Pre-Code Favorites, Part 1: The fellas

If forced at gunpoint to choose my favorite film period (and I fully expect this sort of thing to happen someday), I'd go with the so-called Pre-Code era, that time between the acceptance of sound films (around 1929-1930) and the enforcement of the Production Code (which had been on the books since 1930 but wasn't enforced until 1934, when a bunch of obnoxious Catholic buttinskis ended all the fun.) In those few glorious years, movies actually seemed to be made for grown-ups, with healthy dollops of sex and violence spicing up stories that contained mature themes, complex relationships and a semi-realistic portrayal of life in these United States. (Read more -- a lot more -- about the Pre-Code era -- here.)

Those Pre-Code movies had a spark that few other films seem to exhibit, combining the enthusiasm of an artform finding its feet with the thrill of some talented and daring creative types getting one over on the bluenoses. That vitality was in no small part due to the actors and actresses who starred in them. Some were huge Hollywood legends just starting out, some were silent era performers having a last hurrah, and some were quickly forgotten despite whatever fame they once had. Today, I'm listing 11 of my favorite Pre-Code actors, along with some movies showing them at their best. In the next post, I'll celebrate the ladies of the era.

Unless you're a real film geek, you've probably never heard of most of the movies on this list. Consider them highly recommended. Many are on DVD (try the fine folks at Warner Archives).


Robert Armstrong: "King Kong" (of course), "The Most Dangerous Game," "Is My Face Red," "Fast Workers"

Richard Barthlemess: "Heroes for Sale," "Massacre," "Alias the Doctor"

James Cagney: "The Public Enemy," "Picture Snatcher," "Taxi!," "Footlight Parade," "Hard to Handle," "Blonde Crazy"

Groucho Marx: "Duck Soup," "Horsefeathers," "Monkey Business," "Animal Crackers" and "The Cocoanuts." (Obviously, I prefer the rough-and-tumble anarchy of the Paramount Pre-Codes over the slicker movies the Marxes made at MGM.)

Walter Huston: "Gabriel Over the White House," "The Criminal Code," "American Madness," "Beast of the City," "Kongo"

Allen Jenkins: "Three on a Match," "Employees' Entrance," "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang," "Blondie Johnson," "Havana Widows," "The Mind Reader," "42nd Street"

Guy Kibbee: "Fireman Save My Child," "42nd Street," "Taxi!," "Gold Diggers of 1933," "The Strange Love of Molly Louvain," "Footlight Parade," "Havana Widows"

Lee Tracy: "Doctor X," "Blessed Event," "Washington Merry-Go-Round," "The Half-Naked Truth," "The Strange Love of Molly Louvain," "Clear All Wires," "Turn Back the Clock"

Edward G. Robinson: "Five Star Final," "Little Caesar," "Smart Money," "Two Seconds," "The Hatchet Man," "The Little Giant" (If forced -- once again, at gunpoint, to choose my favorite actor of all time, I think I might go with Eddie G. Decade after decade, he delivered great performances in dozens and dozens of films.)

Warren William: "The Mind Reader," "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Employees' Entrance," "Under 18," "The Mouthpiece," "Three on a Match," "Skyscraper Souls"


Boris Karloff: "Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," "Five Star Final," "The Criminal Code," "Night World," "The Mask of Fu Manchu," "The Mummy"