1932
The Final Edition (1932) Review, with Mae Clarke and Pat O’Brien
An ace newspaper reporter hunts down a murderer in order to take down a crime syndicate– and she’s a woman?! Bless my stars and garters.
1932
The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) Review, with Joan Bennett and Donald Cook
Vivienne Ware Joan Bennett John Sutherland Donald Cook Dolores Divine Lilian Bond Released by Fox Directed by William K. Howard Run time: 56 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “What I sucker I was. I thought that sugar daddy meant he was going to take me abroad for a Read more…
1931
City Streets (1931), with Sylvia Sydney and Gary Cooper
“Kid”Gary Cooper NanSylvia Sydney “The Big Fella”Paul Lukas Directed by Rouben MamoullianReleased by Paramount PicturesRuntime: 82 minutes Proof That It’s Pre-Code Concerns bootleggers and beer barons. City Streets: Wrong Ways “Good kid. You’ll never tell nobody nothing.” Rouben Mamoullian’s City Streets is a particularly stylish entry in the early-30s gangster Read more…
1932
The Roadhouse Murder (1932) Review, with Dorothy Jordan and Eric Linden
Chick Brian Eric Linden Mary Agnew Dorothy Jordan Jeff Dale Roscoe Karns Released by RKO Directed by J. Walter Ruben Run time: 72 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Opens with a man inflating his hemorrhoid pillow. This shot is quickly followed by a drunk, disgruntled reporter typing this Read more…
1931
The Star Witness (1931) Review, with Walter Huston
Whitlock Walter Huston Ma Leeds Frances Starr ‘Pa’ Charles ‘Chic’ Sale Released by Warner Bros. Directed by William A. Wellman Run time: 67 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Gangsters and murders and that particular snarl we all know and love. A kid gets kicked across the room at Read more…
1930
Outside the Law (1930) Review, with Edward G. Robinson
Connie Mary Nolan Cobra Edward G. Robinson Fingers O’Dell Owen Moore Released by Universal Directed by Tod Browning Run time: 76 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film One gag makes you think Nolan is having a conversation from the bathtub, though she’s really washing a dog. “Don’t let that Read more…
1933
From Headquarters (1933) Review, with George Brent and Margaret Lindsay
George Brent Margaret Lindsay Eugene Pallette Released by Warner Bros. | Directed by William Dietrle Run time: 63 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “No, we can’t send a policeman around for that. Try the lonely hearts bureau.” A woman gets the offer of marriage rescinded for one of Read more…
1930
Raffles (1930) Review, with Ronald Colman and Kay Francis
Raffles Ronald Colman Gwen Kay Francis Detective McKenzie David Torrence Released by Samuel Goldwyn| Directed by George Fitzmaurice Run time: 71 minutes Raffles: Just a Bit of Cricket “Heh. One way or another, we’re all thieves at times.” Boy, Raffles sure is a movie. Ronald Colman, debonair and adorable, plays Read more…
1931
Gentleman’s Fate (1931) Review, with John Gilbert and Louis Wolheim
Jack Thomas John Gilbert Frank Louis Wolheim Marjorie Leila Hyams Ruth Anita Page Mabel Marie Prevost Florio John Miljan Released by MGM | Directed by Mervyn LeRoy Run time: 90 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film A bootlegger tells his skeptical brother, who’s sniffing a bottle, “That stuff ain’t Read more…
1933
Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) Review, with Bette Davis and Pat O’Brien
Norma Bette Davis Butch Pat O’Brien The Captain Lewis Stone Joe Allen Jenkins Belle Glenda Farrell Pete Ruth Donnelly Released by Warner Bros. | Directed by Roy Del Ruth Run time: 72 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Since this is a film dealing with the destitute, it’s fairly Read more…