Matt Nolan James Cagney Sue Riley Nolan Loretta Young Skeets George E. Stone Pop Riley Guy Kibbee Ruby Leila Bennett Buck Gerard David Landau Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Roy Del Ruth Proof That It’s Pre-Code If you’ve ever wanted to see a woman get slapped around, well, Read more
Chick Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Ruth Joan Blondell Scrap Iron Guy Kibbee Bushy Sloan Alan Hale The Drunk Frank McHugh Kendall David Landau Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Alfred E. Green Proof That It’s Pre-Code The film’s opening minutes read like a checklist of Code no-nos. There are prostitutes, Read more
Dan Quigley James Cagney Myra Mae Clarke Lois Underwood Margaret Lindsay Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Roy Del Ruth Proof That It’s Pre-Code “I’m not a madam!” “Well… I wouldn’t know about that.” The main character is a conman who goes from card swindling, running a casino, grand Read more
Mata Hari Greta Garbo Alexis Rosanoff Ramon Novarro General Shubin Lionel Barrymore Andriani Lewis Stone DuBois C. Henry Gordon Carlotta Karen Morley Released by MGM | Directed By George Fitzmaurice Proof That It’s Pre-Code The titular Mata Hari is an exotic dancer who doubles as a spy in Paris during Read more
Temple Drake Miriam Hopkins Stephen Benbow William Gargan Trigger Jack La Rue Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed By Stephen Roberts Proof That It’s Pre-Code I’m going to go ahead and just quote Thomas Doherty’s Pre-Code Hollywood on this one: The Story of Temple Drake is a model of pre-Code Read more
Elmer Joe E. Brown Nellie Patricia Ellis Healy High-Hips Frank McHugh Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Mervyn LeRoy Elmer, the Great: Three Strikes I have a Facebook friend who is real life friends with French Stewart. I have no idea how this happened. I have no idea if Read more
‘Smoothie’ King Spencer Tracy Wanda Gale Pat Paterson Hal Reed John Boles Limey Brooks Herbert Mundin Spud Mosco Sid Silvers Judith Marlowe Thelma Todd Released by Fox | Directed By David Butler Proof That It’s Pre-Code A selected joke: “I always wanted to be a virtuoso!” “I didn’t ask about Read more
Duke of Charmerace John Barrymore Guarechard Lionel Barrymore Sonia Karen Morley Released by MGM | Directed By Jack Conway Proof That It’s Pre-Code This film has more euphemisms and double entendres than you could shake even possibly three or four sticks at. The Duke of Charmerace first makes the acquaintance Read more
Sherwood Nash William Powell Lynn Bette Davis Snap Frank McHugh The Duchess Verree Teasdale Joe Hugh Herbert Baroque Reginald Owen Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By William Dieterle Proof That It’s Pre-Code Walking down the Seine, Snap is offered some dirty pictures, which he looks at with much relish. Read more