The Tyrannical Wallace Beery: Gloria Swanson – Part 2

June 29, 2014, 7:24 pm

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For all those new to the odd and perhaps scandalous relationship between Wallace Beery and Gloria Swanson, check out part 1. If not let’s catch up with the story: 

As I said before, despite the age difference, Hollywood, family and arguments, Swanson and Beery were finally marriage. It was on the couple’s wedding night that the marriage (according to Swanson) turned violent.  Swanson claims during their first night together and with her mother in an adjoining room, Beery raped her. Beery had apparently spent a couple hours drinking at a local bar and was drunk when he went up to bed that night. This is a segment of Swanson’s account of the night:     

 I was brushing my hair when he came into the room. He gave me a look that made me turn away, but he didn’t say anything. Then he turned out the light and in the darkness pulled me to him. I gave a coquettish little command to stop that I thought would make him laugh. Still he said nothing. He turned me and pushed me backward until I fell on the bed. He fell beside me, and there was nothing romantic about the way he began to repeat that I was driving him crazy.

He was raking his hands over me and pulling at my nightie until I heard it rip. I pleaded with him to stop, to wait, to turn on the light. His beard was scraping my skin and his breath smelled. He kept repeating obscene things and making advances with his hand and tongue while he turned his body this way and that and awkwardly undid his buttons and squirmed out of his clothes.

Then he forced my body into position and began hurting me, hurting me terribly. I couldn’t stand it. I begged him to stop, to listen to me, and finally when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I screamed. He told me to be quiet, not to wake the whole hotel, and he said it in a voice of quiet, filthy conspiracy. The pain became so great that I thought I must be dying. I couldn’t move for the pain. When he finally rolled away, I could feel blood everywhere.

 

The shocking events of that night made Swanson immediately regret her hastily marriage but could not foreseeably get out of it. After the honeymoon the Berry’s moved into Beery’s parent’s house. They were apparently “icy and distant” and Swanson after only a fortnight after the wedding was seriously contemplating divorce. But nothing seemed to improve for the newlyweds, with Beery’s infidelities, drinking, debts and uncertain acting career compounding to make Swanson’s life unbearable. A month later Swanson found she was pregnant. Beery, still wanting to keep the marriage together for the sake of his career, told his wife everything would get better and appeared overjoyed at her news. A couple days later after suffering stomach pain, Beery gave Swanson a handful of tablets he claimed to have gotten from a pharmacy. The caused Swanson to be rushed to hospital and, near death and in excruciating pain, she was told she had lost her baby. When she recovered, she later found the pills were a method to induce a miscarriage and that Beery had knowingly aborted her child. 

A scene from Teddy at the Throttle (1917)

After this incident the pair separated. Swanson, trying to ignore her failed marriage through herself into film work appearing in several more Sennett shorts before signing with Paramount in 1919. She and Beery only appeared in one more film together Teddy at the Throttle (1917). The movie sadly seem to imitate life as Beery, in his typical villain role, had to tie Swanson up and place her on train tracks. According to Swanson, Beery deliberately used excessive force when making those scenes and even left deep marks on her arms.  The pair eventually divorced in 1919 to allow Swanson to marry her next husband, Herbert K. Somborn.

Most sources for the marriage between Swanson and Beery, have admittedly been either unreliable or probably biased. Swanson’s autobiography Swanson on Swanson plays a large part in constructing the past events. This information could be prejudiced but I can’t believe Swanson would fabricate rape and a forced abortion. Likewise, Parson’s account of their early relationship is also problematic. She was known to have special relationships, deals and partialities towards or against certain personalities and, in addition, the article was written over fifteen years after the events occurred. Perhaps – like most publicity driven tales in Hollywood – when attempting to understand the events one has to accept the fact of weighing up biased evidence against biased evidence.  As both Swanson and Beery have passed away nothing more can be known except the small bits of history, articles and an autobiography they left behind.   

Beery also from Teddy at the Throttle (1917)

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Even in Precode - Nobody’s Perfect

July 11, 2014, 8:44 pm

≫ Next: The Gentleman Gangster: Stone Wallace on George Raft – Part 1

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Hollywood, since the 1920’s, has been jokingly known as the community of fakers, liars and ‘Yes-man’. However once in a while a character stands out and breaks the mould as well as few a egos.


Gloria Swanson by Stanlaws

Penrhyn Stanlaws was a portrait painting genius in the early 20^th Century and, like rival Charles Dana Gibson, even had his own set of ‘Stanlaws Girls’. Born in Dundee, Scotland in 1877, his artworks graced the covers of countless popular magazines from Collier’s, Life, Saturday Evening Post, The American Magazine and Heart’s International. He became a faviourite of many of the silent Hollywood stars including Anna Q. Nilsson and Olive Thomas, who was the subject of Stanlaws’ famous nude portrait “Between Poses’. In 1920, Stanlaws moved from New York to Hollywood and used his artistic eye to direct films. He is credited as directing seven features including four Betty Compson pictures - At the End of the World (1921), The Little Minister (1921), The Law and the Woman (1922) and Over the Border (1922) - and two Bebe Daniels films - Singed Wings (1922) and Pink Gods (1922).

A year later and, strangely, around the same time Stanlaws first criticized the appearance of some of films most popular beauties, he retired from directing to live in an artist’s community in Woodstock. He returned to California two decades later but never again resumed his career in the film industry. He died in sad circumstances on May 20, 1957 from a fire that engulfed his Los Angeles home. Investigators reported found the fire had started from a cigarette that Stanlaws was smoking before absentmindedly falling asleep. However, Stanlaws legend encompasses more than his successes as an artist or director. During his short time in Hollywood, Stanlaws, famously spoke out twice about the real state of popular film star’s beauty. In 1923 and 1933, he made scandalous claims about the physical imperfections of many leading ladies. I highlight the word ladies as Stanlaws did not feel the need to comment on the appearance of the male stars. The Montreal Gazette called him a “bold” and a “brave” man for publicising his views.

Olive Thomas by Stanlaws

Read his controversial comments from 1923, published in the Syracuse Herald, January 7, 1923:

·         “Betty Blythe is muscle bound in her hips. She has horse nostrils. Betty Compson’s hips are too prominent and are muscle-bound.” 

·         “Viola Dana has a big nose that is heavy at the end; jawbones are too wide and chin too prominent.”

·         “Bebe Daniels figure is good, but she keeps her mouth open too much. Pauline Fredrick’s eyelids are too heavy.”

·         “Dorothy Gish sisters have imperfect noses, Lips too large, also. Lillian Gish as imperfect as Dorothy.”

·         “Phyllis Haver has a face like a diamond with too many facets.  It is over-modeled.”

·         “Lila Lee’s figure is stocky and face is too flat. Shirley Mason’s faults are deep-set eyes and horse nostrils.”

·         “Mary Miles Minter is too matronly because she carries herself stiffly. Nazimova’s eyes are too large for her face and her head is too big.”

·         “Pola Negri – her face is too square. Mary Pickford shares the common blemish of too large a head.”

·         “Marie Prevost’s neck is too short. Ruth Roland has a moon face and her lips are too large.”

·         “Gloria Swanson’s head is too heavy for her body.  Her nose is retrousse.”

·         “Constance Talmadge has an inadequate mouth and chin, Norma Talmadge has a bulbous nose.”

·         “Clair Windsor’s eyes are set too high in her head.”

And 1933, published in the Montreal Gazette, November 17 1933:

·         Mae West – “Her head, eyes and mouth were constructed for a simple nose, but nature presented her with a complicated one – interestingly modelled, but bringing the eyes too close together.”

Magazine cover by Stanlaws

·         Katherine Hepburn – “Her chin and the lower part of her face project too far. Anthropologists have a name for such a facial type; they call it prognathism. Artists call it ‘horsey’”.

·         Constance Bennett – “A real symphony in jazz – her nose too small for her face.”

·         Greta Garbo – “She has a sleepy, sophisticated look, attained by deep eye sockets and a peculiar slant of the upper lip. These are not aids to beauty, but schoolgirls find the effect more alluring than beauty.”

·         Jean Harlow – “She has a graceful and expressive figure – between that of the ‘90s and the boyish form. Her face is the same type as Katherine Hepburn’s, but more so, caused by her nose projecting at too sharp an angle.”

·         Lupe Velez – her, “figure is the ‘true maidenly’ one, he said, and her face is mobile so she ‘can look sophisticated or innocent at will.’”

·         Ann Harding – “Fine symmetrical features – but so nearly approaching the classic type that repose of is essential to beauty.”

·         Kay Francis - “Nicely-balanced features – head in fine proportion to body – oversized triceps of the arms.”

·         Marlene Dietrich – “Take Mary Pickford’s head, replace it with one slightly out of drawing, give her heavy eyelids and sunken eyes and you have Dietrich – a sophisticated Mary.”

·         Joan Crawford and Joan Blondell – “have Mae West’s unusually prominent features, but their ‘skull construction isn’t large enough to carry them.”

His comments are obviously judgemental, negative, sometimes unclear and just plain rude. He was evidently searching for a kind of superficial perfection that wasn’t possible. I initially also found the comments slightly bigoted and outrageous as he focused only on belittling the appearance of the female actors not their male counterparts. However, now I believe his opinion to be useful for film fans both now and then as he was highlighting (perhaps not in the best possible way) the inherent imperfection of human beings whether they be actors or accountants. Although, I prefer the words of Hollywood photographer, Clarence Sinclair Bull, who said, “really pretty faces don’t seem to last [in the movie mecca]…It’s the interesting faces that folks remember.”

The Gentleman Gangster: Stone Wallace on George Raft – Part 1

July 24, 2014, 12:25 am

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In 1999 when the AFI released their 100 years…100 stars list of the top 50 greatest screen legends, most mainstream leading ladies and men were accounted for. They included Bogart – the dramatic actor, Cagney – the gangster, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly – the musical stars, Charlies Chaplin, Buster Keaton and The Marx Brothers – the comedians and Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando and Sydney Poitier – the new age. But I think every avid classic film fan has at least one or two objections to the list. For me I like to imagine George Raft has place 51. He was as accomplished an actor as Robinson or Bogart. He could dance as well as Astaire and Kelly and he was more alluringly handsome than James Dean, Gary Cooper and William Holden combined. However, due to a few career blunders and bad advice, Raft doesn’t have the enduring appeal that his talent and charm should have demanded. Another person who shares my view is Stone Wallace, film historian and author of George Raft: The Man Who Would be Bogart. He graciously gave me an interview on everything George Raft – his films, career and all the juicy facts about his much publicized personal life. Because there is so much information I decided to break the interview into two parts. Below is part 1, enjoy:  

Emma: My all-time favourite film of Raft’s is Bolero as I think it shows his dramatic acting talents as well as dancing abilities. Do you have a favourite film of Rafts? Do you prefer him in a tough-guy gangster role or as a dancer?

Stone: I confess that I prefer George as a tough guy, and he excelled in such roles, especially visually. It was said that Raft patterned many of his on-camera hoodlums on gangsters he had known during his early New York days. But it's also true that some real-life gangsters modelled themselves on George Raft. "Bugsy" Siegel tried to emulate Raft's style of dress. "Crazy Joe" Gallo used to stand on the street corner flipping coins and talking out the side of his mouth.  Despite his talents as an actor, George Raft had influence.

Lombard and Raft in Bolero (1934)

I first discovered George Raft watching him play against Cagney in Each Dawn I Die during a summer spent in Chicago where I whetted my appetite for all things vintage underworld, which since early boyhood has always been my passion. Raft's "Hood" Stacey was an unforgettable screen character and I was immediately impressed by how Raft played (or effectively underplayed) the role and how much presence he had. He created the classic screen gangster: tough but ultimately courageous. Cagney himself admitted that Raft stole the picture from him. High praise indeed!

As for a favourite film: I enjoy all of his Warner Brothers output but I would have to give the nod to Invisible Stripes. Another great role for George: a sympathetic criminal. But the film also boasts a terrific supporting cast: Bogie, a young William Holden, and three favourite screen tough guys: Marc Lawrence, Paul Kelly and Joe Downing.

Emma: I read that Raft’s early life was spent with a number of ‘shady characters’ including some who would become key figures in the New York gangster underworld. What features of his upbringing do you think prevented him from entering a life of crime? Was it character or luck?

Stone: Raft said that the only two ways for a kid to survive Hell's Kitchen was to become a criminal or succeed at sports. And in George's case that pretty much held true since he never received much schooling.  I don't think he even finished grammar school. George, of course, was never truly a criminal. I'd say he remained on the outer fringes of the underworld. He did try sports: boxing and baseball, but was not very successful at either. Where he made his mark, of course, was as a dancer. And a dancer during those days in New York generally played at clubs that were associated with the underworld and so George rubbed shoulders with everyone from "Mad Dog" Coll to Dutch Schultz. His closest pal in the rackets, though, was a man whom George had basically grown up with who became one of New York's top mobsters: Owney Madden. George willingly did "chores" for Madden because of their close friendship - primarily helping to run booze during those years of Prohibition. And later it was Madden who suggested that George should try his luck in the movies. Even bankrolling Raft until George got his "break" in pictures.

George did once say that he did hold youthful ambitions to become a big shot in the underworld but that he really didn't have what it took and, more importantly, he didn't want to disappoint his mother, whom he adored. In fact, she once caught George with a gun on his person and asked him not to come around the apartment again. This hurt George so much that he really tried to distance himself from participation in the rackets and put more effort into a career as a dancer - a vocation his mother heartily approved of.

Raft with Siegel

Emma: Even after he became a Hollywood star, Raft was dogged by claims that he was involved in organised crime. He definitely seemed to have enduring friendships with several crime figures, do you think any of the suspicions were true?

