Pre-Code.Com Site News for July 2014

Hey guys! Lots of news for this month.

First, and the most obvious one you’ll notice today, is that I’m adding Get TV to the schedules I put up every month. Get TV is an ad-supported free television network that broadcasts across the U.S. It usually only picks a number of movies a month and then shuffles them, meaning if you tune in the same time every day you’ll find something different, but if you miss something, you have plenty of opportunities to catch it, too. You can read more about Get TV and their desire to make sure you see Twentieth Century this month over at Cinematically Insane.

A less ostentatious addition to the site, but one I’ve certainly been chugging away on the last few months, has been a new tab in the menu labeled ‘Studios‘. Here you will find overviews of all of the major film studios of the pre-Code era, their histories, output availability, and famous titles. It’s still a little rough looking (need to do some QA there), but I wanted to create a space to help people who know that movies were made but wanted a bit more history behind their creation. Check it out, and leave any feedback you’ve got here. I’ll appreciate it!

~~Suckers~~ Friends who follow the site on Twitter will have seen some exciting news: TCM is showing 24 hours of pre-Code every Friday in September! That’s on top of their usual random insertions of old pre-Codes on the channel as well, which makes it sound like that month will be one to fill the DVR to the bursting point. I’ll have a full list and links to my reviews in my August schedule update, but if you’re eager to see what they’ll be showing, head over to Immortal Ephemera which has a complete breakdown.

Attentive readers may have noticed at the beginning of the year that I was mostly trying to hit a lot of 1934 movies and I’ve certainly strayed from it. In light of the announcement above, I’ll probably spend most of August and September hitting the movies you may be seeing on TCM that I haven’t already covered on the site, stuff like Union Depot and other rarities. I’ll get back to 1934 as soon as I can– heaven knows those DVDs are just staring me in the face.

Speaking of, though, I’m turning 31 the first week of July and am taking my annual “It’s my birthday and I should probably give myself a bit of a break” vacation. However, I have an important sort of announcement on July 4th that I hope doesn’t get too lost in the shuffle of the holiday weekend. It’s along the lines of a blogathon… but it’s not. I guess you’ll just have to tune in and find out what I’m prattling on about, won’t you? 🙂

Upcoming Reviews in July

7/4 – Super Special Announcement (That I’ll Need Your Help With!)
7/7 & 7/11– [Danny’s Annual Birthday Vacation!]
7/14- No More Orchids
7/18- Feet First
7/21- Pre-Code Retro: The Boy Friend
7/25- Movie Crazy
7/28- [August TCM/Get TV Schedule]

Pre-Code Hollywood Movies on TCM in July

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.

