#PreCodeApril thread for 2022. Please check the hashtag regularly - it was an absolute treasure trove last year.
This is my Pre-Code Films list on @letterboxd. If you’re looking for recommendations, the top 90 or so are in approximate order of preference. letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
Here’s last year’s insanely long #PreCodeApril thread.
This is my provisional #PreCodeApril @letterboxd Watchlist for 2022. Includes three favourites, the rest will all be first time watches. letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
For completion’s sake, here’s the 2022 #PreCodeApril Recruitment Drive thread, which contains 30+ #PreCode gifs.
Here’s an ongoing thread of #PreCode podcast episodes that I started last year. If you come across a Pre-Code podcast (or podcast episode) that’s not listed here, please let me know and I’ll add it to the thread. #PreCodePodcasts #PreCodeApril
Day 1 of #PreCodeApril: Three on a Match (1932), starring Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Warren William, Bette Davis and a pre-fame Humphrey Bogart. I last saw this *checks @letterboxd* 24 years ago.
Terrific, must-read, fabulously detailed blog post on Three on a Match from @PreCodeDotCom, explaining why it’s “a great introductory course for the Pre-Code era”: pre-code.com/three-on-a-mat… #PreCodeApril
I can’t add much to Danny’s excellent post above, but I will say that that ending really had an impact on me the first time I saw it and it’s still shocking today. Dvorak is absolutely sensational - it’s sad to discover she didn’t think much of the film. #PreCodeApril
Fun Three on a Match fact: Glenda Farrell appears briefly as one of Joan Blondell’s fellow inmates at reform school. Screengrab by @PreCodeDotCom. #PreCodeApril
A set of production stills from Three On A Match. #PreCodeApril
A second set of production stills from Three On A Match. #PreCodeApril
And a set of publicity stills from Three On A Match. I like how Warren William looks like he’s gatecrashing the photoshoot at the end. #PreCodeApril
I love this introduction shot for Edward Arnold’s gangster, Ace. He’s only in one scene, but he makes the most of it. #PreCodeApril
This was Bogart’s first role as a gangster and he’s fantastic in it. This is one of several great moments. Dvorak’s full-on drug addict acting also A+. #PreCodeApril
Another great #PreCode moment: Dvorak pretending to be asleep so she doesn’t have to have sex with husband Warren William. #PreCodeApril. This gif and previous gif by @PreCodeDotCom.
PRE-CODE GIFS I’D SEEN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALISING THEY WERE FROM THREE ON A MATCH #1
#PreCodeApril #PreCodeGifs
PRE-CODE GIFS I’D SEEN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALISING THEY WERE FROM THREE ON A MATCH #2
#PreCodeApril #PreCodeGifs
PRE-CODE GIFS I’D SEEN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALISING THEY WERE FROM THREE ON A MATCH #3
#PreCodeApril #PreCodeGifs
PRE-CODE GIFS I’D SEEN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALISING THEY WERE FROM THREE ON A MATCH #4
#PreCodeApril #PreCodeGifs
#PreCodeApril hot tip: YouTube user Pennsylvania History Buff has a #PreCode playlist with nearly 300 films on it. I won’t link to it, just in case, but it’s easy to find. Highlights include Virtue, Laughter, Design For Living, Bird of Paradise and The Greeks Had a Word For Them.
#PreCode Films on Amazon Prime:
The Most Dangerous Game
Secrets
The Kid From Spain
White Zombie
The Devil To Pay
Cynara
Condemned
Annoyingly, this list was twice as long last year. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a lovely little video on #PreCodeApril from the equally lovely @MoxieMcMurder.
Incidentally, Three On A Match has what is possibly one of the best #PreCode opening lines: “Hey, Mary, your bloomers are showing!” #PreCodeApril
Nice little #PreCodeApril shout out in today’s @BFI Bulletin.
Day 2 of #PreCodeApril: Svengali (1931), starring John Barrymore and Marian Marsh.
Alternate poster for Svengali. #PreCodeApril
Here’s the write up for Svengali in my beloved copy of Danny Peary’s Guide for the Film Fanatic. #PreCodeApril
The sets in Svengali are really striking, deliberately (I’m assuming) reminiscent of the German Expressionist period from the previous decade. Definite Caligari vibes, anyway. I didn’t expect that from a film directed by Archie Mayo. #PreCodeApril
The camerawork is fantastic as well. Check out this incredible backwards zoom out the window (starts at 0m33s) in the sequence where Svengali reaches out to Trilby with his mind. You get the creepy contact lens effect here too. #PreCodeApril
There’s some jet black humour in the camerawork too. At one point a character is told that Trilby has died and we cut to a static shot of what looks like her gravestone…only for the camera to start moving forward and reveal this. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
Barrymore’s pretty great in this, to be fair. Don’t look into his eyes! #PreCodeApril #Svengali
The Pre-Code elements are front and centre in the plot, in that Svengali hypnotises Trilby into being his wife, even though she loves someone else. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
Pre-Code-wise, in addition to the very creepy plot, there’s also this nude modelling scene, whereby Bramwell Fletcher’s Billie is shocked - shocked!- to discover that his artist’s model girlfriend actually models for artists. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
You want racier than that? How about Donald Crisp having a bath? #PreCodeApril #Svengali
With another man in the room, no less? This bit’s actually very funny. Svengali, in the other room, deliberately starts playing the National Anthem, forcing Crisp to stand up in the bath. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
#PreCodeCats
You don’t get many cats in Pre-Code movies, so this hashtag may not get much use. Here’s Svengali’s pet cat, anyway. Sadly unnamed and no close-ups, but you can’t have everything. #PreCodeApril
PRE-CODE GIFS I’D SEEN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT REALISING THEY WERE FROM SVENGALI.
