The Pre-Code Era of Hollywood is a very interesting time in Hollywood and film history. It was a time of limited, if any, censorship in Hollywood and therefore filmmakers and the stars were able to produce much more risque and unique movies. The Pre Code era started in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer and ensuing popularity of talkies. It would end in 1934 with the enforcement of the Production Code. Before I start the list, there are a few signature ideas that define Pre Code movies that I want to mention. These for the most part will differentiate them from later Classic Hollywood films.
- Pre Code only includes films made in Hollywood. The Production Code didn’t affect movies being made outside of Hollywood but they would be cut and censored if needed.
- The stories that are able to be told are much different than Classic Hollywood films. Films about sex, social issues, brazen crime films, and films that poke fun at religion were all able to be made during the Pre Code Era but not after.
- Minorities had better roles during the Pre Code Era. Not like now, but definitely much better than in the 40s and 50s. Not every black woman acted like Mammy from Gone with the Wind (1939) and had an exaggerated accent. While they still usually played lower class roles, they weren’t as demeaning as they could be.
- Women wear sexier and more revealing clothes.
- Obviously the Code doesn’t apply. The Code required that if a character commits a crime, they must pay for it with either their death or being arrested. So people that may commit horrible deeds may end up surviving when the film ends.
- The Worst Films Survived – Only the films that were so scandalous survived completely. If a film could be cut a little and re released they would do it. Some films on this list unfortunately only survived in their censored forms.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Starting off this list is one of the great horror films to come from the Pre-Code era, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Fredic March and Miriam Hopkins (her name will be on this list a lot) as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Ivy the prostitute, respectively. March won an Oscar for his portrayal of Jekyll, the first horror performance to win and it wasn’t repeated until Anthony Hopkins won for Silence of the Lambs in 1991. March is incredible in the role, playing both Jekyll and Hyde with apparent ease. Seamlessly transitioning between the two very different characters and playing them perfectly. I am usually disappointed by the Oscar result but this is a win I think they got right. One other thing I want to mention is the transformation scenes, when Jekyll is turning into Hyde. They are phenomenal. So much in fact, that it is hard for me to tell how they ended up doing it. The one flaw in my opinion, is Miriam Hopkins as Ivy, the Cockney prostitute. While she plays the role well and is seductive, I feel that her accent is off. I’m not British so I may just be wrong.
Safe in Hell (1931)
One of the more popular story ideas for the Pre-Code era was the dangerous woman, and Safe in Hell is one such film. The film stars Dorothy Mackaill as a prostitute who flees New Orleans after being accused of killing one of her clients. She ends up escaping to an island in the Caribbean and settles with the locals, who are either native Caribbeans or other people hiding from justice. Mackail is fantastic in the role and is able to play the role both sympathetically and with a hardened resolve. The native Caribbeans, played by Black actors, are not shoehorned into racial stereotypes. They talk with normal accents. And while they still have somewhat servile positions, it isn’t in an offensive manner. (The two black characters I remember run the inn where the main character lives) While overall not one of my favorites, I think it has an interesting enough premise and good acting – especially by Dortothy Mackail – to add it to this list. Sometimes the story can struggle to maintain interest, but it is a great example of what a film could do before the Code was enforced.
Horse Feathers (1932)
The Marx Brothers were one of the biggest comedy groups of the Pre-Code Era and films like Horse Feathers and Duck Soup cemented their legacy. Horse Feathers sees the four brothers satirize the college experience. Groucho plays the new dean of the college, while Zeppo plays his college age son. Chico and Harpo are two blue collar workers that get mixed up in the hijinks of the college. As a kid, I wasn’t a fan of musical numbers, but the Marx Brothers did them right. “I’m Against It” and “Everyone Says I Love You” are great. And even though this film doesn’t include the legendary Margaret Dumont, Thelma Todd who starred in their previous film (Monkey Business, 1931), does a wonderful job as the female lead. She plays the “college widow”, which basically means she’s trying to score with the college kids. The film focuses on the college trying to win an important American football game against their rival. The scenes of football being played are quite entertaining, with usual Marx Brother anarchy taking place. Horses are involved and all of the brothers take part in the game, leading to hilarious results.
Rain (1932)
Joan Crawford later regretted taking this role, according to a few sources because the film did not make any money and/or because she disliked the role. But, even though I normally don’t like her as an actress, she does a great job as Sadie Thompson, a prostitute who travels to a tropical island and meets a conservative preacher (played by Walter Huston), who tries to make her change her ways. The film is very interesting because it can be easily seen as a film that mocks religion and one that has a Christian religious villain. And definitely couldn’t be done when the code was enforced, proven by the sequel Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), which is just a watered down version of Rain. And although they seem like they are quite similar, both this and Safe in Hell become entirely different movies to the extent that they would make a great double feature.
