#PreCodeApril Thread.
Feels appropriate to start off with photographer A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s wonderful Thou Shalt Not image, created in 1941 to satirise the Hays Code restrictions. More background here: ladailymirror.com/2013/11/04/mar…
Feels appropriate to start off with photographer A.L. “Whitey” Schafer’s wonderful Thou Shalt Not image, created in 1941 to satirise the Hays Code restrictions. More background here: ladailymirror.com/2013/11/04/mar…
Here’s my @letterboxd list of over 800 #PreCode films (I’m still adding to it). The top 50 are personal favourites / recommendations / Pre-Code must-sees. Also, everything from around 650 onwards is on the Pre-Code Movies YouTube channel. #PreCodeApril letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
A big thank you again to @CookieNScreen and @filmstoriespod for helping me to spread the word about #PreCodeApril with this interview. filmstories.co.uk/news/old-movie…
And just so everything’s in one place, here’s the #PreCodeApril recruitment drive thread. Includes lists of where to find #PreCode films and gifs. Lots of gifs.
https://twitter.com/FilmFan1971/status/1346770004503621634
Day 1 of #PreCodeApril: Possessed (1931), starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. Crawford plays a money-hungry factory girl who meets Gable’s handsome New York lawyer, but he’s only interested in her as a mistress. (He’s been burned before, see?) #PreCode
I like how the French poster for Possessed pulls off the same wordplay trick. #PreCodeApril
An alternate poster and an international poster for Possessed. The Swedish one (Hans Älskarinna) translates as His Mistress. #PreCodeApril
Some publicity stills of Crawford and Gable. Possessed was their third film together, after Dance, Fools, Dance and Laughing Sinners. All three films came out in 1931. (They made eight films together in total). #PreCodeApril
An early highlight of Possessed (1931) is this wonderful train sequence. Joan’s ambitious factory girl watches as a train slows down in front of her and every window represents the life she’s dreamed of for herself. #PreCodeApril
Here’s another great scene from Possessed - Crawford’s Marian singing songs in French, German and English to an audience of enraptured men. The subtext here is that she’s learned all this in the three years she’s spent as Gable’s mistress. #PreCode
Sauciest #PreCode moment in Possessed: Crawford and Gable arriving an hour late to a party because they've been having sex. They don't even attempt to deny it. Love their reactions in this clip. #PreCodeApril
Incidentally, I picked Possessed as my first #PreCodeApril film because I mistakenly thought it was the source of the gif I used for the Recruitment Drive tweet. It’s not though, as Gable’s moustache makes clear. (He’s clean shaven in Possessed).
Related Public Service Announcement: Possessed (1931) is available to rent on YouTube for £3.99. #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, 2014. #PreCodeApril #PreCode boxd.it/bAqDK
And here's the accompanying Sight & Sound #PreCode article by Mike Mashon and @james___bell: www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/s… #PreCodeApril
Hmmm. It appears the Pre-Code YouTube channel has been terminated. That’s...unfortunate. Another one has already sprung up in its place, so hopefully the same films will pop up again. #PreCodeApril
#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 (see previous tweet), but it’s easy to find. Everything from 792 onwards on this list is on that playlist. letterboxd.com/filmfan1971/li…
Updated list of #PreCode films available on Amazon Prime, including The Old Dark House, The Great Gabbo and Joan Crawford in Rain. #PreCodeApril
I’ve been wanting to watch this ever since @KarinaLongworth’s @RememberThisPod episode on Kay Francis. #PreCodeApril overcast.fm/+gMpGbyqDI
That was great fun. Deliciously amoral from start to finish, though it does feel like the Vienna setting deliberately allows for a little more leeway in that regard. It’s all very saucy, anyway. This is Kay Francis’ introduction shot. #PreCodeApril
Francis plays a Viennese baron’s wife, who’s just dumped her current lover for being too boring. She then immediately falls for Powell’s gentleman thief, as he politely robs her at a jewellery store. #PreCodeApril
Despite the restraint he shows in the gif above, Powell’s seduction technique isn’t exactly subtle, especially for a gentleman. First he kidnaps her, then this happens. #PreCodeApril
Francis’ reaction line is priceless though. #JewelRobbery #PreCodeApril
I love this sight gag, which introduces the outrageously cut gown Francis wears for the second half of the film. #JewelRobbery #PreCodeApril
I’ve said this before, but it’s a particularly modern pleasure to watch an old movie for the first time and discover that it’s the source of a gif you’ve used on multiple occasions. Some of you may recognise this one. Turns out it’s from Jewel Robbery. #PreCodeApril
So is this one. #PreCodeApril
Powell and Francis made six #PreCode films together between 1930 and 1932. Jewel Robbery was the fifth, coming between Ladies’ Man and One Way Passage. #PreCodeApril
It’s not just the ADULTERY and the CRIME. There’s also a running gag where Powell gives his victims marijuana-laced cigarettes to make them sleepy. Francis later asks him how he knows what the effects will be and his reply indicates extensive personal experience. #PreCodeApril
2) It ends with this unexpected fourth wall break from Francis, effectively making the audience complicit in her imminent adultery with Powell. #PreCodeApril #JewelRobbery
Okay, last one. Pictured here with supporting actress Helen Vinson. #KayFrancis #JewelRobbery #PreCodeApril
Day 3 of #PreCodeApril: Red-Headed Woman (1932), starring Jean Harlow.
Some international posters for Red-Headed Woman (1932). #PreCodeApril
Red-Headed Woman is a veritable smorgasbord of #PreCode craziness. Nudity, lingerie, domestic violence, adultery, attempted murder, drunkenness and zero consequences for Harlow’s character. #PreCodeApril
A fun piece of trivia from the @IMDb: “Although [Red-Headed Woman] was actually banned from public showings in Great Britain when it was originally released, King George V had a personal copy. It was finally passed uncut with an 'A' certificate in 1965.” #PreCodeApril
Red-Headed Woman is written by Anita Loos, the author of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This is the opening shot of the film, with a freshly dyed Harlow declaring, “So gentlemen prefer blondes, do they?” #PreCodeApril
"Guess who’s going to be MGM's Red-Headed Woman? No other than that famous platinum blonde, Jean Harlow. They will either have to get a new title for the picture, or a very large bottle of very extra red henna for Jean's crowning glory" - gossip column, The Hollywood Times, 1932
Even in #PreCode movies, you hardly ever hear the word “sex” and even when you do, it rarely refers to the act itself. So this angry speech from Leila Hyams (as wronged wife Irene) really stands out. #RedHeadedWoman #PreCodeApril
The dialogue in this is great fun. Anita Loos was an established comedy scriptwriter and she was brought in for a rewrite after F. Scott Fitzgerald’s initial adaptation (it’s based on a book) was deemed too serious. #RedHeadedWoman #PreCodeApril
A few gifs from Red-Headed Woman.
1) “I’ve learned to be more discrete - look!” (Revealing she no longer has his photo in her garter belt). #PreCodeApril #RedHeadedWoman
1) “I’ve learned to be more discrete - look!” (Revealing she no longer has his photo in her garter belt). #PreCodeApril #RedHeadedWoman
2) “Oh, Beeeell...” (Right after Irene’s angry speech about Lil catching Bill with sex). #RedHeadedWoman #PreCodeApril
This is the film’s most shocking scene. The thing she does at the end is familiar from lots of other movies, but I’d be curious to know if there’s an example that pre-dates this one. #RedHeadedWoman #PreCodeApril
Essential #PreCodeApril listening: @KarinaLongworth’s excellent @RememberThisPod episode on Jean Harlow. overcast.fm/+gMpGo2518
Can anyone recommend any of the following?
(i) Podcasts specifically dedicated to Pre-Code movies?
(ii) Film podcasts with #PreCode or Pre-Code-related episodes? (Such as @RememberThisPod).
#PreCodeApril
(i) Podcasts specifically dedicated to Pre-Code movies?
