And just to reiterate -- Since that AFI catalog description was written on BABY FACE some years ago, the uncensored version was discovered by the great, great film archivist George Willeman (he and this discovery is featured in *Those Amazing Shadows*) at the LoC in 2004 and is on the DVD.
Dennis On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 4:22 PM, <ghand...@library.berkeley.edu> wrote: > Lots to pick from. My faves would include > > Baby Face (1933) > Directed by Alfred E. Green. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, > Donald Cook, Alphonse Ethier, Henry Kolker, Theresa Harris, Margaret > Lindsay, Arthur Hohl, John Wayne. It's the age-old story of the girl > so mistreated by men that she's determined to get revenge. Lilly (Baby > Face) sleeps her way from basement speakeasy bartender, literally > floor by floor, to the top floor of a New York office building. Bank > submanager Jimmy McCoy finds her a job in the bank only to be cast > aside as she hooks up with the bank's president. "The Hays office > recommended that the picture be pulled from the theaters for its > violations of the production code. ...There was extensive > correspondence between officials of the AMPP and Warner Bros. > executives Darryl Zanuck and Jack L. Warner regarding various changes > which were intended to make the film more acceptable to censor boards > across the country. The main thrust of the changes was to attach an > ending which showed Lily losing everything she had gained and > returning to her hometown in order that viewers would not be tempted > to believe that vice was rewarded. Originally the character of the > cobbler professed a Nietzchian philosophy which was unacceptable under > the production code. The character was changed to become instead the > moral voice of the film, and was used to indicate that the character > of Lily had been wrong to advance in the by using her body. Also cut > were the most blantant references to the fact that Lily was being kept > by men." [AFI Catalog] > > > Blonde Venus (1932) > Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Herbert > Marshall, Cary Grant, Hattie McDaniel. The story of a woman who is > torn between two men, her successful stage career and her child. Helen > Faraday is a nightclub singer turned housewife, but when her husband > needs money to have a life-saving operation, she decides to resume her > career as a singer to raise money. She undergoes a chain of events > that separate her from her husband and force her to make a choice > between her lucrative singing career, and her role as a wife and > mother. "Herbert Marshall's glimpse of Marlene Dietrich's skinny-dip > leads to marriage and toddler Dickie Moore, their happiness derailed > when she must hit the streets to pay for hubbie?s radium poisoning > treatments. The most outlandish of the Dietrich/von Sternberg > pictures, highlighted by her gorilla-suited "Hot Voodoo" number, plus > a lucrative affair with young Cary Grant." > > Bombshell(1933) > Directed by Victor Fleming. Cast: Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank > Morgan, Franchot Tone, Pat O'Brien, Una Merkel, Ted Healy. Screen > siren Lola Burns is fed up with the scandalous stories her publicist, > Space Hanlon puts out, the endless arguments on the sets of her films > and her family's constant drain on her money and peace of mind. Her > attempts to get married, adopt a baby and quit the business altogether > are constantly thwarted, unbeknownst to her, by Space, who is secretly > in love with her. 96 min. > > > The Divorcee (1930) > Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, > Conrad Nagel, Robert Montgomery Based on Ursula Parrott's spicy 1929 > novel "Ex-wife," the highly controversial The Divorcee was nominated > for four Academy Awards including Best Picture. Norma Shearer won for > Best Actress as a woman who confronts the hypocrisy of the double > standard after catching her husband in a compromising position and > forcing him to confess his infidelities. Her solution to the problem: > try to match him tryst for tryst. 82 min. > > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) > Directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Cast: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins. > Famous version of the Stevenson masterpiece about a scientist who > concocts a potion that releases the animal side of man. Restored > version contains 17 minutes of previously censored material. "Jason > Joy (Production Code enforcer) wrote to Will Hays: 'Frankenstein is > staying for four weeks and taking in big money at theatres which were > about on the rocks . . . resentment is surely being built up. How > could it be otherwise if children go to these pictures and have the > jitters, followed by nightmares? I, for one, would hate to have my > children see FRANKENSTEIN, JEKYLL, or the others and you probably feel > the same way about Bill [Will Hays, Jr.]