Pre-Code.Com Site News for November 2015
And a happy November to you. This month is especially great for pre-Codes on your local Turner Classic Movies channel, with star of the month Norma Shearer getting to shine on the big screen. Also, the programmers wisely stuck her Romeo and Juliet at 5 AM just so everyone can make a point to miss it.
If TCM doesn’t do it for you, Forbidden Hollywood, Volume 9 has finally hit. I’ve only seen three of the titles in the set and can promise you that the money is worth it just for the brilliant When Ladies Meet, but you don’t have to take my word for it. I’ll put together reviews for the other movies in the set as soon as my copy gets here from Amazon, and then you can… take my word for it. Huh, didn’t think that one through.
Here at the site, things are in motion for the third issue of the Pre-Code Companion that should come out at the month’s end. I will also endeavor to reply to comments again soon, as well as work on updating some films’ availability. (The Mad Genius came out on Warner Archive! How is everyone not flipping out about that?!)
Reviews this month will probably confound you, because it’s Thanksgiving and thus a time for turkeys. Yes, all this month, I’ll be tackling the lowest scored films (from IMDB ratings) released during the pre-Code era. Why are they so low rated? Could it be bad prints, bad acting, and, more often than not, horrible unrelenting racism? Yes, yes and dear God yes.
I’ll actually be running around for the first couple of weeks of the month, though. So have a good time yourselves, alright? Watch some good movies!
Pre-Code Hollywood Movies on TCM in November
Please note: All times are Eastern. This schedule is subject to change. See the full listings here. To watch TCM online, check out their TCM Watch site. And everything with an asterisk (*) after it is a recommendation.
| 5th, 6:00 AM |
Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930)
An 18th century English flirt wins the heart of a notorious highwayman. |
| 9th, 7:30 AM |
The Conquerors (1932)
Newlyweds go West and build a banking empire. Directed by William Wellman. |
| 11th, 7:45 AM |
Consolation Marriage (1931)
A couple who married after each was jilted faces the return of their former loved ones. |
| 11th, 9:15 AM |
Flying High (1931)
A hare-brained inventor invents a new flying machine but can’t figure out how to land it. |
| 11th, 12:30 PM |
I Sell Anything (1934)
A small-time auctioneer tries to break into society. |
| 16th, 8:15 AM |
Hell’s Heroes (1930)
Three cowboys risk their lives to get an abandoned baby to civilization. |
| 16th, 9:30 AM |
The Painted Desert (1931)
A cowboy and his girlfriend try to settle a feud between their fathers. |
| 16th, 11:00 AM |
The Squaw Man (1931)
After saving the life of a British aristocrat, an Indian maiden bears his child. |
| 16th, 1:00 PM |
Silver Dollar (1932)
A farmer strikes it rich out West, then leaves his wife for a young beauty. |
| 19th, 10:15 AM |
Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
A police chief helps a young bride find her missing husband or at least his corpse.
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Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!
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2 Comments
Ben Frey · October 30, 2015 at 1:09 am
Danny, I second your implication regarding ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I see this version as ‘what if R & J were actually senior citizens?’ And Norma Shearer – forgive me for saying, but she never did it for me, notwithstanding a couple of films that she is quite good in (can’t remember which ones offhand). I always feel that each moment in her performance was pre-planned weeks ahead. OK Norma-lovers, give me hell.
Danny · January 8, 2016 at 12:34 am
I love Shearer, but I share Mick LaSalle’s opinion that the ’37 Romeo and Juliet did more harm than good for everyone, audience included. I will agree that Shearer isn’t an intuitive actress like many others, but her moments of determination, whether in joy, anger, or passion, always capture me. I empathize with her a lot more than other stars I could name, as if there’s a depth to her that she doesn’t even know or understand but isn’t afraid to share. But I can see why others aren’t interested or don’t see that.
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