Stone: It's a gray area when it comes to his participating in any underworld activities after he became a movie star. Again, there have been rumours and Frances Dee, his co-star in Souls at Sea,once said: "Everyone knew that he (Raft) was a gangster," though she never amplified her comment. But as for his friendship with crime figures: Certainly. Especially  his open and publicized friendship with "Bugsy" Siegel. But in fairness, many other stars became friendly with Siegel, who apparently could be as charming as they come and a fine and generous companion. Heck, Jean Harlow was godmother to Siegel's daughter Millicent. And a film figure as respected as Pat O'Brien could be found playing handball with Siegel. Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper - even studio head Jack L. Warner were seen in Siegel's company. Unfortunately, because George did have a past association with the underworld and also because of his screen reputation, his association with Siegel hurt him more than it did other Hollywood celebrities. I think audiences of the day wanted to believe George Raft really was a gangster and palling around with a known mobster like The Bug solidified that reputation. What really sealed the deal, in my opinion, was when Raft, against orders from studio executives, went to bat for Siegel during the latter's bookmaking trial. He testified on Siegel's behalf and at one point risked a contempt of court charge because he became so vehement in his defense of Siegel that he completely disregarded court protocol. And there's that famous photo of George and Siegel grinning at each other like Cheshire cats outside the courtroom that made front page headlines. What's unfortunate is that Raft did not need negative publicity at this point in his career. He was starting the downward spiral in '47.

Emma: Because of his background an underworld associations, did George Raft embrace or resent being cast as a movie tough guy?

Stone: I don't think he objected to being a tough guy, provided his characters were on the side of good, such as in They Drive by Night and Manpower, where he played "men of the people." Also later in his career where he played a succession of detectives and such. But I do feel that the gangster image might have hit a little too close to home. However, it did serve him well early in his career and certainly did make George Raft into a star. But once he reached that level of stardom where he could choose his roles (even at the risk of studio suspension - and by the way Raft holds the record at Paramount for the most time an actor was placed on suspension - 22 times in 7 years!) he clearly wanted to distance himself from playing hoods and racketeers, which is unfortunate because those decisions cost him roles in gems like Dead End and High Sierra.

Emma: He seemed to have a colourful young adulthood having stints as a dancer, chorus boy and an actor in vaudeville. How did Raft become interested in dancing? Is it true that he worked on some occasions with Rudolph Valentino?

Stone: Actually, Raft began his dancing career simply by hanging out at dance studios around New York. He possessed a natural ability and - like Cagney - had a knack for picking up dance routines quickly. He studied the moves of dancers of the day, perfected them to his own unique style, and was soon off and running. His mother was one of his earliest dance partners and they used to enter dance competitions together. George's specialty was always the Charleston and whenever he performed that number it never failed to bring down the house. Unlike Cagney, whose dance moves were stiff and somewhat eccentric (and I don't mean that in a bad way), George's dancing was fluid and sinuous, almost snake-like. But both men tremendously admired each other's dancing (and it should be noted that Fred Astaire  was also a huge fan of Raft's fancy footwork) and it was Cagney who personally recommended George for his dance contest rival in Taxi!

Yes, George and Valentino did work in New York tea rooms before Rudy made it big in the movies. Women (usually lonely, unattractive or elderly) would sip on cups of tea and study and then choose their dance companion - paying for the privilege, of course - and maybe even entice them into an after-hours rendezvous. Unfortunately, it was likely this experience that later was to tag George as a gigolo, a condemnation which he abhorred and vehemently denied. After Valentino died (and George remembered visiting with him shortly before his death and saw a very unhappy man), Raft was approached by theatrical producers to go on tour with some of Valentino's former dancing partners - including an act with one of Valentino's wives, Jean Acker, but Raft, to his credit, rejected all of these "ghoulish" propositions. Besides, he wanted to "make it" on his own merits, not capitalize off the fame of a deceased friend. But there was some logic in these offers as Raft possessed a striking resemblance to Rudy.

Cagney and Raft

 Get ready for part two including insight in Raft’s personal relationships and legacy!!!

The Gentleman Gangster: Stone Wallace on George Raft – Part 2

July 31, 2014, 10:12 pm

≫ Next: The New Dietrich: Sari Maritza and Lauren Bacall Tribute

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This is part two of an interview I completed with George Raft biographer, Stone Wallace. For part one, click here. For everyone else, enjoy:

Emma: How did Raft get into film acting? Did he have any training before beginning acting or was he simply a natural performer?     

Stone: George was friendly with Texas Guinan, a famous cabaret hostess of the time and partner with mobster Larry Fay in the El Fey Club.  (The pair were later immortalized, if somewhat fictionally, as Eddie Bartlett and Panama Smith in The Roaring Twenties, played respectively by James Cagney and Gladys George). George often danced at the club and when Texas was asked to go to Hollywood to appear in the movie Queen of the Night Clubs, George accompanied her - either as merely a companion or maybe her bodyguard. George appeared briefly in the movie. He initially was filmed doing a whirlwind dance number but the scene was cut for some reason and instead George can quickly be seen enthusiastically waving a baton while conducting a night club orchestra. George appeared in a few other minor film roles, such as Goldie and Side Streetand eventually decided to try and make acting his career. The clubs in New York where George had earlier enjoyed success were rapidly closing down due to the Depression and George was anxious to try another line of work - one preferably related to show business. It took him a while and apparently he endured some rough times trying to establish himself, but he got his first break when director Rowland Brown ran into Raft at a prize fight and remembered George from his impressive dancing in vaudeville and cast him as Spencer Tracy's second-in-command in the gangster drama Quick Millions. From there, George was off and running. His next "big" break came when Howard Hawks cast him as Paul Muni's henchman in Scarface.  His success in that film led to his being placed under contract to Paramount.

Interesting about Scarface. Jack LaRue told me that it was he who was originally cast in the Guino Rinaldo role but that after just a few days' filming director Hawks felt that LaRue possessed too much authority to be believable as Muni's henchman. LaRue accepted the dismissal gracefully and even (supposedly) suggested his pal George Raft for the role. I tend not to believe this account. LaRue was just beginning his own career in movies and it seems unlikely an actor hungry for his own success would introduce his own competition. In any event, if true, Raft reciprocated the favour when he turned down The Story of Temple Drake and LaRue was given the role. Unfortunately, the results for Jack LaRue were much less favourable for his future career.

Emma: Would you say the Paramount years were the most successful for George Raft?

Stone: I'm really not a huge fan of most of Raft's Paramount output. I think George fared much better at Warners and it's interesting to speculate how his career would have progressed had he signed with Warners after the success of Scarfacerather than going to Paramount. Paramount had a more European style whereas Warners of course was urban and gritty. But I will say that well into his Paramount contract George scored big with three features: The Glass Key, Souls at Seaand Spawn of the North (probably my second favourite Raft film). What is interesting is that Raft's last film for the studio, The Lady's from Kentucky, was relegated to the second feature on the double bill. Doesn't really say much for George's future with Paramount.

Raft and Robinson

Emma: On a personal note, Raft had a short lived relationship with his only wife, Grayce Mulrooney, although they never legally separated. How did the pair meet and why did you think they never divorced?

Stone: Grayce Mulrooney had been one of George's early ballroom partners, later to leave show business to work as a social worker, and while George dated many girls, Grayce held a particular attraction to George. While he wasn't exactly keen on the idea of getting married and settling down given that he was focusing on advancing his career, he eventually gave in to her (persistent) demands that they marry and they wed in 1923 when George embarked on a four-month tour with on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit. The union was rocky right from the start and as far as Raft was concerned, his marriage to Grayce pretty much ended shortly after their honeymoon. Ironically, legally, because a divorce was never obtained, George Raft had one of Hollywood's most lasting marriages: from 1923 until Grayce Mulrooney's death in 1970. Forty-seven years. Incidentally, there's a rumour that George actually had been married once before and that he had a son from that union. To my knowledge, it was something that - if true - George never discussed.

The reason Grayce gave for never divorcing George was because of her devout Catholicism. Raft believed her reasons were more selfish, that she felt it would be worth more financially to stay married to him than to merely accept a cut-and-dried divorce settlement. After all, she was receiving a hefty ten percent of his earnings and at his height George was averaging more than five grand a week.

Emma: Raft notoriously had several extra-marital affairs; including apparently with famous actresses, such as, Norma Shearer, Betty Grable and Marlene Dietrich. Were any of these relationships serious? Was he seriously considering marrying any of them?

Stone: Another rumour was that George might not have really wanted a divorce from Grayce. Staying legally wed provided a convenient way for him ever to have to tie himself down in a relationship; allowed him to maintain his freedom. Raft always denied such was his intention. He said that he desperately wanted to marry socialite Virginia Pine and, later, Betty Grable, and had literally pleaded with Grayce on more than one occasion to divorce him. But she stubbornly refused. After his romance with Grable dissolved, Raft never allowed himself to get involved in a serious relationship and he dated primarily starlets (such as Barbara Payton) and hookers. It's interesting to contemplate how Raft's life would have fared had he ever been allowed the experience of marital life. If George sincerely did want to marry either Virginia Pine or Betty Grable, I think it's sad that he was denied this happiness because of what I view as a greedy and maybe vindictive wife.

Raft's relationship with Norma Shearer was another matter. Their coupling was frowned upon by MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who said: "A nice Jewish girl like Norma should not be going around with a roughneck like that." Meaning Raft, of course. It is doubtful that their relationship ever would have led to marriage, however. They were merely steady dating companions; after all Norma hadn't been widowed that long from Irving Thalberg, whom she deeply loved - as did L.B.

 Marlene Dietrich and Carole Lombard were two gals Raft admits he was crazy about. While George and Carole occasionally dated, there could be no future for a lasting relationship with the shadow of Grayce Mulrooney always looming overhead. Carole also once made the comment that no girl could stand up to George Raft's sexual needs. He had quite a reputation in that area, which I will tactfully refrain from elaborating on. Raft also apparently had a fling with Dietrich but a long term romantic relationship never developed between the two, though each deeply admired the other, personally and professionally. With all the turmoil that went on between Raft and Edward G. Robinson during the filming of Manpower, Dietrich wrote in her autobiography that she retained only the warmest memories of George Raft as her co-star in the movie.

Raft and Betty Grable

Emma: Your book’s title clearly shows the connection between Raft’s and Humphrey Bogart’s careers. Raft is notorious for turning down the starring roles in what would become famous Bogart pictures, such as, High Sierra and Maltese Falcon. Do you think Raft could have executed these roles as well as Bogart? Also, do you see other similarities between the men, such as, acting styles?

Stone: I think Raft would have done very well as urban gangster and former street kid "Baby Face" Martin in Dead End. After all, that was Raft's milieu, unlike Bogie who was born into privilege (if not a particularly happy home life). I'm not as sure about High Sierra. Bogart had already played a grassroots bandit in The Petrified Forest, whereas, again, Raft was more closely associated with the suave, well-dressed "night club"-type of racketeer. It's kind of like trying to picture George Raft as a cowboy, which I don't think ever would have come off. As for The Maltese Falcon, the picture certainly would have been different with Raft essaying the role of Sam Spade . . . but arguably it could have worked because of John Huston's expert direction. If Raft behaved himself on the set I think Huston could have coaxed an effective performance out of him. Would it have been as good a film as the version we now have? Probably not. The movie has a terrific ensemble cast and the players work in a near-perfect synchronicity, like the finest tuned clockwork. I feel that Raft might have somehow upset that balance. I do know that Huston adamantly did not want to work with Raft, whom he did not particularly care for as an actor or as a person, once referring to him as a "definite Mafia type." Huston expected there to be trouble on the set based on Raft's reputation - and besides he had Bogart in mind for the part all along.

Of course the story about Raft turning down Casablancais false, even though in later years Raft himself perpetuated the story (like Bela Lugosi later claiming it was he who persuaded Universal to cast Boris Karloff as the monster in Frankenstein). The truth is that Raft actually campaigned for the role of Rick, and Jack Warner was okay to cast him, but Hal Wallis and Michael Curtiz wanted Bogart. Wallis, in particular, had grown dissatisfied with how George thought he could dictate solely what was right or wrong for him when it came to projects. Had Raft taken on The Maltese Falcon, then it is possible he might have been awarded Casablanca, but thanks to George's career blunders at the studio, Bogart had risen rapidly through the ranks and was no longer regarded as "George Raft's brother-in-law."

Emma: What do you feel was George's main strength as an actor?

Stone: I've always said that George Raft performed at his best when paired with a strong (usually male) co-star. The proof is in the pudding: Consider Quick Millions (Spencer Tracy), Scarface (Paul Muni), The Bowery (Wallace Beery), Souls at Sea (Gary Cooper), Spawn of the North  (Henry Fonda), Each Dawn I Die (Cagney), Invisible Stripes and They Drive By Night (Bogart), Manpower (Edward G. Robinson) - up until Rogue Cop (Robert Taylor). And of course talented directors like Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Lloyd Bacon,  Raoul Walsh, Billy Wilder. Since I know you are an admirer of Bolero,  I will also concede having a co-star like Carole Lombard definitely didn't hurt. But if you look at when Raft's career began to fade, you'll notice the (lack of) calibre of his co-star and directors not particular of the highest talent.

Emma: Raft probably does not have the legend status nor the enduring appeal today of Bogart. However, the stereotype of the film ‘gangster’ was created by him along with a handful of others. Why do you think Raft is not remembered today in a similar way to Bogart or Cagney?

Stone: Simply, bad career choices. A determined stubbornness not to be typecast as a gangster or hoodlum and, to a lesser extent, his desire not to die on-camera. It is obvious that Raft took his decision over accepting film roles seriously. He once said he wanted the public to like him (which I feel demonstrates his innate insecurity) and that was why he turned down the gangster roles in The Story of TempleDrake and Dead End. He found the role of "Trigger" in the former repulsive and sincerely worried that if he took on the part audiences would think he, George Raft, was like the character and that his future as an actor would be finished. Jack LaRue took on the role and it's true that his career never really took off afterward. So George's argument actually might have been valid. He rejected Dead End because he did not want the character of "Baby Face" Martin to encourage the kids in the film to partake of a life of crime, and of course that would have negated the whole point of the story. Later, of course, came the famous Warner Brothers rejections. What's really ironic and makes one question George Raft's thinking is why he would turn down the part of sympathetic gangster Roy Earle in High Sierra, a big-budget movie based on a bestselling novel by a recognized writer, and virtually beg to go on loan-out to United Artists to appear as a gangster (who dies at the end) in a much lesser - and silly - production: The House Across the Bay? A box of cigars to anyone who can figure out the reasoning behind that decision. I think what also really hurt George's career was his insistence after leaving the gates of Warner Brothers to play mainly good guys. The roles, in smaller budget movies at lesser studios, very soon became monotonous for audiences. In fact, when Billy Wilder approached Raft about playing the opportunistic insurance agent Walter Neff in Double Indemnity, Raft insisted on knowing when Neff was going to flash open his badge to reveal to Barbara Stanwyck that he was really an undercover cop. So much for George Raft in the part. In the 50s George Raft's "star" shone twice more - though briefly. And both times it was with him playing a gangster: Rogue Cop and Some Like it Hot. On the set of the latter Raft was quoted as saying: "Typecasting again. But what can you do about it? I just never seemed to get the breaks that Bogart and Cagney did."

