Happy October, everyone! Not a whole lot to note for the month, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.
Lots of rare pre-Codes on TCM this month; no Universal Monster Movies from the pre-Code era. Still, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Island of Lost Souls, two of the craziest films of the era, both make an appearance on the schedule, so be sure to track those down.
If you follow me on Twitter, please be sure to tweet at me “work on the danged book, dude” any time, all month long. I have a bet with my wife. I won’t say what the book is because, of course, I’m working on three different things at the same time, which makes it all the crazier. Encouragement welcome.
Lastly, just a friendly a reminder: if you want to support my site, you can become a Patron over at Patreon. Cheers!
Pre-Codes to be Added to Filmstruck in October
Please note: movies on Filmstruck rotate on and off the service, so their availability may be limited
| 12th | King Kong |
| 12th | The Unholy Three |
| 19th | The Vampire Bat |
| 26th | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |
Pre-Code Movies on TCM in October 2018
Please note:
- All times listed here are Eastern Standard. This schedule is subject to change (like if someone dies or the world ends– you know how it is).
- Plot descriptions and casts lists below come from TCM. See the full listings for the month here.
- If you subscribe to TCM via cable, you can watch TCM online via the TCM Watch site.
- If you don’t have cable, check out Sling TV, where (Americans) can watch TCM online, via an app or on their Roku for only $25/month.
| Date & Time | Film |
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10/2 |
Penthouse (1933) |
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The mob frames a lawyer for murder, so he enlists a call girl’s help in finding the real killer. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: Warner Baxter , Myrna Loy , Charles Butterworth. BW- 89 mins, CC |
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10/2 |
Red-Headed Woman (1932) |
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An ambitious secretary tries to sleep her way into high society. Dir: Jack Conway Cast: Jean Harlow , Chester Morris , Lewis Stone . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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10/2 |
The Thin Man (1934) |
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A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell , Myrna Loy , Maureen O’Sullivan . BW- 91 mins, CC, |
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10/4 |
Hell’s Heroes ( 1930) |
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Three cowboys risk their lives to get an abandoned baby to civilization. Dir: William Wyler Cast: Charles Bickford , Raymond Hatton , Fred Kohler . BW- 68 mins, CC, |
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10/4 |
The Lost Patrol (1934) |
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A British army troop fights off Arab snipers while holed up in an oasis. Dir: John Ford Cast: Victor McLaglen , Boris Karloff , Wallace Ford . BW- 72 mins, CC, |
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10/4 |
I’m No Angel (1933) |
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A carnival dancer evades the law and invades high society. Dir: Wesley Ruggles Cast: Mae West , Cary Grant , Gregory Ratoff . BW- 88 mins, CC, |
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10/4 |
Dinner at Eight (1933) |
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A high-society dinner party masks a hotbed of scandal and intrigue. Dir: George Cukor Cast: Marie Dressler , John Barrymore , Wallace Beery . BW- 111 mins, CC, |
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10/5 |
Wedding Rehearsal (1932) |
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To avoid marriage, a nobleman schemes to marry off the eligible women on his family’s list. Dir: Alexander Korda Cast: Maurice Evans , Roland Young , John Loder . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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10/5 |
Bachelor Bait (1934) |
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A romantic starts a marriage agency so he can play Cupid. Dir: George Stevens Cast: Stuart Erwin , Rochelle Hudson , Pert Kelton . BW- 75 mins, |
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10/7 |
Flying Down To Rio (1933) |
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A dance-band leader finds love and success in Brazil. Dir: Thornton Freeland Cast: Dolores Del Rio , Gene Raymond , Raul Roulien . BW- 89 mins, CC, |
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10/8 |
Queen Christina (1933) |
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Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat. Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Cast: Greta Garbo , John Gilbert , Ian Keith . BW- 99 mins, CC, |
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10/8 |
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) |
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An invalid poetess defies her father’s wishes to marry a dashing young poet. Dir: Sidney Franklin Cast: Norma Shearer , Fredric March , Charles Laughton . BW- 110 mins, CC, |
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10/8 |
The Front Page (1931) |
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A crusading newspaper editor tricks his retiring star reporter into covering one last case. Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Adolph Menjou , Pat O’Brien , Mary Brian . BW- 101 mins, CC, |
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10/12 |
Fast Life ( 1932) |
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An innocent man stands trial for killing the man who tried to steal his wife. Dir: Harry Pollard Cast: William Haines , Madge Evans , Conrad Nagel . BW- 82 mins, |
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10/12 |
Tugboat Annie ( 1933) |
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A lady tugboat captain tries to help two young lovers come together. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Marie Dressler , Wallace Beery , Robert Young . BW- 86 mins, CC, |
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10/14 |
Three on a Match (1932) |
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A woman’s childhood friends try to rescue her from gangsters. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Virginia Davis , Joan Blondell , Dawn O’Day . BW- 63 mins, CC, |
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10/15 |
Where Sinners Meet (1934) |
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An eccentric millionaire kidnaps eloping couples to make sure they’re meant for each other. Dir: J. Walter Ruben Cast: Diana Wynyard , Clive Brook , Billie Burke . BW- 72 mins, |
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10/15 |
West Of Broadway ( 1931) |
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A millionaire doesn’t remember getting married but can’t forget how much he hates his new wife. Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: John Gilbert , El Brendel , Lois Moran . BW- 66 mins, CC, |
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10/15 |
The Lady Refuses ( 1931) |