(ii) Film podcasts with #PreCode or Pre-Code-related episodes? (Such as @RememberThisPod).
#PreCodeApril
Today in “Hey, I know that gif!” - this one from Red-Headed Woman, with Jean Harlow’s Lil booting best friend Sally (Una Merkel) in the backside. #PreCodeApril #precodegifs
If you want another @letterboxd checklist for #PreCodeApril, these (plus The Thin Man and Dames) are all the #PreCode films on @edgarwright’s 1,000 Favourites list.
Day 4 of #PreCodeApril: The Story of Temple Drake (1933).
Some alternate posters and press ads for The Story of Temple Drake (1933). #PreCodeApril
The Story of Temple Drake is an extraordinary film. It’s properly terrifying in places and plays out like a modern day horror film. It’s beautifully shot and composed too. I was particularly impressed with this shot pairing. #PreCodeApril
You see this “prison bar lighting” all the time in film noir, but here it is in 1933. Director Stephen Roberts tragically died in 1936, aged just 40. God, just imagine the film noir pictures he would have made. What a terrible loss. #PreCodeApril
I wasn’t familiar with Jack LaRue’s work elsewhere but he is genuinely chilling as Trigger. This photo doesn’t do justice to his slow, creepy half-grin. #PreCodeApril
Another aspect that pre-dates film noir movies is the use of “grotesques”. The Story of Temple Drake assembles a memorable collection of drunks, weirdos and ne’er-do-wells in a single location. #PreCodeApril
Hopkins is terrific, nailing every aspect of her powerfully emotional character arc. I don’t want to give too much away - it’s far better if you go in cold. #PreCodeApril
I’d heard great things about The Story of Temple Drake after missing it during the BFI’s #PreCode season and it more than lived up to them. Highly recommended. Make room for it in your #PreCodeApril line-up if it’s not there already.
Day 5 of #PreCodeApril: Safe In Hell (1931).
A French poster, an alternate poster, a press ad and a lobby card for Safe In Hell (1931), in which Dorothy Mackaill kills the same guy twice. #PreCodeApril
Some production stills for William A. Wellman’s Safe In Hell (1931). If I can’t find a gif of that six-men-lighting-her-cigarette shot, I’m going to make one myself. #PreCodeApril
This is the opening shot of the film. #PreCodeApril #SafeInHell
Here’s a great review of Safe In Hell from @PreCodeDotCom’s excellent Pre-Code.Com blog. pre-code.com/pre-code-safe-… #PreCodeApril
The flaming titles are a great touch. #SafeInHell #PreCodeApril
It’s okay, FilmStruck had me covered. #SafeInHell #PreCodeApril
Dorothy Mackaill is really great in this. Here she is doing a murder, albeit an accidental one. #SafeInHell #PreCodeApril
She winds up on a South Sea Island full of criminals (no extradition laws, innit), where she has to fend off the lascivious attentions of seven different men. This guy gets off lightly. #SafeInHell #PreCodeApril
Here’s another great piece on Safe In Hell and Yorkshire-born Dorothy Mackaill from Cliff Aliperti’s excellent Immortal Ephemera blog (@IEphemera). #PreCodeApril immortalephemera.com/25068/safe-in-…
Turns out Dorothy Mackaill was born in Hull. Now desperate to know if she ever made a Safe In Hull joke. #PreCodeApril #SafeInHell
I've been watching a lot of the old Flash Gordon serials lately, so the fact that Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless) played such a big part in Safe In Hell was an added bonus. #SafeInHell #PreCodeApril
A perfect summation of Warren Williams’ lead character in Employees’ Entrance.
#PreCodeApril
Gif by @PreCodeDotCom.
#PreCodeApril
Gif by @PreCodeDotCom.
“The story of YOU...and YOU...and YOU!” Trailer for Employees’ Entrance (1933). #PreCodeApril imdb.com/video/vi191488…
Alternate posters and press ads for Employees’ Entrance. The repeated image of Loretta Young in a state of undress suggests a scene was cut where William walks in on her while she’s changing. #PreCodeApril
Just spotted that misplaced apostrophe on the gif of Warren WILLIAM and the dog, above. That’s going to annoy me for the rest of the day. #PreCodeApril
Employees’ Entrance is really something. Warren William plays the ruthless boss of a huge department store. He’s sort of the bad guy (unmoved by a sacked executive’s suicide) but also sort of the hero (fights for workers to keep their jobs in the Depression etc). #PreCodeApril
At any rate you’re sort of on his side, at least until this extremely dark #PreCode moment where he basically rapes Loretta Young’s character (she’s drunk and passed out and he’s told her to sleep it off in his room and he’ll stay downstairs). #PreCodeApril
It’s extremely disturbing from a 21st century perspective because the film doesn’t treat it as rape - instead Loretta writes her husband this letter the next day. Meanwhile, William tells Loretta’s (secret) husband “I hope you did as well as I did last night”. #PreCodeApril
If you can get past the darkness of that sequence, there’s a lot of fun to be had elsewhere. Case in point: Loretta Young’s drunk acting, which is utterly adorable. I laughed out loud at this scene. #EmployeesEntrance #PreCodeApril
A couple of must-read blog posts on Employees’ Entrance:
1) This one from @PreCodeDotCom (who also made all the gifs above): pre-code.com/employees-entr…
2) And this one from @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/8792/employees…
#PreCodeApril #PreCode
1) This one from @PreCodeDotCom (who also made all the gifs above): pre-code.com/employees-entr…
2) And this one from @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/8792/employees…
#PreCodeApril #PreCode
And here’s a great post on Warren William and Employees’ Entrance -also by @IEphemera- from WarrenWilliam.com: warrenwilliam.com/kurt-anderson-… #PreCodeApril
I was delighted to see one of my favourite character actors pop up in Employees’ Entrance - Allen Jenkins has a couple of great scenes as store detective Sweeney. If you thought he sounded familiar, you’re probably aware of his voice work elsewhere. #PreCodeApril
Day 7 of #PreCodeApril: Taxi (1931), also directed by Roy Del Ruth and also starring Loretta Young.
Some alternate posters and what looks like a French press ad for Taxi. #PreCodeApril
The title and the synopsis lead you to think this is about a war between a big taxi firm and independent cabbies. In fact it’s much more about Cagney’s violently-tempered cabbie wanting to kill the gangster who stabbed his brother. #PreCodeApril
This is the movie that lead to the frequent Cagney misquote, “You dirty rat, you killed my brudda!” What he actually says is "Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!" (The killer is hiding in a closet). #PreCodeApril
He does say various lines that have both “dirty” and “rat” throughout the film, but never “you dirty rat” or “you killed my brudda”. He also has a violent temper, as illustrated in his introduction scene. #PreCodeApril #Taxi
In fact, Cagney’s character is a domestic abuse case waiting to happen. This is him being “loving”. #PreCodeApril #Taxi
Loretta learns fast though. #PreCodeApril #Taxi
Pre-Code-wise, there’s a LOT of violence in Taxi: shootings, a stabbing, some slapping and plenty of punch-ups. There’s also this entirely gratuitous scene of Loretta Young getting changed while chatting to Leila Bennett’s Ruby. #PreCodeApril
Unexpectedly, Taxi has a couple of scenes that allow Cagney to show off his dancing skills. Here, he enters a dancing competition with Loretta Young, but even this scene ends in violence. (His competitor is an uncredited, pre-fame George Raft).
There’s a fun sequence where Cagney and Loretta go on a double date to the movies. They watch a fake movie clip (filmed specially for Taxi) with Donald Cook (Cagney’s co-star in Public Enemy) and Cagney sneers, “Ah, his ears are too big”. #PreCodeApril #Taxi
Warner Bros cannily use the cinema sequence to promote their own films.