Just this one. #PreCodeApril
A set of production stills from Svengali. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
And a set of publicity stills of Barrymore in costume. #PreCodeApril #Svengali
Excellent Trilby facts, courtesy of @WhitlockAndPope. #PreCodeApril #Svengali #TrilbyFACTS
A shocking travesty at the Oscars, in 1932. McGill and Grot both robbed (see above). #PreCodeApril #Svengali #Oscars
You can watch Svengali on YouTube here, although there are better copies out there than this: #Svengali #PreCodeApril
Here's a handy @letterboxd list of all the films that screened as part of the @BFI's Pre-Code Hollywood season in May - July, 2014. letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li… #PreCodeApril
Day 3 of #PreCodeApril: Skyscraper Souls (1932), starring Warren William and Maureen O’Sullivan.
Skyscraper Souls is a great little multi-character drama with Warren William at peak bastard, as ruthless with his mistresses as he is with his business associates. #PreCodeApril
Case in point: he pursues an affair with the secretary (Maureen O’Sullivan) of his building manager and long-term mistress (Verree Teasdale), after witnessing this moment. (Gif via @PreCodeDotCom). #PreCodeApril
Considering the entire film takes place in one skyscraper, there’s an awful lot of that sort of thing. #PreCodeApril
The stories are all very cleverly interlocked. William and another evil banker short the stocks of his partner’s bank and all the characters buy into it, some losing heavily. This is Norman Foster, Maureen O’Sullivan’s rather handsy boyfriend. #PreCodeApril
I won’t spoil any more of the plot, but as a result of their financial losses, several of the characters are driven to desperate acts. Some end happily and some…don’t, in spectacular Pre-Code fashion. #PreCodeApril
One of the best subplots involves model-slash-prostitute Anita Page and jewellery merchant Jean Hersholt. This scene is great. #PreCodeApril
I liked that that the film included this shot, to establish that William’s monstrously phallic building was even bigger than the Empire State Building. #PreCodeApril
William’s extremely understanding wife (who lives abroad and permits his affairs in return for large amounts of money) is played by Hedda Hopper. She began her gossip columnist career (see recent series of @RememberThisPod) three years after this film was made. #PreCodeApril
Perhaps the most shocking Pre-Code moment in the film is this exchange between O’Sullivan (she’ll always be Tarzan’s Jane to me) and George Barbier. #PreCodeApril
“You know something? We’re being awfully shitty.”
“Oh well, let’s be silly.”
“I didn’t say ‘silly’.”
Some great stills and screengrabs of Warren William and Maureen O’Sullivan from Skyscraper Souls. #PreCodeApril #SkyscraperSouls
Great blog post on Skyscraper Souls from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/skyscraper-sou… #PreCodeApril
Day 4 of #PreCodeApril: Beauty For Sale (1933), starring Madge Evans and Alice Brady.
Beauty For Sale is a lot more fun than these publicity stills of everyone looking miserable would have you believe. #PreCodeApril #BeautyForSale
Florine McKinney, Madge Evans and Una Merkel are three women who work at a very gossipy beauty salon for wealthy customers. The plot revolves around their frankly terrible options where men are concerned. #PreCodeApril
McKinney has the worst of it, falling for her boss’ son (Phillips Holmes) and having a secret affair with him, getting pregnant as a result. The sequence where she realises that he’s deserted her is devastating and very cleverly shot. #PreCodeApril
Una Merkel, as Madge’s best friend and co-worker is the savviest of the three, milking her sugar daddy for all he’s worth. The fact that he calls her Sugar and himself Daddy in the same sentence (“Sugar, Daddy’ll only be gone two months”) is surely deliberate. #PreCodeApril
I’d seen this gif before and was hoping there might be some subtext to Madge and Una’s relationship, but in context this comes after a supportive pep talk and you’d have to really squint to see any real coding in their friendship. #PreCodeApril
Madge Evans is the star of the film. She falls for married Otto Kruger, after his wife’s Pekingese, “Mingy Toy-Toy” eats her hat. #PreCodeApril
Naturally, he insists on buying her a new hat and that’s where their romance begins. Please enjoy this EXCELLENT HAT TRIVIA from the @IMDb. #PreCodeApril #excellenthattrivia
Second-billed Alice Brady plays Kruger’s wife and she does a remarkable job of keeping her likeable (or at least, not unlikeable) and funny, while also conveying that she and Kruger really don’t belong together anymore. She’s ridiculous, but it’s a fun comic turn. #PreCodeApril
Kruger, in turn, is actually a nice guy, and the film has you rooting for their romance. A large part of that is down to this beautifully directed, brilliantly acted and intensely erotic rain scene. #PreCodeApril #BeautyForSale
A tiny flavour of the above, in a single image (via @PreCodeDotCom). #PreCodeApril #BeautyForSale
Depressed that her relationship with Kruger can’t go any further while he’s married, Madge settles for Una’s sex pest brother who has a terrible fake laugh and says things like, “One foot short as the man said when he shot off his leg.” #PreCodeApril
That leads to this achingly sad proposal scene, where Madge reluctantly agrees to marriage with ice cream on her lip. #PreCodeApril
(This screengrab and previous screengrab via @PreCodeDotCom).
