1934
Good Dame (1934) Review, with Sylvia Sydney and Fredric March
Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March are in love again. This time it ain’t the booze that is strangling their relationship– it’s fast-talking slang! So much slang! Slang for days!
1930
King of Jazz (1930) Review, with Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman John Boles Laura La Plante Released by Universal Directed by John Murray Anderson Run time: 99 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film There are a few mildly racy sketches, like one where an adulterer hides in the closet when the husband returns home. King of Jazz: Happy Read more…
1932
No One Man (1932) Review, with Carole Lombard and Ricardo Cortez
Penelope ‘Nep’ Newbold Carole Lombard Bill Hanaway Ricardo Cortez Dr. Karl Bemis Paul Lukas Released by Paramount Directed by Lloyd Corrigan Run time: 71 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “It’s pretty dull here in Palm Beach– unless you’re interested in marriage or divorce.” Penelope (Lombard) is a 22-year-old Read more…
1932
The Devil’s Brother (1932) Review, with Laurel & Hardy
Stanlio Stan Laurel Ollio Oliver Hardy Lady Pamela Thelma Todd Released by MGM Directed by Hal Roach Run time: 90 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Thelma Todd spends much of this movie reaching down the front of her dress or doing her best to strip down to her Read more…
1932
70,000 Witnesses (1932) Review, with Phillips Holmes
“Buck” Buchan Phillips Holmes Dan McKenna David Landau Johnny Moran Charlie Ruggles Released by Paramount Directed by Ralph Murphy Run time: 71 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Bootlegging plays a big part of the film, from the college kid who peddles booze to the constantly-sauced reporter Johnny Moran Read more…
1933
International House (1933) Review, with W.C. Fields
How did W.C. Fields get his ‘pussy’ past the censors? Join a real life gold digger and read all about the unhinged pre-Code comedy International House.
1930
The Woman Racket (1930) Review, with Tom Moore and Blanche Sweet
Tom Tom Moore Julia Blanche Sweet Chris John Miljan Released by MGM Directed by Albert H. Kelley, Robert Ober, and Paul Bern Run time: 70 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Julia is a sweet gal who leaves her husband and has a few love affairs without ever ending Read more…
1933
East of Fifth Avenue (1933) Review, with Wallace Ford and Mary Carlisle
Vic Howard Wallace Ford Edna Howard Mary Carlisle Kitty Green Dorothy Tree Released by Columbia Directed by Albert S. Rogell Run time: 72 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film There are two plot lines here that would be on the bad side of the censors. The first is Dorothy’s Read more…
1932
Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) Review, with Laurel and Hardy
Laurel Hardy Eddie’s Little Girl Jacquie Lyn Released by Hal Roach Studios Directed by George Marshall, Harry Black, Ray McCarey and Lloyd French Run time: 68 minutes Proof That It’s Pre-Code In this lighthearted, rollicking Laurel & Hardy picture, we are treated to a scene where ‘Eddie’s Little Girl’ is 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…