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A millionaire hires an out-of-work girl to lure his son from a gold digger. Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Betty Compson , John Darrow , Gilbert Emery . BW- 72 mins, CC, |
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10/15 |
The Millionaire (1931) |
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A bored millionaire retires from big business to open a garage. Dir: John G. Adolfi Cast: George Arliss , Florence Arliss , David Manners . BW- 80 mins, CC, |
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10/17 |
The Silver Horde (1930) |
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An Alaskan fisherman is dogged by a ruthless competitor and an ambitious dance hall girl. Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Evelyn Brent , Louis Wolheim , Joel McCrea . BW- 75 mins, |
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10/17 |
The Old Dark House ( 1932) |
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A storm strands travelers in a house full of dangerous eccentrics. Dir: James Whale Cast: Boris Karloff , Melvyn Douglas , Charles Laughton . BW- 72 mins, |
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10/18 |
Son of the Border ( 1933) |
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A lawman adopts the son of an outlaw he accidentally killed. Dir: Lloyd Nosler Cast: Tom Keene , Julie Haydon , Edgar Kennedy . BW- 55 mins, |
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10/19 |
Strange Justice ( 1932) |
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A crooked banker and his assistant devise a scheme to frame an ex-con for their crime. Dir: Victor Schertzinger Cast: Marian Marsh , Reginald Denny , Richard Bennett . BW- 64 mins, |
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10/19 |
The Last Mile (1932) |
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An innocent man sent to death row gets caught in a prison riot. Dir: Sam Bischoff Cast: Howard Phillips , Preston S. Foster , George E. Stone . BW- 69 mins, |
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10/19 |
Two Seconds (1932) |
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In the last moments of his life, a criminal reviews the circumstances that led him to death row. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Edward G. Robinson , Vivienne Osborne , Guy Kibbee . BW- 67 mins, CC, |
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10/19 |
Are These Our Children? (1931) |
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Authorities try to figure out how a young man from a good background ended up on death row. Dir: Wesley Ruggles Cast: Eric Linden , Beryl Mercer , Billy Butts . BW- 84 mins, |
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10/20 |
Elmer The Great (1933) |
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A country hick bats his way to baseball stardom. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Joe E. Brown , Patricia Ellis , Frank McHugh . BW- 72 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
The Lost Squadron (1932) |
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Veteran flyers from World War I find work as movie stuntmen. Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Richard Dix , Mary Astor , Robert Armstrong . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
The Dawn Patrol (1930) |
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A hotshot World War I flyer almost cracks under the pressure of sending his men on perilous missions. Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Richard Barthelmess , Douglas Fairbanks , Neil Hamilton . BW- 108 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
Ace of Aces (1933) |
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After he’s branded a coward, a sculptor travels to France to help fight World War I. Dir: J. Walter Ruben Cast: Richard Dix , Elizabeth Allen , Ralph Bellamy . BW- 77 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) |
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RAF pilots fight to endure the nerve-wracking ordeal of flying in World War I. Dir: Stuart Walker Cast: Fredric March , Cary Grant , Jack Oakie . BW- 73 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
Today We Live (1933) |
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An aristocratic English girl’s tangled love life creates havoc during World War I. Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Joan Crawford , Gary Cooper , Robert Young . BW- 113 mins, CC, |
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10/24 |
White Zombie (1932) |
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A zombie master menaces newlyweds on a Haitian plantation. Dir: Victor Halperin Cast: Bela Lugosi , Madge Bellamy , Joseph Cawthorn . BW- 67 mins, |
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10/26 |
Little Women (1933) |
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The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War. Dir: George Cukor Cast: Katharine Hepburn , Joan Bennett , Paul Lukas . BW- 115 mins, CC, |
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10/28 |
The Front Page (1931) |
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A crusading newspaper editor tricks his retiring star reporter into covering one last case. Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Adolph Menjou , Pat O’Brien , Mary Brian . BW- 101 mins, CC, |
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10/29 |
Island of Lost Souls (1932) |
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On a remote island, a mad scientist turns wild animals into human monsters. Dir: Erle C. Kenton Cast: Charles Laughton , Richard Arlen , Leila Hyams . BW- 70 mins, CC, |
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10/29 |
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) |
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Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a scientist who unleashes the beast within. Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Cast: Fredric March , Miriam Hopkins , Rose Hobart . BW- 96 mins, CC, |
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10/30 |
Doctor X (1932) |
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A reporter investigates a series of cannibalistic murders at a medical college. Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Lionel Atwill , Fay Wray , Lee Tracy . C- 76 mins, CC, |
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10/30 |
King Kong (1933) |
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A film crew discovers the “eighth wonder of the world,” a giant prehistoric ape, and brings him back to New York, where he wreaks havoc. Dir: Merian C. Cooper Cast: Fay Wray , Robert Armstrong , Bruce Cabot . BW- 104 mins, CC, |
Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!
2 Comments
ocgal · October 1, 2018 at 9:12 am
Work on the danged book, dude!
Terence · October 1, 2018 at 11:31 am
Tell me what you think of Hell’s Heroes. You should rent Three Godfathers (1948) for comparison. Ford’s later version is played for laughs while Wyler’s is gritty. Wyler also downplays the ‘three kings’ allegorical aspect of the story. Oct. 24 is a great line-up of WWI flyer movies. White Zombie is probably my favorite among the horror films — and very pre-code.
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