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
One of my favorite Pre-Code films. Directed by the legendary Ernst Lubitcsh, the story revolves around two thieves (played by Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins) trying to pull a con. Their target, played by Kay Francis, is a wealthy dowager who runs a perfume company. But Marshall’s character falls for their target, wanting more than to rob her. Miriam Hopkins’ character is still focused solely on stealing and skipping town afterwards. Lubitsch is able to carefully craft intelligent jokes and rely on wordplay, differentiating this film from the screwball comedies that were very popular at the time. In fact, when I first watched it I didn’t like it for this reason. If I can consider screwball comedies ‘lowbrow humor’, then this is definitely ‘highbrow’ humor. There are also carefully worded innuendos sprinkled throughout the film, definitely testing what they could get away with. Just like with the Thin Man (1934), the chemistry between the lead (Hopkins and Marshall) is fantastic.
Babyface (1933)
Babyface is one of most well known Pre-Code films and for good reason. Starring a future Post-Code star, in Barbara Stanwyck, this is considered to be one of the nails in the Pre-Code coffin. Stanwyck stars as Lily Powers, a young woman whose father whores her out to his customers in his speakeasy. Eventually she escapes his clutches and runs off, using her feminine wiles to get what she wants. It’s all she knows how to do. As I mentioned above, while there is no clear answer to which film brought along a more rigid enforcement of the code, Babyface should certainly be considered a contender. In fact, about five minutes was removed during the Pre-Code era because it was too much even for that time. While nothing is shown, (nudity/sex wise) it is what’s implied that matters. Lily Powers attempts to sleep her way to the top, for the most part unconcerned with the consequences.
Another that I wish to mention is the relationship between Lily and her black maid Chico. Chico originally starts off as a co worker at the speakeasy but after Lily runs off, Chico joins her as her maid. For the most part, it is just a title, as Chico serves as more of a confidant. They are genuinely more like friends but the social ladder that Lily is trying to climb means that Chico must adhere to society’s norms and take on a subservient role.
Duck Soup (1933)
Probably the best known Marx Brothers film, it is also my favorite. Again featuring all four brothers, this one is a political satire. Taking place in the fictional Freedonia, Groucho’s character (Rufus T. Firefly) becomes the leader and is faced with issues both domestic and foreign. He has to deal with the neighboring country of Sylvania and its spies. Two of them are played by Harpo and Chico Marx. They are usually paired together in the Marx Brothers films and this one is no different. They end up meeting up with Groucho and end up working for his country in various positions. The musical numbers are great, mixing together the Marx Brothers zany humor and wordplay with satirical songs. Notable songs are ‘Freedonia’s Going to War’, and ‘The Laws of My Administration’. One of the best scenes in any Marx Brother Film is of course the famous mirror scene which is a must watch moment of slapstick hilarity.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Part musical, part Depression-Era comedy, Gold Diggers of 1933 is a film that I was surprised that I liked so much. I’m not a fan of musicals, but Gold Diggers combines the Depression-Era humor of The Three Stooges with musical numbers about the Depression. It also makes fun of the rich, portraying them as bumbling, naive and people who can be taken advantage of. And while the routine can get old as the gold diggers fall for their targets, it is still entertaining because it is a very good time capsule of The Great Depression. The film shows how tough it was to live in the era, even when the main characters are in the entertainment industry. “What’s the show about? It’s all about the Depression. We won’t have to rehearse that.” The musical numbers that were standouts to me were We’re in the Money’ and ‘Remember My Forgotten Man’, with the last one being extremely relevant to the Great Depression
The Story of Temple Drake (1933)
Based on an already controversial story by William Faulkner (Sanctuary), this film is another one of the proverbial nails in the Pre-Code coffin. Miriam Hopkins stars as Temple Drake, the well off granddaughter of a judge who also likes to party. She acts un-lady (for the time) a lot, repeatedly refusing her boyfriend’s proposals and going drinking with unsavory characters. She is then in a car crash and takes shelter in a speakeasy, where she is raped by a gangster named Trigger. Trigger is played with a terrifying intensity by Jack La Rue. The direction and cinematography are very well done and the film looks a lot like something from German Expressionism. Karl Strauss, the cinematographer, who worked on other classic Pre-Code Films like Island of Lost Souls, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and F.W Murnau’s Sunrise (1927). For a Pre-Code movie, it is quite unique in the way it looks.
The Thin Man (1934)
As with the Marx Brothers, the first Thin Man film was a film that I saw as a kid but did not know it was Pre-Code. In fact, I didn’t know what Pre-Code was. But it was fun rewatching it years later and realizing and seeing what makes it different from other Classic Hollywood movies, and its sequels. And it is one of the last films of the Pre-Code Era as the Production Code would be enforced later in 1934.
The film stars William Powell and Myra Loy as Nick and Nora Charles respectively. Nick is a retired detective, more comfortable with drinking the day away than detecting but at the insistence of his wife, he takes up the case that the Newspapers have dubbed ‘The Thin Man’. Though the plot and the mystery itself is something left to be desired, what makes the movie truly stand out is the chemistry between Powell and Loy. They really do feel like a married couple which is the reason a lot of the general public at the time did believed they were actually married, so strong was their chemistry. The supporting cast is also good, featuring Maureen O’Sullivan of Tarzan fame and a very pre-Joker Cesar Romero. This one is the best of the series, the five sequels are good but they pale in comparison to the original.
