Beginner’s Guide to Pre-Code Hollywood
Scarface
Year: 1932
Directed by: Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson
Because Pre-Code Hollywood also happened to coincide with the tail-end of prohibition in America, the era is filled with gangster and crime films. One of the greatest of these films is Scarface, which stars Paul Muni as rising Chicago gangster Tony Camonte, whose own ambition may also be his downfall.
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Freaks
Year: 1932
Directed by: Tod Browning
While Tod Browning is probably most famous for his 1931 version of Dracula, this film is his true masterpiece. Set in the world of a travelling circus, Browning cast actual people with deformities instead of using costumes and makeup. Essentially, the point of the film is that you cannot tell the true character of a person from what they look like on the outside. This film was a huge failure when it was released, but has since gained a cult following.
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Red Dust
Year: 1932
Directed by: Victor Fleming
Clark Gable and Jean Harlow made six films together before her untimely death at the age of twenty-six; Red Dust is the second of those films. It was remade by John Ford in 1953 as Mogambo — set in Africa and also starring Gable. For my money, Red Dust is a far more interesting film. Set in colonial French Indochina, the film focuses on a love triangle between plantation owner Dennis Carson (Gable) a prostitute named Vantine (Harlow) and Barbara Willis (Mary Astor), who is married to engineer Gary Willis (Gene Raymond). This is another film in desperate need of a DVD release.
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The Most Dangerous Game
Year: 1932
Directed by: Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Filmed before RKO’s most famous Pre-Code film, King Kong, The Most Dangerous Game tells the tale of shipwrecked author and big game hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea), who finds himself on an island owned by fellow big game enthusiast, the mysterious Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks). Also staying as guests of the count are Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray), her brother Martin (Robert Armstrong) and two sailors. As people start to disappear Bob and Eve realize that Zaroff’s taste for big game hunting has shifted to something far more dangerous.
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Baby Face
Year: 1933
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
This is a film that is so frank about sex and power that is just has to be seen to believed. The film introduces us to Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck, giving one of her finest performances), whose father owns a speakeasy and has made her sleep with his customers since she was 14 years old. When her father suddenly dies, Lily heads out to New York City, where she, literally, sleeps her way to the top.
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I enjoyed your article — these are some great films to get the novice Pre-Coder started!
Great post! – you’ve covered all the pre-Code baseposts! I agree w/your assessment that the earlier versions of RED DUST and WATERLOO BRIDGE are far more interesting and complex than their remakes (and RED DUST seriously needs a DVD release). Shearer’s THE DIVORCEE can be seen as an early feminist statement on marriage, equality, and desire, as well as a non-judgmental examination of the costs of infidelity w/in a marriage. I would also include a pre-Code musical, particularly the Busby Berkeley productions done at Warner Bros (FORTY-SECOND STREET, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933), as well as 2 great horror films: THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932), an adaptation of HG Wells’ “The Island of Dr Moreau,” which more than hints at animal-human mating, and MURDERS IN THE ZOO (1933), w/the sublimely depraved Lionel Atwill in a twisted tale of jealousy and revenge.
I need to watch these movies! I’ve only seen Freaks so far.
What a fantastic list Marya! I should really hop onto watching these – especially because I’ve had Red Dust on my DVR for quite a while now.