The truth is, Raft was afforded virtually all of the breaks. He just never took advantage of them. John Huston said of Raft during the time George was under contract at Warners: "Everything at the studio was intended for George Raft." From The Sea Wolf to The Maltese Falcon, these were good parts that George missed out on. His beneficiaries in these roles became legends while Raft in the years to come became a nearly forgotten name.

Here's an enlightening story: A friend of mine appeared as an extra in the movie What Price Glory? and one day overheard James Cagney speaking with his co-star Dan Dailey. Cagney was saying that George Raft could have been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood if he'd only used better judgment. Raft would in later years place much of the blame on bad advice given him by his agent. But I don't quite buy it. Raft was a fiercely independent personality and was perfectly capable of making his own choices. Just too bad that many of them were bad.

Emma: Out of all the Hollywood figures in Hollywood, why did you choose Raft to be the focus of your biography?

Stone: Because I think George Raft is one of the most fascinating show business personalities, yet, career missteps aside, he has never really received his due. Today he's nowhere near as known as many of his movie contemporaries. He may not have been a great actor, but as I said before, he had a tremendous presence that even the most jaded critic would have to say was hard to turn attention away from. The guy was watchable. It is interesting how the program Biographydid stories on Bogie, Cagney, Eddie Robinson and even John Garfield, yet Raft, who led the most colourful life of all, was never featured, and I even wrote to A&E to request they do a program on Raft. I mean from his days as a tough kid surviving Hell's Kitchen, his lifelong association with the underworld, top Hollywood stardom, then his career nosedive due to his turning down roles in films that became enduring Hollywood classics. His experience in Cuba during the Castro Revolution and his later expulsion from England. And of course his Don Juan reputation with famous and beautiful women of the day - and that is an article in itself.

To quote Bogie as Sam Spade in the famous role that George Raft turned down: "The stuff dreams are made of."

I don’t think I can end this article better than that other than to say a big thankyou to Stone Wallace for answering my questions. Also for anyone interesting in the career and personal life of George Raft, check out Stone’s book: George Raft: The Man Who Would be Bogart.  

The New Dietrich: Sari Maritza and Lauren Bacall Tribute

August 13, 2014, 5:23 pm

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Touted by Paramount Pictures in 1932 at the “New Dietrich”, Sari Maritza was as beautiful, exotic and captivating as her acting counterpart but without the dedication and longevity. Maritza was a Paramount acquisition groomed and educated like no other with the company’s executives waiting months before committing her to a picture. However, this highly anticipated and talented actress only appeared in pictures for four years, retiring to engross herself in her many and sadly short-lived marriages. Like so many Hollywood hopefuls, despite talent, good-looks and the backing of a large production company, Maritza’s acting abilities were never fully realized.

 Born Dora Patricia Detering-Nathan, on March 17, 1910 in Tientsin, China, Maritza’s early life – according to early media reports – was something out of a fairytale. The daughter of a mining company owner and British Army Major, Walter Nathan, and an Austrian noblewoman, she reportedly lived in a medieval castle surrounded a moat. Similar to most wealthy foreign girls born in China, Maritza was educated at a number of elite boarding schools in England, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This upbringing gave her brains as well as deportment with the actress reportedly able to speak at least four languages. After graduating, newspapers commented, “she suddenly decided after loafing at European spas for several years at the expense of her wealthy parents, that she’d like to go onto the stage.” While in England, Maritza caught the attention of theatrical manager, Vivyan Gaye, who stated, “here was a gal with a future.”

Accordingly, Maritza and Gaye decided to change her name to suit her exotic, European appearance. The pair resolved on Sari Maritza (pronounced SHA-ree MAR-ee-tsa) a combination of two popular Viennese musical comedies Sari and Countess Maritza. However instead of beginning on the stage as Gaye instructed, Maritza chose to utilize her almost perfect English diction on the new medium of talking pictures. Her first screen credits were unexceptional playing secondary roles in three low budget British films, Bed and Breakfast (1930), Greek Street (1930) and No Lady (1931) with Lupino Lane.

Chaplin with Maritza (far right) and Vivyan Gaye (second from left)

Her breakout into the American popular conscious occurred the same year while filming UK/ Germany film Monte Carlo Madness (1932) in Berlin. Maritza met legendary actor and filmmaker, Charlie Chaplin, during his world tour promoting the film City Lights (1931). He apparently became infatuated with the actress and appeared at a number of prominent society events and parities together. The couple made headlines at the opening of the film at the London premiere when Chaplin walked in with Maritza on his arm and famously danced the tango during the night. The media went wild assuming she would become his leading lady in his next two pictures. Although, this never occurred the publicity spring-boarded Maritza into the eyes of Hollywood studio bosses and later that year signed a contract with Paramount studios.

Paramount spent months perfecting Maritza’s acting style and publicity machine before starring her in her first picture. The company originally planned for their star to appear in The Girl in the Headlines, which was to be directed by George Cukor but never eventuated. Her first film for Paramount became the Forgotten Commandments (1932) a sort of accompanying piece to Cecil B. DeMille’s silent epic The Ten Commandments (1923). The final cut even included mostly recycled or left-over footage from DeMille’s film. The movie had mixed reviews; however, Maritza was received well with The New York Times reviewer stating she did a “competent performance.”

Maritza completed only six more films before her early retirement. Most were second rate properties that Paramount’s more popular star, Marlene Dietrich, turned down. Although she had a short career, Maritza worked with several first-rate and legendary actors. She appeared opposite W.C. Fields in wacky, slapstick comedy International House (1932), Eric von Strohiem in World War I drama Crimson Romance (1934) and The Right to Romance alongside Ann Harding and Nils Aster. The low budget Crimson Romance would prove the last on screen role for Maritza who believed that she couldn’t act and was sick of the façade producers made her enact.

In 1934, she shocked Hollywood by eloping Phoenix, Arizona with MGM producer, Sam Katz. They divorced ten years later with Maritza claiming Katz called her “stupid” and “left her alone while he took evenings out.” Sometime later she remarried, George Clother, an economics student in Washington DC. Maritza stayed mostly out of the public eye until her death in July, 1987. During the resurrection of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the prevalence of film historians and preservers, rumours appeared claiming Maritza and, her friend and long term roommate, were secret lesbians. This was probably due to the friendship Maritza shared with actors Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, also thought to be in a homosexual relationship. The rumours claim the foursome would act as beards for each other at public events. Newspaper reports from 1934 – before Maritza’s retirement – even assert Maritza and Scott had a secret engagement and marriage when they were seen holidaying alone together. These reports are most likely false as Gaye was married to director, Ernest Lubitsch, from 1935 to 1944 as well as Maritza’s two known marriages.  

Maritza was never featured in newspapers nor appeared at Hollywood functions again. She died in July 1987 aged 77 at her home in the US Virgin Islands. She was another example in a long line of Hollywood starlets that never reached their screen or stardom potential. Although Maritza believed she had no acting talent, like many other actors of the studio era it was probably the pressure to live a glorified and false existence that ruined her chances at a long term career. Her beauty was otherworldly and voice, crisp and elegant; however, because of her relatively small body of work she will not be remembered today.          

Lauren Bacall Tribute

 

 

Before I finish for the day I have to acknowledge the recent death of actress, legend and overall great lady, Lauren Bacall. On film and in life she was a gem and someone I will always look up to as the pinnacle of charm, grace and talent. Every interview I have seen of her, she is engaging, funny and revealing. She will be sadly missed and I encourage everyone to check out her autobiography By Myself, which I found a wonderful read both for film lovers and novices and will always be close by me wherever I go. R.I.P Betty/ Lauren.  

 

 

 

Free Pre-code Screenings

October 5, 2014, 9:55 pm

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Running from 26 September – 2 November 2014, the Forbidden Hollywood: The Wild Days of Pre-Code Cinema festival is a celebration of the best films of the era. Making use of a rare selection of prints from museums and collections all over the world, it is not to be missed. Unfortunately, the collection is only screening at Brisbane at Australian Cinémathèque, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). The films will be screening during the months of October and November and best of all its free! All the film information and timings are below:

QAGOMA 50+ After Hours | Screening and Talk

Forbidden Hollywood: Jewel Robbery 1932
5.30pm Thursday 30 October | Cinema A, GOMA

Following a screening of the high-spirited Jewel Robbery 1932 (68 mins), join Michael Brooks from Brisbane’s Cine Retro Film Society, in conversation with ‘Forbidden Hollywood: The Wild Days of pre-Code Cinema’ curator Amanda Slack-Smith, Assistant Curator, Australian Cinémathèque, QAGOMA for insights into this fascinating period of Hollywood cinema. Free, bookings required. For more information on how to book for this program, please visit QAGOMA 50+.

SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER 2014

26.09.14 l 6.00pm l Alfred E Green Baby Face 1933
26.09.14 l 7.40pm l Ernst Lubitsch Trouble in Paradise 1932
27.09.14 l 1.00pm l Jack Conway Red-Headed Woman 1932
27.09.14 l 3.00pm l Clarence Brown Possessed 1931
28.09.14 l 1.30pm l John Francis Dillon Call Her Savage 1932
28.09.14 l 3.30pm l Victor Fleming Red Dust 1932

OCTOBER 2014

1.10.14 l 6.00pm l Clarence Brown – Possessed 1931
03.10.14 l 6.00pm l Josef von Sternberg – Shanghai Express 1932
03.10.14 l 7.45pm l Josef von Sternberg – Blonde Venus 1932
04.10.14 l 1.00pm l Ernst Lubitsch – Trouble in Paradise 1932
04.10.14 l 3.00pm l Ernst Lubitsch – Design for Living 1933
05.10.14 l 1.00pm l Frank Capra – The Bitter Tea of General Yen 1933
05.10.14 l 3.00pm l Alfred E Green – Baby Face 1933
08.10.14 l 6.00pm l Ernst Lubitsch – Design for Living 1933
10.10.14 l 6.00pm l Mervyn LeRoy – Little Caesar 1931
10.10.14 l 7.30pm l Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson – Scarface1932
11.10.14 l 1.00pm l Jack Conway – Red-Headed Woman 1932
11.10.14 l 2.30pm l Victor Fleming – Red Dust 1932

12.10.14 l 1.00pm l Josef von Sternberg – Blonde Venus 1932
12.10.14 l 3.00pm l Josef von Sternberg – Shanghai Express 1932
15.10.14 l 6.00pm l Frank Capra – The Bitter Tea of General Yen 1933
17.10.14 l 6.00pm l Michael Curtiz – Female 1933
17.10.14 l 7.15pm l William Dieterle – Jewel Robbery 1932
18.10.14 l 1.00pm l Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson – Scarface 1932
18.10.14 l 3.00pm l Mervyn LeRoy – Little Caesar 1931
19.10.14 l 1.00pm l Lowell Sherman – She Done Him Wrong 1933
19.10.14 l 2.30pm l Wesley Ruggles – I'm No Angel 1933
22.10.14 l 6.00pm l Wesley Ruggles – I'm No Angel 1933
24.10.14 l 6.00pm l William A Wellman – The Public Enemy 1931
24.10.14 l 7.30pm l Mervyn LeRoy – Gold Diggers of 1933 1933
25.10.14 l 1.00pm l Lloyd Bacon – 42nd Street 1933
25.10.14 l 3.00pm l Mervyn LeRoy – Gold Diggers of 1933 1933
26.10.14 l 1.00pm l William Dieterle – Jewel Robbery 1932
26.10.14 l 2.30pm l Michael Curtiz – Female 1933
29.10.14 l 6.00pm l Lowell Sherman – She Done Him Wrong 1933

NOVEMBER 2014

01.11.14 l 1.00pm l I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932
01.11.14 l 3.00pm l Charles Brabin – The Beast of the City 1932
02.11.14 l 1.00pm l Dorothy Arzner – Christopher Strong 1933

Little Caesar 1931

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 79 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: MERVYN LEROY / PRODUCERS: HAL WALLIS, DARRYL F ZANUCK / SCRIPT: FRANCIS FARAGOH, ROBERT N LEE / BASED ON THE W R BURNETT NOVEL ‘LITTLE CAESAR’ 1929 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: TONY GAUDIO / EDITOR: RAY CURTISS / CAST: EDWARD G ROBINSON, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR, GLENDA FARRALL, WILLIAM COLLIER JR / MUSIC: ERNO RAPEE / PRODUCTION COMPANY: FIRST NATIONAL PICTURES (WARNER BROS PICTURES) / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

"Little Caesar was the inspiration of Warner Brothers production chief Darryl F Zanuck, who in 1931 decided to exploit current headlines sensationalizing gangster activities. On seeing the financial success of Little Caesar, the studio continued to capitalize on the style. Little Caesar was a product of the studio factory, but because it was made before the gangster formula had rigidified, its terse and economic style has a raw power which isn't lost on audiences today. Robinson's Caesar Enrico ('Rico') Bandello set the standard by which all later gangsters rose and fell." Kathy Geritz, Pacific Film Archive.