Incidentally, those ice creams made it into the publicity stills. #PreCodeApril #BeautyForSale
I don’t want to give away the specifics of the ending, but it’s a very funny take on a tried-and-tested romcom trope that gives the film a late-in-the-game jolt of high comedy, sending audiences out with a big smile. #PreCodeApril #BeautyForSale
Madge Evans Appreciation Post. #PreCodeApril
Someone in the production clearly loved dogs, as there’s a gratuitous dog show in the middle, where Mingy Toy-Toy fails to win even an honourable mention. #PreCodeApril #DogsOfPreCode
Given the first three of these shots, I think it’s very likely the film bottled out of a more explicit beauty salon comparison gag. #PreCodeApril #DogsOfPreCode
Nice #PreCodeApril coincidence: this was my second film in a row with Hedda Hopper in it (see Skyscraper Souls), but she’s given very little to do as the boss of the salon, other than share this suggestively close moment with her son. #PreCodeApril
There is, of course, the near-obligatory locker room scene, during which Una gives her verdict on Madge’s $22.50 hat: “If he gives you a hat like that after knowing you for an hour, think what he'd do in three weeks.” #PreCodeApril #PreCodeHats
Excellent @PreCodeDotCom blog post on Beauty For Sale here: pre-code.com/beauty-for-sal… Includes this gif. #PreCodeApril
And one final screengrab from Beauty For Sale (also via @PreCodeDotCom), from a great moment where all three characters are day-dreaming together. #PreCodeApril
Day 5 of #PreCodeApril: Millie (1931), starring Helen Twelvetrees.
Alternate poster for Millie. #PreCodeApril
“She isn’t a blonde
She’s not a brunette
She’s Millie the red-head and hard to forget
Look out for your heart
Look out for your nerves
She’s Millie the red-head with dangerous curves”
Millie’s theme song, as performed by these guys. #PreCodeApril
Millie is a pretty grim tale. Poor old Helen Twelvetrees really goes through the wringer, mistreated by a succession of wrong’uns. This still pretty much sums up the mood. #PreCodeApril
Highlights include:
- Millie’s theme song (see above)
- Lilyan Tashman and Joan Blondell (pictured) as comic-relief good-time girls
- Frank McHugh doing a drunken rendition of a song about being a geranium
#Millie #PreCodeApril
Weirdest / creepiest / most shocking #PreCode moment: these two lascivious old bastards arranging to go to church in order to check out a 16 year old girl (Millie’s daughter). #PreCodeApril
Am I crazy, or is there quite a lot of Lilyan Tashman in Divine? Several of her line deliveries really reminded me of Divine’s John Waters performances. #PreCodeApril #Millie
Lovely little #PreCodeApril thing for Millie, designed by @van_connor. #Millie
Joan Blondell is rather poorly served in Millie, relegated to ditzy blonde jokes rather than her quick-witted later roles. She does get this great exchange though.
“He's a nice boy and he doesn't try to paw me.”
“She goes out with men for the darndest reasons.”
#PreCodeApril
There’s not a *lot* of subtext in the Blondell / Tashman relationship, despite this gif, but I think you could make a case for Tashman’s character having unrequited feelings for Blondell’s character. #PreCodeApril
Gif by @NitrateDiva.
Particularly after this scene, in which Tashman’s previously hard-nosed character (who’s pretty disdainful about men in general) gets drunk and sad with Millie after Blondell lands a husband. #Millie #PreCodeApril
Here’s #PreCode favourite Frank McHugh performing “It’s Nice to be a Geranium”. #Millie #PreCodeApril
There ought to be a name for the very 21st century experience of watching an old movie and suddenly recognising a gif. It was this one for Millie. #PreCodeApril #Millie
Although I like this one better.
#PreCodeApril #Millie
Gif by @NitrateDiva
Two excellent blog posts on Millie:
Immortal Ephemera (@IEphemera): immortalephemera.com/46459/millie-1…
Pre-Code.com: pre-code.com/millie-1931-re…
#Millie #PreCodeApril
And here’s the non-YouTube version of Frank McHugh singing “It’s Nice to be a Geranium”. #PreCodeApril #Millie
An alternate poster for Millie and the sad final lines of her theme song, played towards the end of the film.
“She wasted her heart
On hopeless affairs
She’s Millie the red-head
But nobody cares.”
#PreCodeApril #Millie
Millie is in the public domain, so it’s freely available on YouTube. You can watch it here: #PreCodeApril #Millie
A pair of odd publicity stills for Millie, with the photographer keeping his distance for some reason. #PreCodeApril #Millie
Day 6 of #PreCodeApril: Midnight Mary (1933), starring Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez and Franchot Tone.
In which Loretta Young wears a series of interesting hats. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril #HatsOfPreCode 🎩
Midnight Mary opens with one of the all-time great character introductions. A prosecutor is summing up to a jury, angrily proclaiming “Mary Martin KILLED A MAN!” Cut to this shot of Loretta Young, at her own murder trial. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
The film then uses an ingenious flashback device (it feels very proto-noir), whereby the spines of the court records where she’s awaiting the verdict trigger her memories. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
Amusingly, both Loretta Young and Una Merkel play their characters at age 9. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
The film is full of shocking #PreCode moments. This is clearly-established-as-16 year old Loretta and Una getting picked up by gangsters (Ricardo Cortez and Warren Hymer) on the street. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary #GifByMe
This struck me as outrageously explicit, even for #PreCode movies. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
Ricardo Cortez: pretty handsy in general. This is a very unusual shot choice too. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
There’s shocking violence towards women in the film too, including this brutal slap of Merkel by Hymer, who’s otherwise largely a comic character. Merkel’s reaction is…let’s say problematic. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
How much more Pre-Code could it get? Well, aside from the violence, the prostitution, a clearly glamorous life of crime and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, there’s also two unpunished murders and the fact that Loretta ends up with a married man. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
There’s blatant sexy stuff too, including the word “sex” used repeatedly in this scene. (It’s surprising how little you hear the word, even in the raciest Pre-Codes). #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
The dirtiest bit involves Loretta trying to stop Cortez’s gangster from killing the man she loves (Franchot Tone) by whispering in his ear and promising him sex. Cortez’s reaction…well, see for yourself. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
The film does at least hammer home that the Depression is responsible for Loretta going back to a life of crime. I love the Joan Crawford shout-out in this “NO JOBS” sequence. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
Incidentally, I can never look at Franchot Tone the same way any more, not after the Barbra Payton episode of @RememberThisPod, which goes into detail about him getting beaten up by Tom Neal over her. #PreCodeApril
Also, if you think the plot of Midnight Mary is outrageous, check out the jaw-dropping details of the original script! #PreCodeApril
Source: Piece on #MidnightMary by @Kimbo3200 in The Pre-Code Companion Vol. 4.
