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Sex In the Cinema: The ‘Pre-Code’ Years
Hollywood movies in the 1920s depicted sex, violence, and alcohol and drug abuse with freewheeling abandon, but filmmaking freedom halted with the mysterious murder of director William Desmond Taylor, the drug death of writer-director-actor Wallace Reid, and the rape trials of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. Hollywood had to choose self-censorship or face the moral indignation of the law. They chose to manage movie madcaps themselves.
Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945, prescribed the Production Code in 1930 and began strictly enforcing it in 1934. The Production Code spelled out a set of moral guidelines that were popularly known as the Hays Code. For decades, moviemaking was never the same.
Rediscover 107 spicy films from the Pre-code era, including Stolen Heaven (1931), The Night of June 13th (1932), Three on a Match (1932), Red-Headed Woman (1932), Call Her Savage (1932), This Reckless Age (1932), Young Bride (1932), Panama Flo (1932), and Baby Face (1933).
Relive the fabled faces of these fiery films, such as Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, Wallace Beery, Carole Lombard, Frances Dee, Chester Morris, and Sylvia Sidney, as well as directors Frank Capra, Rouben Mamoulian, James Whale, William Wellman, Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, and W. S. Van Dyke.
Author Lou Sabini points his comprehensive spotlight on the often forgotten yet always fascinating films that dared depict violence, drugs, and sex with a sinful flair.
107 films profiled. Illustrated with 178 rare photographs and memorabilia from the world’s archives. Complete casts, credits, production history, and biographical profiles of the stars, director, writers, and cameramen.
About the Lou Sabini attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, later teaching and lecturing about film. He is the author of Behind the Scenes of They Were Expendable.
Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945, prescribed the Production Code in 1930 and began strictly enforcing it in 1934. The Production Code spelled out a set of moral guidelines that were popularly known as the Hays Code. For decades, moviemaking was never the same.
Rediscover 107 spicy films from the Pre-code era, including Stolen Heaven (1931), The Night of June 13th (1932), Three on a Match (1932), Red-Headed Woman (1932), Call Her Savage (1932), This Reckless Age (1932), Young Bride (1932), Panama Flo (1932), and Baby Face (1933).
Relive the fabled faces of these fiery films, such as Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, Wallace Beery, Carole Lombard, Frances Dee, Chester Morris, and Sylvia Sidney, as well as directors Frank Capra, Rouben Mamoulian, James Whale, William Wellman, Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, and W. S. Van Dyke.
Author Lou Sabini points his comprehensive spotlight on the often forgotten yet always fascinating films that dared depict violence, drugs, and sex with a sinful flair.
107 films profiled. Illustrated with 178 rare photographs and memorabilia from the world’s archives. Complete casts, credits, production history, and biographical profiles of the stars, director, writers, and cameramen.
About the Lou Sabini attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, later teaching and lecturing about film. He is the author of Behind the Scenes of They Were Expendable.
- GenresNonfiction
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 24, 2018
"Sex in the Cinema: The 'Pre-Code' Years" is a lousy title for a pretty-good book. Film historian and professor Lou Sabini has compiled 100+ of the most interesting racy pre-Code movies from the beginning of the sound era through the enforcement of the Production Code in mid-1934. Many of the films do deal with sexual issues, but some push the envelope of what was acceptable in films in other ways. Since this period was during the Great Depression, there were a lot of films that featured women using their bodies to attract rich men. In fact, the movies used sex to pull in audiences since many people didn't have money to go to the movie theater as much during this decade. But films also featured political corruption, violent gangsters, and characters who commit crimes and not be punished in the end.
I read it cover-to-cover, but it will be a good book to refer back to later. There were many films that I had never heard of before. Sabini admits that some of the films that he profiles are not exactly classics, but they are interesting because they featured pre-Code topics. One thing that I really liked about the book is that the author does not give away a lot of plot points. He does illustrate the careers of the stars and tells of incidents during the filming. The book is lavishly illustrated, and includes the cast and crew for each film. My only complaint is that it seems like some films like EMPLOYEE'S ENTRANCE and I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG are more important, and deserved a few more pages in their chapters.
I read it cover-to-cover, but it will be a good book to refer back to later. There were many films that I had never heard of before. Sabini admits that some of the films that he profiles are not exactly classics, but they are interesting because they featured pre-Code topics. One thing that I really liked about the book is that the author does not give away a lot of plot points. He does illustrate the careers of the stars and tells of incidents during the filming. The book is lavishly illustrated, and includes the cast and crew for each film. My only complaint is that it seems like some films like EMPLOYEE'S ENTRANCE and I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG are more important, and deserved a few more pages in their chapters.
September 8, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating look into the birth of cinema. Of course, I'd always heard about the decadence of the Roaring Twenties, but never really knew the extent to which it blanketed those early years in film. A great book for anyone interested in the real life and times of those long-ago stars. A completely engaging read!
August 19, 2019
Book is excellent at what it sets out to do, summarize the cast, crew of ~80 pre code films. As most are not easy to find (especially uncut), I was disappointed in the lack of complete plot summaries, or details of what action/ dialogue occurred that sets the film apart from those coming after the Hays Code.
October 18, 2018
It was informative. It listed movies from the Pre-Code era, gave details...director, stars, etc...and a brief synopsis of each movie. A little history was also mixed in. I liked it, but I have read more enjoyable books about this time period.
March 2, 2021
This book doesn’t get into any of its title subject or really enough about any film it covers
March 7, 2018
While this book does lack what I see as some key Pre-Code films, I do recommend it for Pre-Code fans and film collectors.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews