April is shaping up to be a bang-up month for pre-Code fanatics– finally. Sometimes we get our moments.

A new book on pre-Code, Forbidden Hollywood: When Sin Ruled the Movies is now on sale. Mark Vieira’s update to his seminal Sin in Soft Focus is a gorgeous tome, filled with some great pictures. I got a review copy a few weeks ago and hope to do a full write-up about it shortly after TCMFF is over.

Connecting to the book, TCM still has your back in April, as it features showcases for Greta Garbo, William Powell, Kay Francis, John Barrymore, Clark Gable and Wheeler and Woolsey, which is pretty much all you need out of life, if you ask me. There are a ton of essential pre-Codes showing, so get those DVRs ready!

The full schedule for for the 10th annual Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival (TCMFF) was announced last week. I posted my whereabouts and take on it, and I’m super excited for next week, which will involve a ton of pre-Code shenanigans and wine drinking.

I will be posting updates here every night, as is my usual. If you want bonus videos and content, plus an exclusive backer pin, you can become a Patron over at Patreon for as little as a dollar. Cheers!

Exclusive Tarzan and His Mate pin that will be sent to you in the mail (or handed to you at the fest) if you become a backer on Patreon!

Pre-Code Movies on TCM in April

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.

Date & Time	Film
2nd 11:45 AM	Of Human Bondage (1934)
	A medical student falls prey to a sluttish waitress. Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Leslie Howard , Bette Davis , Frances Dee . BW- 83 mins, CC
2nd 8:00 PM	Romance (1930)
	An opera singer leaves her wealthy lover for a young priest. Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Greta Garbo , Lewis Stone , Gavin Gordon . BW- 76 mins, CC,
2nd 9:30 PM	Grand Hotel (1932)
	Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through scandal and heartache. Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Greta Garbo , John Barrymore , Joan Crawford . BW- 113 mins, CC,
2nd 11:30 PM	Mata Hari (1931)
	Romantic biography of World War I’s notorious lady spy. Dir: George Fitzmaurice Cast: Greta Garbo , Ramon Novarro , Lionel Barrymore . BW- 89 mins, CC,
2nd 1:15 AM	Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931)
	A farm girl runs from her abusive father to a series of affairs in the big city. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Greta Garbo , Clark Gable , Jean Hersholt . BW- 77 mins, CC,
2nd 2:45 AM	Painted Veil, The (1934)
	A wife strays, then fights to redeem herself to her husband. Dir: Richard Boleslawski Cast: Greta Garbo , Herbert Marshall , George Brent . BW- 84 mins, CC,
3rd 8:00 PM	Anna Christie (1930)
	Eugene O’Neill’s classic about a romantic prostitute trying to run away from her past. Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Greta Garbo , Charles Bickford , George F. Marion . BW- 89 mins, CC,
4th 1:30 AM	Anna Christie (1931)
	German-language adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s classic about a romantic streetwalker in love with a shipwrecked sailor. BW- 85 mins,
5th 1:45 AM	Queen Christina (1934)
	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,
5th 6:15 AM	Show-Off, The (1934)
	A man’s loud-mouthed bumbling almost ruins his new wife’s family. Dir: Charles F. Riesner Cast: Spencer Tracy , Madge Evans , Henry Wadsworth . BW- 77 mins,
6th 8:30 AM	Ghost Valley (1932)
	A cowboy and a beautiful girl inherit a supposedly haunted gold mine. Dir: Fred Allen Cast: Tom Keene , Merna Kennedy , Kate Campbell . BW- 54 mins,
7th 6:00 AM	Berkeley Square (1933)
	A young American man is transported back to London in the time of the American Revolution and meets his ancestors. Dir: Frank Lloyd Cast: Leslie Howard , Heather Angel , Valerie Taylor . BW- 88 mins, CC,
8th 6:00 AM	Blonde Crazy (1931)
	A con-man bellhop and his chambermaid girlfriend set out to fleece hotel guests. Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: James Cagney , Joan Blondell , Louis Calhern . BW- 79 mins, CC,
8th 2:15 PM	Professional Sweetheart (1933)