Here’s a great behind-the-scenes photo with Young, Tone and -I assume- director William A. Wellman. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
Some production stills from Midnight Mary. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
Some more production stills from Midnight Mary. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
Even more production stills from Midnight Mary. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
And some publicity shots. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
Here’s a press ad and an alternate poster. #MidnightMary #PreCodeApril
I also put the full pick-up scene on YouTube here: . Note that the sequence above immediately cuts to Loretta sobbing and Una telling her that a girl’s got to make a living somehow. #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
Great blog post on Midnight Mary from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/midnight-mary-… #PreCodeApril #MidnightMary
Day 7 of #PreCodeApril: Montana Moon (1930), starring Joan Crawford.
I’m sold on this publicity still alone. #JoanCrawford #MontanaMoon #PreCodeApril
The best eight seconds of Montana Moon. #PreCodeApril #MontanaMoon
That same moment in gif form. #MontanaMoon #PreCodeApril
Montana Moon isn’t a great film by any means, but Joan is fabulous in it. I enjoyed her weirdly awkward tango with sleazy Ricardo Cortez. #MontanaMoon #PreCodeApril
It starts well, with Crawford’s wealthy society girl getting off a train to avoid stealing her sister’s boyfriend (Cortez). She meets Johnny Mack Brown’s simple cowboy in the desert and seduces him. That part is very charming and also quite sexy. #PreCodeApril
They get married and there’s a funny bit where they’re making out and they realise the whole cowboy camp are watching their “wedding night”. Joan: not amused. #PreCodeApril
It’s all over the place after that though. Part western, part musical, part comedy, part romance and none of it really works. It is notable for a few things though. Apparently it was the first film to introduce the concept of the singing cowboy. #PreCodeApril
Also, this guy at the front (Cliff Edwards, part of the very weird comic relief) was later the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio. #PreCodeApril
The best #PreCode moment has sleazy Cortez advising Brown to let his wife play around with other men. “Get wise to yourself, big boy. Play the field. It’s being done this season.” #PreCodeApril
Some of the Letterboxd reviews are quite excited about the closeness between Joan Crawford and Dorothy Sebastian, but they’re playing sisters, so there’s no real subtext there. #PreCodeApril
I think that excitement is more to do with this beach photo shoot they did together in 1925. #PreCodeApril
Joan smoking in Montana Moon: A Short Gif Series.
#1
#PreCodeApril
Joan smoking in Montana Moon: A Short Gif Series.
#2
#PreCodeApril
Joan smoking in Montana Moon: A Short Gif Series.
#3
#PreCodeApril
Here’s the weird tango scene with Crawford and Cortez. Joan’s eye movements throughout are priceless. #PreCodeApril #MontanaMoon
I’m sorry to say that nothing even approaching this image happens at any point in Montana Moon. Damn you, publicity stills. #PreCodeApril
If you do want to watch it, the whole thing is on YouTube here: . Ignore that running time - it’s only 90 minutes long. #PreCodeApril #MontanaMoon
Day 8 of #PreCodeApril: Lawyer Man (1932), starring William Powell and Joan Blondell.
#PreCodeApril starting to make headway in my @letterboxd Most Watched stats.
This is the best moment of Lawyer Man. Joan Blondell, as Powell’s no-nonsense secretary, Olga, showing her disapproval of his constant skirt-chasing. #PreCodeApril
Lawyer Man is interesting for Powell’s morally complex character arc in what is basically a rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches-to-rags tale. It’s also notable for being the only screen pairing of Powell and Blondell. #PreCodeApril
Pre-Code elements include the fact that Powell regularly sleeps with his clients and the fact that every conceivable branch of authority is painted as corrupt. #PreCodeApril
Trailer for Lawyer Man, which includes Powell getting very cosy with Claire Dodd at a restaurant. #PreCodeApril
It’s a relatively straight role for Blondell (she’s the voice of reason and in love with Powell without him knowing), but she gets in some great physical comedy whenever he’s being seduced by a female client, making as much noise around the office as possible. #PreCodeApril
Interesting trivia note: Allen Jenkins and Jack La Rue appear together as a pair of gangsters, just as they did in Three on a Match. There’s a very funny scene where they come to strong-arm Powell and he wins them over with cake and ice-cream. #PreCodeApril
Great bit of cheeky #PreCode symbolism at the end of this clip. #LawyerMan #PreCodeApril
Here it is in gif form. #LawyerMan #PreCodeApril #GifByMe
Two great blog posts on Lawyer Man:
Pre-Code.com - pre-code.com/pre-code-lawye…
Immortal Ephemera (@IEphemera) - immortalephemera.com/12668/lawyer-m…
#PreCodeApril
Day 9 of #PreCodeApril: Other Men’s Women (1931), directed by William A. Wellman.
