Although the PCA had a specific criteria for what was deemed objectionable content in film its enforcement often came down to an incredibly subjective interpretation of the material they were reviewing.

    In this letter to Warner Brothers studio head Jack Warner Breen outlines his objections to such tepid expressions as “fight for your honor” and “louse.” The line “I lost my youthful curiosity years ago,” to Breen, “seems unacceptably pointed as to the word curiosity.” 

    Compliance with the Code could be maddening and often necessitated countless drafts of a screenplay just to please Breen and his obsession with censoring what he found to be objectionable. Producers such as Wald looked for opportunities to hint at visually in movies what would otherwise be censored in a screenplay.