	A radio star’s pure image leads to a fake engagement to a hayseed. Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Ginger Rogers , Norman Foster , ZaSu Pitts . BW- 73 mins, CC,
8th 4:30 PM	Consolation Marriage (1931)
	A couple who married after each was jilted faces the return of their former loved ones. Dir: Paul Sloane Cast: Irene Dunne , Pat O’Brien , John Halliday . BW- 81 mins, CC,
9th 1:00 AM	The Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
	A feisty school teacher sets out to solve a murder in an aquarium. Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason , Robert Armstrong . BW- 65 mins, CC,
9th 6:00 AM	I Loved a Woman (1933)
	A Chicago meat-packer tries to keep a rein on his social-climbing wife. Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: Edward G. Robinson , Kay Francis , Genevieve Tobin . BW- 91 mins, CC,
9th 12:15 PM	Guilty Hands (1931)
	A district attorney tries to frame an innocent girl for the murder he committed. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: Lionel Barrymore , Kay Francis , Madge Evans . BW- 69 mins, CC,
9th 1:30 PM	Mandalay (1934)
	A woman with a past tries to get rid of a former lover. Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Kay Francis , Ricardo Cortez , Warner Oland . BW- 65 mins, CC,
9th 2:45 PM	The House On 56th Street (1933)
	A woman loses her family after being falsely convicted of a crime. Dir: Robert Florey Cast: Kay Francis , Ricardo Cortez , Gene Raymond . BW- 68 mins, CC,
9th 5:30 PM	Jewel Robbery (1932)
	A jewel thief falls for a tycoon’s wife in Vienna. Dir: William Dieterle Cast: William Powell , Kay Francis , Helen Vinson . BW- 68 mins, CC,
9th 6:45 PM	One Way Passage (1932)
	An ocean voyage leads to romance for a dying heiress and a condemned criminal. Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: William Powell , Kay Francis , Aline MacMahon . BW- 68 mins, CC,
9th 8:00 PM	The Kennel Murder Case ( 1933)
	Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a murder tied to a Long Island dog show. Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell , Mary Astor , Eugene Pallette . BW- 73 mins, CC,
11th 7:15 AM	Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)
	A brother and sister risk their lives to expose the gangsters who ruined their family. Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: Joan Crawford , Lester Vail , Cliff Richards . BW- 81 mins, CC,
11th 8:45 AM	Laughing Sinners (1931)
	A Salvation Army preacher saves a troubled girl from suicide. Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: Joan Crawford , Neil Hamilton , Clark Gable . BW- 72 mins, CC,
11th 10:15 AM	Hell Divers (1932)
	Two naval air force officers carry their rivalry from the skies to the bedroom. Dir: George Hill Cast: Wallace Beery , Clark Gable , Conrad Nagel . BW- 109 mins, CC,
11th 12:15 PM	Red Dust (1932)
	A plantation overseer in Indochina is torn between a married woman and a lady of the evening. Dir: Victor Fleming Cast: Clark Gable , Jean Harlow , Gene Raymond . BW- 83 mins, CC,
11th 1:45 PM	Strange Interlude (1932)
	A doctor’s daughter defies convention in her fight for love and her child. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Norma Shearer , Clark Gable , Alexander Kirkland . BW- 109 mins, CC,
11th 3:45 PM	Hold Your Man (1933)
	A hard-boiled babe and a con man wear down each other’s rough edges. Dir: Sam Wood Cast: Jean Harlow , Clark Gable , Stuart Erwin . BW- 87 mins, CC,
11th 5:30 PM	The White Sister (1933)
	A noblewoman becomes a nun when she thinks her lover is killed during the war. Dir: Victor Fleming Cast: Helen Hayes , Clark Gable , Lewis Stone . BW- 106 mins, CC,
13th 8:26 AM	The Cheyenne Kid ( 1933)
	An honest cowboy is mistaken for a bandit. Dir: Robert Hill Cast: Tom Keene , Mary Mason , Rosco Ates . BW- 55 mins,
15th 12:00 AM	It Happened One Night (1934)
	A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour. Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Clark Gable , Claudette Colbert , Walter Connolly . BW- 105 mins, CC,
15th 5:15 AM	Whistling In The Dark (1933)
