--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lillian was determined that her next role…" description: "\"“Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and assumed she only needed to find the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg" --- # Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester… ![“Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and assumed she only needed to find the right actor to play opposite her as Reverend Dimmesdale. Mayer informed her there was a much larger issue at stake; The Scarlet Letter was on the…” quote by Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg) > ““Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and assumed she only needed to find the right actor to play opposite her as Reverend Dimmesdale. Mayer informed her there was a much larger issue at stake; The Scarlet Letter was on the Hays office “blacklist” of books that could not be filmed. The very idea of a blacklist was ridiculous to Lillian and she took up the matter directly with Will Hays. While he would occasionally publicly chastise the studios, Hays never forgot that the full name of his office was the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America and worked to smooth the path any and every way he could. He told Lillian that the major source of objection was “the Protestant Church, especially the Methodists,” and directed her to the heads of several church and women’s organizations where she forcefully presented her case. Even with Hays’s assistance, no other actress had the personal and professional reputation pure enough to garner the response she received: the ban would be lifted if she was “personally responsible” for the film. Lillian turned her attention to finding the consummate Dimmesdale and Mayer suggested she watch Lars Hanson in The Saga of Gosta Berling. The studio boss had seen Mauritz Stiller’s film in Berlin the previous December and he immediately put the director and the film’s three stars, Hanson, Mona Martenson, and Greta Gustafsson, all under contract. Lillian agreed Hanson was “perfect” and was enthusiastic when Thalberg suggested the experienced Swede Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) direct, for she believed he had “Mr. Griffith’s sensitivity to atmosphere.” And so the ban was lifted from The Scarlet Letter, Lars Hanson was coming from Sweden, Victor Seastrom was assigned to direct, and now it was Irving Thalberg’s problem. He had no script. Lillian would later say that Irving “told me that Frances Marion and I could adapt it,” but it was hardly that simple.”” [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lillian navigated studio censorship by confronting the Hays Office, leveraging personal reputation to lift a ban on a controversial novel adaptation. **In simple terms:** She used influence and persistence to overcome a film blacklist. Key Takeaway Use reputation and direct advocacy to challenge institutional barriers. Themes censorship advocacy reputation studio politics film production Mood determined strategic Type historical industry When to use this quote - studio negotiations - film casting - script development - industry lobbying Key Concepts Hollywood blacklist censorship personal branding political negotiation Questions to Reflect On - How can personal credibility influence institutional decisions? - What risks arise when confronting censorship? A Different Perspective Success depended on personal standing, not just talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hester Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hester-prynne/) [Motion picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-picture/) [Scarlet Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarlet-letter/) ## Related quotes > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/but-hester-prynne-with-a-mind-of-native-courage-and-activity-and-for/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another’s actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-no-wonder-that-they-thus-questioned-one-another-s-actual-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“A woman never overcomes these problems by any exercise of thought. They are not to be solved, or only in one way. If her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-woman-never-overcomes-these-problems-by-any-exercise-of-thought/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Aria: I went to Hollis. Because I was looking for...you know. Her. She was teaching an art class, so I ran inside, grabbed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/aria-i-went-to-hollis-because-i-was-looking-for-you-know-her-she-was/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [“As Hester Prynne seemed to see some trace of her own sin in every bosom, by the glare of the Scarlet Letter burning on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/as-hester-prynne-seemed-to-see-some-trace-of-her-own-sin-in-every/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“Cancer is tangible. People feel compassion for you if you get cancer. Not so much if you're an alcoholic. And a mother who drinks?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hatvany-yurk/cancer-is-tangible-people-feel-compassion-for-you-if-you-get-cancer/) [Amy Hatvany (Yurk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hatvany-yurk/) > [“There is no room for rosy eyed acceptance of the cultural decay around us. Highly suspect will be any Christian literary and cultural critic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-swanson/there-is-no-room-for-rosy-eyed-acceptance-of-the-cultural-decay/) [Kevin Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-swanson/) > [“Could they be other than the insidious whispers of the bad angel, who would fain have persuaded the struggling woman, as yet only half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/could-they-be-other-than-the-insidious-whispers-of-the-bad-angel-who/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The vulgar, who, in those dreary old times, were always contributing a grotesque horror to what interested their imaginations, had a story about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-vulgar-who-in-those-dreary-old-times-were-always-contributing-a/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“They