Roger Fallon Edmund Lowe Jeanne Drake Jeanette MacDonald Herbert Drake Roland Young Tallulah Hope Una Merkel Chipley Duff J.M. Kerrigan Butterfield Henry Kolker Released by Fox Films | Directed by William K. Howard Proof That It’s Pre-Code “I’m going to be married.” “… again?!” Our protagonist has already had one Read more
Mary / Sally Mary Astor George Lloyd Hughes Clara Natalie Moorhead Released by RKO | Directed by Donald Crisp Proof That It’s Pre-Code A woman runs away with a man to elope, but then realizes that he’s kind of a dick. But they signed a hotel register together, so if Read more
Chandu Edmund Lowe Princess Nadji Irene Ware Roxor Bela Lugosi Released by Fox Film | Directed by William Cameron Menzies & Marcel Varnel Proof That It’s Pre-Code Death rays! … wait, that’s not exclusive to the early 1930s? Lots of mysticism and indulging in the mystics. One not particularly effective Read more
Zara / Maria Greta Garbo Bruno Melvyn Douglas Salter Erich von Stroheim Released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer | Directed by George Fitzmaurice Proof That It’s Pre-Code Zara lives out of wedlock with a man, despite the fact that she may be married to another. (Though, to be fair, she has… Read more
Helga/Susan Lenox Greta Garbo Rodney Clark Gable Ohlin Jean Hersholt Released by MGM | Directed by Robert Z. Leonard Proof That It’s Pre-Code Our female lead is threatened with rape and abuse constantly before turning to prostitution and gold digging. Susan Lenox: It’s A Man’s World “I think the most Read more
Grace Sutton Loretta Young Jed Sutton Eric Linden Miss Bowers Aline MacMahon Floret Glenda Farrell A Patient Dorothy Peterson Ringer Frank McHugh Released by First National/Warner Bros. | Directed by James Flood Proof That It’s Pre-Code Let’s just say that medicine has changed in 80-some years. One nervous father is Read more
Yvonne Greta Garbo Andre Robert Montgomery Delval Lewis Stone Released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer | Directed by Clarence Brown Proof That It’s Pre-Code “There are tricks in every trade.” “You ought to know, dearie. Your trade is the oldest.” “I was just going to ask if you came with a Read more
Rita Cavallini Greta Garbo Cornelius Van Tuyl Lewis Stone Tom Armstrong Gavin Gordon Released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer | Directed by Clarence Brown Proof That It’s Pre-Code Rita was sold into a brothel at a young age and has gained infamy as an opera singer… but also as a woman Read more
Joe Anton George Raft Jerry Healy Constance Cummings Iris Wynne Gibson Leo Roscoe Karns Mabel Alison Skipworth Maude Mae West Released by Paramount | Directed by Archie Mayo Proof That It’s Pre-Code “Why that dumb cluck!” George Raft awakens and undresses to bathe. We see a lot of him. Llllladies. Read more
Duke Ellis Richard Dix Johnny Ellis Tom Brown C. Henry Gordon Skinner Released by RKO | Directed by Rowland Brown Proof That It’s Pre-Code One convict had been married– to three wives at the same time. The cook is a homosexual. One guard’s wife is having an affair– and pays Read more