. Not only is there a future > economic consideration, but maybe there is a real moral responsibility > involved to which I wonder if we as individuals ought to lend our > support.'" [as quoted in Vieira, Mark. Sin in soft focus : pre-code > Hollywood New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1999 [MAIN: PN1995.62 .V54 > 1999]. Still, as Thomas Doherty has contended, "Horror films also > offer insights into what filmmakers would do if given nearly total > freedom. Censors were so concerned with limiting sex, crime and > violence, that they completely neglected the horror genre. "As long as > monsters refrained from illicit sexual activity, respected the clergy, > and maintained silence on controversial political matters." ..."they > might walk with impunity where bad girls, gangsters, and radicals > feared to tread" [Pre-code Hollywood : sex, immorality, and > insurrection in American cinema, 1930-1934 New York : Columbia > University Press, c1999. p. 297 > > Ecstasy (Ekstase)(Czechoslovakia / Austria, 1933) > Directed by Gustav Machatý. Cast: Hedy Lamarr, Aribert Moog, Leopold > Kramer, Jaromir Rogoz. Eva has just gotten married to an older > gentleman, but discovers that he is obsessed with order in his life > and doesn't have much room for passion. She becomes despondent and > leaves him, returning to her father's house. One day while bathing in > the lake she meets a young man and they fall in love. The husband has > become grief stricken at the loss of his young bride, and fate brings > him together with the young lover that has taken Eva from him. The > film was highly controversial in its time largely because of a nude > swimming scene. It is also perhaps the first non-pornographic movie to > portray sexual intercourse, although never showing more than the > actors' faces. It has also been called the first on-screen depiction > of a female orgasm. Based on a story by Samuel Cummins 79 min. DVD > X781 > > Female (1933) > Directed by Michael Curtiz. Cast: Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Lois > Wilson, Johnny Mack Brown, Ruth Donnelly. In director Michael Curtiz's > romantic comedy Female, Ruth Chatterton plays Alison Drake, the > iron-fisted president of a motorcar company. Alison oversees the daily > operations of her male employees with a predatory gaze and frequently > exercises her right to engage with them in any way she deems fit. She > meets her match in an equally strong-minded new employee, Jim Thorne > (George Brent), and the two engage in a smoldering, contentious, > sexually charged duel. The action of the film--one of the first to > depict a female character turning a man's world to her > advantage--feeds on the novelty of presenting a woman as a corporate > shark and bedroom hound. Though it's obvious the filmmakers thought > they were creating a scenario that would never actually happen, > Alison's world-smashing exploits make the bulk of the film (before she > begins to question her nontraditional lifestyle) a protofeminist romp. > Brent and Chatterton were married at the time they made the film, and > the natural chemistry between them is abundantly evident. Curtiz packs > the screen with extravagant set design and period detail > > Freaks (1932) > Directed by Tod Browning. The side-show freaks have created their own > unified community within the carnival. When the beautiful trapeze > artist marries one of the freaks for his money, and then plots to kill > him, the enraged freaks defend their friend and take gruesome revenge > on their betrayers, transforming the aerialist into the most hideous > side-show attraction of all. "According to Monthly Film Bulletin, > Freaks was banned in Great Britain until Aug 1963, when it was finally > released with an "X" certificate. Modern sources note that the picture > was banned in other countries as well." [AFI Catalog] > > > Gabriel Over the White House (1933) > Directed by Gregory LaCava. Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, > Franchot Tone, Arthur Byron, Dickie Moore. United States President > Judson Hammond, a corrupt politician, is visited by the Angel Gabriel > during recuperation from a near-fatal automobile accident. President > Hammond miraculously becomes virtuous, although his zeal for reform is > as misguided as his previous indifference was destructive. > > "Unsatisfied with status quo politics, filmmakers looked to > authoritarian leadership on the left and the right for possible > solutions. Dubbed by the trade press as the "dictator craze," these > films presented "strong tyrannical personalities who, whatever their > flaws as human beings and citizens, at least knew how to take strong > action" ... Movies allowed Americans to fantasize about embracing > revolutionary leadership, whether left or right, that could take the > nation out of hard times. Inspired by events such as the government's > brutal attack of peaceful Bonus Army marchers in July 1932, films like > The Power and the Glory (1933) and Gabriel Over the White House (1933) > dealt with strikes, massive gatherings of the unemployed, massacres by > private police or government forces, and dictators who presided over > these events, allegedly for the benefit of the nation." [Ross, Steven. > "The Seen, the Unseen, and the Obscene: Pre-Code Hollywood." Reviews > in American History 28.2 (2000) 270-277) 78 min. > > I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) > Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen > Vinson, Noel Francis, Preston Foster, Allen Jenkins. An itinerant > ex-soldier is sentenced to a chain gang after he is wrongly implicated > in a hold-up. An early social protest film based on a true story, the > film helped initiate reform of the prison system. > > I'm No Angel (1933) > Directed by Wesley Ruggles. Cast: Mae West, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, > Gregory Ratoff. The bold Tira works as a dancing beauty and lion tamer > at a fair. Out of an urgent need of money, she agrees to a risky new > number: she'll put her head into the lion's mouth! With this > attraction the circus makes it to New York and Tira can persue her > dearest