The marquee says the cinema is also showing Five Star Final and Bennett and George E. Stone both comment on this poster for The Mad Genius. “I wonder what he’s mad about?” #PreCodeApril #Taxi
The marquee says the cinema is also showing Five Star Final and Bennett and George E. Stone both comment on this poster for The Mad Genius. “I wonder what he’s mad about?” #PreCodeApril #Taxi
And one more. This isn’t in the film and could well be just a promotional still, but it suggests there was originally a bit where Loretta (a waitress when we meet her) took over her father’s cab. Shame we didn’t see that. #PreCodeApril #Taxi
Once again, @PreCodeDotCom has an excellent blog post on Taxi. This is well worth a read. #PreCodeApril #Taxi pre-code.com/taxi-1932-revi…
Day 8 of #PreCodeApril: Cecil B. DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross (1932).
Some alternate posters for The Sign of the Cross (1932). #PreCodeApril
Some more posters for The Sign of the Cross (1932). #PreCodeApril
I really like this one, which looks like it could be a page from a comic book. #PreCodeApril
And this one. I wish they’d bring back the “SEE! SEE! SEE!” poster convention for modern day films. E.g. Noah - “SEE! Ray Winstone eating entire species into extinction!” #PreCodeApril
Some international posters for The Sign of the Cross. #PreCodeApril
The Sign of the Cross is pure censor-bait from beginning to end and it’s utterly glorious. You’d think it couldn’t possibly get any more Pre-Code than this famous scene of Claudette Colbert taking a nude milk bath, but you’d be wrong. So wrong. #PreCodeApril
First there's a scene where the Romans torture poor dog-loving Christian Stephan (Tommy Conlon). It happens offscreen, mercifully, but the build-up and the screams are truly horrible and even today, the BBFC would slap a 15 on this for "injury detail". #PreCodeApril
Then, as a direct result of tortured Stephan giving them up, a load of Christians get massacred, just for meeting and singing. The sequence goes on for ages and there are lots of nasty arrow-to-the-neck bits, as below. #PreCodeApril
Then there’s the salacious dance sequence, where Joyzelle Joyner’s “most wicked and talented woman in Rome” does The Dance of the Naked Moon at Frederic March’s orgy, trying to tempt Elissa Landi’s virtuous Christian, Mercia. #TheSignOfTheCross #PreCodeApril
Some pesky Christians start singing outside, which puts Joyzelle off her stroke a bit, but she gamely carries on. Also, Mercia might not be into it, but the orgy audience definitely are - DeMille intercuts this with shots of bloated old Romans jumping on slave girls.#PreCodeApril
Then there's this sequence and shot composition / blocking, which oddly seems to get ignored in other pieces I've read about the film. #TheSignofTheCross #PreCodeApril
It's the climactic circus sequence that's really shocking though, even by today's standards. This horrific bit with elephants crushing heads is just the warm-up act. #PreCodeApril
Then they bring out the crocodiles to eat this poor lady. (Includes impressive 1932 fake opening crocodile mouth in final pic). #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril #crocodiles🐊
Then, as promised by the bill, it’s Pygmies Vs Barbarian Women, where this happens. #TheSignOfTheCross #PreCodeApril
And then, well, this. The gif doesn’t really do this sequence justice, because in the full version he looks her up and down afterwards. #TheSignOfTheCross #PreCodeApril
Despite the promise of these awesome publicity stills, that’s actually all you see of that sequence. Hats off to DeMille’s publicity department and stills photographer though. #TheSignOfTheCross #PreCodeApril 🦍
The rest of the scene plays out in the audience reactions, a lovely bit of social critique on DeMille's part. One guy is justifiably horrified (or really into it, it's hard to tell), but this woman's so bored she reads her programme instead. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
I’m not even going to show the bit with the bear because that really is too horrible, but here’s a lady enjoying someone getting eaten by a tiger. #TheSignOfTheCross #PreCodeApril 🐅
What I said earlier about “injury detail” and the BBFC slapping on a 15 certificate? Make that an 18. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
Also, *excellent* lion wrangling. Watch till the end - it’s worth it. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril 🦁
Just a few more things. First, Charles Laughton’s Nero watches all of this with a half-naked man by his side. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
Second, I've mentioned above how I really enjoy Flash Gordon actors showing up in #PreCode movies. Here's Charles "Ming the Merciless" Middleton again, giving a speech before being fed to the lions. He doesn't get a close-up though. #PreCodeApril #TheSignoftheCross
Third, please check out this must-read blog post on The Sign of the Cross from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/the-sign-of-th… #PreCodeApril
And finally, some production stills of Claudette Colbert as Empress Poppaea. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
And here’s a nice behind the scenes shot of DeMille on set with Colbert and March. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
I love this photo of Frederic March. It seems likely it was intended as a publicity shot and if so, it’s inspired. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
Okay, that’s it for The Sign of the Cross. Just four more stills of Colbert as Poppaea and then I’m done, honest. #TheSignoftheCross #PreCodeApril
Day 9 of #PreCodeApril: Girls About Town (1931), starring Kay Francis, Joel McCrea and Lilyan Tashman. I couldn’t find a proper poster for this on a cursory Google. Anyone seen one?
Girls About Town was a lot of fun. Kay Francis and Lilyan Tashman are very funny as a pair of professional gold diggers chasing “Copper King” Eugene Pallette and wealthy businessman Joel McCrea. #PreCodeApril
If all you want from a #PreCode movie is gratuitous shots of shirtless Joel McCrea, Girls About Town has you covered. #PreCodeApril
It’s directed by George Cukor (only his fifth film) and it’s particularly notable for the unexpected and very funny way the relationship plays out between Tashman’s character and Lucille Gleason (as Pallette’s wife). #PreCodeApril
Gratuitous shirtless McCrea gif. #GirlsAboutTown #PreCodeApril
These shots are pretty #PreCode too, though they are careful to make clear that Francis has slept in her own bed beforehand. #PreCodeApril #GirlsAboutTown
Another good bit: Eugene Pallette’s character is constantly playing practical jokes, but Lilyan Tashman gets him back good and proper, twice. #PreCodeApril #GirlsAboutTown
“Girls About Town is so pre-Code you can see Will Hays seething while watching it.” Great review of Girls About Town from Kristen Lopez (@Journeys_Film): journeysinclassicfilm.com/2019/07/23/gir… #PreCodeApril
Day 10 of #PreCodeApril: 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), starring Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis.
#NowWatching
The title is preceded by a montage of prisoners in jail, with their sentences above their heads as captions, suggesting they add up to 20,000 years in total. #PreCode #PreCodeApril #titlecards #precodetitlecards
The title is preceded by a montage of prisoners in jail, with their sentences above their heads as captions, suggesting they add up to 20,000 years in total. #PreCode #PreCodeApril #titlecards #precodetitlecards
They put the bit with the numbers at the end too, just in case you missed it at the beginning. #PreCodeApril
Some alternate posters for 20,000 Years In Sing Sing. #PreCodeApril
Surprisingly racy Swedish poster for 20,000 Years In Sing Sing. #PreCodeApril
Some great publicity stills of Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis in 20,000 Years In Sing Sing. This was the only film they made together, which is a shame, because they had great chemistry. They even shared a birthday (April 5). #PreCodeApril
Two more publicity stills from 20,000 Years in Sing Sing plus what looks like a more candid photograph of Tracy and Davis. They apparently enjoyed working together - Wikipedia says Davis had previously idolised Tracy. #PreCodeApril
Interestingly, 20,000 Years In Sing Sing (1932) re-uses the “Bette Davis as...” shot from The Cabin in the Cotton (left), released the same year. Michael Curtiz directed both films, so maybe it was his idea. #PreCodeApril #BetteDavis
20,000 Years In Sing Sing isn’t the best #PreCode prison movie (The Big House and Up the River are both better), but it does have properly great performances from Tracy, Davis and Arthur Byron as the idealistic warden. #PreCodeApril
In fact, he’s maybe a little *too* idealistic, as he lets Tracy out for a day as long as he promises to come back. The film’s based on a non-fiction book written by Lewis E. Lawes, the real warden of Sing Sing from 1920 to 1941, who also allowed location shooting. #PreCodeApril
I don’t want to give away too much, but I’d be fascinated to know if the brilliant final shot inspired the ending of Double Indemnity. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a gif of Davis visiting Tracy in prison. He then tells her off for looking too hot. “Do you want me to go crazy? You got me foaming at the mouth like a cream puff!” #PreCodeApril
I’ve seen two versions of the film and they both have a clumsy edit on this strange scene, which cuts abruptly from the shot on the left (with a babbling, clearly crazy prisoner) to the very brief shot on the right. Would love to know the detail on what was cut. #PreCodeApril
This is becoming a regular thing on this thread, but here’s a great blog post on 20,000 Years in Sing Sing from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/20000-years-in… . Includes links to reviews and other pieces. #PreCodeApril
Just three more to go from this list and I’ll have seen all the films I missed at the @BFI’s #PreCode season in 2014. boxd.it/bAqDK #PreCodeApril
Seeing as I mentioned it above, here’s my mini-thread on The Big House (1930) from last year. #PreCodeApril #PreCode #PreCodePrisonMovies
https://twitter.com/FilmFan1971/status/1341378605994168322
I’ve been diligently sticking to a film a day for #PreCodeApril (#Noirvember-style) and that’s been great, but I think next year I’m going to go all out and cram as many into 30 days as I can.