 

 

The Public Enemy 1931 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 83 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: WILLIAM A WELLMAN / PRODUCER: DARRYL F ZANUCK / SCRIPT: KUBEC GLASMON, JOHN BRIGHT, HARVEY THEW / CINEMATOGRAPHY: DEV JENNINGS / EDITOR: EDWARD MCDERMOTT / CAST: JAMES CAGNEY, JEAN HARLOW, EDDIE WOODS, MAE CLARK / MUSIC: DAVID MENDOZA / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINEMENT

'In the film that made Cagney a star, William Wellman's genre classic chronicles 'Public Enemy' Tom Powers's rise from slum kid to adolescent hood and finally to big-time bootlegger. The prologue deplored society's glorification of the gangster, but Powers's cocky arrogance and callous violence fascinated audiences. His ruthless pursuit of eminence, unrestrained by law and order, was after all another version (albeit corrupt) of the American success story. Socially irredeemable, Powers earned his title, just as viciously shooting a man as a horse, brutally smashing a grapefruit in a woman's face, strong-arming beer hall owners, and even disappointing his mother. Public Enemy was unusual among gangster films in its detailing of immigrant family life and urban environment, and its depiction of a life of crime as a reaction to Depression society with few opportunities for (lawful) success.' Kathy Geritz, Pacific Film Archive

Possessed 1931 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 76 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN / DIRECTOR: CLARENCE BROWN / PRODUCERS: IRVING THALBERG, CLARENCE BROWN, HARRY RAPF / SCRIPT: EDGAR SELWYN, LENORE J COFFEE / CINEMATOGRAPHY: OLIVER T MARSH / EDITOR: WILLIAM LEVANWAY / CAST: JOAN CRAWFORD, CLARK GABLE, WALLACE FORD, FRANK CONROY / MUSIC: DOUGLAS SHEARER / PRODUCTION COMPANY: METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER / PRINT SOURCE: FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE / RIGHTS: HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS

‘Crawford portrays a small-town factory girl who hops a train for New York, leaving her boyfriend and illusions behind at the station; both will find and haunt her before the story is played out. Possessedis a great example of how the studio system paid off artistically: it was not the combined names, but the combined talents of the stars, Clark Gable and Crawford, and the director, Clarence Brown, that raised the film from its melodramatic roots to achieve a lasting integrity and elegance.’ Pacific Film Archive

Shanghai Express 1932 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 82 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: JOSEF VON STERNBERG / PRODUCER: ADOLPH ZUKOR / SCRIPT: JULES FURTHMAN, HARRY HERVEY / CINEMATOGRAPHY: LEE GARMES, JAMES WONG HOWE / EDITOR: FRANK SULLIVAN / CAST: MARLENE DIETRICH, CLIVE BROOK, ANNA MAY WONG, WARNER OLAND / MUSIC: W FRANKE HARLING / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

'The highly atmospheric sets, coupled with photographer Lee Garmes’ famed soft-focus shots, give Shanghai Express a dream-like quality that is highly appropriate for a film about China that was filmed largely in the San Fernando Valley. Sternberg himself said, “I thought the canvas of China as evoked by my imagination quite effective. The actual Shanghai Express, when I took it out of Peking, was thoroughly unlike the train I invented.” On this train, Dietrich tells Clive Brook, “It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lilly,” throwing his five year torch for her into an ambivalence that doesn’t stop rocking until the train stops rolling. Sternberg’s most colorful and langorous film, Shanghai Express is a kind of Grand Hotel and Stagecoach combined, in which the hierarchy of characters (including Anna May Wong at her sultriest) develops against the bombardment from without by revolutionary troops. But being single-mindlessly Sternberg, it is above all a paean to unconditional love, the importance of which is only underscored by its improbability.' Pacific Film Archive 

 

The Beast of the City 1932 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 87 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: CHARLES BRABIN / PRODUCER: HUNT STROMBERG / SCRIPT: JOHN L MAHIN / BASED ON THE W R BURNETT STORY ‘BEAST OF THE CITY’ 1932 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: NORBERT BRODINE / EDITOR: ANNE BAUCHENS / CAST: WALTER HUSTON, JEAN HARLOW, WALLACE FORD, JEAN HERSHOLT / MUSIC: ROBERT SHIRLEY / PRODUCTION COMPANY: METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

'Based on a story by W. R. Burnett, one of the most prolific writers of gangster novels and scenarios, The Beast of the City begins with a spiel by President Hoover and ends with a police mow-down of gangland racketeers. In between, a tough, tense story is given added impetus by an interesting play of character types and an unusually detailed depiction of police methods. Walter Huston portrays an honest cop who angers some important people in his attempts to put a suave, powerful racketeer (Jean Hersholt) in the clink. Further obstructions encountered in the line of duty come from his own crooked brother (Wallace Ford) and his brother’s girlfriend (Jean Harlow), who has intimate connections in high places. In The Great Gangster Films, authors Parish and Pitts note, “The Beast of the Citynever attained the public popularity of Metro’s earlier The Secret Sixor Dance, Fools, Dance (both 1931), for it was too uncompromising in its study of gangland versus law enforcer practices, without the usual overdose of romantic interest.”' Pacific Film Archive

 

Scarface 1932 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 90 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTORS: HOWARD HAWKS, RICHARD ROSSON / PRODUCER: HOWARD HUGHES / SCRIPT: BEN HECHT, SETON I MILLER, JOHN L MAHIN, W R BURNETT / BASED ON THE ARMITAGE TRAIL NOVEL ‘SCARFACE’ 1930 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: LEE GARMES, L W O’CONNELL / EDITOR: EDWARD CURTISS / CAST: PAUL MUNI, ANN DVORAK, KAREN MORLEY, GEORGE RAFT / MUSIC: ADOLPH TANDLER, GUS ARNHEIM / PRODUCTION COMPANY: THE CADDO COMPANY  / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

“Loosely based on the career of Al Capone, Scarfacewas released as ‘the gangster film to end all gangster films,’ but in fact triggered off a whole series of imitations. It is Hawks’ best prewar film.... Its violent visual style, its cutting, and its cynicism and sense of character are as arresting today as they were then. Screenwriter Ben Hecht and Hawks create a world for Scarface and his mob that is not unlike the court of the Borgias in Renaissance Italy with similar intrigues, double crosses, and gratuitous murders. Scarface himself is more arrogant and stupid than his counterpart in Von Sternberg’s Underworld and gets to the top only through ambition and the fact that he has what was then a new absolute weapon, the machine-gun. His lieutenant, Little Boy, is characterized by his habit of perpetually flipping a coin, and other mobsters are identified by their own special peculiarities of behavior - a device often imitated in (later) gangster films”. Georges Sadoul, Pacific Film Archive

Red-Headed Woman 1932 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 79 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH, FRENCH / DIRECTOR: JACK CONWAY / PRODUCER: PAUL BERN / SCRIPT: ANITA LOOS / BASED ON THE BOOK BY KATHARINE BRUSH 'RED-HEADED WOMAN' 1931 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: HAROLD ROSSON / EDITOR: BLANCHE SEWELL / CAST: JEAN HARLOW, CHESTER MORRIS / PRODUCTION COMPANY: METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS

 

‘The first of Jean Harlow's starring roles had her bedding her way from poor girl to rich wife and then even richer liaisons. Red-Headed Woman features Harlow at her most hilariously wanton. Unfettered by scruples or brassiere, this most avid of gold diggers launches a relentless campaign to wrap her charms around her married employer. Red Headed Womanwas a target of censorship even in this relatively forgiving era. Anita Loos's script is blithely cynical about the exchange of sex for privilege, and blunt about the sometimes brutal power of lust (when her lover slaps her, Lil says, "do it again, I like it"—so he does). The film's audacity is still jaw-dropping, from the opening dialogue—"Can you see through this?""I'm afraid, you can, dear.""I'll wear it!"—through to the ending, in which crime is not only unpunished, but positively celebrated.’ Pacific Film Archive

 

Jewel Robbery 1932 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 68 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: WILLIAM DIETERLE / PRODUCER: HAL WALLIS / SCRIPT: ERWIN GELSEY / BASED ON BERTRAM BLOCH’S ENGLISH ADAPTATION OF THE LADISLAUS FODOR PLAY ‘THE JEWEL ROBBERY’ 1931 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: ROBBERT KURRLE / EDITOR: RALPH DAWSON / CAST: WILLIAM POWELL, KAY FRANCIS, HELEN VINSON / MUSIC: LEO FORBSTEIN / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

'As the dapper criminal known simply as 'The Robber,' William Powell requires no machine guns to hold up a plush Vienna jewelry shop. Plying his victims with marijuana cigarettes and the police with blonde female witnesses, he gingerly relieves the shop of its diamonds; it’s as easy as slipping a bracelet off a woman’s wrist while kissing her hand. Kay Francis stars with Powell as Baroness Teri, who comes to realize that the love of a jewel thief is even more exciting than the jewels themselves. A sophisticated, Lubitsch-like caper, Jewel Robbery was called in the original New York Times review, “nervous, brittle comedy.... The situation is as capricious, the dialogue as sprightly and the settings as sinfully luxurious as they ought to be.”' Pacific Film Archive

Blonde Venus 1932 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 93 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/EDITOR: JOSEF VON STERNBERG / SCRIPT: JULES FURTHMAN, S K LAUREN / CINEMATOGRAPHY: BERT GLENNON / CAST: MARLENE DIETRICH, HERBERT MARSHALL, CARY GRANT, RITA LA ROY / MUSIC: W FRANKE HARLING, JOHN LEIPOLD, PAUL MARQUARDT, OSCAR POTOKER / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Marlene Dietrich portrays ex-cabaret singer Helen Faraday, who is forced to hang up her apron and return to the stage when her husband Ned (Herbert Marshall) becomes sick. Billed as ‘The Blonde Venus’ for her exotic dance routine, Helen strips out of a gorilla suit to don a jeweled, blonde afro wig. Millionaire politician Nick Townsend (Cary Grant) is intoxicated by Helen and offers her money for her husband’s medical treatment in exchange for an affair. Helen agrees, partly to save her husband and partly succumbing to the animal magnetism of the handsome millionaire. When Ned finds out, Helen is forced to flee into the wilds of the Deep South with their son Johnny (Dickie Moore) away from her embittered husband who wants to keep them apart.

 

Trouble in Paradise 1932 G

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 83 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR/EDITOR/PRODUCER: ERNST LUBITSCH / SCRIPT: SAMSON RAPHAELSON, GROVER JONES / BASED ON THE LASZLO ALADAR PLAY ‘THE HONEST FINDER’ 1931 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: VICTOR MILNER / CAST: MIRIAM HOPKINS, KAY FRANCIS, HERBERT MARSHALL / MUSIC: W FRANKE HARLING, LEO ROBIN / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

‘In this exquisite gem of a comedy, Gaston (Herbert Marshall) and Lilly (Miriam Hopkins) are outlaw lovers—jewel thieves masquerading as European sophisticates, and relishing the charade. The film is a masterpiece of Lubitsch style, in its love triangle (enter Kay Francis) played out in a confounding architecture of space; its verbal wit, taking full advantage of polyglot Europe; and its tossed-off politics (no one fails to mention "times like these"). But Trouble in Paradise also exemplifies a quality in films that would soon be lost with the Code, what James Harvey (in Romantic Comedy) calls "that community of cleverness that exists not only between the leading characters in the film but between the film and its audience....Gaston and Lilly not only rob[bing] other people but each other as well—simultaneously copping feels and property." Judy Bloch, Pacific Film Archive

 

Red Dust 1932 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 83 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: VICTOR FLEMING / PRODUCER: HUNT STROMBERG, IRVING THALBERG / SCRIPT: JOHN MAHIN / BASED ON THE WILSON COLLISON PLAY ‘RED DUST’ 1928 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: HAROLD ROSSON, ARTHUR EDESON / EDITOR: BLANCHE SEWELL / CAST: JEAN HARLOW, CLARK GABLE, GENE RAYMOND, MARY ASTOR / MUSIC: DOUGLAS SHEARER / PRODUCTION COMPANY: METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT

“Don't mind me, boys. I'm just restless...Guess I'm not used to sleeping nights anyway”…hot-blooded, Vantine (Jean Harlow) finds herself stranded on a rubber plantation with overseer Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Having dodged solicitation charges in Saigon, she settles into a casual affair with Carson as both feign a jaded disinterest in love. When an ill surveyor arrives with his well-bred wife, Carson’s eye begins to wander with unwanted consequences. Harlow sizzles in this racy Pre-Code film as the tough platinum blonde who nails her acerbic one liners with enviable comic timing.

 

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 93 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: MERVYN LEROY / PRODUCER: HAL WALLIS / SCRIPT: HOWARD J GREEN, BROWN HOLMES / BASED ON THE ROBERT E BURNS AUTOBIOGRAPHY ‘I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A GEORGIA CHAIN GANG’ 1932 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: SOL POLITO / EDITOR: WILLIAM HOLMES / CAST: PAUL MUNI, GLENDA FARRELL, HELEN VINSON, PRESTON FOSTER / MUSIC: BERNHARD KAUN / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

'The Depression forms the backdrop for a harrowing tale of a man's wrongful imprisonment, escape, and fated return. Few Hollywood feature films of its era succeeded as this one did in portraying the mechanisms of the real world as overpoweringly surreal. Based on a true-life exposé, the film had measurable results in reforms made in Southern prison conditions. And the depiction of a Georgia chain gang, with men in striped uniforms chained together, their backs also striped with whip marks, has lost none of its power with time. In this print, the rich chiaroscuro effects achieved by LeRoy and his cinematographer have been meticulously preserved. Paul Muni's haunted, sculptured face functions as a visual element in itself.' Pacific Film Archive

Call Her Savage 1932 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 90 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: JOHN FRANCIS DILLON / PRODUCER: SAM E RORK / SCRIPT: EDWIN BURKE / BASED ON THE TIFFANY THAYER NOVEL ‘CALL HER SAVAGE’ 1931 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: LEE GARMES / EDITOR: HAROLD D SCHUSTER / CAST: CLARA BOW, GILBERT ROLAND, THELMA TODD, MONROE OWSLEY / MUSIC: LOUIS DE FRANCESCO / PRODUCTION COMPANY: FOX FILM CORPORATION / PRINT SOURCE: MUSEUM OF MODERN ART / RIGHTS: HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS

Preserved by The Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation and Turner Classic Movies.