Date	Time	Film	Link
2nd	9:00 AM	Secrets of the French Police (1932) Strange crimes are committed by a hypnotized woman. Sounds pretty French if you ask me.	n/a
2nd	6:00 PM	Playing Around (1930) A tenement girl falls for a con artist. With Alice White and Chester Morris.	n/a
3rd	8:00 PM	I’m No Angel (1933) Do you like Mae West? Then you may want to give this, the highest grossing movie of 1933, a shot.	n/a
3rd	9:45 PM	She Done Him Wrong (1933) Do you like Mae West? Then you may want to give this, a Best Picture nominee for 1933, a shot.	My Review
3rd	11:15 PM	Belle of the Nineties (1934) Do you like Mae West? Uh, you might want to skip this one then.	My Review
5th	6:30 AM	Of Human Bondage (1934) The movie that made Bette Davis a star.	My Review
8th	6:15 AM	Little Caesar (1930) Nothing like a few gangland killings to go with your breakfast. With Edward G. Robinson.	n/a
10th	2:00 PM	Man to Man (1931) A young man attempts to overcome the reputation left by his murderous late father.	n/a
11th	9:45 AM	Hell Below (1933) A submarine picture set during World War I? Sign me the heck up. With Robert Montgomery and Walter Huston.	n/a
11th	11:30 AM	Flight Commander (1930) A flyer must cope with sending men to their deaths.	n/a
11th	1:30 PM	Ace of Aces (1933) A sculptor travels to France to help fight World War I. With Richard Dix.	n/a
11th	4:45 PM	Waterloo Bridge (1931) Mae Clarke in a weepy romance about a prostitute finding love with a soldier.	My Review
11th	9:45 PM	All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Easily the best Best Picture winner of the early 30s.	My Review
12th	3:00 AM	Westfront 1918 (1930) German soldiers face despair on the frontlines of World War I.	n/a
12th	4:45 AM	Kameradschaft (1931) German miners rescue French miners buried beneath their country’s borders.	n/a
14th	8:00 PM	For The Defense (1930) Underrated Powell/Francis flick.	My Review
14th	9:15 PM	Trouble in Paradise (1932) Watch this if you haven’t. Watch it again if you have.	My Review
15th	12:15 AM	Jewel Robbery (1932) Kay Francis and William Powell again. One of the funniest and weirdest pre-Codes out there.	My Review
15th	1:30 AM	Raffles (1930) A jewel thief disguises himself as a nobleman. With Kay Francis.	n/a
16th	6:00 AM	The Tip-Off (1932) A dim-witted boxer helps a naive friend romance a gangster’s girl. With Ginger Rogers and Robert Armstrong.	n/a
16th	7:15 AM	You Said a Mouthful (1932) A Joe E. Brown movie.	n/a
16th	8:30 AM	*Finishing School* (1934) Frances Dee deals with growing pains.	My Review
16th	10:30 PM	The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932) One of the wilder offerings of the early 1930s.	My Review
17th	6:00 AM	Taxi! (1932) A cab driver falls in love. Start of a day full of James Cagney.	n/a
17th	7:15 AM	Winner Take All (1932) A prize fighter tries to help an invalid and her child.	n/a
17th	8:30 AM	Footlight Parade (1933) One of the great Busby Berkeley musicals.	My Review
17th	10:30 AM	Hard to Handle (1933) More like ‘hard to swallow’! OHhhhhh!! … I know, I’m lame.	My Review
17th	12:00 PM	Lady Killer (1933) A criminal on the lam becomes a star.	n/a
17th	1:30 PM	The Mayor of Hell (1933) One of Warners’ famous social message pictures about a boy’s prison.	My Review
17th	3:15 PM	Picture Snatcher (1933) An ex-con brings his ways to the newspaper he’s hired onto.	My Review
17th	6:15 PM	Jimmy the Gent (1934) I have no idea why anyone would put this embarrassment in primetime.	My Review
18th	12:00 AM	Scarface (1932) Certainly the perfect gangster movie to cap a day dedicated to James Cagney.	My Review
18th	9:00 AM	Today We Live (1933) Joan Crawford weepie.	n/a
18th	11:00 AM	A Farewell to Arms (1932) A dangerous piece of pro-leg propaganda.	n/a
18th	2:00 PM	Ever In My Heart (1933) A woman falls in love with a German immigrant only for World War I to happen and spoil everything. With Barbara Stanwyck.	My Review
21st	6:00 AM	Come On Danger! (1932) A woman turns to an outlaw to save her ranch.	n/a
21st	7:00 AM	Just a Gigolo (1931) A British lord pretends to be a gigolo. With William Haines.	n/a
21st	8:15 AM	The Man in Possession (1931) An heiress falls for the lawyer dispensing of her property. With Robert Montgomery.	n/a
24th	11:15 AM	Strictly Unconventional (1930) A woman looks up her philandering mother-in-law for advice on adultery.	n/a
24th	12:15 PM	Lovers Courageous (1932) A failed playwright falls for an admiral’s daughter. With Robert Montgomery.	n/a
24th	1:45 PM	The White Sister (1933) A noblewoman becomes a nun after she thinks her lover died in the war. With Helen Hayes and Clark Gable.	n/a
25th	6:00 AM	The Last Flight (1931) Four World War I buddies roam post-War Europe. With Richard Barthelmess.	n/a
25th	7:30 AM	Heroes for Sale (1933) Watch it.	My Review
25th	4:30 PM	Doughboys (1930) A Buster Keaton talkie.	My Review
26th	2:45 AM	Mata Hari (1931) Garbo as a famous spy in ornate hats.	My Review
26th	4:30 AM	After Tonight (1933) A female spy falls for the enemy. With Constance Bennett.	n/a
27th	12:45 AM	The Mummy (1933) Because David Manners has mummy issues.	My Review
28th	6:00 AM	Central Park (1932) Small town kids get mixed up with gangsters in the big city. With Joan Blondell.	n/a
28th	7:00 AM	The Tenderfoot (1932) A Joe E. Brown movie.	n/a
28th	8:15 AM	Elmer the Great (1933) A Joe E. Brown movie.	My Review
28th	9:45 AM	Son of a Sailor (1933) A Joe E. Brown movie.	n/a
28th	12:15 PM	The Circus Clown (1934) Seriously came out June 30th, 1934, which means I was painfully close to not having to mention another Joe E. Brown movie.	n/a
28th	1:30 PM	A Very Honorable Guy (1934) A gambler sells his body to pay his debts.	n/a
29th	2:45 PM	Children of Pleasure (1930) A Jewish songwriter forsakes his heritage for a society girl.	n/a
30th	6:30 AM	The Guardsman (1931) A jealous husband dons a disguise to test his wife’s fidelity. With a title like that, sounds like a bad superhero movie.	n/a
30th	1:45 PM	One Romantic Night (1930) A princess falls for her brother’s tutor. With Lillian Gish.	n/a
31st	6:00 AM	Min and Bill (1930) Memorable team up of Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery.	My Review
31st	7:00 AM	A Woman of Experience (1932) A female con artist uses her wiles against German spies. With Helen Twelvetrees.	n/a

Pre-Code Hollywood Movies on GetTV in July

Please note: All times are Eastern. This schedule is subject to change. See the full listings here.

