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
Carol Morgan Tallulah Bankhead Bill Wade Robert Montgomery Peter Blainey Hugh Herbert Released by MGM | Directed By Harry Beaumont Proof That It’s Pre-Code The film opens with a montage of newspaper headlines over the years promising that the end of the Depression is at hand. The papers are greeted Read more
Andre Maurice Chevalier Colette Jeanette MacDonald Mitzi Genevieve Tobin Adolph Charlie Ruggles Prof. Oliver Roland Young Mlle. Martel Josephine Dunn Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed By Ernest Lubitsch, assisted by George Cukor Proof That It’s Pre-Code Petting in the park is a Parisian pastime. A husband and wife love Read more
Terry Pat O’Brien Marie Joan Blondell Johnny Allen Jenkins Bonnie Glenda Farrell Joe Eugene Pallette Nicky Gordon Westcott Released by Warner Brothers | Directed By Ray Enright Proof That It’s Pre-Code One of the wonders of the telephone is that you can phone your boss and warn her that her 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
Elsa Carlyle Tallulah Bankhead Jeffrey Carlyle Harvey Stephens Hardy Livingstone Irving Pichel Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed By George Abbott Proof That It’s Pre-Code Once again, everyone is amazed by a marriage that involves love. Tallulah Bankhead tries to transform into Wonder Woman but forgot to put her outfit Read more
Imhotep/Ardeth Bay Boris Karloff Helen Grosvenor Zita Johann Frank Whemple David Manners Released by Universal Studios | Directed By Karl Freund Proof That It’s Pre-Code Several fairly gruesome deaths, on camera and off. Helen gets put in some Egyptian garb, and apparently Ancient Egyptians were big fans of bare midriffs Read more
Stephen Jones Bing Crosby Doris Worthington Carole Lombard Edith Ethel Merman Hubert Leon Errol George George Burns Gracie Gracie Allen Released by Paramount | Directed By Norman Taurog Proof That It’s Pre-Code No one in the film actually declares whether or not they’re dressing (I imagine whoever pitched the title 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
Baron Munchausen Jack Pearl Joe McGoo Jimmy Durante Zasu Zasu Pitts Dean Primrose Edna Mae Oliver The Janitors Ted Healy and His Three Stooges Baron Munchausen Henry Kolker Released by MGM | Directed By Walter Lang Proof That It’s Pre-Code Well: Plus a number of borderline racy jokes. … look, Read more