25th Academy Awards

Animals in Film – the good and the bad. What animals in film did you grow up loving and what animals scared you because of how they appeared in film!?

Animal Abuse and the Changes Made So Far:

Electrocuting an Elephant (1903): Violence towards animals in film dates as far back as Thomas Edison’s 1903 silent short, Electrocuting an Elephant. As the title soberly implies, the 90-second film shows the fatal electrocution of Topsy the elephant in Luna Park, Coney Island. Edison initially planned to hang the animal (seriously) before the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals intervened. An estimated 1,500 people witnessed the event, and Edison Studios made it available for a wider audience’s viewing pleasure via their coin operated kinetoscopes.

As many as 100 horses died in the making of the 1926 version of "Ben Hur."

In 1939 two horses were killed in the filming of "Northwest Mounted Police" and two more in "Jesse James." The horses in "Jesse James" were wearing movie blinkers with eyes painted on them. Unable to see, the horses had no idea they were running off a 75-foot cliff over white water until it was too late. The footage was impressive, the stuntman was well-paid, and the horses were dead.

This was the single biggest turning point in the history of Hollywood's treatment of animals. Word about the deaths got out and there was a tremendous furor. In reaction to the outcry, the Hays Office worked with the AHA (which stands for American Humane Association )to write guidelines for animal performances. Starting in 1940, the AHA was granted access to sets. The Hays Office, well known for prissy extremes such as insisting that marital bedrooms feature twin beds and that Betty Boop dress more modestly, also banned apparent animal cruelty. Films were submitted to the office before release to get a certificate of approval and often changes were demanded before a certificate was issued.