DEC 2019: Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era by Mark A. Vieira

[Samantha]

Our winter read is Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies by Mark A. Vieira.

What do you hope to learn from this book?

Why do you think the pre-code era films are so popular with modern audiences?

What is your favorite pre-code film?

Have you read the previous rendition of this book Sin in Soft Focus? While you're reading, think about how that book compares.

The following films are scheduled on TCM:

December 4
7:15 a.m. 42nd Street
11:45 a.m. The Conquerors
3:00 p.m. Wild Boys of the Road

December 5
6:00 a.m. The Widow From Chicago
7:15 a.m. The Finger Points
8:00 p.m. Sinner's Holiday
9:15 p.m. Millie
11:00 p.m. Blonde Crazy

December 6
12:30 a.m. Make Me a Star
2:15 a.m. Blondie Johnson
3:30 a.m. The Crowd Roars
4:45 a.m. Three on a Match
6:00 a.m. Miss Pinkerton
7:15 a.m. The Famous Ferguson Case

December 7
6:30 a.m. Dance Fools Dance
12:00 p.m. One Way Passage
3:00 p.m. Cimarron

December 9
4:00 a.m. Smilin' Through

December 11
8:00 a.m. So Long Letty
12:15 p.m. Loose Ankles

December 12
8:00 p.m. Smarty
9:15 p.m. Gold Diggers of 1933
11:00 p.m. Havana Widows

December 13
12:15 a.m. I've Got Your Number
1:30 a.m. Lawyer Man
2:45 a.m. He Was Her Man
4:15 a.m. Kansas City Princess
5:30 a.m. Footlight Parade
10:15 a.m. The Cuckoos

December 14
12:00 p.m. Red Dust

December 16
4:15 a.m. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

December 22
6:30 a.m. Gold Diggers of 1933

December 23
6:00 a.m. The Letter
9:30 a.m. The Maltese Falcon

December 28
12:00 a.m. Animal Crackers
3:30 p.m. The Champ

December 30
4:45 a.m. Seven Keys to Baldpate
8:30 a.m. Show Boat

January 1
10:00 p.m. The Public Enemy

January 5
6:00 a.m. The Broadway Melody
8:00 a.m. Sally

January 8
1:45 p.m. Before Dawn
2:45 p.m. That's the Spirit

January 9
12:15 a.m. Scarface
4:00 a.m. The Doorway to Hell
11:45 a.m. The Phantom of Crestwood
1:15 p.m. Millie
2:45 p.m. Everything's Rosie

January 10
7:15 a.m. The Lost Squadron

January 12
6:00 a.m. Huddle

January 13
7:45 a.m. Show Girl in Hollywood
10:45 a.m. Make Me a Star
12:15 p.m. What Price Hollywood?

January 15
7:45 a.m. Rasputin and the Empress
8:00 p.m. The Wet Parade

January 16
4:00 a.m. The Secret Six
9:45 a.m. Is My Face Red?
12:15 p.m. Blessed Event

January 17
6:00 a.m. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
7:45 a.m. The World Changes

January 23
1:30 p.m. The Painted Desert
9:15 p.m. Red Dust

January 26
6:00 a.m. The White Sister
7:45 a.m. Tarzan and His Mate

January 29
9:00 a.m. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang

[Mark]

I hope to learn about the behind-the-scenes stories of the making of these classic films and the challenges of getting them past the censors.

I'm not sure about others today, but for me pre-code films are exciting because of what they actually got past the sensors and the subtlety of how they did it. It is amazing what they got away with at the beginning of the era before the ratings system!

I don't really have one single favorite pre-code film, but my top picks are Hell's Angels, King Kong, Thirteen Women, Three on a Match, The Mummy, Red Dust, Blonde Crazy, The Public Enemy... the list goes on.

I missed out on Sin in Soft Focus, but I would be curious how others compare it to Forbidden Hollywood as I am just over half way through it and think it's great!

[Samantha]

I watched about half of Blondie Johnson last night and it is VERY pre-code. There are many references to prostitution. Consider this exchange Blondell has with her taxi driver (played by Sterling Holloway):
JOAN: I think I might have a little proposition that will interest you.
STERLING: No thanks lady; not during business hours.

There are gangsters and schemes galore, and the appeal of Joan Blondell makes it a notch above. It definitely fits with our reading.

I love the pre-code era. It is nice to see that people of this era weren't naive or ignorant of real-world issues and sin. It is easy to look back at post-code films and early television and assume the world was wildly different than our own, but these movies show that it wasn't. It was just treated differently. I also love that even though they were more brazen than films just after the code, they're still pretty sly at including these elements, so the films retain a slickness that the era had.

I read Sin in Soft Focus and found it to be a rare combination of luminous photo book and informative reference. I enjoy looking at the pictures in Forbidden Hollywood but they're different than Sin, which was beautiful to behold, soft and stunning. This books photos are beautiful, but they chose more stark images and presentation.

[Mark]

I have Blondie Johnson on DVD and I find it outstanding for a pre-code in its focus on on Joan as a strong female figure. This was quite common in films of this era as they often showed women to be just as wily and wicked as their male costars. In this film, Joan actually outshines everyone in her resolve to win in the losing situation of the Depression. During this time, producers were struggling to stay afloat at the box office, and rebellious themes of crime and graft were popular in the eyes of the public, especially if handled with a touch of humor and finesse by the stars and their directors.