Date	Time	Film	Link
1st	6:55 AM	Ten Cents a Dance (1931) A taxi dancer tries to protect her impoverished husband from being put in jail.	My Review
2nd	10:55 AM	Twentieth Century (1934) A producer uses a cross country railroad trip to cajole a former protege.	My Review
3rd	3:00 PM	The Miracle Woman (1931) A preacher’s daughter becomes an evangelist. With Barbara Stanwyck.	My Review
11th	7:00 PM	Ten Cents a Dance (1931) A taxi dancer tries to protect her impoverished husband from being put in jail.	My Review
11th	8:45 PM	The Miracle Woman (1931) A preacher’s daughter becomes an evangelist. With Barbara Stanwyck.	My Review
11th	11:45 PM	Shopworn (1932) Probably my least favorite Stanwyck pre-Code. The usual rags to riches revenge with big chunks cut out.	My Review
15th	5:40 AM	Shopworn (1932) Again, probably my least favorite Stanwyck pre-Code.	My Review
15th	2:40 PM	Twentieth Century (1934) A producer uses a cross country railroad trip to cajole a former protege.	My Review
16th	11:00 AM	The Miracle Woman (1931) A preacher’s daughter becomes an evangelist. With Barbara Stanwyck.	My Review
16th	3:40 PM	Shopworn (1932) Still don’t like this movie.	My Review
17th	6:30 AM	Ten Cents a Dance (1931) A taxi dancer tries to protect her impoverished husband from being put in jail.	My Review
17th	8:15 AM	Shopworn (1932) Nope.	My Review
21st	9:15 AM	The Miracle Woman (1931) A preacher’s daughter becomes an evangelist. With Barbara Stanwyck.	My Review
21st	11:15 AM	Ten Cents a Dance (1931) A taxi dancer tries to protect her impoverished husband from being put in jail.	My Review
22nd	5:45 AM	Shopworn (1932) …	My Review
23rd	8:10 AM	Twentieth Century (1934) A producer uses a cross country railroad trip to cajole a former protege.	My Review
27th	6:40 AM	Twentieth Century (1934) A producer uses a cross country railroad trip to cajole a former protege.	My Review
29th	6:50 AM	Shopworn (1932) You know what? Fine. Just watch it. See if I care.	My Review

Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!

10 Comments

Brittaney · June 27, 2014 at 2:13 am

So excited about your Studio section. It’s looking great.

Danny · June 28, 2014 at 10:21 am

Thank you for the kind words!

maltydog · June 27, 2014 at 3:24 am

I just read your Jimmy the Gent review (wasn’t following the blog when you originally posted it) after your comment above. Well, each to his own, I think he’s absolutely hilarious in it and it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. And I love the Sluggo haircut he wore in the movie. Supposedly, he showed up the first day of shooting with the haircut and Michael Curtiz practically went through the ceiling when he saw it.

Danny · June 28, 2014 at 10:20 am

Yeah, I think Jimmy is actually pretty divisive (Cliff, who also commented on this, bagged on me for not liking it for a bit on twitter). I have to be honest, the movie just grates on my nerves. I’ll probably revisit it someday… though not any time soon.

Cliff Aliperti · June 28, 2014 at 5:19 am

Thanks for the link, Danny, and Happy Birthday wishes to you when appropriate!

Danny · June 28, 2014 at 10:19 am

Thanks, Cliff, much appreciated!

willmckinley · June 28, 2014 at 8:39 am

Thanks for the link. Someday you’ll have to explain to me how you’re allowed to watch American TCM in Japan?

Danny · June 28, 2014 at 10:17 am

I don’t get a chance to do it very often I’m afraid, but when I do, it involves an elaborate series of VPNs and strategic refreshing.

doug n · July 2, 2014 at 11:06 am

Count me in as no fan of “Jimmy the Gent”. On the plus side, it looks like Cagney had a good time making it. I’m anxious to see the World War I-related films coming up this month.

Danny · July 2, 2014 at 10:31 pm

Yeah, I wish I could catch them, because those all look fascinating. That period of late-20s/early-30s war films that blow back against the first World War are wonderful time capsules, both in content and in form.