‘Former "It" Girl Clara Bow blazed her way into the 1930’s with this scorching cautionary tale about a Texas debutante gone bad. Adultery and miscegenation, strict taboos of the Hays Code, are mere details in Nasa "Dynamite" Springer's whirlwind life of spirited rebellion and debauchery. One of the most beloved films of pre-Code aficionados, Call Her Savage features a fascinating Hollywood recreation of a Greenwich Village cabaret, complete with a gay bar and a slumming expedition. A subversive and wickedly entertaining film.’ Harvard Film Archive

 

The Bitter Tea of General Yen 1933 G

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 88 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: FRANK R CAPRA / PRODUCER: WALTER WANGER / SCRIPT: EDWARD PARAMORE / BASED ON THE GRACE ZARING STONE NOVEL ‘THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN’ 1930 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: JOSEPH WALKER / EDITOR: EDWARD CURTISS / CAST: BARBARA STANWYCK, NILS ASTHER, TOSHIA MORI, WALTER CONNOLLY / MUSIC: W FRANKE HARLING / PRODUCTION COMPANY: COLUMBIA PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE: PARK CIRCUS / SCREENING FORMAT: DCP

 

'Subtle eroticism and splendid exoticism: an atypical Capra classic, set in China in the midst of civil war. Barbara Stanwyck plays a prim New England missionary who falls in the thrall of a ruthless but noble Chinese bandit (Swedish actor Nils Asther in a painstaking makeup job), who kidnaps her and keeps her in his summer palace. Controversial in its day for its depiction of interracial romance, Bitter Tea remained one of Capra’s 'pet' films—what he called “Art with a capital A.” And it is indeed reminiscent of the films of Josef von Sternberg, with its exalted visuals and glowing lighting by Joseph Walker creating a ninety-minute 'dissolve' between dream and  reality. It is the dream of a woman trying to see herself through General Yen’s idealistic vision of women as “beautiful fruit trees,” the reality being far more sexual than that. Stanwyck embodies the troubling contradiction by distancing herself from it in a cool performance.' Judy Bloch, Pacific Film Archive

She Done Him Wrong 1933 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 66 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: LOWELL SHERMAN / PRODUCER: WILLIAM LEBARON / SCRIPT: MAE WEST, HARVEY THEW, JOHN BRIGHT / BASED ON THE MAE WEST PLAY ‘DIAMOND LIL’ 1928 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: CHARLES LANG / EDITOR: ALEXANDER HALL / CAST: MAE WEST, CARY GRANT, OWEN MOORE, GILBERT ROLAND / MUSIC: HARRY LINDGREN WITH SONGS COMPOSED BY HARRY DACRE, CHARLES HARRIS, FRANK PANELLA / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

'Mae West purrs to Cary Grant one of the most often quoted (and misquoted) lines in movie history: "Why don't you go up some time and see me. I'm home every evening." Practically every piece of dialogue in this film from Prohibition America is a sexual bomb. Luckily, the Mae West vehicle slipped through the door before the Production Code became firmly entrenched in Hollywood; after its implementation, the unflappable lady had her wings pinned. She Done Him Wrong is a true Mae West showpiece. The pretty men who vie for her attention are mere ornamentation-no more than a diamond brooch. Even the usually irresistible Cary Grant is accessorized: he had not developed his thick Euro-suave persona, and he leaves the spotlight to his more flamboyant co-star.' Nguyen Khoa, Pacific Film Archive

 

42nd Street 1933 PG

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 89 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: LLOYD BACON / PRODUCERS: DARRYL F ZUNACK, HAL WALLIS / SCRIPT: RIAN JAMES, JAMES SEYMOUR / BASED ON THE BRADFORD ROPES NOVEL ‘42ND STREET’ 1932 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: SOL POLITO / EDITORS: FRANK WARE, THOMAS PRATT / CAST: WARNER BAXTER, DICK POWELL, RUBY KEELER, BEBE DANIELS, GINGER ROGERS, UNA MERKEL, NED SPARKS, GUY KIBBEE / MUSIC: LEO FORBSTEIN WITH SONGS COMPOSED BY AL DUBIN, HARRY WARREN / CHOREOGRAPHY: BUSBY BERKELEY / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT

'The first of the Warner Brothers musicals cine-choreographed by Busby Berkeley, 42nd Street is also the archetypical 'backstage' musical, Ruby Keeler making her film debut as the classic unknown chorus girl who gets her first break when the show's star (Bebe Daniels) gets hers, in the ankle. The lucky hoofer generally has a boyfriend or rooming house neighbor who is an undiscovered song writer; here it is Dick Powell. The cast includes Una Merkel as a wisecracking chorine ("My, you have the busiest hands!"), and Ned Sparks as a cigar-chomping 'theatrical expert,' as well as Ginger Rogers. But the best part about 42nd Street is its show-within-a-show, with numbers like 'Shuffle Off to Buffalo,' staged on a train bound for Niagara Falls, 'You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me,' and 'Young and Healthy,' sung by Powell surrounded by a fur-clad chorus.' Pacific Film Archive

 

Christopher Strong 1933 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 78 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: DOROTHY ARZNER / PRODUCER: DAVID O SELZNICK / SCRIPT: ZOE AKINS / BASED ON THE GILBERT FRANKAU NOVEL ‘CHRISTOPHER STRONG: A ROMANCE’ 1932 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: BERT GLENNON / EDITOR: ARTHUR ROBERTS / CAST: KATHERINE HEPBURN, COLIN CLIVE, BILLIE BURKE, HELEN CHANDLER / MUSIC: MAX STEINER / PRODUCTION COMPANY: RKO RADIO PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

 

‘Katharine Hepburn's first starring role, as world-champion aviatrix Cynthia Darrington (a character modeled in part on Amelia Earhart), was directed by Dorothy Arzner, then the only woman film director in Hollywood. The film's feminist statement goes beyond the question of the fulfilled professional woman to that of female heroics-the desire for thrills. As critic Gerard Peary wrote in 1933, "Hepburn demonstrates with the certitude of an Isadora Duncan that a woman's true happiness comes through intense, front-seat participation in an exciting profession...Conversely, the same happiness can be squandered away, the talented woman's life wasted, if she should misdirect this energy toward some egocentric man, such as Christopher Strong's titular hero, actually non-hero [played by Colin Clive]." Pauline Kael, looking back on the film, wrote, "[Strong] was drawn to her because, unlike his conventionally feminine wife (Billie Burke), she had audacity and independence...But as soon as they went to bed together, he insisted, late on the very first night, that she not fly in the match she was entered in...I don't know of any other scene [in movies of the thirties] that was so immediately recognizable to women of a certain kind as their truth...It is the intelligent woman's primal post-coital scene, and it's on film." Cynthia Darrington's solution to the problem is found in an aerial climax of startling ambiguity, one which may reflect the 'problem' represented by a proto-feminist triad-Arzner, writer Zoe Akins and Katharine Hepburn-coming in for a landing in Hollywood.’ Pacific Film Archive

Gold Diggers of 1933 1933 G

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 96 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: MERVYN LEROY / PRODUCER: ROBERT LORD / SCRIPT: ERWIN GELSEY, JAMES SEYMOUR / BASED ON THE AVERY HOPWOOD PLAY ‘THE GOLD DIGGERS’ 1919 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: SOL POLITO / EDITOR: GEORGE AMY / CAST: JOAN BLONDELL, RUBY KEELER, DICK POWELL, ALINE MACMAHON / MUSIC: LEO FORBSTEIN WITH SONGS COMPOSED BY AL DUBIN, HARRY WARREN / CHOREOGRAPHY: BUSBY BERKELEY / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT

 

‘Busby Berkeley was a dance designer, turning people into visual elements and the camera into an omniscient eye reveling in angles impossible for the mere mortal to obtain. Despite his rather benign reputation as an entertainer, Berkeley's imagination was truly bizarre, even a tad sinister; provocative in a mischievous way if you were paying attention, and there's no reason to think people in 1933 were not. Ginger Rogers sings 'We're In the Money' in pig Latin, backed by chorines wearing coins over their private parts; in 'Pettin in the Park,' Berkeley cuts to such strange details as a caged chimpanzee on a cookie box, a voyeuristic midget, and women's metallic bathing suits which men must pry open with can openers. Well, it's the Depression, dearie, and it's a jungle out there, as the working-girls plot of Gold Diggers of 1933 cynically demonstrates. The haunting 'Forgotten Man' number is at once a non sequitur and perfectly apt.’ Judy Bloch, Pacific Film Archive

Baby Face 1933 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 76 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: ALFRED E GREEN / PRODUCERS: WILLIAM LEBARON, RAYMOND GRIFFITH / SCRIPT: GENE MARKEY, KATHRYN SCOLA / BASED ON A STORY BY DARRYL F ZANUCK (AS MARK CANEFIELD) / CINEMATOGRAPHY: JAMES VAN TREES / EDITOR: HOWARD BRETHERTON / CAST: BARBARA STANWYCK, GEORGE BRENT, DONALD COOK, MARGARET LINDSAY / MUSIC: LEO FORBSTEIN / PRODUCTION COMPANY: WARNER BROS PICTURES / PRINT SOURCE: PRESERVED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

 

'Notorious for being one of the films which hastened the stricter enforcement of the Production Code in 1934, Baby Facewas also one of the first to be pulled from theatres when those restrictions finally went into full effect. The fast-paced, raw story of a woman who uses sex to increase her wealth and power still has the ability to shock. Barbara Stanwyck is Lily Powers, a bootlegger’s daughter. Her father pushes her to offer sexual favours with the beer she serves to the factory workers who frequent his speakeasy. When he dies in a still explosion, she watches with numb fascination, neither happy nor sad to finally be rid of him. Taking the advice of the local cobbler, the only man in town who values her mind over her body, she hops a train to New York with her maid, in search of a better life. There she picks a high-rise she likes and seduces her way from the office boy in the personnel department all the way up to the president in his penthouse suite.' Kendahl Cruver, Senses of Cinema

I’m No Angel 1933 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 87 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR: WESLEY RUGGLES / PRODUCER: WILLIAM LEBARON / SCRIPT: MAE WEST / BASED ON A STORY BY MAE WEST / CINEMATOGRAPHY: LEO TOVER / EDITOR: OTHO LOVERING / CAST: MAE WEST, CARY GRANT, GREGORY RATOFF, EDWARD ARNOLD, RALF HAROLDE / MUSIC: HERMAN HAND, HOWARD JACKSON, RUDOLPH G KOPP, JOHN LEIPOLD, HEINZ ROEMHELD / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

‘For Tira the Lion Tamer in the film famous for "Beulah, peel me a grape," Mae West wrote many an indelicate line, the entendres doubled by her inimitable delivery. Made just before the crackdown, it's a kind of farewell to screen sex, a demonstration reel not only for censors but for producers, as well: in Tira's various audiences—from slavering sideshow suckers to society dames who find her fascinating, to judge and jury in one of the great courtroom routs—they could see just what they stood to lose. One of West's funniest films, it's also her boldest, as Tira, cheered on by her biggest fans (her maids), grows from tawdry temptress into her mantle of "Feminine beauty, triumphant and unafraid." The prize is real passion; it's guaranteed you'll be thinking about the same thing Tira and her society hottie Cary Grant are at the film's close.’ Judy Bloch, Pacific Film Archive

Female 1933 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 60 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTORS: MICHAEL CURTIZ, WILLIAM A WELLMAN / PRODUCER: ROBERT PRESNELL SR / SCRIPT: GENE MARKEY, KATHRYN SCOLA / ADAPTED FROM THE DONALD HENDERSON CLARK NOVEL ‘FEMALE’ 1932 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: SID HICKOX / EDITOR: JACK KILLIFER / CAST: RUTH CHATTERTON, GEORGE BRENT, LOIS WILSON, JOHNNY MACK BROWN / MUSIC: LEO F FORBSTEIN / PRODUCTION COMPANY: FIRST NATIONAL PICTURES (WARNER BROS PICTURES) / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: PARK CIRCUS

‘Ruth Chatterton is Alison Drake, the owner of an automobile factory who, like a latter-day Catherine the Great, keeps a stable of studs chosen from among her comeliest male employees. But as soon as any of them show signs of wanting some romance along with their sex, Alison cuts them loose. She finally meets her match in the form of George Brent – Chatterton's real husband at the time – who drives her nuts by resisting her entirely. Sadly overlooked today, Chatterton was one of the greatest female stars of the pre-Code era.’ Harvard Film Archive 

Design for Living 1933 Ages 18+

35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 90 MINUTES, USA, ENGLISH / DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: ERNST LUBITSCH / SCRIPT: BEN HECHT / BASED ON THE NOEL COWARD PLAY ‘DESIGN FOR LIVING’ 1933 / CINEMATOGRAPHY: VICTOR MILNER / EDITOR: FRANCES MARSH / CAST: FREDRIC MARCH, GARY COOPER, MIRIAM HOPKINS, EDWARD EVERETT HORTON / MUSIC: JOHN LEIPOLD / PRODUCTION COMPANY: PARAMOUNT PUBLIX / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

 

‘Three expatriate Americans in Paris—a struggling painter (Gary Cooper), an unpublished playwright (Fredric March), and their self-appointed critic and muse (Miriam Hopkins)—resolve to establish a platonic garret dedicated to art. But a dusty couch calls, and soon the lady is switching with casual promiscuity from one friend to the other. The ménage à trois has its complications, to be sure (the men "love" each other, too), but they have nothing to do with virtue. "Don't let's be delicate, let's be crude and objectionable," says Hopkins (who could never be any of those things) to Edward Everett Horton (who, as a representative of propriety, is all three). This is one of Lubitsch's most underrated films, perhaps for the sin of adapting Noel Coward's play to film's requirements (big stars) and Lubitsch's obsession—sets that speak louder than dialogue. The crowded garret is a Borzagean heaven, the outsized world of success a muse's idea of hell.’ Judy Bloch, Pacific Film Archive.

 

For more information check out GOMA's website here.