The Warners and First National releases of the early 1930s are among my favorites. I also recommend Lady Killer, Picture Snatcher, Taxi, and Blonde Crazy as fine examples of pre-code gold (they also star James Cagney, my favorite male lead). In a few years this approach would fall out of favor with the onset of the Code, but for a brief shining moment the industry glowed with virtually uncensored creativity in one of the most dark periods of American history.

[Christopher]

I noticed the Kindle version is $3.99 today.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G75C7J7/

I will put it on my TBR.

On a sad note, I no longer have access to cable.
TCM was about the only thing I watched anyway.

[Mark]

I'm a big fan of Kindle also, but for a book rich with top quality images such as this one, I could not resist the opportunity to own it in hardback. Sorry to hear about your cable access, but have you considered a streaming service like Sling TV? At $30 a month, it is highly rated on budget and also offers TCM on the Hollywood Extra tier for an additional $5. Just a thought!

[Christopher]

Mark wrote: "I'm a big fan of Kindle also, but for a book rich with top quality images such as this one, I could not resist the opportunity to own it in hardback. Sorry to hear about your cable access, but have..."

Thanks for the tip.

[Samantha]

What are some of your favorite elements of pre-code films?

I like that they address issues that feel modern. Drugs, sex, unwed mothers, independent women are all issues that we see in movies now. These movies feel fresh in a way that movies from the 40s feel antiquated.

Here are some more pre-code films coming up on TCM:

February 4
12:15 p.m. Anna Christie
3:45 p.m. Rasputin and the Empress

February 6
10:00 p.m. A Farewell to Arms
11:45 p.m. The Sin of Madelon Claudet

February 10
12:45 p.m. The Front Page

February 13
12:00 a.m. One Way Passage
12:30 p.m. Five Star Final
2:15 p.m. Little Caesar
4:00 p.m. I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang

February 17
10:15 p.m. One Hour With You

February 18
6:00 a.m. The Green Goddess
7:15 a.m. Disraeli
8:45 a.m. Raffles

February 19
1:30 a.m. Of Human Bondage

February 21
6:00 a.m. Grand Hotel

February 25
8:00 p.m. The Divorcee

February 28
4:15 a.m. The Guardsman

February 29
7:45 a.m. Gold Diggers of 1933

[[deleted user]]

I read FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD when it came out last year, but I've been holding off on a comment until the end of the period, as I did not want to deter anyone from reading it. It was not bad, more a picture book than SIN IN SOFT FOCUS, and the text seemed to be more a commentary on the photos than the other way around. I thought SIN IN SOFT FOCUS which I read way back when it was new was a more satisfying read. There were pictures in SISF too, but they were there in support of the text. I guess my major problem is with the whole notion of "pre-Code," as though most Hollywood films of the early thirties were one way and after the "Code" came in things weren't ever the same (except for films in 1939 which seem to get a pass.) I think it's kind of shorthand, and in a sense lazy, and it prevents viewers from looking at each film on its own, throwing all these movies into the pre-Code bucket. For what it's worth, I feel the same way about "Film Noir."

[Magnus]

Hello, I've only just discovered this page, and it's been quiet for a while, but I'll just butt in then, shall I? ;) Hope it's okay.

I haven't read the new book. My favourite pre-code literature are the two books Mick LaSalle wrote, 'Complicated Women' and 'Dangerous Men'. Highly recommended both.
Personally I tend to watch pre-codes in winter, not in summer. In other words, the season for them is nearly upon us.
My favourite personnel includes Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Richard Barthelmess, Warren William, Norma Shearer, William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard.
I'll stop now as I don't want to bore you out of your skulls.

[Samantha]

Hi Magnus, and welcome! Do you like to watch pre-codes when it is cold out because they're so hot? (Ba-dum-tss!)

[Magnus]

Samantha wrote: "Hi Magnus, and welcome! Do you like to watch pre-codes when it is cold out because they're so hot? (Ba-dum-tss!)"

Ha ha! Good question. The answer, I guess, is that my film watching habits become more weather influenced as I get older. For instance, in summer I watch New Hollywood (late 60s, 70s) while I in winter I prefer Pre-Codes and (German) silents... Dunno, a question of cosy, I think (and yes, they are hot, some of them). Any theories?

[Magnus]

I've been watching a few Pre-Codes again (it's cold enough for the hot stuff), a couple that were okay despite the high pedigree cast (The Crowd Roars with Cagney, Blondell, Dvorak and Warner's stock players, The Mask of Fun Man Chu with Karloff and Loy).
And then I struck the motherlode with 'Mystery at the Wax Museum' with Lionel Atwill and scream queen Fay Wray - although Pre-Code regulars Glenda Farrell and Frank McHugh stole the show.
The first remarkable thing about the film is that it was shot in two-strip colour, an early (1933) colour process - I think they couldn't photograph the blues properly until the mid-40s (Leave Her to Heaven). I can only name two earlier films that I've seen using that process (Fairbank's 'The Black Pirate' and a Gloria Swanson number, 'Manhandled' I think). In this case it looked stunning.
The film is obviously a horror-genre picture, but it also involved a hard-boiled journalist subplot in which Glenda Farrell gets all the best lines (like the New Year's Eve when she walks into the police station and goes 'How's your sex life?' to one of the coppers! I kid you not. Further proof that this is indeed a Pre-Code film comes in the depiction of 'dope' and the repeated use of the word 'junkie' when the police interrogate a drug addict.
It was quite a discovery for me.