In 1934, "The Code" changed Hollywood. The Motion Picture Production Code, AKA the Hays Code, laid out what was decent ("correct standards of life") and what was not (profanity, nudity, drugs, race mixing, etc, etc, etc...).

Norma Shearer already had to reinvent herself a few years prior. The Canadian first started out as a silent actress, but made a successful transition to talkies. (Her voice was found "not quite American, but not at all foreign".) By the time The Code rolled around, she was conquering Hollywood, earning four Oscar nominations and one win. (In 1930, making her the first Jewish Best Actress winner — she converted for her husband, producer Irving Thalberg.)

That Oscar win came as the titular character in "The Divorcee", which involved her having an extramarital affair. In fact, most of Shearer's roles had her playing a "sexually liberated ingenue", which obviously became a no-no once The Code became entrenched.

Shearer had to transition to period pieces, and earned two more Oscar nominations: for "Romeo and Juliet" and "Marie Antoinette". Alas, by 1942, she was out of Hollywood.

As for The Code, it lapsed in the late 1950s... and no one ever complained about movie content ever again.