Happy November and GOOD NEWS! My friend Kim Luperi and I have started an Pre-Code.com Instagram account for this site. On it you will find images and commentary on a whole slew of pre-Code films. Please check it out and leave us a comment or follow along!

This is, of course, on top of my usual Twitter feed full of treats. I’m hoping for some more surprises for you before the end of the year, especially once I’m settled in Germany and have an actual desk to work on again.

Over on the Criterion Channel for November… well:

Here are the pre-Code films added for this lineup (with links to my reviews of said films):

Meanwhile, on everyone’s favorite movie-centric cable channel, TCM has a lot going on in November. This includes a focus on movies set in Reno on 11/2 and a buffet of Ernst Lubitsch movies throughout the month.

Pre-Code Movies on TCM in November 2021

All times listed here are Eastern Standard. This schedule is subject to change.
Plot descriptions and casts lists below come from TCM. See the full listings for the month here.

11/1, 10:15 AM – Hold ‘Em Jail (1932)

Two salesmen sent to jail on trumped-up charges build a prison football team.

Dir: Norman Taurog Actors: Bert Wheeler,Robert Woolsey,Edna May Oliver
Runtime: 73 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/1, 11:30 AM – College Coach (1933)

A timid chemistry major becomes a college football star.

Dir: William A. Wellman Actors: Dick Powell,Ann Dvorak,Pat O’brien
Runtime: 75 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

11/2, 07:30 AM – Peach-O-Reno (1932)

Two divorce lawyers run a gambling joint by night.

Dir: William A. Seiter Actors: Bert Wheeler,Robert Woolsey,Dorothy Lee
Runtime: 63 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

11/2, 09:00 AM – Merry Wives of Reno (1934)

Three couples raise a ruckus when they travel to Nevada for quickie divorces.

Dir: H. Bruce Humberstone Actors: Guy Kibbee,Glenda Farrell,Donald Woods
Runtime: 64 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: N

11/8, 06:45 AM – Jazz Heaven (1930)

A struggling songwriter finds love at his boarding house.

Dir: Melville Brown Actors: John Mack Brown,Sally O’neil,Clyde Cook
Runtime: 67 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

11/8, 01:15 PM – Before Dawn (1933)

Detectives compete to solve the murders at a mysterious mansion.

Dir: Irving Pichel Actors: Stuart Erwin,Dorothy Wilson,Warner Oland
Runtime: 60 mins .. Genre: Suspense/Mystery .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/9, 02:45 AM – 42nd Street (1933)

When revered Broadway director Julian Marsh falls on hard times with both his health and his finances, he helms an ambitious musical as a final production before his retirement.

Dir: Lloyd Bacon Actors: Warner Baxter,Bebe Daniels,George Brent
Runtime: 85 mins .. Genre: Musical .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/14, 06:00 AM – Three on a Match (1932)

A woman’s childhood friends try to rescue her from gangsters.

Dir: Mervyn Leroy Actors: Virginia Davis,Joan Blondell,Dawn O’day
Runtime: 64 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

11/15, 10:00 PM – The Gay Divorcee (1934)

A woman thinks a flirting man is the co-respondent her lawyer has hired to expedite her divorce.

Dir: Mark Sandrich Actors: Fred Astaire,Ginger Rogers,Alice Brady
Runtime: 107 mins .. Genre: Musical .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/17, 06:15 PM – The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

A misfired flirtation lands a young lieutenant married to a princess instead of the one he loves.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Actors: Maurice Chevalier,Claudette Colbert,Miriam Hopkins
Runtime: 102 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/20, 08:30 AM – The Big Stampede (1932)

A new sheriff faces the rustlers who killed his predecessor.

Dir: Tenny Wright Actors: John Wayne,Duke,Noah Beery
Runtime: 63 mins .. Genre: Western .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/21, 05:00 AM – Randy Rides Alone (1934)

An undercover agent searches for a murderous outlaw.

Dir: Harry Fraser Actors: John Wayne,Alberta Vaughn,George Hayes
Runtime: 60 mins .. Genre: Western .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

11/23, 06:15 AM – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a scientist who unleashes the beast within.

Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Actors: Fredric March,Miriam Hopkins,Rose Hobart
Runtime: 90 mins .. Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

11/23, 06:30 PM – Dracula (1931)

The legendary bloodsucker stakes his claim on a British estate in search of new blood.

Dir: Tod Browning Actors: Bela Lugosi,Helen Chandler,David Manners
Runtime: 74 mins .. Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction .. Rating: TV-14 .. CC: Y

11/26, 06:00 AM – The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

A misfired flirtation lands a young lieutenant married to a princess instead of the one he loves.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Actors: Maurice Chevalier,Claudette Colbert,Miriam Hopkins
Runtime: 102 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/26, 08:00 AM – The Merry Widow (1934)

A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Actors: Maurice Chevalier,Jeanette Macdonald,Edward Everett Horton
Runtime: 99 mins .. Genre: Musical .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

11/26, 03:00 PM – Trouble in Paradise (1932)

A love triangle ignites trouble between two jewel thieves and their intended victim.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Actors: Miriam Hopkins,Kay Francis,Herbert Marshall
Runtime: 81 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

11/26, 04:30 PM – Design for Living (1933)

An independent woman can’t chose between the two men she loves.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Actors: Fredric March,Gary Cooper,Miriam Hopkins
Runtime: 90 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y