values.
STANDARDS FOR PRODUCTION
In furtherance of the objectives of the Code to accord with the mores, the culture, and the moral sense of our society, the principles stated above and the following standards shall govern the Administrator in his consideration of motion pictures submitted for Code approval:
The basic dignity and value of human life shall be respected and upheld. Restraint shall be exercised in portraying the taking of life.
Evil, sin, crime and wrong-doing shall not be justified.
Special restraint shall be exercised in portraying criminal or anti-social activities in which minors participate or are involved.
Detailed and protracted acts of brutality, cruelty, physical violence, torture and abuse, shall not be presented.
Indecent or undue exposure of the human body shall not be presented.
Illicit sex relationships shall not be justified. Intimate sex scenes violating common standards of decency shall not be portrayed. Restraint and care shall be exercised in presentations dealing with sex aberrations.
Obscene speech, gestures or movements shall not be presented. Undue profanity shall not be permitted.
Religion shall not be demeaned.
Words or symbols contemptuous of racial, religious or national groups, shall not be used to as to incite bigotry or hatred.
Excessive cruelty to animals shall not be portrayed and animals shall not be treated inhumanely.
STANDARDS FOR ADVERTISING
The principles of the Code cover advertising and publicity as well as production. There are times when their specific application to advertising may be different. A motion picture is viewed as a whole and may be judged that way. It is the nature of advertising, however, that it must select and emphasize only isolated portions and aspects of a film. It thus follows that what may be appropriate in a motion picture may not be equally appropriate in advertising. This must be taken into account in applying the Code standards to advertising. Furthermore, in application to advertising, the principles and standards of the Code are supplemented by the following standards for advertising:
Illustrations and text shall not misrepresent the character of a motion picture.
Illustrations shall not depict any indecent or undue exposure of the human body.
Advertising demeaning religion, race, or national origin shall not be used.
Cumulative overemphasis on sex, crime, violence and brutality shall not be permitted.
Salacious postures and embraces shall not be shown.
Censorship disputes shall not be exploited or capitalized upon.
STANDARDS FOR TITLES
A salacious, obscene, or profane title shall not be used on motion pictures.
PRODUCTION CODE REGULATIONS
I. Operations
A. Prior to commencement of production of a motion picture, the producer shall submit a shooting, or other, script to the Office of Code Administration. The Administrator of the Code shall inform the producer in confidence whether a motion picture based upon the script appears to conform to the Code. The final judgment of the Administrator shall be made only upon reviewing of the completed picture.
B. The completed picture shall be submitted to the Code Office and if it is approved by the Administrator, the producer or distributor shall upon public release of the picture place upon an introductory frame of every print distributed for exhibition in the United States the official Seal of the Association with the word “Approved” above the Seal, and below, the words “Certificate Number,” followed by the number of the Certificate of Approval. All prints bearing the Code Seal shall be identical.
C. The Administrator, in issuing a Certificate of Approval, shall condition the issuance of the Certificate upon agreement by the producer or distributor that all advertising and publicity to be used for the picture shall be submitted to and approved by the Director of the Code for Advertising.
D. The Administrator, in approving a picture under the Code, may recommend that advertising for the picture carry the informational line SUGGESTED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. If the Administrator so determines, the distributing company shall carry the line SUGGESTED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES in its advertising. The Administrator shall notify the Director of the Code for Advertising of all such pictures.
E. The title of an approved motion picture shall not be changed without prior approval of the Director of the Code for Titles.
F. Nonmembers of the Association may avail themselves of the services of the Office of Code Administration in the same manner and under the same conditions as members of the Association.
G. The producer or distributor, upon receiving a Certificate of Approval for a picture, shall pay to the Office of Code Administration a fee in accordance with the uniform schedule of fees approved by the Board of Directors of the Association.
II. Motion Picture Code Board
A. A Motion Picture Code Board is established with these two principal functions:
—To hear appeals from decisions of the Code Administrator.
—To act as an advisory body on Code matters.
1. The Code Board shall be composed of the following:
(a) The President of the Motion Picture Association of America, and nine other directors of the Association appointed by the President;
(b) Six exhibitors appointed by the President upon nomination by the National Association of Theatre Owners; and
(c). Four producers appointed by the President upon nomination by the Screen Producers Guild.
2. The President of the Motion Picture Association of America shall be Chairman of the Code Board, and the Association shall provide the secretariat.
3. The President may designate not more than two pro tempore members for each category as substitutes for members unable to attend a particular Board meeting or a hearing.
4. The presence of ten members shall constitute a quorum of the Board for meetings and hearings.
5. The members of the Board required to travel to attend a meeting shall be reimbursed for transportation and substance expenses, which shall be paid to them from funds of the Office of Code Administration.
