Production Development The development of Bad Girl from the novel and play into a film required extensive purging and rewriting of the material to conform to the dictates of the Hays Office. A November 16, 1928, memo from the Hays Office put a damper on the whole production, stating: "'Bad Girl' might be produced as a sex hygiene picture called 'Motherhood.' It is simply the story of girl who is 'bad' for one night, marries the boy the next day, and then has a baby". The memo described the novel as a "nauseating story of doctors, illnesses, etc." and as "cheap and shoddy writing about cheap and shoddy people". Several studios besides Fox were interested in the rights to the novel and play, including Pathé, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Columbia Pictures, but were either scared off by the Hays Office's warnings of extensive cuts by the censor or the difficulty of dramatizing the novel's main subject of obstetrics. Between 1929 and 1930, the Hays Office advised numerous producers not to attempt an adaptation because it would be "too censorable".
Production Development The development of Bad Girl from the novel and play into a film required extensive purging and rewriting of the material to conform to the dictates of the Hays Office. A November 16, 1928, memo from the Hays Office put a damper on the whole, production, stating: "'Bad Girl' might be produced as a sex hygiene picture called 'Motherhood.' It is simply the story of girl who is 'bad' for one night, marries the boy the next day, and then has a baby". The memo described the novel as a "nauseating story of doctors illnesses, etc." and as "cheap and shoddy writing about cheap and shoddy people". Several studios besides Fox were interested in the rights to the novel and play, including Pathé, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Columbia Pictures, but were either scared off by the Hays Office's warnings of extensive cuts by the censor or the difficulty of dramatizing the novel's main subject of obstetrics. Between 1929 and 1930, the Hays Office advised numerous producers not to attempt an adaptation because it would be "too censorable".