Proof That It’s Pre-Code
- One man describes Jean Harlow‘s movie star character Lola Burns as “a boon to re-population in a world thinned by war and famine!” That’s a great line.
- Jean Harlow’s maid, a black woman named Loretta (Louise Beavers) gets paid in undergarments, because she goes through a lot of them. Harlow even comments, “Your day off is sure brutal on your lingerie.” Needless to say, implying that a black character is going around and having a ton of sex is not something you catch a lot in movies of this era.
- When Burns is ordered down to the movie set, she’s told to wear a white dress without the brassiere. Oh, Hollywood, and their belief that the male audience will be enraptured by only the basest of titillation!
- … she doesn’t wear the bra, in case you were wondering.
- There’s lots of double entendres, with things like Burns’ dad discussing his horse racing habit:
“We’ve been discussing methods of breeding…”
“Don’t tell me!”
- There’s plenty of government corruption on display, as Hanlon is paying off the cops and press left and right to get people out of the way.
- Jim Brogan (Pat O’Brien) mutters at one point something dangerously close to being dangerous:
“Oh fer f–“
- Drug references (including one man basically asking if another is high), jokes about sleeping around, and extramarital/pre-marital shenanigans galore. Hell, Burns’ dad hits on and leers at his son’s girlfriend.