She Done Him Wrong: Film Analysis

When navigating the conservative yet vague production code put in place in 1930, studios were faced with only two potential courses of action; subverting or conforming to the code, usually doing both within the same film. This is illustrated in two films from the the decade after the code was created, 1933's She Done Him Wrong, which contains many examples of subversion and adherence to the code, and 1940's The Shop Around the Corner, which largely upholds the code . For example, She Done Him Wrong upholds the code, which forbids undressing unless essential to the plot, by cutting to a different scene whenever someone begins to undress, specifically at the beginning of the film when Lou's maid goes to unzip her dress and the scene is quickly