Precode Pix: In the Great Outdoors

February 22, 2014, 1:19 am

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Actresses appeared to be loving all things natural in the Precode era. The use outdoor, slightly bohemian and action shots were quite popular with publicity departments during the early 1930’s. The result was pictures that appeared more artless, visually interesting and less formal then many of the classic portrait shots. Below is a great selection of photos from Precode actresses enjoying all things from the environmental world:   

Dolores del Rio

Toby Wing

Jean Parker



 Mary Carlisle

Fay Wray

Shirley Chambers

Joan Blondell

Adrienne Ames

Loretta Young



Norma Shearer and Manic Pixie Dream Boys

November 11, 2014, 9:43 pm

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Who’s that girl? It’s not Jess, it’s not even Norma, it’s the men Miss Shearer seemed to gather around her in almost every film role. In her Pre-code performances Shearer is not relegated to a supportive role nor is she doomed to a one-dimensional outlook or perpetually unalterable journey. In most cases she is in a constant struggle between a life of sexual and emotional liberation and an existence of a conventional wife and mother. Some might say in even a ‘soulful’ or ‘brooding’ manner. Her adventures through films from 1929 to 1934 are constantly peppered by the standard array of male leads. Unlike the screen heroes of the 1940’s and 50’s, these male counterparts display flowery, emotional qualities and seem to pander only to the wants of Shearer’s more domineering persona. They appear to mirror the characteristics of the typical subordinate, quirky female roles of the 21^st Century, recently more controversially coined ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girls’ (MPDG).

A term created to label certain two-dimensional figures, such as, Kirsten Dunst from Elizabethtown (2005) and Natalie Portman from Garden State (2004), the MPDG was considered an only female apparition. However, the unusual power and masculinity of Shearer’s protagonists almost compels the creation of a weaker, eccentric and subservient stereotypes, the ‘Manic Pixie Dream Boy’ (MPDB). Usually embodied by her usual stock of husbands, boyfriends, lovers or male friends, such as, Robert Montgomery, Chester Morris, Leslie Howard or Clark Gable, the MPDB’s function solely for Shearer’s development and happiness.

The problem with assigning strict labels is of course what is a MPDG and, therefore, her male counterpart? Film critic Nathan Rabinoriginally invented the phrase as a tool for his comprehensive demolition of the film Elizabethtown in a 2007 review. Rabin encapsulated the figure beautifully as a, “bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries.” Thus, she has four must-have qualities:

1) She is irresistibly attractive (mostly over and above the male lead);

2) She, in turn, finds her male lead irresistibly attractive;

3) She’s static, unchanging and completely devoted to her male lead; and finally,

4) She is, whether through her behaviour or style, completely crazy.

It seems inevitable that this perfect collection of characteristics has an even more rigid and obvious set of traits for the male protagonist. Rabin thankfully gave the MPDG’s classic love interest equal attention. Accordingly, these men are suitably troubled, unable to embrace life and generally gloomy or depressed. A person perfectly in need of some adventure and whimsy.   

This seems a perfect fit for almost every Zooey Deschannel and insert-older-male-actor off beat romantic comedy, but this isn’t the 1930’s. Or is it. The early 30’s films were a great era for a kind of gender swap. Women were running the show – relationships (in and out of marriage), businesses, money and most of all men. Their male counterparts were, in many cases, just along for the ride. Enter Norma Shearer, the queen of the dominating screen performance and MPDBs. Take her breakout talkie The Divorcee (1930), a film where Shearer – on discovering her husband (Chester Morris) has been unfaithful – decides to ‘settle their account’ by sleeping with his best friend (Robert Montgomery). This is the catalyst for Shearer to break away from an unfulfilling marriage into a culture of free sex, country-hoping and minimal clothing. In this movie it is Shearer who is ‘finding herself’ and seeking fun and freedom not Morris. He, as well as her long array of boyfriends and one-night-stands, are just present, assisting Shearer’s emotional development and always irrevocably in love/desire with her.                

Norma Shearer with her suitors in The Divorcee (1930)

Case Number 2 – A Free Soul (1931) with Shearer alongside veteran actor, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard, plays another sex-obsessed young woman with set ideas about love and marriage. Again, Shearer is torn between convention and adventure with a struggle between her perfect, conservative boyfriend and her ex-convict, gangster lover. Also, again Gable and Howard seem to be a backdrop for Shearer’s inner conflict and external exploits by following, almost unquestionably, with every one of her impulses. Her next picture, Private Lives (1931) brought a changeup from Shearer’s typical role. She plays a divorcee, who recently remarried is enjoying a lavish honeymoon on the French Rivera. Unbeknownst to Shearer, her former husband (Montgomery) also on his second honeymoon is staying in an adjourning suite. Private Lives is full of feisty physical fights and passionate makeups between Shearer and Montgomery. Although not completely in alignment with the other two films, it is completed dominated by the fluidly sexual yet controllingly and masculine, Shearer.

Fast-forward three years and Shearer is back to her old games. Riptide (1934) is very much in the same vein as her earlier two films. A few years into a marriage with a stuffy English Lord (Herbert Marshall), Shearer becomes tempted by an old flame (Montgomery). While her husband is away she enjoys nights of drinking, wild escapades and a night of wild sex before returning, at the close, to her contrite husband. The supposed metamorphous of Marshall into a more loving, present husband is overshadowed by Shearer’s extramarital adventures. Her actions are an attempt to revaluate her marriage and experience the liberty of a single woman. It is her journey and he is simply reacting to it.

Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul

In this succession of four films, Shearer has created a profile for the MPDB and his irresistible mistress. She is troubled, wrestling between a desire for freedom and a need to stay within the parameters of society’s conventions. Her lovers provide a source of adventure through sex, free expression and lots of partying and alcohol. Likewise, the male co-stars seem to fit a more male exploration of the stock character made famous by Deschannel. They are extremely boyish or pixie-like, with their adolescent obsessions with Shearer. An example Montgomery and Nagel’s characters as her illicit lover’s in Divorcee, they follow after her like puppy dogs desperate for her attention and body. Check one. In most cases they are idyllically assembled; with perfectly fitted costumes, grooming, chiselled bodies and handsome faces. Clearly a physical ideal in the dreams of women. Check two. Although they do not display the obvious emotional mania, there is a clear moodiness about these almost identical characters. Most – evident in Gable’s character in A Free Soul – flit between uncontrollable desire to cold rejection towards Shearer as she grows and changes. A kind of side effect of their Peter Pan-like need to stay young. Not complete insanity but definite, mania. Check three. Lastly, there maleness is mostly undisputed. Check four.

Although, made before the creation of the controversial term MPDG, the small grouping of Norma Shearer films from 1929 to 1934 seem to be probably the only incarnation of the male counterpart at work. Rabin himself seemed to allude that because of the precise mixture of vulnerability, craziness and sprite-like traits, a male version in film was unlikely if not mythical. But Pre-code is not like any other era in movies and was a perfect breeding grown for the very real MPDB. 

Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer in Riptide

 

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Name that Star (because I can't)

December 8, 2014, 2:05 am

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I was going through a couple of Photoplay Magazines and came across this picture. Perhaps I am overthinking things but is this really a picture of Una Merkel? It does say it’s her in the blurb but the image has no resemblance to the actress I know and love in several classic Precode films. I have added a few more Merkely pictures after. What does everyone else think?

The Questionable Merkel Portrait:
 

The Usual Merkel:

Wild Bill Wellman and his resume of Precode Oscar ‘should-have-beens’

February 20, 2015, 2:28 am

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This is my entry to the 31 Days of Oscar blogathon hosted by Kellee, Aurora and Paula from Paula's Cinema Club. To check out the other posts from the blogathon as well as other great cinema related content click here.   

Classic film fans – like flavours of ice-cream – are not all the same. They have different main tastes, like sweet or citrus. Prefer diverse additions, as conflicting as chocolate topping and nuts and some even have movie length preferences akin to the cone versus cup ice cream debate. Still comparing sweet treats and the film industry, if director William Wellman aka Wild Bill’s career was condensed into an ice-cream flavour it would be lemon gelato mixed with dark chocolate covered in sprinkles and dried apricots. Wild Bill, as his son William Wellman Jr later dubbed him, made films in pretty much every conceivable mainstream genre and all – except arguably his brief turn into musicals – proficiently. Looking for a great drama – think ‘Public Enemy’ (1931) or ‘A Star is Born’ (1937). An entertaining and fast-paced war film – ‘Wings’ (1927). A screwball comedy with the great Carole Lombard herself – ‘Nothing Sacred’ (1937). A western for a Sunday afternoon – ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’ (1943). And even if you has a craving for a weird musical/ mystery film starring a barely clothed Barbara Stanwyck, Wellman offers ‘Lady of Burlesque’ aka ‘The G-String Murders’ (1943).
 

 Wellman said in a 1978 interview:

 

“I've only had one real desire in this business: to make every kind of picture that was ever made. And I did. I made musicals, I made kid pictures, I made romantic comedies, the whole list. I'm very proud of that. Now, how many directors have done that?”

I first noticed Wellman in the old fashioned credits of some of my all time favourite Precode films, like ‘Midnight Mary’ (1933), ‘Safe in Hell’ (1931) and ‘Night Nurse’ (1931). To me he seems a genius at creating fast-paced, hard-hitting Depression-era ‘social issue’ pictures. His ability at shooting action scenes and clear love and experience with planes came to my attention in ‘Wings’ (1927) which, despite its lack of sound, I simply loved. I wasn’t surprised to read, therefore, that ‘Wings’ (1927) received the Academy Award for Best Picture in the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929.

Wellman seemed to make pictures for almost every taste and mood and exceptional pictures at that. But, looking into Wellman’s overall connection with the Oscars I was disgusted to read that Wellman never won an Academy Award for his directing achievements. He received a Best Writing Oscar for the original story for Star is Born and was otherwise nominated for Best Director for ‘The High and the Mighty’ (1954), ‘Battleground’ (1949) and ‘A Star is Born’ (1937) but lost.

Looking at his films, I couldn’t understand it. Wellman must have had a strange apathy for the system and the Academy that was then reciprocated. If you look at some of Wellman’s comments it is clear he hated the ego that went with the Hollywood system.

“I have never gotten along with actors. Oh, Joel McCrea was all right. And, like I said, Bob Taylor I was very fond of. But, you see, actors are different. Women look in a mirror all their lives to make themselves pretty and attractive and that's one of the reasons you fall in love with them. But a man looking in a mirror all the time, saying lines to himself, looking at his face to see which is the best photographic angle . . . Well, one of two things happens. Either he learns to love the son of a bitch that he's always looking at or he learns to hate him. All the actors I've known learn to love him.

“Did I like working with Wayne? Even though he's the greatest star this business has ever had, hell, no!... The problem is, he's a very set guy. Stubborn as hell. And he doesn't get along with directors, except for two. He gets along with Ford and he gets along with me. The only time we had trouble, I called him on it.”

“I am the director, not Mr. Wayne or Mr. Cagney or Mr. Colman. And they knew it. Women always used to hate working with me, because I wouldn't let them use make-up.”

“A lot of people will say, "How frightful to talk that way about the 'Art' of motion pictures." Well, whatever you want to call it, I had my own way of making a motion picture. I worked very fast; and no one ever over-acted in one of my pictures. That I couldn't stand. I had my own idea of making a picture and I made it my own way. And I got damn well paid. Certainly I wanted the money. I wanted to get to the point where I'd never have to work again if I didn't want to. When I got to that point, it wasn't as nice as I thought it would be. Now, I don't go to see many pictures because I don't want to get the fever again.”

Wellman could never be classified as egotistical, was definitely modest about his talents and generally didn’t take any crap from anyone. In Hollywood terms he probably wasn’t great at playing the game. Perhaps that is why his contemporaries at the academy did not give him the amount of critical acclaim that I believe he deserved.

Instead of focusing on his career as a whole, I have decided to highlight Wellman’s best Precode features none of which – other than Wings (1927) – received honours at the Academy Awards. Here’s my Wellman Precode top 5:    

5) Safe in Hell (1931)

This film is one of the best of the Precode era. It shows off a complete disregard for the code in almost every element of production especially its choice of trailblazer Dorothy Mackaill as leading lady. Mackaill plays Gilda Karlson, a New Orleans prostitute who is never ashamed nor conscientious about her employment. She seems utterly relaxed about her life of sex, alcohol and cigarettes until she is again confronted by Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde) her ex-lover and man responsible for turning her into a street walker. During the fight she attempts to shoot him but fails. Van Saal escapes and everyone assumes he was murdered with Gilda the clear perpetrator. About to flee herself, her old sailor boyfriend, Carl Erickson (Donald Cook) returns and smuggles her to safety to the Caribbean island of Tortuga in order to avoid extradition. After an unofficial wedding ceremony, Erickson leaves Gilda to return to his ship. She finds herself stuck in a hotel filled with criminals and degenerates. Desperately fighting to stay faithful to Erickson, she fends of countless men trying to seduce her. But poor Gilda seems to attract trouble and she falls into a trap of blackmail, lust and sweet wine.  

 

4) Wild Boys of the Road (1933):

‘Wild Boys of the Road’ is probably the grittiest and most confronting of all Wellman’s Precode social dramas. It examines the lives of seven young teens who without reliable families or social security to support them are forced to become hobos and live on the street. The main teens, Tommy Gordon (Edwin Phillips) and Eddie Smith (Frankie Darro) leave home with the aim of finding jobs to support their unemployed fathers and families. They hop aboard a freight train and meet other struggling teenagers along the way. They become attached to Sally (Dorothy Coonan) who is journeying to Chicago hoping that her aunt will give her a place to live. The three teens experience the harrowing facts of depression era America from police antipathy and brutality to rape, hunger, death and, for Tommy, the loss of a limb. Surprising the film manages to end on a high note with society rewarding the teens spirit, tenuousness and integrity.       