B. Advisory
The procedures governing meetings of the Board in its advisory function shall be as follows:
1. The Board shall meet upon call of the Chairman at a time and place he may designate.
2. Members may submit suggestions for an agenda, which shall be prepared and circulated by the Chairman in advance of meetings. Upon majority vote, additional items may be submitted and brought up for discussion at meetings.
3. The Board through the Chairman may request the presence of the Code Administrator at meetings; may request oral and written reports from its distributor, exhibitor and producer members on the status of the Code; may call for advice and reports upon others in a position to contribute to a better understanding and more efficacious operation of the system of self-regulation; and may perform such other functions of an advisory nature as may redound to the benefit of the Code.
C. Appeals
1. Any producer or distributor whose picture has not been approved by the Code Administrator may appeal the decision to the Motion Picture Code Board by filing a notice of appeal to the Chairman of the Board.
2. The procedures governing appeals before the Code Board shall be as follows:
(a) The Board, upon being called into meeting by the Chairman, shall view an identical print of the picture denied a Certificate of Approval by the Code Administrator.
(b) The producer or the distributor and the Code Administrator, or their representatives, may present oral or written statements to the board.
(c) The Board shall decide the appeal by majority vote of the members present and its decision shall be final.
(d) No member of the Board shall participate in an appeal involving a picture in which the member has a financial interest.
3. The jurisdiction of the Board is limited to hearing the appeal and it is without power to change or amend the Code.
4. The Code Board, if it authorizes the issuance of a Certificate of Approval, may do so upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe.
ADVERTISING CODE REGULATIONS
1. These regulations are applicable to all members of the Motion Picture Association of America, and to all producers and distributors of motion pictures with respect to each picture for which the Association has granted its Certificate of Approval.
2. The term “advertising” as used herein shall be deemed to mean all forms of motion picture advertising and exploitation, and ideas therefor, including the following: press books; still photographs; newspaper, magazine and trade paper advertising; publicity copy and art intended for use in press books or otherwise intended for general distribution in printed form or for theatre use; trailers; posters, lobby displays, and other outdoor displays; advertising accessories, including heralds and throw-a ways; novelties; copy for exploitation tieups; and all radio and television copy and spots.
3. All advertising shall be submitted to the Director of the Code for Advertising for approval before use, and shall not be used in any way until so submitted and approved. All advertising shall be submitted in duplicate with the exception of pressbooks, which shall be submitted in triplicate.
4. The Director of the Code for Advertising shall proceed as promptly as feasible to approve or disapprove the advertising submitted.
The Director of the Code for Advertising shall stamp “Approved” on one copy of all advertising approved by him and return the stamped copy to the Company which submitted it. If the Director of the Code for Advertising disapproves of any advertising, the Director shall stamp the word “Disapproved” on one copy and return it to the Company which submitted it, together with the reasons for such disapproval; or, if the Director so desires, he may return the copy with suggestions for such changes or corrections as will cause it to be approved.
5. All pressbooks approved by the Director of the Code for Advertising shall bear in a prominent place the official seal of the Motion Picture Association of America. The word “Approved” shall be printed under the seal. Pressbooks shall also carry the following notice:
All advertising in this pressbook, as well as
all other advertising and publicity materials
referred to therein, has been approved
under the Standards for Advertising
of the Code of Self-Regulation of
the Motion Picture Association of America.
All inquiries on this procedure may
be addressed to :
Director of Code for Advertising
Motion Picture Association of America
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10036
6. When the Code Administrator determines that any picture shall carry the informational line SUGGESTED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES, the Director of the Code for Advertising shall require this line to appear in such advertising for that picture as the Director may specify. When the advertisement is limited in size, the Director may authorize the initials SMA to stand for SUGGESTED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.
7. Appeals. Any Company whose advertising has been disapproved may appeal from the decision of the Director of the Code for Advertising, as follows:
It shall serve notice of such appeal on the Director of the Code for Advertising and on the President of the Association. The President, or in his absence a Vice President designated by him, shall thereupon promptly and within a week hold a hearing to pass upon the appeal. Oral and written evidence may be introduced by the Company and by the Director of the Code for Advertising, or their representatives. The appeal shall be decided as expeditiously as possible and the deicsion shall be final.
8. Any Company which uses advertising without prior approval may be brought up on charges before the Board of Directors by the President of the Association. Within a reasonable time, the Board may hold a hearing, at which time the Company and the Director of the Code for Advertising, or their representatives, may present oral or written statements. The Board, by a majority vote of those present, shall decide the matter as expeditiously as possible.
If the Board of Directors finds that the Company has used advertising without prior approval, the Board may direct the Administrator of the Code to void and revoke the Certificate of Approval granted for the picture and require the removal of the Association’s seal from all prints of the picture.
9. Each Company shall be responsible for
compliance by its employees and agents with
these regulations.