occupation: flirting with rich men. Among the guys she > searches for the love of her life, from whom she only knows from a > fortune-teller that he'll be rich and have black hair. When she > finally meets him, she becomes a victim of intrigue. "West, more > imposing than coquettish as Tira the Lion Tamer, wields physical > presence like a boxer and sexuality like a gunslinger throughout the > film. From her opening scene, where she's introduced to a carnival > crowd as "the girl who discovered you don't need feet to be a dancer," > until the end, when she gets her man (Cary Grant, 29 years old and > looking about 14, as upstanding society fellow Jack Clayton), Tira > owns the screen. It's not hard to imagine either why I'm No Angel, > often considered the last film of pre-code Hollywood, was the breaking > straw for the Hays Office, or why Depression-era audiences loved it so > much. Tira violates conventions of race, class, and (of course) sex, > and she goes entirely unpunished by the plot of the film. Instead, > West, who took sole credit for the story, screenplay and dialogue, is > careful to give herself the last laugh--the real currency of a film > like this one--in every scene. In the climactic trial, she > cross-examines much of her romantic history to prove, to a judge and > jury with whom she flirts hilariously, that she's "no angel" but that > she is, indisputably, a heroine. Here at SFist, we are hard pressed to > think of a recent studio film in which a hypersexual female lead gets > away with so much." [SFist site] > > > Heroes for Sale (1933) > Directed by William A. Wellman. Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Aline > MacMahon, Loretta Young, Gordon Westcott, Robert Barrat. Host, Leonard > Maltin. One of the "social conscience" films of the 1930s, this tells > the story of Tom Holmes whose return home as a wounded > morphine-addicted World War I doughboy is just the beginning of a > chain of woes involving joblessness, the building and loss of a > successful business and unjust imprisonment. But no matter how many > times he's knocked down, he always gets back up ... a tough hero for a > tough time. DVD special features: Commentary on "Heroes for sale" by > historian John Gallagher; commentary on "Wild boys of the road" by > William Wellman, Jr. and historian Frank Thompson; S.S. Van Dine > detective short "The trans-Atlantic mystery;" 2 classic cartoons "One > step ahead of my shadow" and "Sittin' on a backyard fence;" theatrical > trailers.71 min. > > > Island of Lost Souls (1932) > Directed by Erle C. Kenton. Cast: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, > Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, the Panther woman. Charles Laughton plays > Dr. Moreau, the benign-looking doctor who lives and works on his own > private South Seas island. When a shipwreck leaves Edward Parker > stranded on the island, he learns of the hideous experiments that the > doctor has been conducting in an area of the island known as "the > House of Pain". When Parker encounters the beautiful creature Lota, > the panther woman, Dr. Moreau gets the idea to create the first > human-animal child through the two of them. "Island of Lost Souls and > Freaks present images of revolution in which "downtrodden masses, > tribes of the misshapen and mutated" overthrow "a hierarchy not merely > of power but of beauty." Many Depression-era Americans may well have > identified with the tragic animalmen of Island as they revolted > against their evil sovereign. [Pre-code Hollywood : sex, immorality, > and insurrection in American cinema, 1930-1934 New York : Columbia > University Press, c1999. p. 308 (MAIN: PN1995.62 .D65 1999)]. All this > is not to mention the unsavory sexual tension between Parker and the > panther woman, and the spectacle of a scientist dangerously > overstepping his bounds (Moreau: "Mr. Parker, do you know what it > means to feel like God?") Based on the novel "The island of Dr. > Moreau" by H.G. Wells. 71 min. > > Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) > Directed by Dorothy Arzner. Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, > Adrianne Allen, Richard Gallagher, George Irving, Cary Grant. Jerry > Corbett finally meets and marries Joan Prentiss, the right girl. > Unfortunately their wedded bliss is interrupted when Jerry's play > becomes a hit and he hooks up with the wrong woman from his past. Joan > decides that turn-about is fair play and she picks Charlie to escort > her to various parties around New York. Eventually Jerry quits > drinking and sends his girlfriend packing, just in time for Joan to > take him back. Merrily we go to Hell violated the Production Codes > strictures against scenes of drunken parties, clinging Travis Banton > gowns and Art Deco settings. 84 min. > > Platinum Blonde (1931) > Directed by Frank Capra. Cast: Loretta Young, Robert Williams, Jean > Harlow, Louise Closser Hale, Halliwell Hobbes, Reginald Owen, Edmund > Breese, Don Dillaway, Walter Catlett. "Reporter 'Stew' Smith meets > beautiful Ann Schuyler, a rich socialite, while covering the story of > a scandal involving Ann's family. Ann takes a liking to the > wisecracking Smith and the couple eventually elope. Stew's roots as a > street smart reporter don't prepare him well for mixing with Ann's > high society friends and he starts spending more time with his 'pal', > female reporter Gallagher. Everything comes to a head when Ann and her > family return home to their mansion one evening and find that Stew has > invited all his 'pals' over for an impromptu drinking party." [IMDB] > 90 min. > > Rain (1932) > Directed by Lewis Milestone. Cast: Joan Crawford, Walter Huston, > William Gargan, Guy Kibbee, Walter Catlett, Beulah Bondi, Matt Moore, > Kendall Lee, Ben Hendricks, Frederick Howard. When a fanatical > missionary and his wife are marooned in a hut with a former prostitute > during a week-long tropical storm in Pago Pago, the conflict swells to > explosive proportions in this early talkie version of a much filmed > story. Other versions include: Sadie Thompson (1928) and Miss Sadie > Thompson (1953). Original story by W. Somerset Maugham. 