were, doubtless, good men, just and sage. But, out of the whole human family, it would not have been easy to select the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/they-were-doubtless-good-men-just-and-sage-but-out-of-the-whole-human/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More by Cari Beauchamp > [“Frances maintained they took care of each other and claimed “I owe my greatest success to women. Contrary to the assertion that women do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/frances-maintained-they-took-care-of-each-other-and-claimed-i-owe-my/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“While Photoplay mused that “Strangely enough, women outrank men as continuity writers,” it wasn’t strange to them. Women had always found sanctuary in writing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/while-photoplay-mused-that-strangely-enough-women-outrank-men-as/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Privately, she was proud of her Oscar for The Big House because she had conquered a variety of obstacles to create a realistic film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/privately-she-was-proud-of-her-oscar-for-the-big-house-because-she/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“At twenty-five, Marion had already developed the philosophy to “take failure with my chin up and success, when it comes, in stride.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/at-twenty-five-marion-had-already-developed-the-philosophy-to-take/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Eventually Frances was credited with writing 325 scripts covering every conceivable genre. She also directed and produced half a dozen films, was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/eventually-frances-was-credited-with-writing-325-scripts-covering/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“There was Mary Pickford, who called Frances “the pillar of my career,” for she had written Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyanna, A Little Princess,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/there-was-mary-pickford-who-called-frances-the-pillar-of-my-career/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“As Frances Marion rose to accept the Academy Award for Screenwriting for her original story The Big House, she became the first woman writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/as-frances-marion-rose-to-accept-the-academy-award-for-screenwriting/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Their task was to film the work of the Allied women. More than 20,000 American women served overseas during the war—10,000 as nurses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/their-task-was-to-film-the-work-of-the-allied-women-more-than-20-000/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Her friendships were as legendary as her stories and some of the best were with her fellow writers for during the teens, 1920s, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/her-friendships-were-as-legendary-as-her-stories-and-some-of-the-best/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Los Angeles in 1912 was a sprawling flatland stretching between the ocean and the mountains. Within a thirty-five-mile radius, there were forty incorporated towns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/los-angeles-in-1912-was-a-sprawling-flatland-stretching-between-the/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“George Cukor was still a young emerging talent at RKO, but they were to become lifelong friends after making Dinner at Eight and Camille…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/george-cukor-was-still-a-young-emerging-talent-at-rko-but-they-were/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“Today, names of screenwriters like Zoe Akins, Jeanie Macpherson, Beulah Marie Dix, Lenore Coffee, Anita Loos, June Mathis, Bess Meredyth, Jane Murfin, Adela Rogers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/today-names-of-screenwriters-like-zoe-akins-jeanie-macpherson-beulah/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“And there was Adela Rogers St. Johns, her friend since their girlhood in San Francisco. Adela would also be nominated for Best Original Story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/and-there-was-adela-rogers-st-johns-her-friend-since-their-girlhood/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“The vastness, the immensity, the awfulness of what I saw as I kept moving along with the front line engagements was utterly beyond my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/the-vastness-the-immensity-the-awfulness-of-what-i-saw-as-i-kept/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [“She would have four husbands and dozens of lovers and tell her best friends she spent her life “searching for a man to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/she-would-have-four-husbands-and-dozens-of-lovers-and-tell-her-best/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) [Explore all 17 Cari Beauchamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) ## More Motion picture quotes > [I think I'm innocently representing a certain belief in motion pictures, and, well OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-think-i-m-innocently-representing-a-certain-belief-in-motion/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“A two–hour length motion picture doesn’t do justice to a book of over four hundred pages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-david/a-two-hour-length-motion-picture-doesn-t-do-justice-to-a-book-of-over/) [S. A. David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-david/) > [I associate my motion picture career more with being unhappy and scared, or being under the gun, than with anything pleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/i-associate-my-motion-picture-career-more-with-being-unhappy-and/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I am not influenced by the techniques or fashions of any other motion picture