Steve Max Baer Belle Myrna Loy Professor Walter Huston Released by MGM | Directed by W.S. Van Dyke Proof That It’s Pre-Code One guy muses, “I wonder if she knows he’s catting around?” The titular prizefighter likes to go to the mat with any pair of pretty eyes that look Read more…
Hap Brown Hal Skelly Gardoni William Powell Marie Fay Wray Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed by Robert Milton Proof That It’s Pre-Code A married man cheats on his wife. But, hey, he’s Italian and super smooth. Behind the Makeup: Cloying Around “I seem to lack something. Something that appeals Read more…
Eli Watt Lionel Barrymore Sarah May Robson Jimmy Watt Joel McCrea Letty McGinnis Dorothy Jordan Joan Stockton Frances Dee McGinnis David Landau Released by RKO Pictures | Directed by John S. Robertson Run time: 72 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Pre-marital sex. One Man’s Journey: Never Ending Story Read more…
Babs Winnie Lightner Sidney Charles Butterworth Joe Donald Cook Released by First National/Vitaphone/WB | Directed by Roy Del Ruth Run time: 64 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Star Lightner dresses in a hula skirt and has no qualms about flipping it up, down, and all around. Another job Read more…
Peter Standish Leslie Howard Helen Pettigrew Heather Angel Major Clinton Alan Mowbray Released by Fox Film | Directed by Frank Lloyd Proof That It’s Pre-Code Look, a guy travels through time to bone his great something-or-other’s cousin. It raises questions, certainly. Berkeley Square: Romance Through the Ages “Time– real time– Read more…
Dr. Dick Lundley Conrad Nagel Marianne Madison Sidney Fox Laura Madison Bette Davis Mr. Madison Charles Winninger Valentine Corliss Humphrey Bogart Hedrick Madison David Durand Released by Universal Pictures | Directed by Hobart Henley Proof That It’s Pre-Code The family’s youngest brother pesters his sister about her undergarments: “Why don’t Read more…
Tom Brown Gary Cooper Amy Jolly Marlene Dietrich La Bessiere Adolphe Menjou Released by Paramount | Directed by Josef von Sternberg Run time: 91 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “What are you doing with those fingers?” “Nothing. … yet.” One infamous scene has Dietrich, in a tux, kissing Read more…
Simon Edward Everett Horton Doris / Julia Patsy Ruth Miller Easter Louise Beavers Released by Warner Bros. | Directed by Archie Mayo Run time: 69 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “I never spoiled a reputation in my life– male or female!” Simon’s maid, a black woman named Easter, Read more…
Lola Lola Marlene Dietrich Professor Rath Emil Jannings The Magician Kurt Gerron Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed by Josef Von Sternberg Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Our lead singer, Lola Lola, has what men want, and is more than willing to pass it along. The Blue Angel: Destroyed Read more…
Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed by Norman Z. McLeod Alice in Wonderland: The Exquisite Tragedy of a World Gone Mad “If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around much faster than it does.” There are things I miss about the studio system. Imagine you’re Cary Grant. You Read more…