The Loosening Grip: Band of Angels and the Decline of Censorship
Drawing on largely unpublished archives from various sources, including local film censorship boards in Virginia, Chicago, and Memphis, Warner Bros. Pictures, and the Production Code Administration, this article examines the strategies employed by Warner Bros. during the theatrical release of Band o...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/24795 |
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| Summary: | Drawing on largely unpublished archives from various sources, including local film censorship boards in Virginia, Chicago, and Memphis, Warner Bros. Pictures, and the Production Code Administration, this article examines the strategies employed by Warner Bros. during the theatrical release of Band of Angels (Raoul Walsh, 1957), one of the first major productions to focus on interracial romance. Despite the weakening of film censorship, Warner had to negotiate extensively with local censors, the Production Code Administration, and the African American press to avoid any boycott or ban. The archives consulted for this research highlight the fact that various, sometimes contradictory, techniques were used by the studio to convince the censors of the film’s morality. Finally, this article will examine the difficulty of renewing the imaginary of slavery, which often remains trapped in the idealization of the Old South. |
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| ISSN: | 1765-2766 |