 

3) Midnight Mary (1933)

 

This films is Wellman and Loretta Young at their best and, like several Warner Bros dramas, highlights the effects of poverty and lack of opportunity on the futures of young people. On trial for murder, Mary Martin (Young) relives her childhood and life leading up to the crime. Through flashback the audiences experiences her beginning as a child rummaging through garbage at the dump, her short term in juvenile detention after unjustly being convicted of stealing a pocketbook and her involvement with gangsters. With no job or family to turn to, she becomes the girlfriend of gang ring-leader Leo and lives in luxury from the proceeds of their crimes. Fashion enthusiasts will drool over her beautiful, Art Deco Adrian creations she adorns as Leo’s kept woman. Mary soon realises her lifestyle is reliant on her remaining on Leo’s very short leash and becomes dissatisfied with her choices. During a heist she meets rich, playboy Tom (Franchot Tone) who falls in love with her and acts to drag her from her life of crime and Leo’s manipulation. Her relationship with Tom, brings Mary’s innate goodness to the surface and she has to make the choice between redemption and escape.

 

2) Wings (1927)

This movie is definitely worthy of the word, epic, and I would consider it in the same league as North and South or Gone with the Wind. It has romance, long fight scenes, mateship, and a significant historical event to cloud the lives of the character, just not sound. In 1917, Jack Powell (Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers) is a normal young man with dreams of becoming a pilot, his best friend is his neighbour the playful, boyish and reliable Mary (Clara Bow). Poor Mary is secretly in love with Jack but he is smitten by the belle of the region the delicate and beautiful Sylvia Lewis (Jobyna Ralston) who is, unfortunately, in a ‘sort-of’ relationship with David Armstrong (Richard Arlene). Soon, the war is upon the happy community and both David and Jack enlist in the aviation corp. They begin as enemies – both rivals for the love of Sylvia – but later bond over the training and develop mutual respect for each other. They are rapidly graduated flyers and begin patrolling the area. Later, Jack and David are back at the front. Strangely, David has a premonition of his own death and warns Jack to organise his belongings. During an air battle, David steals an enemy plane and takes flight. Jack is heading back to the base when he sees the enemy plane David is driving – but he does not see him and shoots it down. Wanting a souvenir of his victory, he lands near the site and recognises the dying soldier as his friend. In that moment Jack realises he has killed David. As well as the wonderful battle scenes, this film also includes an awkward man-on-man kiss and a brief vision of Clara Bow’s breasts to entice you.    

 

1) The Public Enemy (1931)

Probably the most well-known of Wellman’s Precode features, The Public Enemy (1931) has received a cult following in recent decades due to its examination of the quintessential depression era gangster and the iconic ‘grapefruit scene’. The plot progresses through from central character, Tom Powers’ (James Cagney) every life as a petty thief and criminal with is friend Matt Doyle (Edward Woods) onto his rise as the leader of a bootlegging gang to his fall and then death. Powers seems to excel and enjoy his life of crime but keeps the favour of his dotting mother (Beryl Mercer). Powers and Doyle are virtually inseparable as the move from a small gang into operating directly under gang leader Samuel ‘Nails’ Nathan (Leslie Fenton) as bootleggers. With their increasing wealth they attract girlfriends in Kitty (Mae Clarke) and Mamie (Joan Blondell) but Powers soon moves onto the attractive and gold digging Gwen Allen (Jean Harlow). With a prolonged prohibition, the bootlegging game becomes more lucrative. After the death of Nathan, a rival gang triggers an all-out war. This initiates kidnappings, gun battles and murder.          

Pre-code Nudity Update and Film Guide

March 2, 2015, 11:40 pm

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Nudity whether in glimpses, through clothes, in silhouette or in the distance was strictly banned by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. According to the code nudity in any form was “immoral” and should be completely avoided. Despite this, Pre-code films are full of it. Instead of straight “in fact” nudity, directors became sneaky but attempting to make the nudity tantalisingly quick or part of the plot. Several actresses, like Jean Harlow and Norma Shearer created screen legends based on what they or didn’t wear. Thankfully, this clever film making has been preserved and audiences today can view scenes that Joseph Breen and code makers would later ban from cinemas for over fifty years. Let’s take a look at the methods this generation of Hollywood directors, writers, cinematographers and actors used to bypass the code:  

 

1. Taking a Bath

Since silent films and the glorious Gloria Swanson, directors have been using swimming and bathing scenes as a source of decadence and undue exposure. Surprisingly, unlike other forms of Pre-code nudity, several male actors get into the act.  

What the code says:

3. Indecent or undue exposure is forbidden.

Top Examples:

1) Tarzan and his Mate (1934) and Bird of Paradise (1933): Both these films include extensive nude swimming scenes with both Maureen O’Sullivan (or her body double) and Dolores del Rio taking the plunge with their male co-stars.

Tarzan and his Mate

 

2) Night After Night (1932) and Search for Beauty (1934): A little look at male nudity with George Raft taking a revealing bath in Night After Nightand Buster Crabbe showering in Search for Beauty (1934).

George Raft in Night After Night

3) Sign of the Cross (1932): If the conservative Claudette Colbert knew what the camera was capturing at the time she would be shocked. The bathing scene pretty much shows all of poor Ms Colbert’s breasts.

Claudette Colbert in Sign of the Cross

4) Barbarian(1933): Although apparently in a nude coloured body suit, Myrna Loy bares all in this nude bathing scene.

Myrna Loy in Barbarian

5) Blonde Crazy (1932): Joan Blondell takes a bath with James Cagney in the room, its definitely Pre-code!!

Joan Blondell in Blonde Crazy

6) Red Dust (1932): Jean Harlow cements her screen persona as a bombshell after she takes a bath in a barrel.

Jean Harlow in Red Dust

Honourable Mentions: Maltese Falcon (1931), Beauty and the Boss (1932) and King Kong (1933).     

Beauty and the Boss

2. Existent – but really non-existent – Clothes

Wearing clothes doesn’t necessary limited the chance of nudity in Pre-code films. In many cases, certain actresses became notorious for wearing clothes that covered little or appearing to wear no visible undergarments.

What the code says:

5. Transparent or translucent materials and silhouette are frequently more suggestive than actual exposure.

Top Examples:

1) Hells Angels (1930): Jean Harlow wears a slinky, thin dress for much of the film leaving nothing to the imagination.

Jean Harlow in Hells Angels

2) A Free Soul (1930): Norma Shearer in ‘that dress’.

Norma Shearer in A Free Soul

3) Tarzan and his Mate (1934): Maureen O’ Sullivan wearing a ‘barely there’ brown costume.



Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan and His Mate

4) Search for Beauty (1933): Chorus girls in thin white costumes.

Search For Beauty

5) Smarty(1934): Joan Blondell teases her husband and ex-husband by strutting around in a very skimpy black dress and then has it ripped off.

Joan Blondell in Smarty

Honourable Mentions: Basically every other Jean Harlow film and shots from the deleted and unfortunately lost scenes of Greta Garbo in Mata Hari (1931). 

Greta Garbo in Mata Hari

 

3. In Musicals
Pre-code musicals are a great source for unexpected nudity. Film-makers and performers, such as, Busby Berkley, Eddie Cantor and Wheeler and Woolsey often used provocative clothing and situations accompanied by dance and music to titillate audiences.  

What the code says:

4. Dancing or costumes intended to permit undue exposure or indecent movements in the dance are forbidden.

Top Examples:

1) Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933): Often used as a classic example of Pre-code at its best by film historians, Gold Diggersincludes the notorious musical number Petting in the Park which features chorus girls clearly undressing behind a thin screen.



Gold Diggers of 1933

2) Murder at the Vanities (1934): A really confronting murder mystery/ musical film with a musical number titled Marijuana. It includes a number of scenes with barely clothed dancers and women with strategically placed objects.

 

Murder at the Vanities

4) Roman Scandals (1933): Eddie Cantor’s comedic nod to the ancient Roman civilisation Includes his usual frivolity, double entendres and women clothed only in their long blonde locks.

Roman Scandals

5) Hips, Hips Hooray (1934): A film that I believe probably escalated the coming of the enforced code, Wheeler and Woosley almost take it too far in this film. Lots of girls in bath tubs, suggestive leather costumes and more double entendres then I could catch in one sitting.



Hips Hips Hooray

6) Meet the Baron (1933): Pretty dull movie but includes a long musical number with chorus girls singing about having a shower while in the shower.   

Meet the Baron

 

4. In Silhouette (its art really)

With MGM’s logo “art for art sake”, directors used this to the maximum with the use of artist’s models and sculpture to show sneaky glimpses of nudity.  

What the code says:

1. Any licentious or suggestive nudity – in fact or in silhouette; and any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture;

Top Examples:

1) Song of Songs (1933): Marlene Dietrich becomes an artist’s model with the artist using her physique to craft a full (and very lifelike) body sculpture.



Song of Songs

2) The Common Law (1931): This time Constance Bennett plays the model to painter Joel McCrea who poses her nude and semi-nude.

The Common Law

4) Sign of the Cross (1932): Although not art related, this film shows a poor Christian women tied to a pole, covered only in vines about to be attacked by a gorilla.

Sign of the Cross

5) Scarlett Empress (1933): I haven’t seen this film in ages, but I am told there is distant shots of nude women in silhouette.  

 

Scarlett Empress (from Precode.com)

5. While Dressing

It was difficult to narrow down a list of films for this category, its everywhere. Directors used this ploy in every film none of which were essential to the plot.

What the code says:

2. Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot.

Top Examples:

1) Under 18 (1931): The beautiful Marion Marsh becomes a model with many outfit changes.

Marion Marsh in Under 18

2) Footlight Parade (1933): Although a musical, this film includes lots of chorus girls in skimpy outfits as well as actresses doing quick costume changes between musical numbers.

Footlight Parade

3) Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931): Miriam Hopkins spends an excessive amount of time undressing seductively for Fredric March and then hops into bed.

Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

4) If I Had a Million (1932): Another excessive undressing scene featuring Wynne Gibson before bed time.



Wynne Gibson in If I Had a Million

Honourable Mention: Every gangster film, musical, romance, and drama – pretty much every film with a female in it.

6. Blatant Exploitation

Some films shot during the Pre-code era were classified as part of the ‘exploitation’ genre. These, in many cases, used nudity to draw in audiences under the guise of educating people about topics like nudism and other cultures. Warning this films are shocking and blatantly exploit other cultures for financial gain.

What the code says:

1. The effect of nudity or semi-nudity upon the normal man or woman, and much more upon the young and upon immature persons, has been honestly recognized by all lawmakers and moralists.

2. Hence the fact that the nude or semi-nude body may be beautiful does not make its use in the films moral. For, in addition to its beauty, the effect of the nude or semi-nude body on the normal individual must be taken into consideration.

3. Nudity or semi-nudity used simply to put a "punch" into a picture comes under the head of immoral actions. It is immoral in its effect on the average audience.

Top Examples:

1) Elysia Valley of the Nude (1933): An ‘educational’ film about nudism and nudist societies; so, full of naked people.

Eylsia Valley of the Nude

2) Tabu (1931) and Blonde Captive (1932): Both films where so-called documentary crews travel to distant, exotic locations to film and study “savages”. Very dull and very offensive.

Tabu

The Blonde Captive

 

 

 

 

Jack La Rue: the Internet versus the Truth

April 6, 2015, 1:38 am

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It turns out that there is more to Jack La Rue than meets the eye. Even more interesting that most of the information available on La Rue on the internet and even in several newspaper articles were wrong. Now, I can believe that Wikipedia and IMBD got facts wrong but some were even more long term and in grained. Thanks to the help of La Rue's nephew, Ronald Cognata, for ensuring I get my information correct and even revealing an interesting picture and story never seen before on the internet.

For those not familiar with Jack La Rue, he was born Gaspere Biondolillo in New York City, New York on May 3, 1902. He began acting in the early 1920’s when he was offered a role as an extra. He began trying to land more film roles but moved into stage work and debuted at the Empire Theatre in 1921 in a production of “Blood and Sand”. He was discovered by director Howard Hawkes who auditioned him for the role of Rinaldo in “Scarface” (1932). He was unsuccessful; however, subsequently received roles in “Night World” (1932) and “While Paris Sleeps” (1932). His first break-through role was in the Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes film “A Farewell to Arms” (1932). His next big break and first starring role would come the following year as Trigger in Paramount’s controversial film, “The Story of Temple Drake” (1933). Jack La Rue’s was married three times. First to socialite Connie Simpson then briefly to Austrian Baroness Violet Edith von Roseberg lastly to Anne Giordano. He died January 11, 1984 from a heart attack.

 

For a full biography check out my original post here.

Now lets delve into it:

What the internet says:

“Jack La Rue…is the father of actor Jack La Rue Jr.”

IMDB also states that ‘Jack La Rue Jr’ appeared in Crypt of the Living Dead (1973) and The Young Nurses (1973).

WhatRon says:

“Jack La Rue did not have ANY CHILDREN. I will not tell you the name of the person known as Jack La Rue Jr. however this person was married to Kim Darby (for a short time) after her divorce from James Stacy. Do some research.”

This is proved by an article published in the Evening Independent Newspaper, April 4, 1979.

What the internet says:

“It was reported in 1946 that La Rue was concussed during a fight at a Hollywood party allegedly involving Lawrence Tierney, Diane Barrymore and a mannequin named Mona who was previously owned by Errol Flynn.”

What Ron says:

“Most Blogs have my uncle in a punch out with Lawrence Tierney at a party (not true). Fact: Tierney and his brother Scott Brady were ready to duke it out when my uncle got between them to prevent a fight and got tagged with a wild punch and flew out of an open window. The item in the papers ( he thought ) was good for his Image.”

What the internet says:

“He was discovered by director Howard Hawkes and brought to Hollywood to audition for the role of Rinaldo in a film called “Scarface” (1932). The film, unfortunately, proved to be the movie debut for George Raft who nabbed the role La Rue was vying for, mainly, because Hawke concluded La Rue was too tall for the part.”      

What Ron says:

"Hawks did offer my uncle a job, and R.K.O. SIGNED HIM A CONTRACT. When my uncle read the script and realized it was a parity on AL CAPONE'S life he did not want the role because he knew Capone and if he did not like it people disappeared. He told Hawks to give it to his friend RAFT. PAUL MUNI WAS 5'10" and my uncle was 6'0 this is an easy fix. How this height thing came about I don't know. The contracts the studio's were making paid the talent like they were on a salary WORK OR NOT. Soon they cancelled those contracts.