Lovely coincidence: I’m watching the extra on the @Criterion Blu-Ray of Leave Her To Heaven and there’s a whole bit on director John M. Stahl’s #PreCode movies. #PreCodeApril
Day 11 of #PreCodeApril: Female (1933), also directed by Michael Curtiz.
A selection of Ruth Chatterton’s outfits in Female, some decidedly more fabulous than others. [1 of 2 - there are a LOT of outfits]. #PreCodeApril
More of Ruth Chatterton’s outfits, all courtesy of costume designer Orry-Kelly. [2 of 2] #PreCodeApril
Second favourite shot in Female, after that shot of the staircase above. #PreCodeApril
Female often gets pilloried for its depressingly conventional ending. For what it’s worth, I completely agree with @PreCodeDotCom’s reassessment of the ending in this excellent blog post. (If you’ve seen the film, this is a must-read). pre-code.com/female-1933 #PreCodeApril
I’d only ever seen Chatterton in Dodsworth, decades ago, so she was more or less unknown to me. Her bio on the IMDb (in black, below) could do with an upgrade. #PreCodeApril
“Are you naturally enthusiastic?” Part of the fun of Female is watching Ruth Chatterton’s car factory boss use the same tried-and-tested seduction technique on a different young man every night. Here’s a snippet of it in gif form. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a great blog post on Alison Drake (Chatterton’s character in Female) from Leah Williams’ Cary Grant Won’t Eat You blog. carygrantwonteatyou.com/tag/female-193… #PreCodeApril
From @PreCodeDotCom: “Ruth Chatterton and George Brent were married when this film was made. They also worked together in The Rich Are Always With Us, The Crash, and Lilly Turner.” #PreCodeApril
Been thinking about the ending of Female and @PreCodeDotCom’s excellent blog post on it (see link a few tweets back) all day. I’ve seen a few people share their disappointment with the ending during #PreCodeApril so just wanted to post a couple more things.
First, in this scene, Brent’s Jim is saying he’s seen Alison be four different women. She asks which one he prefers, he says this one. But we know this is the least true-to-herself version, a carefully constructed persona aimed solely at giving Thorne what he wants. #PreCodeApril
At the very least, the audience is wondering how long she’ll be able to keep up the act, or to keep lying to herself, whichever it is. Also, Jim chose the wrong Alison - if he’s not going to pick the right one, at least go for the one that likes dancing + hamburgers.#PreCodeApril
But it’s this shot that seals it. When she goes after Jim at the end she finds him next to this sign. You can’t tell me that’s just a happy coincidence. #PreCodeApril
In fact, it’s very definitely NOT a coincidence, because Jim wins the pig and said pig then squeals in protest from the back seat of the car, as if to protest the enormous capitulations Alice is making in their “happily ever after”. #PreCodeApril
At the very LEAST, that’s the filmmakers undermining or actively protesting the studio-dictated ending. It gives you something to think about, anyway. THE PIG KNOWS THE TRUTH. It even drowns out her last line of dialogue. #PreCodeApril
Two more things. 1) Pretty sure this scene is coded homosexuality. Alison picks this guy up as her intended shag for the night but he’s not remotely interested in her sexually and instead gets excited when she offers to fund his dream of becoming an artist in Paris #PreCodeApril
And 2) Here’s the sublimely salacious trailer. #PreCodeApril
Thanks to @james___bell, this @letterboxd list of films that played at the @BFI’s 2014 #PreCode season is now complete. A total of 35 films in all, including Betty Boop for President. #PreCodeApril boxd.it/bAqDK
And if you want to watch Betty Boop for President RIGHT NOW, it’s on YouTube: #PreCodeApril #BettyBoopForPresident
Day 12 of #PreCodeApril: Hell’s Highway (1932).
An alternate poster for Hell’s Highway (1932). #PreCodeApril
Best line in Hell’s Highway (among several contenders): “I only got to the third grade and then I was drafted into the Army.” #PreCodeApril
Publicity stills for Hell’s Highway (1932). #PreCodeApril
Prison reform was a frequent issue in #PreCode films and Hell’s Highway doesn’t pull any punches, opening with these headlines. #PreCodeApril
Hell’s Highway is a pretty great chain gang movie (a prison movie subgenre). Richard Dix plays a tough guy on a brutally run chain gang who abandons his escape attempt when he realises his kid brother is among the new prisoners. #PreCodeApril #HellsHighway
Here are two terrific blog posts on Hell’s Highway. #PreCodeApril
This one, from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/hells-highway-…
And this one, from Cliff at @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/28729/hells-hi…
This one, from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/hells-highway-…
And this one, from Cliff at @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/28729/hells-hi…
Pre-Code or no #PreCode, the filmmakers were still forced to remove some of the more brutal scenes before release. This bit, for example, doesn’t appear in the film. #HellsHighway #PreCodeApril
Here’s Charles “Ming the Merciless” Middleton again, billed as Chas Middleton and looking a bit like Mads Mikkelsen. #HellsHighway #PreCodeApril
Excellent smoke wrangling in this sequence, as if the flames of hell are coming for Skinner (the brutal chain gang boss). #PreCodeApril #HellsHighway #GifByMe
Day 13 of #PreCodeApril: Two Seconds (1932), starring Edward G. Robinson.
Some alternate posters for Two Seconds (1932). #PreCodeApril
Two Seconds was really great. It’s often cited as a pre-cursor to film noir and I wouldn’t disagree with that. It has several noir elements, from the flashback structure to the pervasively downbeat atmosphere and some extraordinary lighting. #PreCodeApril
My first thought was that it would be a gangster story, but oh no. He’s a welder who falls for Vivienne Osborne’s taxi dancer. Wanting respectability, she gets him drunk and marries him, paying the registrar to pretend Eddie said “I do”. #PreCodeApril
This shot choice was particularly striking. This is their wedding night. #PreCodeApril
That whole scene is so good that I put it up on YouTube. Osborne is arguing with Bud (Preston Foster), Robinson’s close friend, co-worker and roommate, until this moment, when he comes home married...and still drunk. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a gif from the scene above. Is it odd that you don’t see more cigarettes thrown at people in films? It’s quite a shocking moment. Osborne’s reaction really sells it too. #PreCodeApril #GifByMe
Robinson’s characters often had homosexual overtones (just look at Little Caesar) and that’s very much the case here - there’s genuine love and affection in the relationship between Robinson and Foster. #PreCodeApril
Which is why this scene hits *incredibly* hard. Surely this was an influence on Vertigo? Not just the fall itself (for my money, it’s done better here), but also for the subsequent trauma and ruination (he can’t work, has to rely on Osborne’s “dirty money”). #PreCodeApril
Here’s the video version. It’s even more powerful with sound. #PreCodeApril
Osborne is terrific in this too. The “Do you want...more?” seduction scene - where she uses the promise of sex to get a drunken Robinson to marry her - is kind of extraordinary. #PreCodeApril
Also, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be punched in the face by Edward G. Robinson, this is the film for you. #PreCodeApril #GifByMe
Two excellent blog posts on Two Seconds:
This one, from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/two-seconds-19…
And this one, from Cliff at @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/3576/two-secon… #PreCodeApril
This one, from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/two-seconds-19…
And this one, from Cliff at @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/3576/two-secon… #PreCodeApril
Here’s the trailer. #TwoSeconds #PreCodeApril
The #Rockywatch🥊 that @lrtpublicity and I did back in February is proving stiff competition for #PreCodeApril, but I’m delighted to see Charles “Ming the Merciless” Middleton creeping in at the bottom there and fully expect him to trounce Stallone by May. #MostWatchedActors2021
Day 14 of #PreCodeApril: The Divorcee (1930), starring Norma Shearer.