Note the prominent placement of the female screenwriter there, with a “by Maude Fulton” credit under the title and above the director, albeit in a smaller font. Such a shame that that didn’t catch on. #PreCodeApril
There are two big things to say about Other Men’s Women. First, the cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. And second, it’s a fantastic train movie. Check out this amazing gif sequence, shot on a real moving train, with no back projection. #PreCodeApril
Gif 1
Gif 2
In context, Grant Withers is the lead and Cagney (in only his third film) is his best friend. He’s excitedly acting out details of a prize fight he saw the previous night. You see that beam coming for ages before they both duck, without looking. #PreCodeApril
Gif 3
It’s a great moment, telling you everything about the two men (though Cagney’s barely in it) and how they know the railroad like the back of their hands. #PreCodeApril
There’s other great train stuff too. Withers, an engineer, is established in this great opening sequence where he has just enough time to hop off the moving train, grab breakfast and flirt with the waitress (counting carriages) before hopping back on the end of it. #PreCodeApril
The main plot involves Withers’ Bill, who’s a bit of an alcoholic and has been slung out of his boarding house, being invited to stay with his other best friend, fellow train driver Jack (Regis Toomey) and his new wife, Lily (Mary Astor) while he sorts himself out. #PreCodeApril
Then, when Jack’s away, Bill and Lily “suddenly discover they love each other”. It’s a beautifully handled sequence, giving Astor’s happily married character much more agency than you’d expect. She’s the one who first kisses Bill and it takes them both by surprise. #PreCodeApril
It’s beautifully scripted, directed and acted. He says something kind, she says, jokingly, “Just for that, I’m going to give you a little kiss” and that kiss - on the lips - lasts just a bit longer than a peck. It’s like she startles herself with her own desire. #PreCodeApril
They kiss properly after that initial kiss and it’s full-blown melodrama and tragedy after that. They feel guilty, Jack works out something’s wrong and a fight on a moving train leaves Jack blind. #PreCodeApril
The climax is truly spectacular. The town floods and a bridge is in danger. Blind Jack secretly takes it upon himself to do a Noble Sacrifice (though Bill has the idea first, offscreen) and drive a loaded train onto the bridge to weight it down. #PreCodeApril
That leads to a stunningly shot sequence with Blind Jack groping his way through a trainyard - and narrowly avoiding getting run over - in a torrential downpour. #PreCodeApril
Here’s something interesting. The trailer - , pictured left - has a subtly different version of this key poster image scene (screengrabbed on right), which makes Bill slightly more aggressive. The image on the left isn’t in the film. #PreCodeApril
Haven’t even mentioned Blondell yet! She’s in this too, playing Bill’s diner waitress girlfriend (though it’s implied he has lots of diner waitress girlfriends along the track). There’s a lovely reverse tracking shot in this one-take scene. #PreCodeApril
Blondell’s Marie is sweet on Bill and is hoping he’ll propose. At one point she describes herself to a flirtatious customer as “I’m A.P.O. - Ain’t Putting Out!” #PreCodeApril
There’s a terrific scene set in a dance hall where Joan does some phenomenal drunk acting, an achingly sad mixture of hope and sadness. #PreCodeApril
You get a brief flavour of her drunk acting (I love her cackling laugh, pictured in gif below) in this Warner Archive clip, which also showcases Cagney’s fabulous dancing skills: #PreCodeApril
Short gif sequence (thank you, Tumblr) of Cagney’s awesome dance moves. What you miss here (and in previous video) is that he’s got that get-up on under his engineer overalls. A lovely touch. #PreCodeApril
Gif 1
Gif 2
Cagney: “Babe, you look like $700 tonight, I'm tellin' you! Come on, let's go!”
#PreCodeApril
Gif 3
This was Cagney’s third film, and his second with Blondell, though they only share one scene. He’d become a star with his next film, The Public Enemy, also with director William A. Wellman. #PreCodeApril
Gif 4
I love the fact that he’s swooped his partner into the air at the end of this. #PreCodeApril
One last Cagney moment. This is his first appearance in the film, just casually standing on the top of a moving train. #PreCodeApril
Is Joan Blondell the #PreCode era’s best -ahem- slapper? All evidence points to yes. #PreCodeApril
Here’s an excellent blog post on Other Men’s Women by @sheilakathleen at The Sheila Variations: sheilaomalley.com/?p=28355 #PreCodeApril
And a typically great blog post from PreCode.com, which, among other things, notes the similarities to Renoir. #PreCodeApril pre-code.com/other-mens-wom…
Some leftover stills and screengrabs from Other Men’s Women. #PreCodeApril
A few trivia-based footnotes for Other Men’s Women. #PreCodeApril
1) This sequence was Cagney’s first ever dancing scene on screen.
2) Grant Withers was briefly married to Loretta Young, from January 1930 (when she was 17) to September 1931. #PreCodeApril
3) Withers was also the lead in Cagney and Blondell’s first film together, Sinners’ Holiday (1930) - Cagney’s first film, Blondell’s second. #PreCodeApril
Day 10 of #PreCodeApril: He Was Her Man (1934), starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell.