	A mystery writer’s plan for the perfect murder greatly interests a mobster. Dir: Elliott Nugent Cast: Ernest Truex , Una Merkel , Edward Arnold . BW- 79 mins, CC,
15th 8:30 AM	A Free Soul (1931)
	A hard-drinking lawyer’s daughter falls for one of his underworld clients. Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Norma Shearer , Leslie Howard , Lionel Barrymore . BW- 94 mins, CC,
15th 10:15 AM	Riptide (1934)
	A chorus girl weds a British lord then falls for an old flame. Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Norma Shearer , Robert Montgomery , Herbert Marshall . BW- 92 mins, CC,
15th 8:00 PM	King Kong (1933)
	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,
17th 6:00 AM	The Barbarian (1933)
	An Arab prince masquerades as a tour guide to court a beautiful American. Dir: Sam Wood Cast: Ramon Novarro , Myrna Loy , Reginald Denny . BW- 83 mins, CC,
17th 8:00 PM	The Thin Man (1934)
	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,
20th 8:29 AM	Son of the Border (1933)
	A lawman adopts the son of an outlaw he accidentally killed. Dir: Lloyd Nosler Cast: Tom Keene , Julie Haydon , Edgar Kennedy . BW- 55 mins,
26th 6:00 AM	The Cuckoos (1930)
	Two tramps-turned-fortune-tellers try to solve a kidnapping. Dir: Paul Sloane Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , June Clyde . BW- 97 mins, CC,
26th 7:45 AM	Half Shot at Sunrise (1930)
	Two servicemen dodge military police during an unauthorized leave in Paris. Dir: Paul Sloane Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Dorothy Lee . BW- 78 mins, CC,
26th 9:15 AM	Dixiana (1931)
	A circus star falls for a society playboy in 19th-century New Orleans. Dir: Luther Reed Cast: Bebe Daniels , Everett Marshall , Bert Wheeler . C- 100 mins, CC,
26th 11:15 AM	Hook, Line, and Sinker (1931)
	Two insurance men try to help a runaway heiress run a hotel. Dir: Edward Cline Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Dorothy Lee . BW- 75 mins, CC,
26th 12:45 PM	Caught Plastered (1932)
	Stranded vaudevillians help save a small-town druggist from bankruptcy. Dir: William Seiter Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Dorothy Lee . BW- 69 mins,
26th 2:00 PM	Girl Crazy (1932)
	City slickers try to turn a broken-down ranch into a resort. Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Dorothy Lee . BW- 74 mins, CC,
26th 3:30 PM	Peach-O-Reno (1932)
	Two divorce lawyers run a gambling joint by night. Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Dorothy Lee . BW- 63 mins,
26th 5:00 PM	Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934)
	Two nitwits are mistaken for the king’s physicians in medieval England. Dir: Mark Sandrich Cast: Bert Wheeler , Robert Woolsey , Thelma Todd . BW- 72 mins,
28th 8:00 PM	Little Caesar (1930)
	A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there? Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Edward G. Robinson , Douglas Fairbanks , Glenda Farrell . BW- 78 mins, CC,
28th 9:30 PM	Red-Headed Woman (1932)
	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,
28th 11:00 PM	Baby Face (1933)
	A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: Barbara Stanwyck , George Brent , Donald Cook . BW- 76 mins, CC,
29th 6:00 AM	Born to Love (1932)
	A World War I pilot thought dead turns up after the mother of his child has married. Dir: Paul L. Stein Cast: Constance Bennett , Joel McCrea , Paul Cavanagh . BW- 81 mins, CC,
30th 7:30 AM	Night Flight (1933)
	An airline’s owner runs his business with ruthless disregard for safety. Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: John Barrymore , Helen Hayes , Clark Gable . BW- 85 mins, CC,
30th 2:15 PM	Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
	True story of the mad monk who plotted to rule Russia. Dir: Richard Boleslavsky Cast: John Barrymore , Ethel Barrymore , Lionel Barrymore . BW- 121 mins, CC,
30th 4:30 PM	Arsene Lupin (1932)
	A gentleman thief risks his life in an attempt to steal the Mona Lisa. Dir: Jack Conway Cast: John Barrymore , Lionel Barrymore , Karen Morley . BW- 84 mins, CC,
30th 6:00 PM	Dinner at Eight (1933)
	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,