Some alternate posters for The Divorcee (1930). #PreCodeApril
Good old YouTube. Here’s Norma Shearer accepting her 1930 Academy Award for The Divorcee while the presenter mansplains the Oscars to her. (Skip to 3m30s). #PreCodeApril
Norma plays Jerry, who’s happily married to Ted (Chester Morris) until she discovers he’s been unfaithful. He tells her it meant nothing, but when she “balances their account” (as she puts it), he can’t handle it and they divorce. #PreCodeApril
Shearer deserved the Oscar for this scene (and this speech) alone. Her brutal skewering of male hypocrisy and male ego is truly something to behold. #TheDivorcee #PreCodeApril
It’s a great performance all round, but I love this little detail. In the early scenes (like this one), Jerry has a charming little giggle, but you never hear it again after she’s married, even when she laughs. #PreCodeApril
The adultery scene (Shearer revenge-cheating on Chester Morris with his best friend Robert Montgomery) is brilliantly done in three scenes without dialogue (hands touching in club, this back-of-the-cab shot, lights going out in a bedroom window). #PreCodeApril
Weirdly, the publicity stills department chose to recreate that same shot slightly differently. At least, I think that’s what this is. #PreCodeApril #TheDivorcee
Here’s the afore-mentioned gesture (and look) in the club that immediately precedes the taxi scene. #TheDivorcee #PreCodeApril
It’s interesting that, despite Morris threatening to kill the man who slept with his wife, he never finds out it was Montgomery (his best friend), even though he’s crying out for a punch on the nose. Hard to imagine that betrayal going unpunished, even today. #PreCodeApril
Favourite FACT about The Divorcee: Zelda Sears, who plays Jerry’s sassy maid Hannah, also co-wrote the treatment for the film. #TheDivorcee #PreCodeApril
Another great bit: the film’s Walk of Shame scene, with Jerry realising the true betrayal of Ted’s infidelity, because, after having cheated herself, him saying “It meant nothing” is even more devastating. #PreCodeApril #TheDivorcee
Two great blog posts on The Divorcee:
This one from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/the-divorcee-1…
And this one from Karen at shadowsandsatin, which is basically a list of things she loves about the film: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/thi… #PreCodeApril
This one from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/the-divorcee-1…
And this one from Karen at shadowsandsatin, which is basically a list of things she loves about the film: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/thi… #PreCodeApril
Day 15 of #PreCodeApril: Applause (1929).
Some alternate posters for Applause (1929), including a Swedish one. #PreCodeApril
Publicity stills of Helen Morgan (as fading burlesque star Kitty Darling) in Applause. At one point Mae West was considered for the role, but she was deemed too glamorous for the film’s seedier aspects. #PreCodeApril
The plot is pretty simple. Kitty tries to keep her convent-educated 17 year old daughter April (Joan Peers) away from both the stage and her adulterous, abusive partner-slash-stage manager Hitch Nelson (Fuller Mellish Jr), a nasty piece of work and no mistake. #PreCodeApril
The #PreCode elements are pretty much what you’d expect from a sleazy backstage story: adultery, sexual assault (unwanted grabbing, kissing), domestic violence, alcoholism, suicide, revealing outfits, burlesque routines, lots of jiggling. #PreCodeApril
However, it’s the filmmaking that lifts Applause into classic status. This was Mamoulian’s first American film and a very early talkie. The camera angles are consistently inventive and Mamoulian does single-take tracking shots that seem well ahead of their time. #PreCodeApril
It’s the use of sound that really impresses though. Mamoulian does an incredible job of creating the noise of busy New York. You get a great sense of it in this clip (skip to 2m30s): #PreCodeApril
As that clip above shows, there’s plenty of location shooting in New York. Some beautiful images too. April and her new sailor boyfriend (who proposes after five days) are visible at the bottom of the frame below. #PreCodeApril
There’s more detail on the film’s sound on its Wikipedia page. Also, good news! The whole film is on YouTube, in a high quality version: . Skip to 34m34s for an excellent montage sequence. #PreCodeApril #Applause
One last thing. The irony of Applause’s amazing sound design is that the actors clearly aren’t used to delivering film dialogue, so Morgan and Mellish’s performances and line readings feel very theatrical, like they’re projecting for the back row. #PreCodeApril
It’s especially noticeable in contrast with Joan Peers’ performance, perhaps because she had less of a stage background. #PreCodeApril #Applause
A few bonus extras at the halfway point of #PreCodeApril. Here’s Danny Peary’s write-up of Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932), from my 1987 edition of his Guide For The Film Fanatic. #Freaks
And here’s Peary’s excellent write-up of Gold Diggers of 1933, a must-read if you’ve seen the film. #PreCodeApril #GoldDiggersOf1933
Same goes for Peary’s write-up of Scarface (1932), also from Guide For The Film Fanatic. Contains some excellent Scarface FACTS. #PreCodeApril #Scarface
Danny Peary on The Public Enemy (1931), from Guide For The Film Fanatic. #PreCodeApril #PublicEnemy #TCMParty
Danny Peary on Little Caesar (1931), from Guide For The Film Fanatic. Another must-read. #PreCodeApril #LittleCaesar #TCMParty
A short thread of #PreCode podcast episodes for #PreCodeApril.
https://twitter.com/FilmFan1971/status/1383082959868166156
Day 16 of #PreCodeApril: Cecil B. De Mille’s Madam Satan (1930).
Alternate US poster for Madam Satan (1930) and two great international ones. #PreCodeApril
The posters for Madam Satan proclaimed “You’ve never seen anything like it!” and that’s still true even 91 years later. Part bedroom farce, part bizarro musical and part disaster movie, it’s...well, it’s really something. #PreCodeApril #MadamSatan
Weirdly, there are only three locations in the film: Reginald Denny and Kay Johnson’s lavish apartment, Lillian Roth’s not-quite-as-lavish apartment and, oh yes, an enormous zeppelin, on which the mother of all parties is held before disaster strikes. #PreCodeApril #MadamSatan
The insane costumes from Madam Satan have been all over the #PreCodeApril hashtag already, so I’ll restrict myself to just a few favourites. First this one, like something out of Flash Gordon. #MadamSatan
But my absolute favourite is this creepy / genius one, where a woman has come dressed as triplets. #MadamSatan #PreCodeApril
Kay Johnson’s Madam Satan costume is pretty amazing too, obviously.
Fun Kay Johnson FACT: she’s James Cromwell’s mum.
#PreCodeApril #MadamSatan
Fun Kay Johnson FACT: she’s James Cromwell’s mum.