company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-am-not-influenced-by-the-techniques-or-fashions-of-any-other-motion/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way, for they will be among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/instead-of-agitating-for-war-the-jewish-groups-in-this-country-should/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“The Cosmic Director has written His own plays, and assembled the tremendous casts for the pageant of the centuries. From the dark booth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/the-cosmic-director-has-written-his-own-plays-and-assembled-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > ['Deadpool' took seven years to get to the motion picture screen, and I use that as my measurement. That tested me and my patience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-liefeld/deadpool-took-seven-years-to-get-to-the-motion-picture-screen-and-i/) [Rob Liefeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-liefeld/) > [Things danced on the screen do not look the way they do on the stage. On the stage, dancing is three-dimensional, but a motion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kelly/things-danced-on-the-screen-do-not-look-the-way-they-do-on-the-stage/) [Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kelly/) > [Fact is, awards shows were never really about recognizing achievement. They were a publicity ploy cooked up in the late 1920s by MGM topper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/fact-is-awards-shows-were-never-really-about-recognizing-achievement/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [I began my career creating art for an animated feature film, and it has been a life-long dream to tell some of the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/i-began-my-career-creating-art-for-an-animated-feature-film-and-it/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [I always loved the motion picture scores and the great film composers like Elmer Bernstein.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr/i-always-loved-the-motion-picture-scores-and-the-great-film-composers/) [Frank Sinatra Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr/) > [If you ever go to a music session, you'll notice that the musicians can sit down and start playing right away, and everyone knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/if-you-ever-go-to-a-music-session-you-ll-notice-that-the-musicians/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Life is like a motion picture, everything is like a movie. In one of my rhymes I say, "My life is like a movie/Directed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-louie/life-is-like-a-motion-picture-everything-is-like-a-movie-in-one-of-my/) [King Louie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-louie/) > [The art of motion pictures is pictorial and language comes a distant second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-annaud/the-art-of-motion-pictures-is-pictorial-and-language-comes-a-distant/) [Jean-Jacques Annaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-annaud/) > [“Take it where you can find it, in old photograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/take-it-where-you-can-find-it-in-old-photograph-records-old-motion/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) [Browse all 266 Motion picture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-picture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and assumed she only needed to find the right actor to play opposite her as Reverend Dimmesdale. Mayer informed her there was a much larger issue at stake; The Scarlet Letter was on the Hays office “blacklist” of books that could not be filmed. The very idea of a blacklist was ridiculous to Lillian and she took up the matter directly with Will Hays. While he would occasionally publicly chastise the studios, Hays never forgot that the full name of his office was the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America and worked to smooth the path any and every way he could. He told Lillian that the major source of objection was “the Protestant Church, especially the Methodists,” and directed her to the heads of several church and women’s organizations where she forcefully presented her case. Even with Hays’s assistance, no other actress had the personal and professional reputation pure enough to garner the response she received: the ban would be lifted if she was “personally responsible” for the film. Lillian turned her attention to finding the consummate Dimmesdale and Mayer suggested she watch Lars Hanson in The Saga of Gosta Berling. The studio boss had seen Mauritz Stiller’s film in Berlin the previous December and he immediately put the director and the film’s three stars, Hanson, Mona Martenson, and Greta Gustafsson, all under contract. Lillian agreed Hanson was “perfect” and was enthusiastic when Thalberg suggested the experienced Swede Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) direct, for she believed he had “Mr. Griffith’s sensitivity to atmosphere.” And so the ban was lifted from The Scarlet Letter, Lars Hanson was coming from Sweden, Victor Seastrom was assigned to direct, and now it was Irving Thalberg’s problem. He had no script. Lillian would later say that Irving “told me that Frances Marion and I could adapt it,” but it was hardly that simple.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cari Beauchamp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-role-would-be-hester-prynne-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Motion picture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-role-would-be-hester-prynne-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/cari-beauchamp-30102_motion-picture_lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-rol_2767805.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter…” — Cari Beauchamp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cari Beauchamp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Lillian was determined that her next...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-role-would-be-hester-prynne-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-role-would-be-hester-prynne-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```