Letters of James Whitcomb Riley

Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1930. SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR on front endpage- " For Will H. Hays with the regards of Wm. Lyon Phelps, Easter 1931". Will Hays was most famously known as the first President of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), which under his guidance published a blacklist of actors and workers studios should not hire, inserted moral clauses into actors' contracts, and published an informal list of suggested guidelines for film producers. When the Catholic Church formed its Legion of Decency and threatened nationwide boycotts of movies, Hays installed a more formal production code, called the Hays Code( later simply "The Code"), which became the virtual law of Hollywood until the 1960s. Phelps was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel, was a well-known speaker who drew large crowds, had a radio show, wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column, lectured frequently, and published numerous popular books and articles. He was also a judge on the Pulitzer Prize committee, and in 1934 he refused to attend a performance of Lillian Hellman's play "The Children's Hour", which was a strong favorite for the award that year but considered controversial because of its lesbian theme. Hays placed the play on the banned list for filmmakers as soon as it was produced, because it violated sections of the code. Definitely two men who thought alike, and whose views were not uncommon for the time. A fascinating Association Copy ! Very Good, lacking the dustjacket, gilt titles at spine rubbed yet barely legible. . SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR. First Edition. Cloth. Very Good/No Jacket. Association Copy.