Gunshots, murder, car chases, and theft were not major themes critics typically wanted to view in 1931 movie theatres. Debates about graphic films was heated up after Scarface premiered. Scarface was constantly picked apart by critics due to the explicit nature of the film. A gangster film being glorified during a time in America when gang war was occurring. The film had to go under multiple revisions to make the critics feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside to walk on the streets in downtown Chicago at night because justice was served to Tony Camonte.
I wonder what George Mason would think about Section 12 of his Bill of Rights that he wrote applying to Scarface. Mason would be hypocritical to his one particular belief that without free speech Americans do not have democracy. I guess he would just have to remind the Hays Office and tell them to put up with it.