I picked this one expecting some light comedy and it was the total opposite. Extremely downbeat tale of a gangster-turned-stool-pigeon (Cagney) who hides out from the mob with a former prostitute (Blondell) and the small town fisherman who’s promised to marry her. #PreCodeApril
The plot is intriguingly low-key. Having been kind and generous in helping Blondell reach the small town and her husband-to-be, Cagney falls in love with her, but he’s also befriended the fisherman and his family. #PreCodeApril
There’s a strong sense of flawed characters desperate for respectability and redemption they don’t feel they deserve. Blondell’s relief when she discovers the fisherman intends to be true to his word (marrying her despite her past) is heartbreaking. #PreCodeApril
Meanwhile, the mob have discovered Cagney’s whereabouts and intend to kill them both (she doesn’t know who he really is), adding a sense of urgency for them to admit their feelings and get out of there. #PreCodeApril
Fun #PreCode stuff:
1) The opening scene has Cagney negotiating his safecracker fee in an upcoming heist while getting a massage and a shower. #PreCodeApril
Fun #PreCode stuff:
2) While grassing his associates up to the police (and it’s weird enough seeing Cagney turn stoolie), he tells them they’re planning to knock over a safe full of “junk and nose candy”.
#PreCodeApril
3) The strong implication (more or less confirmed by Blondell when she says Cagney was “more than just a friend” to her) that Cagney and Blondell sleep together a few times before they arrive in the fisherman’s town. #PreCodeApril
4) The ending. #PreCodeApril
This was the seventh and final film Blondell and Cagney made together. They were lifelong best friends, who appeared on stage together and got their first Hollywood break together too. Both continued working until their deaths in 1979 and 1986 respectively. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a good Pre-Code.com blog post on He Was Her Man: pre-code.com/he-was-her-man… #PreCodeApril
Blondell racing up my @letterboxd Most Watched list thanks to #PreCodeApril. One more film and she’ll equal Edwige Fenech.
Seeing as we’re ten days in, please drop your #PreCodeApril @letterboxd Watchlists and your #Letterboxd #MostWatched stats below. letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
#PreCodeApril making itself felt on my @letterboxd Most Watched Directors stats too.
Day 11 of #PreCodeApril: Hell Divers (1931), starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable.
Alternate poster for Hell Divers. I like the amusingly silly faces of Beery and Gable at the top. #PreCodeApril
The plot is very slight. Top-billed Beery and Gable play rival Chief Petty Officers in the Navy. That’s basically it. They have a big fight in a bar at one point (apparently they disliked each other offscreen too). #PreCodeApril
#PreCode elements include:
- Gable getting his fiancée (Dorothy Jordan) to agree to sleep with him before they’re married
- A remarkably tender moment between Beery and his pilot / superior officer (John Miljan) after the latter is invalided out
#PreCodeApril
The biggest #PreCode element is probably “injury detail”. At one point, Gable is injured in a crash and breaks his leg.
Gable: “Remove that wood splinter from my leg, would you?”
Beery: “That’s no wood splinter.”
There’s a lot of blood too, plus other injuries.
#PreCodeApril
Hell Divers is also notable for some pretty spectacular effects work (seamlessly integrated with real plane footage), including a stunning mid-air crash between two dive-bombers. #PreCodeApril
You get a brief glimpse of that crash in the trailer here: imdb.com/video/vi254448… #PreCodeApril
Three more alternate posters for Hell Divers (not to be confused with Hell Drivers). #PreCodeApril
And two more stills. Marjorie Rambeau is pictured with Gable on the right, playing Beery’s bar owner girlfriend, Mame. #PreCodeApril
#PreCodeApril REMINDER! The Public Enemy (1931), one of the all-time great gangster movies, is playing at @ThePCCLondon tonight (6pm), as part of their Pre-Code Hollywood season. Tickets and info here: princecharlescinema.com/PrinceCharlesC… Come along and support cinemas showing 1930s movies!
Day 12 of #PreCodeApril: She Had To Say Yes (1933), starring Loretta Young.
She Had To Say Yes is a proper jaw-on-the-floor job. The plot has Loretta Young working as a “customer girl” for a clothing company, whereby she’s expected to “entertain” out-of-town buyers of an evening (with salesman boyfriend Regis Toomey getting commission). #PreCodeApril
The #PreCode shocks start early, as we learn that Toomey is sending her out to meet clients so that he can cheat on her with Suzanne Kilborn (pictured), a customer girl with -ahem- fewer morals. #PreCodeApril
Loretta’s first customer girl experience doesn’t go well. She’s lured back to Lyle Talbot’s hotel room, where he pounces on her.
Loretta: “I hate being pawed!”
Talbot: “Ah, but then maybe you’ve never been pawed properly. It’s really very nice.”
#PreCodeApril
However, Talbot is smitten and he apologises, so when Loretta discovers Toomey’s infidelity (a *great* scene), she gives Talbot another chance. But then he pimps her out to a client too, in order to secure a merger. Loretta: disappointed. #PreCodeApril
Loretta does what Talbot asks but sets a trap for the client, secretly inviting his wife and daughter to their private dinner and making him sign the merger deal in front of them. But then Talbot loses respect for her because he thinks she slept with him anyway. #PreCodeApril
The film is depressingly modern on the way men manipulate and exploit women, and also the hypocrisy of the value men place on “virtuous” women. In short, the men in this film are absolute shits. The film was released with this teaser. #PreCodeApril
In addition to being pimped out by both boyfriends and her company, Loretta is almost raped three times in the film…by both male leads, each assuming that because she’s no longer “innocent”, they can just go right ahead. #PreCodeApril
The ending is utterly depressing. Having almost raped Loretta, Talbot discovers she is, in fact, still “innocent” and proposes. Loretta despairs and gives a great speech…and then accepts his proposal, reasoning that “it’s just a matter of choosing the lesser evil.”#PreCodeApril
Loretta’s speech, directly before the lesser evil line: “You’re all alike. You’d trust a woman about as far as you could throw a piano. And the more you love her, the less you trust her.” #PreCodeApril
Three must-read blog posts on She Had To Say Yes:
Pre-Code.com - pre-code.com/she-had-to-say…
@TheDarkPages at Shadows and Satin - shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/dec…
Immortal Ephemera (@IEphemera) - immortalephemera.com/55012/she-had-…
#PreCodeApril
The trailer gives a good impression of the film, including some of the most shocking lines: #PreCodeApril
Trailer also contains this great #PreCode line from Winnie Lightner very funny as Loretta’s colleague).