76 min > > Red-headed Woman (1932) > Directed by Jack Conway. Cast: Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Lewis > Stone, Leila Hyams, Una Merkel. Precensorship story of gold-digging > secretary Lil who works for the Legendre Company and causes Bill to > divorce Irene and marry her. She has an affair with businessman > Gaerste and uses him to force society to pay attention to her. She has > another affair with the chauffeur Albert. Screen play by Anita Loos; > produced by Albert Lewin, Irving Thalberg; additional writing by F. > Scott Fitzgerald. > > Shanghai Express (1932) > Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, > Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Eugene Pallette. After being jilted by > Clive Brook, Marlene Dietrich becomes known as Shanghai Lily, a > notorious adventuress. During the Chinese civil war, the couple meet > on a train which is attacked by Chinese rebels. Dietrich becomes > involved with a rebel leader in order to save the man she still loves. > "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.' Aboard > the title train, befeathered Marlene Dietrich meets mysterious Anna > May Wong and stoic ex-amour Clive Brook, but Chinese rebel leader > Warner Oland demands an unscheduled stop, barking, 'The white woman > stays with me!" > > Sign of the Cross (1932) > Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Cast: Fredric March, Elissa Landi, > Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Ian Keith, Vivian Tobin, Nat > Pendleton, Arthur Hohl. "Cecil B. DeMille pulls out all the stops in > this tale of early Christians persecuted in ancient Rome. Charles > Laughton stars as a leering, lascivious Nero, complete with spit > curls. In the words of Paramount's publicity, "Rome burns again! The > sets are marvelous and the costumes spell sex. There's Claudette > Colbert in a milk bath. And Fredric March using the sensuous Joyzelle > [as a dancing slave] to break down the resistance of Elissa Landi [as > a virtuous young Christian]? mentally, and how!"" [Harvard Film > Archive] 90 min. > > Wild Boys of the Road (1933) > Directed by William A. Wellman. Cast: Frankie Darro, Rochelle Hudson, > Dorothy Coonan, Sterling Holloway, Arthur Hohl, Grant Mitchell, Claire > McDowell. At the bottom of the depression, Tom's mother has been out > of work for months when Ed's father loses his job. Not to burden their > parents, the two high school sophomore's decide to hop the freights > and look for work. Wherever they go, there are many other kids just > like them, so Tom, Ed and now Sally stick together. They camp in > places like 'Sewer City' as long as they can until the local > authorities run them off. Lots of events happen to them including a > rape by a train brakeman (pre-code stuff.) They travel all over the > Midwest and when they finally reach New York they've become hardened > and weary, and are no longer kids. 69 min. > > > > > > > If you were going to introduce an audience to Pre-Code films, which > titles > > would you select? Our library is considering a Pre-Code film screening > > series in a few months, and we want to select titles that are good > > representatives of the period (and available on DVD or Blu-ray). > > > > So which titles would you pick? And, optionally, why? > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > Michael Logan > > Acquisitions and Technical Services > > Humboldt County Library > > (707) 269-1962 > > > > > > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve > > as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel > of > > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > > producers and distributors. > > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve > > as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel > of > > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > > producers and distributors. > > > > > Gary Handman > Director > Media Resources Center > Moffitt Library > UC Berkeley > > 510-643-8566 > ghand...@library.berkeley.edu > http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC > > "I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself." > --Francois Truffaut > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as > an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > producers and distributors. > -- Best regards, Dennis Doros Milestone Film & Video/Milliarium Zero PO Box 128 Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 Fax: 201-767-3035 email: milefi...@gmail.com www.milestonefilms.com www.comebackafrica.com www.yougottomove.com www.ontheboweryfilm.com www.arayafilm.com www.exilesfilm.com www.wordisoutmovie.com www.killerofsheep.com <http://www.killerofsheep.com> Join "Milestone Film" on Facebook and Twitter! and the Association of Moving Image Archivists <http://www.amianet.org>! Follow Milestone on Twitter! <http://twitter.com/#!/MilestoneFilms>
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