#PreCodeApril #MadamSatan
Favourite bit of #PreCode sauciness in Madam Satan: it opens with Reginald Denny and Roland Young drunkenly undressing each other in the shower. #PreCodeApril
Madam Satan has its fair share of problems too. It’s way too long, plus the editing is startlingly inept in places - not just clumsy cuts but also leaving in odd pauses etc. You could lose a good five minutes of that 115m just by cutting people walking across rooms. #PreCodeApril
Case in point: it takes Reginald Denny a full ten seconds (yes, I timed it) to enter this shot, even though it’s less than three steps to the bed and he sets off in a determined walk. #MadamSatan #PreCodeApril #getaneditorcecil
All the zeppelin disaster stuff is properly spectacular though, and it leads to some cheeky Pre-Code parachuting, as well as a series of scenes where all the characters land in funny places. #PreCodeApril #precodeparachuting
I think this is meant to be Tyler Brooke’s character, judging by his silly hat. #PreCodeApril #precodeparachuting
Here’s a great blog post on Madam Satan from Danny at @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/madam-satan-19… #PreCodeApril #MadamSatan
Today in “Hey, I know that gif!” - this one from the zeppelin party in Madam Satan. #PreCodeApril #precodegifs
Day 17 of #PreCodeApril: The Smiling Lieutenant (1931). Really looking forward to this.
Some publicity stills for The Smiling Lieutenant (1931). #PreCodeApril
This was an absolute joy from start to finish. Chevalier plays Niki, an amorous Lieutenant who’s forced to marry Miriam Hopkins’ socially awkward princess Anna after he accidentally winks at her and provokes a diplomatic incident. #PreCodeApril #precodeheadlines
However, he’s already fallen in love with Colbert’s Franzi, a violin player with -ahem- The Viennese Swallows, who “has breakfast” with him, in one of the film’s many, *many* euphemisms for sex. Here’s their charming and funny breakfast song: #PreCodeApril
As a result, Niki refuses to consummate the marriage, in part because Princess Anna is so hopelessly naive as a result of her sheltered royal upbringing. She’s a fast learner though. #PreCodeApril #TheSmilingLieutenant
Hopkins is just delightful in only her second role, the first of three films she’d make with Lubitsch. @PreCodeDotCom (who made this gif) calls this her “delectable, alien-esque wink” and that’s spot on. #PreCodeApril #MiriamHopkins
In an unexpected plot turn, Franzi (who has reasoned that “Girls who start with breakfast don’t usually stay for supper”) comes to see Anna and, after this moment, ends up teaching her how to get (and keep) Niki. #PreCodeApril #TheSmilingLieutenant
And here’s the fabled Lubitsch Touch - it all happens in the space of this delightful song, as Colbert sings “Jazz Up Your Lingerie!”. Hopkins’ transformation is just wonderful here. Watch this video - you won’t regret it. #PreCodeApril
Hopkins literally letting her hair down as she gets into the song and does some wild dancing. #PreCodeApril
The montage in the video above has several scenes of Anna’s less-than-sexy underwear getting thrown on the fire. Later, she makes sure Niki sees her trying on her “jazzed up” lingerie. (He’s watching this very #PreCode moment). #PreCodeApril
Speaking of #PreCode moments, I was not expecting Anna and Franzi’s time together to end like this. Marlene Dietrich gets all the credit for that kiss in The Blue Angel, but that’s theatrical and provocative, whereas this seems much more intimate. #PreCodeApril
If you took a shot every time there was a sex metaphor in The Smiling Lieutenant, you’d be wasted before the twenty minute mark. Playing music together is a big one - this is post-transformation Anna showing she can match Niki’s pianist skills and then some. #PreCodeApril
Here’s that scene in full. I’m no expert, but it looks to me like Hopkins is actually playing the piano here, or at least doing an excellent approximation of where her hands should be. Can anyone confirm? #PreCodeApril #MiriamHopkins #TheSmilingLieutenant
A handful of great blog posts / essays on The Smiling Lieutenant:
- This one from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/smiling-lieute…
- This blog post from shadowsandsatin: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/pre…
- This essay on Lubitsch musicals from @Criterion: criterion.com/current/posts/… #PreCodeApril
- This one from @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/smiling-lieute…
- This blog post from shadowsandsatin: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/pre…
- This essay on Lubitsch musicals from @Criterion: criterion.com/current/posts/… #PreCodeApril
And one more, from @DavidBlakeslee at @CriterionCast: criterioncast.com/column/a-journ… #PreCodeApril
I’m annoyed I couldn’t find a gif of Maurice Chevalier running up and down elaborate staircases, as I’ve seen him do that in at least two #PreCode films now and it seems to be his thing. He does it multiple times in this film alone. #PreCodeApril #precodestaircases
I’m a big fan of wordplay so I very much enjoyed this joke. Context: the film is set in the fictional country of Flausenthurm (a great running gag on its own). #PreCodeApril #TheSmilingLieutenant #Flausies
Four more stills / screengrabs and some Smiling Lieutenant FACTS:
1) It was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture.
2) The New York Times named it as one of the year’s ten best films, alongside Chaplin’s City Lights and Murnau’s Tabu. #PreCodeApril
1) It was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture.
2) The New York Times named it as one of the year’s ten best films, alongside Chaplin’s City Lights and Murnau’s Tabu. #PreCodeApril
I forgot to include this when posting about Two Seconds above (Day 13), but I’m still laughing about it five days later. Love this moment when one of the women Preston Foster is trying to pick up asks, “Hey, who’s the Smiling Lieutenant down there?” #PreCodeApril
One of my goals with #PreCodeApril was to see every film that played in the @BFI’s #PreCode season in 2014. I’ve done that now. Very satisfying. boxd.it/bAqDK
Day 18 of #PreCodeApril: Virtue (1932), starring Carole Lombard.
Some alternate posters and a couple of lobby cards for Virtue (1932). I like the green artwork on the right of the lobby cards. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
Really enjoyed this. Carole Lombard plays Mae, a prostitute who’s run out of New York in the opening scene, but sneaks back in. She meets Pat O’Brien’s cabbie and they have a whirlwind romance, meaning they’re married before she has time to tell him about her past. #PreCodeApril
Mae and Jimmy honeymoon in Coney Island in this montage sequence. I can’t tell if this is a rollercoaster or not, but if it is, it makes a nice companion gif to the one of Garbo on a rollercoaster from Anna Christie. #PreCodeApril #precoderollercoasters
Which gif of Greta Garbo on a rollercoaster, you say? This gif of Greta Garbo on a rollercoaster. #PreCodeApril #precoderollercoasters #gretagarboonarollercoaster
https://twitter.com/FilmFan1971/status/1377235842423476230
The reveal is brutal - a cop shows up to arrest her on their wedding night. Jimmy’s a bit of a dick (thinks he knows everything) but he’s essentially good-hearted and nothing we’ve seen from him so far prepares you for this. The audience is as shocked as Lombard is. #PreCodeApril
I don’t want to give too much away, but things keep getting worse for poor old Mae. For example, there’s a third act murder (a frequent #PreCode occurrence, for some reason) and she’s the main suspect. Note her super glamorous mug shot. #PreCodeApril #precodeheadlines
I really enjoyed the filmmaking in Virtue. This, for example, is a great bit of foreshadowing. There are also multiple instances of mirroring, as detailed by @PreCodeDotCom in his great blog post on Virtue: pre-code.com/virtue-1932-re… #PreCodeApril
I’m going to have to make the gifs of Carole Lombard beating Shirley Grey myself, aren’t I? Alright then.
This is another unexpected - and unexpectedly violent - sequence. Great use of the mirror too. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
This is another unexpected - and unexpectedly violent - sequence. Great use of the mirror too. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
You do NOT want to mess with Carole Lombard. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
This whole sequence is #PreCode enough as it is, but then the angle is reversed and you see she’s drawn blood. Properly shocking. You NEVER see blood post-Code. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
Here’s the whole scene on YouTube. It’s a great scene. Hard to believe Lombard is meant to be the heroine - out of context you’d think she was Shirley’s pimp or something.
Related: How long have you been able to do hashtags on YouTube?
#PreCodeApril
Related: How long have you been able to do hashtags on YouTube?