Loretta (on phone, panicked): “I’m in his hotel room, what do I do?”
Winnie (as Maizee): “What would I do? Say, do you want them to take out my telephone?”
#PreCodeApril
Publicity shot of Loretta Young for She Had To Say Yes. #PreCodeApril
Stills and screengrabs of Loretta with Talbot and Toomey from She Had To Say Yes. #PreCodeApril
Fun bit of trivia from the @IMDb. Talbot gives Loretta $1,000 for securing the merger with the client. In today’s money, that’s $19,883. #PreCodeApril
Forgot to add that this was Busby Berkeley’s directorial debut, co-directed with George Amy. #PreCodeApril
Gratuitous #PreCode shot of Loretta in a towel, via @PreCodeDotCom (as is the gif above). #PreCodeApril
Day 13 of #PreCodeApril: Paid (1930), starring Joan Crawford.
I didn’t know anything about Paid going in, so was excited when it looked like it was going to be a Joan Crawford prison movie, but she’s only in prison for a couple of minutes. #PreCodeApril
She does get a #PreCode prison shower scene in those few minutes though, with an uncredited Louise Beavers, no less. Someone has kindly put the entire scene on YouTube here: #PreCodeApril
The rest of the film is basically Joan’s revenge plot. She was framed for stealing, so plots to get back at the men who conspired to have her jailed for three years. Step one: marry one of their sons. #PreCodeApril
As these lobby cards for Paid indicate, she makes this face a lot. #PreCodeApril #JoanCrawford
The rest of the film (based on a 1912 play called Within the Law by Bayard Veiller) is a bit dull by comparison to the prison stuff and has Joan getting involved in the “Heart Balm” racket - basically breach-of-promise suits as legal extortion (as per play’s title). #PreCodeApril
Aside from being a significant film in Crawford’s career, Paid is notable for Marie Prevost’s lively turn as Aggie, Joan’s prison buddy-turned-partner in crime. The pair remained best friends until Prevost’s death in 1937. #PreCodeApril
Paid also has a strong contender for Pre-Code’s weirdest subplot, in that there’s a whole bit involving a proposed theft of the Mona Lisa, in addition to all the Heart Balm CRIMES. #PreCodeApril
That makes it sound much more fun than it actually is. Who wouldn’t watch a movie about Joan Crawford stealing the Mona Lisa and then going to prison? They missed a trick there. #PreCodeApril
Here’s the opening three minutes of Paid (not really a trailer, despite the title). #PreCodeApril
And a final publicity shot of Joan. #PreCodeApril
After watching Midnight Mary and She Had To Say Yes (see above), I am in whole-hearted agreement with this tweet, so I’ve swapped out Slightly Scarlet, Double Harness and Peg o’ My Heart for three more of her films on my #PreCodeApril list.
Revised #PreCodeApril Watchlist on @letterboxd: letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
Day 14 of #PreCodeApril: Mandalay (1934), starring Kay Francis.
This is off to a great start already. Tempted to start a Fabulous Hats of Kay Francis mini thread. #PreCodeApril #PreCodeHats 🎩
It’s hard to believe Mandalay is only 65 minutes long, given how much great stuff director Michael Curtiz packs into it. Terrific role for Kay Francis too. #PreCodeApril
This is her introduction shot. She plays Tanya, a former Russian prostitute who’s become the girlfriend of Ricardo Cortez’ glamorous gun runner, living aboard his yacht in Rangoon. #PreCodeApril
However, Cortez is wanted by the cops, so he secretly trades her in at Warner Oland’s brothel, Nick’s Place, in return for a shipment of guns and an escape route. #PreCodeApril
Given that Curtiz directed Casablanca eight years later, it’s impossible to see “Nick’s Place” (an exotic cafe-slash-brothel) and not think of “Rick’s Place” in an entirely different light. It’s either a coincidence or a delightful in-joke. #PreCodeApril
After a hunger strike, Tanya is advised by the joint’s current hostess (who she’s set to replace) to make the most of what she’s got and to use men to get whatever she needs. This gif is her making her mind up. #PreCodeApril
Tanya then reinvents herself as “Spot White” (a name that’s never explained) and there’s a terrific montage sequence showing her rise to notoriety. Note fabulous #PreCodeStaircases here, as well as the stunning gown. #PreCodeApril
The film’s best scene has Tanya facing deportation for her activities, only to blackmail the Superintendent (who doesn’t recognise her from a previous masked encounter) into giving her 10,000 rupees and passage out of Rangoon. #PreCodeApril
Excellent rupee trivia from the @IMDb here. #PreCodeApril
Once aboard the steamer to Mandalay, Tanya leaves her past behind her and adopts a new name. She also meets damaged doctor Lyle Talbot - on a near-suicide mission to an area rife with deadly Black Fever - and they fall in love. #PreCodeApril
But then Cortez reappears on the scene and his presence threatens to ruin everything. The ending takes a splendidly dark turn that I won’t reveal here, but it’s a lot of fun. #PreCodeApril
The film’s raciest #PreCode scene has Cortez watching Tanya take a bath. His hand placements here are as shocking as they were in Midnight Mary (see Day 6, above). #PreCodeApril
Alternate poster for Mandalay. #PreCodeApril
Publicity photo of Kay Francis (and one of her fabulous hats) in Mandalay. Big fan of her big fan. #PreCodeApril
A trio of excellent blog posts on Mandalay. #PreCodeApril
- Pre-Code.com - pre-code.com/pre-code-manda…
- @TheDarkPages at Shadows and Satin - shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/tcm…
- @selfstyledsiren - selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com/2006/12/kay-fr…
Got 65 minutes to spare and fancy watching Mandalay during #PreCodeApril? You’re in luck - the whole thing’s on YouTube here:
Someone’s put the afore-mentioned montage sequence on YouTube too. See Pre-Code.com blog post above on the significance of the fan. #PreCodeApril
Day 15 of #PreCodeApril: Jimmy the Gent (1934), starring James Cagney and Bette Davis.
