Convention City (Lost 1933 Comedy Film)

Convention City is a 1933 Warner Bros film. It was notable for its risque humor and full-frontal nudity. It was particularly responsible for the implementation of The Hayes Code (a code that censored sex and violence in films) in Hollywood and for it's controversy.

During its production, Jack Warner urged costume designer, Hal Wallis, many times to tone down the costumes in the film. Fearing the film's artistic vision would be compromised, Wallis refused to make the costumes more family friendly. Warner also ordered for a few lines to be cut from the film, of which only a few were. When the film opened, it was heavily censored or downright banned, despite its critical acclaim. Many theaters destroyed their copies of the film, thinking it promoted corrupt morals and anti-Christian messages.

Warner Bros reportedly "junked" all remaining copies of the film in 1948. A movie theater in Spain continued to show the film as late as 1942, and reportedly held onto its copy. This copy, though, has yet to be found. Over 200 production stills as well as the script survive. No copies of the film surfeced after its apparent "junk"-ing.

In the 1990s, it became the only film whose stock footage has survived longer than the actual film itself. Stock footage of various Atlantic City establishing shots were discovered in a studio vault. In 1994, a dramatic reading of the film's script was held at a pre-Hayes Code film festival. The film is heavily saught-after for its humor and content.