"Films Reviewed" booklet
- TitleNational Legion of Decency collection, 1941 - 1951 (inclusive)
- Collector
- Date(s)1941 - 1951 (inclusive)
- Related names
- Description
0.4 linear ft. of papers
1. Subject files
- Summary
The collection contains National Legion of Decency rating lists from December 1941 through July 1947, nine annual rating booklets from 1937 to 1946, and classification lists from September 1948 to July 1951. Artificial collection created by the Library. There is no other material on the organization. (The Los Angeles Archival Center of the Archdiocese contains some records relating to the legion and its activities from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s. Material is available by appointment at the Archival Center, located at the San Fernando Mission in Mission Hills, California.)
- BiographyThe National Legion of Decency was formed in 1934 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. The legion published rating lists designed to provide "a moral estimate of current entertainment feature motion pictures" and prepared under the direction of the New York Archdiocesan Council of the Legion of Decency with the cooperation of the Motion Picture Department of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae. Films were rated as unobjectionable (Class A), objectionable (Class B), or condemned (Class C). Reasons for deeming a film objectionable include suggestive dialogue, lack of moral compensation, lustful kissing, and acceptance of divorce. The organization changed names twice—in the mid-1960s and in the early 1970s—and today is known as the U.S. Catholic Conference.
- Subjects
- Acquisitions InformationCollected by the library, 1941-1951
- Preferred citationNational Legion of Decency collection, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- DepartmentLibrary
- 69
- AvailabilityFor information on the contents and availability of this collection please contact the Reference and Public Services department at ref@oscars.org.
- Moving Image Items
- Library Holdings