Alternate poster for Jimmy the Gent. #PreCodeApril
“Here’s a real treat - a Cagney “drammer” in which James “don’t slug nobody but a few uncultured gents!” - press ad for Jimmy the Gent. #PreCodeApril
“The Cave Man Turns Cake Eater”. What a tag-line. #PreCodeApril #JimmyTheGent
Cagney plays an unpolished chiseler whose racket is “finding” (i.e. fabricating) heirs for unclaimed fortunes. Davis plays his former secretary / sweetheart, who’s gone to work for his ostensibly more scrupulous competition (Alan Dinehart). #PreCodeApril
To win her back, Jimmy affects both manners and ethics (there’s a very funny tea-drinking running gag), but he’s really manipulating everyone in a highly lucrative case involving an accused murderer inheriting $200,000. #PreCodeApril
The scheming involved on Jimmy’s part is actually quite impressive. It involves persuading the alleged killer to get married twice in the same day to beat the murder rap, once to Alice White (left) and once to Mayo Methot (the future Mrs Humphrey Bogart, right). #PreCodeApril
Jimmy the Gent isn’t much fun plot-wise because Cagney’s character is so thoroughly despicable, but there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had elsewhere. The dialogue is delightfully colourful and includes gems like, “Saaaay, have you been beltin’ the grape?” #PreCodeApril
Also great, Methot (as the only witness to the murder who Cagney persuades to marry the killer for $10,000): “Say, listen, I’ll send that hyena to the chair and put a tack in it!” #PreCodeApril
Also, it’s hard to hate a film where Bette Davis threatens to throw someone’s hat out the window. #PreCodeApril #JimmyTheGent
One of the best things about Jimmy The Gent is a significant supporting part for Allen Jenkins (the future voice of Officer Dibble), who’s long been one of my favourite character actors. In terms of screentime and dialogue this is surely one of his biggest roles. #PreCodeApril
Jenkins and Alice White (another #PreCode scene-stealer) are both very funny in this scene where Cagney arranges for Jenkins’ girlfriend (White) to marry the murderer without telling Jenkins beforehand. #PreCodeApril
That same scene (in full here: ) includes this very #PreCode exchange between Cagney and White (as Mabel):
Jimmy: “Say, baby, what would you do for 500 bucks?”
Mabel: “I’d do my best.”
#PreCodeApril
IMDb trivia: “Because he disliked the script so much, Cagney had the sides of his head shaved for the film, without the knowledge of director Michael Curtiz. Davis did not appreciate it either, and refused to have publicity pictures taken with Cagney.” #PreCodeApril
The image above would seem to contradict that statement, though I’d argue that was a publicity still taken on set, like this one, rather than a separate promotional photo. #PreCodeApril
More Jimmy The Gent trivia, via Wikipedia / TCM. #PreCodeApril
“Prior to its release, the film's working titles were Blondes and Bonds and The Heir Chaser.”
More @IMDb trivia:
“The title of this movie became the nickname of real life criminal Jimmy Burke, who is portrayed by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas (1990).”
#PreCodeApril
Great blog post on Jimmy The Gent from @IEphemera, which includes the fact that Joan Blondell was originally set to play Davis’ part but had to pull out due to illness. #PreCodeApril immortalephemera.com/53300/jimmy-th…
Another excellent (though less enthusiastic) blog post on Jimmy The Gent from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/jimmy-the-gent… #PreCodeApril
Trailer for Jimmy The Gent: #PreCodeApril
Incidentally, this moment from the trailer between Jenkins and White (“Honey, you deviate me” / “You say the cutest things”) isn’t in the finished film. #PreCodeApril
Some publicity stills from Jimmy The Gent. #PreCodeApril
And one more. #PreCodeApril #JimmyTheGent
#DogsOfPreCode 🐶
For some reason, multiple #PreCode films contain scenes with Pomeranians. Wild and crazy theory: they’re all the same Pomeranian. Here he is in Jimmy The Gent. #PreCodePomeranians #PreCodeApril
And here he is in Mandalay. #PreCodeDogs 🐶 #PreCodePomeranians #PreCodeApril
This is probably his most famous appearance, in Gold Diggers of 1933. #PreCodeApril #PreCodeDogs🐶 #PreCodePomeranians
Ready for his close-up.
#PreCodeDogs🐶
#PreCodePomeranians
#PreCodeApril
Lovely piece on #PreCodeApril from @DVDBits.
As we’re at the halfway point, here’s the piece on #PreCodeApril that I wrote for @letterboxd last year. Includes my top five #PreCode discoveries / recommendations. news.letterboxd.com/post/649864546…
And here’s the interview I did with @filmstoriespod, in advance of the first ever #PreCodeApril last year. A big thank you to @CookieNScreen for helping me spread the word! filmstories.co.uk/news/old-movie…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.