#PreCodeApril
It was great to see Jack La Rue pop up again for #PreCodeApril, after his chilling turn in The Story of Temple Drake. Here he is adding another nasty piece of work to his repertoire as Toots. Note his tiny flick-knife. #Virtue #JackLaRue
Amusing moment: Ward Bond tells Pat O’Brien “You wasn’t no Clark Gable!”, three years before Carole Lombard began an affair with future husband Clark Gable. #PreCodeApril
Virtue is also notable for a great supporting turn from Mayo Methot, aka the third Mrs Humphrey Bogart. She plays Lil, a pal from Mae’s prostitute days and Toots’ girlfriend. #PreCodeApril #MayoMethot
What are these things called? Here’s Ward Bond wearing a pair of them, whatever they are. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
Side note: the opening scene on the DVD (the judge sentencing Mae) is audio-only, as it was cut by the Production Board. This lobby card appears to be a still from that scene. #PreCodeApril #PreCode #Virtue
The whole film’s on YouTube anyway. Don’t panic when the screen goes black in that opening scene. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
Two more things about Virtue:
1) I love this exchange. Also, this is basically them flirting, because in the next scene they’re on a date that’s going well. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
1) I love this exchange. Also, this is basically them flirting, because in the next scene they’re on a date that’s going well. #PreCodeApril #Virtue
https://twitter.com/meganmcgurk/status/1313593745691078656
2) This great publicity shot of Carole Lombard for Virtue (1932), which feels very Hitchcockian. #PreCodeApril
(Thanks to @hazelflag and @ForeverLouiseB1).
(Thanks to @hazelflag and @ForeverLouiseB1).
Day 19 of #PreCodeApril: Blonde Crazy (1931), starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell.
Two alternate posters and a pair of saucy lobby cards for Blonde Crazy. #PreCodeApril
A second set of publicity stills for Blonde Crazy, including the moment at the pawnbrokers where Cagney says, “Listen, Three Balls...” #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
I’m going to need a supercut of all the times Blondell gives Cagney a slap in this film. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
It happens a lot. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
No, really. It happens a LOT. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
No-one is safe from the Joan Blondell slap. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
Normalise leaving a room the way James Cagney leaves a room. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
Normalise leaving a room the way James Cagney leaves a room, Part II. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
Cagney and Blondell’s onscreen chemistry is the main reason to see this - they’re pure dynamite. They were great friends - discovered on stage together - and this was the fourth of the seven films they appeared in together. It was also Blondell’s first lead role. #PreCodeApril
BUT - and it’s a big but - the plot really lets it down. It starts promisingly, with wannabe chiseler Cagney getting taken by a professional con man and Blondell pulling a revenge con job of her own, but it all goes to pieces in the final act. #PreCodeApril
That said, from a #PreCode perspective, it is interesting that the “happy” ending is essentially adultery. They’re never actually a couple in the movie (just con partners), despite what you might think from this famously saucy gif. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
Speaking of which, they definitely knew what they had on their hands with that scene, given the number of publicity photos they took of it. #PreCodeApril #BlondeCrazy
Is there a more definitive #PreCode moment than Joan Blondell in the bath? I don’t think so. #PreCodeApril
Day 20 of #PreCodeApril: Miss Pinkerton (1932).
A Joan Blondell Murder Mystery, you say? I am IN. #PreCodeApril
As this brilliant trailer proves, Blondell had one HELL of a scream. I venture to say she could out-scream Fay Wray herself. Also, I love the detail of the hand grabbing the captions. Amazed that wasn’t picked up by other films. #PreCodeApril
Based on a mystery novel, the plot has Blondell’s bored nurse tasked with keeping an eye on the various shady characters in a mansion house after a suspected murder. And they really are the dodgiest bunch imaginable. #PreCodeApril #MissPinkerton
The film is filled with great shots and shadows, plus it’s worth seeing for Blondell’s magnificent scream alone, but the plot is a bit of a wash-out, completely lacking in suspense or interest. #PreCodeApril #MissPinkerton
Blondell’s scream is so loud that co-star George Brent draws attention to it in the script, telling her, “you scream loud enough to bring out the militia”. #PreCodeApril #MissPinkerton
There’s a pre-code pooch in it too. He plays a crucial role in the plot, but he doesn’t get a close-up or a reaction shot. #PreCodeApril #precodedogs cc @MaresterD
In terms of #PreCode shenanigans, it’s mostly the suspected suicide angle of the murder. Oh, and this entirely gratuitous bit where she undresses while grousing to her fellow nurses about how bored she is. #PreCodeApril #MissPinkerton
There is a brilliant shot in the film - from the fading POV of a dying character - that seemed startlingly original to me, nearly 90 years later. It deserves to be a gif, so I’ll make one. In the meantime, here’s @PreCodeDotCom’s post. pre-code.com/miss-pinkerton… #PreCodeApril
Here’s the gif from Miss Pinkerton that I promised above. It’s not just startlingly original (it seems to me), it’s also extremely dark, effectively imagining what it’s like to die. I can’t stop thinking about it. #PreCodeApril #MissPinkerton
Day 21 of #PreCodeApril: Ladies They Talk About (1933).
Two alternate posters for Ladies They Talk About. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first women-in-prison movie. Hold Your Man came out the same year, but Jean Harlow only went to reform school. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a lobby card from the film that illustrates just how cozy the women’s wing of San Quentin was in 1933. It’s like a dorm room! You can have pets and everything. #PreCodeApril
Here’s one of the prison pets, the second of the film’s Pre-Code pooches (more on Fifi later). #PreCodeDogs #prisonpets #PreCodeApril
But the absolute best prison pet is the Prison Parrot. The first time you see it, it’s perched on the shoulder of Noonan (Ruth Donnelly), the kindest of the prison matrons. You think it’s a nice little touch of eccentricity. #PrisonParrot #PreCodeApril
Then a fight almost breaks out and one of the wardens says, “Noonan, the parrot!” Noonan comes over and the parrot does this super menacing thing with its wings that completely terrifies the inmate, suggesting the parrot has form. #PrisonParrot #PreCodeApril
This is just before the bit in the photo. The parrot has a little warm-up flutter before it does its thing. #PrisonParrot #PreCodeApril
Here’s the film’s other Pre-Code pooch, Fifi, who turns out to be an accessory in the bank robbery, as Nan (Stanwyck) uses her to distract the bank security guard. What happens to Fifi when Nan gets pinched? That’s a MYSTERY the film doesn’t solve. #PreCodeDogs #PreCodeApril
Ladies They Talk About was adapted from a play (Women In Prison) by Dorothy Mackaye, based on her own prison experience. Hats off to the IMDb Trivia page for providing this sort of detail. #PreCodeApril
The actual plot is very silly - after getting arrested, Nan pretends to fall for Preston Foster’s influential preacher, who tries to get her out, but her confession to him puts her right back in again. Here’s another #PreCode headline. #precodeheadlines #PreCodeApril
It’s worth seeing for all the prison stuff though, particularly the colourful characters. Lillian Roth (from Madam Satan) giving Nan a tour of the prison and its inmates is a particular highlight. Here’s a nice publicity still that isn’t in the film. #PreCodeApril
Lillian’s big scene has her singing a love song to a photo of Joe E. Brown for the amusement of her fellow prisoners. That’s Joe E. Brown of “Nobody’s perfect” fame, from the end of Some Like It Hot. #PreCodeApril
I’d seen Animal Crackers and The Love Parade, but Lillian Roth had never really registered for me until seeing this and Madam Satan for #PreCodeApril. Her life story (later filmed as I’ll Cry Tomorrow with Susan Hayward) is both fascinating and heart-breaking.
Some more stills and screengrabs for Ladies They Talk About. Good to see Fifi got the publicity still treatment she deserved. #PreCodeApril #PreCodeDogs
Incidentally, this character card for Lyle Talbot suggests he had a prison visit scene that got cut, seeing as he’s positioned by the same window as Harold Huber. #PreCodeApril
#PreCodeApril
As mentioned above, Ladies They Talk About came out the same year as Hold Your Man, which had Jean Harlow in reform school. The plots are different, but they both have a prison punch-up scene. Compare this...
