It’s here. I breath a sigh of relief. The arrival of the full TCMFF Schedule means that the countdown is real– tangible, even. I spent the last week at my job covering double shifts no one else could, building an escape room, running two story times, and desperately trying to Read more
Captain Ahab John Barrymore Faith Joan Bennett Queequeeg Noble Johnson Released by Warner Bros. Directed by Lloyd Bacon Run time: 77 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “I’ll be 18 next Tuesday!” “Then I’ll see you Wednesday!” [checking out Ahab’s tattoos] “Where’s my name, dearie?” “On the seat of Read more
Lee Peggy Shannon Tom Charles “Buddy” Rogers Jackie Lilyan Tashman Released by Paramount Directed by Richard Wallace Run time: 73 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film It’s set in Reno, the 1930s libidinal capital of the United States! There are divorces, marriages, remarriages, and not-so-discreet affairs. We even have Read more
The 31 Days of Oscar is over, so let the good times roll! There’s a ton of great pre-Codes showing in February of all shapes in sizes. Feeling like a ton of Fredric March dramas? Got ’em– he’s star of the month! Constance Bennett weepies? Oh yeah. Weird-ass musical fever Read more
Carol Owen Dorothy Mackaill Jim Leonard Humphrey Bogart Bruce Hardy Hale Hamilton Released by Columbia Directed by Thornton Freeland Run time: 67 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film The film opens with Mackaill in a negligee. Late in the film, Bogart and Mackaill clearly spend the night together, with Read more
Uncle Dudley Jack Holt Bob Dudley Richard Cromwell Dorothy Joan Marsh Released by Columbia Directed by Edward Sedgwick Run time: 68 minutes Maker of Men: Fumbles “When you’re talking against football, you’re talking against me!” “Wow,” I muttered about 20 minutes into Maker of Men. “My desk is filthy!” Fifty Read more
Laura Diana Wynyard Edward Seward Lewis Stone Bob Seward Phillips Holmes Released by MGM Directed by Edgar Selwyn Run time: 61 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film The film opens with a nurse and flyer getting dressed in a secluded room. As a result, an unmarried woman gets pregnant. Read more
Hey hey, ho ho, it’s … 31 Days of Oscar on TCM, which means that pre-Code content is slim. There’s quality, but I mean– there’s not a single pre-Code on the network until the 7th. Really, the only good news in the pipe is that the Criterion Channel launches on Read more
Helen Parr Belle Bennett Brentwood Parr John Halliday Peggy Price Dorothy Burgess Released by Warner Bros. Directed by John G. Adolfi Run time: 65 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Marriage, affairs, and remarriage. “Don’t you love erratic books?” “You mean erotic, dear.” Recaptured Love: Toss it in the Read more
Laura Dorothy Mackaill Jay James Rennie Kate Dorothy Petersen Released by Warner Bros./First National Directed by Clarence G. Badger Run time: 73 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “Aw, go to–” “Naughty naughty!” There’s a marriage where both agree to a certain level of freedom with the opposite sex, Read more