The author of this essay uses the book and movie Double Indemnity as an example of Hollywood censorship and the ridiculous state it has come to. Schumach uses this movie because it was the first script in which both male's and females were villians. After giving a brief plot summary, Schumach begins the story of the changed the book underwent to become a movie script. The book was sent by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a film company, to Breen. They asked him to read the book and suggest any changes to make it pass the production code. Breen replied the next day telling the company that the picture was in complete violation of the production code and would most certainly be rejected. Breen summarized the plot, pointing out violations such as, "explicit details of the planning of the murder", that the criminals commit suicide, and also that the book dealt "improperly with an illicit and adulterous sex relationship." Copies of Breen's letter were sent to all companies interested in the book as a movie. Eight years later, Paramount Pictures sent Breen a revised script. Minor changes included the criminals killing each other instead of themselves. The details of the crime and the adultery were left intact. The only complaints Breen had were minor wording that needed changed (substituting "sit down" for "park your south end". Shumach's point is that what started as a legitimate complaint about morals, eight years later, was a simple argument over words. This he uses to show how ridiculous censorship can be.