As mentioned above, Ladies They Talk About came out the same year as Hold Your Man, which had Jean Harlow in reform school. The plots are different, but they both have a prison punch-up scene. Compare this...
...with this. Barbara definitely packs the more powerful punch, but Jean has a killer left, so it’s unclear who would win in a fight.
#PreCodeApril
#PreCodeApril
This is the moment just before Nan punches back. Look at the absolute FURY in Stanwyck’s eyes! That’s great screen acting, that is. #PreCodeApril
Here’s a trio of blog posts on Ladies They Talk About. Incredibly, not one of them mentions the Prison Parrot.
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/ladies-they-ta…
- @tmplindsey at The Motion Pictures: themotionpictures.net/2013/12/15/sec…
- shadowsandsatin: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/pre… #PreCodeApril
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/ladies-they-ta…
- @tmplindsey at The Motion Pictures: themotionpictures.net/2013/12/15/sec…
- shadowsandsatin: shadowsandsatin.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/pre… #PreCodeApril
Theatrical trailer for Ladies They Talk About. Contains one of Lillian Roth’s best lines. Nice Ladies of Leisure reference too. #PreCodeApril
Snippet of trailer in gif form. #LadiesTheyTalkAbout #PreCodeApril
Favourite line in Ladies They Talk About - Lillian Roth introducing Blondie (Helen Mann): “This little cream puff met a guy at a diner one night and wanted to know what his name was. So she shot him and read it in the morning paper.” #PreCodeApril
Here’s the Prison Parrot scene in full, as promised. Also, hashtags on YouTube are a new thing, right? Took them long enough. #PreCodeApril #PrisonParrot🦜
#LadiesTheyTalkAbout
#ParrotsTheySquawkAbout
#LadiesTheyTalkAbout
#ParrotsTheySquawkAbout
Gif version (short). Look at its beady eyes. That parrot’s got a vicious streak a mile wide.
#PrisonParrot🦜 #PreCodeApril
#PrisonParrot🦜 #PreCodeApril
Gif version (long). I love that the mere summoning of the parrot is terrifying. The reaction really sells it - your brain conjures up all manner of parrot-based atrocities. #PrisonParrot #PreCodeApril #GifByMe
Day 22 of #PreCodeApril: Call Her Savage (1932), starring Clara Bow.
This was Clara Bow’s comeback film, so there are loads of great publicity stills. This is just a small selection. #PreCodeApril #CallHerSavage
A second set of Clara Bow publicity shots for Call Her Savage. #PreCodeApril
Call Her Savage was an absolute blast, with a dynamite comeback performance from Clara Bow. It’s also one of the Pre-Codiest Pre-Code movies I’ve seen so far, and that’s really saying something. #PreCodeApril #CallHerSavage
Just how Pre-Code is it? WELL...
First off, it should be noted that the entire set-up of the film is, well, a little bit racist. The title is literal - she’s half Native American, though she doesn’t know that. Instead she has a “savage” temper she can’t explain. #PreCodeApril
First off, it should be noted that the entire set-up of the film is, well, a little bit racist. The title is literal - she’s half Native American, though she doesn’t know that. Instead she has a “savage” temper she can’t explain. #PreCodeApril
The first time you meet her (after a prologue explaining her literally cursed heritage and the circumstances of her birth), she’s brutally whipping Gilbert Rowland’s Moonglow, because he laughed when she fell off her horse. And she *likes* him. #PreCodeApril
And she has NO tolerance for background music. None whatsoever. #PreCodeApril
*Loves* a food fight. There’s a very funny scene later on where they cut from everyone going in to dinner to the food-and-crockery-strewn aftermath, after someone wound her up. #PreCodeApril
I love this shot. I think this is meant to be her breaking a mirror, but whatever it is, it’s great. #PreCodeApril
Oh yeah. Before she whips Moonglow, she also whips this snake. #PreCodeApril #METAPHOR
There’s also this bizarre (and frankly quite difficult to watch) scene where she violently wrestles with her Great Dane -who’s bigger than she is- and, er, really enjoys it. #PreCodeApril
Her “finishing school” exploits are so legendary that the press give her a nickname. #precodeheadlines #PreCodeApril
The plot is *wild*. Some of it’s a little too spoilery, but suffice it to say she experiences both high society and extreme poverty, including a brief stint as a prostitute that ends in just about the worst way imaginable. #PreCodeApril #CallHerSavage
The film is famous for being one of the first onscreen depictions of openly gay characters, when Nasa’s escort takes her to a bar in the Village frequented by “wild poets and anarchists”. #PreCodeApril
And of course there’s LOTS of lingerie and she clearly doesn’t care much for underwear. In this funny scene (first 3 pics) her servants chase after her with a dressing gown, fearful that she’ll run down the street in her negligee. #PreCodeApril
Call Her Savage’s raciest #PreCode moment -against some stiff competition- is probably this bit. All I can say is, there’s more shadow in this gif than there was in the version I saw. #PreCodeApril #CallHerSavage
The Pre-Code bonanza doesn’t stop there though. Oh no. There’s alcohol, adultery, (more) violence, attempted rape, syphilis (not named but strongly implied), a nasty bit of murder, tragic death, the works. No wonder she makes this face. #PreCodeApril
Clara Bow really is fantastic in it too. You’d never know she suffered from severe microphone fear. Sadly, she would only make one more movie after this - she retired at the grand old age of 28. #CallHerSavage #PreCodeApril
Some great blog posts on Call Her Savage:
- @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/12148/call-her…
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/call-her-savag…
- @tvtropes: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.… #PreCodeApril
- @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/12148/call-her…
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/call-her-savag…
- @tvtropes: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.… #PreCodeApril
And a gif of her riding a horse. #CallHerSavage #PreCodeApril
Fun Clara Bow FACT: her middle name was Gordon. #PreCodeApril #CallHerSavage
One last thing. The Swedish poster, with a title that’s even more blatant than the American title. #CallHerSavage #PreCodeApril
I’ve updated the @letterboxd Pre-Code list - there’s a total of 923 films on it now and the top 75 are favourites / recommendations. Annoyingly, that’s brought my percentage back down to 21% (201 out of 923). #PreCodeApril boxd.it/8Bnby
I’ve also tweaked my own Pre-Code April line-up, adding recommendations from the #PreCodeApril hashtag. boxd.it/bCMvW
Day 23 of #PreCodeApril: The Sin of Nora Moran (1933).
Alternate posters for The Sin of Nora Moran. #PreCodeApril
The Sin of Nora Moran is a truly remarkable film. Worth seeing for its dazzlingly ambitious flashback structure alone. Not just nested flashbacks, but scenes where the characters actively try and resist their fate within those flashbacks. #PreCodeApril
The filmmaking is incredibly inventive elsewhere too, particularly in its use of montage and super-imposition. It has some deeply surreal moments too. #PreCodeApril
It’s also *incredibly* depressing. The basic story is that Nora (who’s already had an epic run of hard luck and misery) chooses to go to the chair rather than ruin her married lover (the governor). #PreCodeApril #precodeheadlines
By a weird coincidence, this was my second #PreCode film in a row with some quite disturbing animal violence. You think this lion-punching act is just a clever perspective trick, but no - it’s followed by the pair of them wrestling, fighting etc. #PreCodeApril
Two must-read blog posts on The Sin of Nora Moran, both of which go into much more detail on the frankly astonishing flashback structure. #PreCodeApril
- @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/53024/the-sin-…
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/sin-nora-moran…
- @IEphemera: immortalephemera.com/53024/the-sin-…
- @PreCodeDotCom: pre-code.com/sin-nora-moran…
Day 24 of #PreCodeApril: The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), starring Ann Dvorak.
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