What the internet says:

La Rue is generally considered a "movie actor" and was in demand to play second fiddle gangster roles during the early 30s all the way to the late 40s.

What Ron says:

       "Now back in New York sometime in the 1940's. In 1947, I am 7 Years old and at the PALACE THEATER and I'm on the stage during a rehearsal doing a bit with my uncle. Again the blogs are wrong, most of this career life he was more in demand on broad way not in Hollywood. His last stage role was again with Mae West (in her late 70's or 80's). He never traveled with broadway show as he refused to live out of a suitcase, however this time he did because she his friend and the show was called SEXTET."

Other than his screen career, Lae Rue's personal life may have tainted some peoples view of him. Personally it didn't, his three marriages two ending in annulment and one divorce is not a good record but definitely lives up to my idea of a Hollywood leading man. However, by Ron's words it appears that La Rue rather than being the typical "bad guy" as his Hollywood roles suggest quite simply picked the wrong women to marry. Ron continues about La Rue's first and longest marriage to socialite, Connie Simpson.

 

"My aunt Connie (Simpson) wife #1 arrived in California after being 
presented to the Queen of England for Coming Out.She was a spoiled rich that arrived in California with her uncle father and brother. She was a socialite and my uncle was a Sicilian home body. It lasted for about seven years and then she divorced him. They stayed very closed
until she pasted away. That was his first and only love."

La Rue and Connie Simpson

Ron's words that Connie was La Rue's "first and only love" probably account for his supposed behaviour when he followed her to Reno and commenced a very public argument at a hotel. It continued with La Rue later resisting arrest and police claiming he yelled,  “I’m the gangster you see in movies. I’m a tough guy.” Therefore, instead of being possessive and domineering as some may read into this account, maybe he just wanted her back.

La Rue's second wife Austrian Baroness Violet Edith von Roseberg - like I said in my first article - appeared to be a major mistake in the actor's life with the union lasting just over a fortnight.

 

"Aunt Edith, was another British subject with an Austrian title. She lasted about
as long as it took to have dinner at mygrandmother's house. Uncle had it annulled
stating that she was using him for a way into U.S. citizenship."

La Rue and Baroness von Roseberg

His last marriage was to a woman who also was right for him.

"Ann Gordano had been married to my family's cousin, a doctor who had died a an early age. I think she had come to California  seeking him out. She tried to control him which worked
not at all. Remember at this stage Uncle started refusing to read scripts his agent to him.
He was in the restaurant business only except for a few occasions when friends called him to play acme; twice for Frank Sinatra, twice for Robert Vaughn and a stage production when Mae West wanted to have her last fling on stage."

Anne in 1936

 

For a Hollywood actor it is difficult to know for certain his relationships outside of marriage. There exists several photos of La Rue and actress Ida Lupino in the mid thirties with both looking happy and very much together but it is difficult to ascertain whether this was a studio orgestrated relationship. Lupino ended up marrying actor Louis Hayward in 1938.

La Rue and Lupino

La Rue and Lupino

Towards the end of the 1940's La Rue, as his record of films completed shows, became bored and frustrated with the Hollywood system and didn't remain in LA. Ron elaborates:

"At the time my uncles contract was cancelled he got a long term stage gig in London made one movie called  NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH (Sp).

"He then landed back in New York for a while and then back to London until the Nazi's were bombing England.

“Joe Kennedy got him out of England on one of this cargo ships."

 

Ron also presented another interesting part of La Rue's past not available before on the internet. In his family records was an intriguing photo of the John Barrymore and artist John Decker with Decker holding up a portrait of La Rue. The story behind the picture is still unclear but both men appear to be holding playing cards with each man drawing one card. They are sitting in artist Decker’s studio with a picture commissioned by Barrymore in the background.  


Top 5 Luxurious Precode homes

May 15, 2015, 9:34 pm

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Despite the passing of over 80 years, nothing much in the lifestyles of Hollywood’s greatest stars has changed. Like their seemingly incapable wages, Hollywood stars of the Precode era also liked to lash out on cars, parties, clothes and let’s not forget property.

Here is the top five Precode mansions:

5) Clark Gable

 

 

4) William Powell

 

3) Cary Grant

 

2) Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg

 

1) Marion Davies

Sunday Fashion Fix: Nautical

March 22, 2014, 8:39 pm

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Sailor style seems to be a fashion trend that never goes out of popularity. The use of the colours: blue, white and red as well as strategically placed stripes and interesting cuts are both alluring and attracting on all body types. Celebrities from the early 1930’s to now have been utilising the intricate nautical influence for casual events and on screen. Fashion designers have also taken this trend over the decades as inspiration for high fashion pant suits and dresses, eye-catching hats and various accessories as well as basic striped shirts and 1950’s-style dresses. Nautical pieces can be incorporated easily and suit everybody; take a look at images of the Precode outfits, modern-day celebrity looks and designer pieces. 

Precode Looks:

Clara Bow stands out in her starring role in True to the Navy alongside Fredric March, Harry Green and, her future husband, Rex Bell.

Cute little Shirley Temple plays a sailor.

 Jean Harlow often appeared in nautical inspirited outfits in fashion and publicity shoots.

 

Joan Blondell (top) and Ruby Keeler (bottom) both appear in nautical inspired looks

in the film Footlight Parade (1933).

 

 

A model from 1935 exhibiting a high fashion look.  

 

Modern Celebrity Looks:

Taylor Swift and Leighton Meester in blue, white and red sailor outfits.

Designer Looks:

Sailor-inspired jewellery and accessories:

from Ali Express

from Baby Loves Pink

from Social Vixen

High fashion pieces also include a few sailor-inspired touches:

from Harpers Bazaar

from Vogue

 Nautical pieces can also be part of a casual, everyday outfit:

from Wedding Thingz

from Mom Fabulous

  

Patricia Lake: Her Paternity, Hearst and the Real Story - Part 1

March 26, 2014, 11:56 pm

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The truth behind the real paternity of Patricia Van Cleeve Lake has been one of the great mysteries of Hollywood and a puzzle that – through the ambiguities and vagueness of lapses in time - will never be fully solved. At its centre is the even more secretive newspaper magnate, William Randolf Hearst, his opulent mansion - San Simeon, and his openly acknowledged mistress, Marion Davies. Allegedly, Lake communicated to her son Arthur Lake Jr on her deathbed, that she was in fact the only biological child of the illicit long term affair between Hearst and Davies. Many biographers and Hollywood figures have touted the claims as false citing difficulties proving Lake’s actual birth date and the influence of the facts on gossip and time. Officially, the daughter of George Van Cleeve and his wife Rose, the sister of Marion Davies, the actuality of Lake’s parenthood has never fully been uncovered.   

Patricia Van Cleeve Lake was born sometime between 1919 and 1923 just outside Paris, France. Publicly and privately, Lake, was never fully aware of her actual birthdate; although, many historians estimate the earlier years 1919 or 1920 to be the closest approximation. According to the public, Lake was the legitimate daughter of George and Rose Van Cleeve – the latter a sister of Marion Davies. In 1924 during a dispute between her parents, Lake was allegedly kidnapped by George Van Cleeve who was on the run with his daughter for five years. They were finally discovered after Hearst’s detectives located the pair and brought the child back to her mother, Rose. A bitter custody battle insured between the couple with George Van Cleeve gaining custody after proving Rose Van Cleeve was an alcoholic.
 

Marion Davies

As she grew into a young adult, Lake showed a blossoming acting talent and looked to have potential to follow in her aunt’s and mother’s shoes and become a starlet. She attended the Lawlor Professional School in Hollywood and a few other schools in New York and Boston which was reportedly all paid for by Hearst. During her adolescents she was a regular feature at Heart’s San Simeon estate even traveling with Hearst and Davies on several trips to Europe. Through her famous relatives Lake became part of Hollywood’s A-list attending parties with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Charlie Chaplin. Aged around 17, Lake met Errol Flynn at a beach party and they began a relationship together that lasted for many years. Lake said in the months before she died, “God, I wish Errol Flynn was still alive. He was a barrel of laughs, and pretty good in the hay, too."

In 1937,Lake married actor Arthur Lake – most notable for his performance in the Blondie television, radio and movie series – who she had met at Marion Davies’ beach house. It was later reported that the scandalous affair between Lake and Flynn persisted during the engagement and early into the marriage. Apparently, Hearst lectured Lake on her illicit affair stating that, "You have got to stop this. You are a married woman."She, according to reports replied, “What about you?" referencing his affair with Davies. Nevertheless, the couple remained married until his death in January 1987 and had two children, Arthur Lake Jr and Marion Rose Lake. A few years after their wedding, Lake’s acting career began to take off.

Patricia Van Cleve and Arthur Lake's wedding

She was named as one of the MPPA ‘Baby Stars’ of 1940, a replacement of the earlier program WAMPAS Baby Stars. She completed mostly stage work from the 1930’s to the mid-1940’s and later took over from Penny Singleton as the voice of Blondie Bumstead in the radio series Blondie, opposite her husband. Lake also worked alongside her husband in a television comedy, Meet the Family released in 1954.

In 1961, the death of Marion Davies caused Lake a great amount of pain. She had lived with Davies – and occasionally her lover Hearst – for much of her life and grieved her death. In her will Davies bequest her “niece” a large inheritance of half of her 20 million dollar fortune. It would be sign of what was to come in the public life of Patricia Van Cleeve Lake with the connection between her and Davies revealed over 30-years later. Lake died October 3, 1993. On her death bead, according to her son, Arthur Lake Jr., she spilled her long kept secret: that she was in fact the illegitimate daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolf Heart and the fact was concealed to save both parties reputation. 

Hearst and Davies

Coming soon Part 2!! In which I discuss all the theories of Patricia Van Cleve Lake’s paternity, all the Hollywood gossip and the truth.



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Patricia Van Cleeve Lake: Her Paternity, Hearst and the Real Story - Part 2

March 31, 2014, 7:47 pm

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If it is true, the real paternity of Patricia Van Cleeve Lake is one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. It was a mystery covered-up by the richest, shrewdest businessman and media mogul, William Randolf Heart, and his girlfriend, Marion Davies. The true facts of the case have been heavily disputed over the years with Lake’s birthdate and even her deathbed confession questioned by historians. Overall, the sad reality is that history and film lovers will never fully know the entire truth of the story or the place gossip and rumour played in shaping it. 

Horace Brown and his wife Marion Davies and the Lakes

The truth was apparently revealed in October 1993 when Lake on her deathbed divulged to her son, Arthur Lake Jr., the facts surrounding her parentage. She exposed the story that Davies had first told her that she and Hearst were her biological parents when she was 11. This was followed by Hearst who acknowledged her as his daughter before her marriage to Lake. After her death, Lake Jr. attempted to have his mother’s birth certificate changed to reflect her actual parentage. She was instantly brandished a fraud and a liar. "One man called the mortuary and raised holy hell," Arthur Lake Jr. said. He continued, “She lived her life on a satin pillow. They took away her name, but they gave her everything else.”

Although, Lake and her son appeared to sincerely believe the story of Hearst’s and Davies’ cover-up there is little concrete evidence of the scandal other than Lake’s facial similarities with Hearst. Many people argue it was the death of George and Rose Van Cleeve’s first child during infancy that prompted Davies to give up her child to her sister. This theory seems disproven by the behaviour by Lake’s official parents during the kidnapping and fiery custody battle. The extreme actions of both the Van Cleeve’s to keep access to Lake demonstrates to many historians that she must have been their biological daughter. However, this is not completely irrefutable because many parents of adoptive children would probably behaviour in a similar manner.

Hearst and Davies

The issue of dates is also a problem for the diverse sides of the argument. Clearly, due to the fact Lake married her husband in 1937, she must have been born at least before 1920. This is because if she was born in 1923 as some people claim she would have been aged 13 at the time of her wedding. If indeed the date of her marriage is correct, Lake’s birth can be assumed as being somewhere around 1918 and 1920. During this period, Davies film career was booming and she was in the middle of several film and publicity commitments. According to several authors on Nitrateville, she had just completed a film, Getting Mary Married in March of 1919 and it was released that she was to begin filming The Dark Star in April. Interestingly she was reported to have suffered a bout of influenza between these films; however she was not absent from filming for enough time to carry and give birth to a child. Davies appeared in four films in 1919, two in 1918 and another two in 1920. Unless the year of Lake’s birth is outside this period and her age was greatly altered by Hearst, Davies and the media, she could not be the daughter of Davies.   

It is a near impossible task to logically discern the mystery surrounding Patricia Lake’s birth and paternity. If she was indeed the child of Hearst and Davies the cover-up undertaken by both was thorough and mostly successful. Although it is unclear if Lake was the daughter of the millionaire and his starlet mistress, it is evident that Lake had an extremely close relationship to the pair. This is shown through her long trips to San Simeon, her marriage to Arthur Lake – a personal friend and faviourite of Hearst, her inheriting half of Davies’ estate and her place of rest located in the same crypt as Davies. DNA testing is the only method of proving the truth of the Lake’s claims and, with all parties long dead, this will never be undertaken. The ‘myth’ of Hearst and Davies illegitimate daughter with forever be one of Hollywood’s unsolved mysteries, similar to the death of Marilyn Monroe or Natalie Wood.   

An image of San Simeon

Janet Cantor Gari and The Cantor Buried Tales

May 4, 2014, 6:30 pm

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“It takes over 20 years to make an overnight success.”

The quote is one of the more illustrious comments from talented Hollywood singer, comedian and general performer, Eddie Cantor, and is indicative of his hardworking dedication to the entertainment industry. Over his over fifty year career, Cantor starred in a handful of films, television and radio programs, featured in stage productions, composed and performed countless popular songs and wrote over eight books. He had vitality, motivation and determination to achieve everything he wanted and was one of few in Hollywood that really had the ability to ‘do it all’. Although he was a diligent performer, Cantor’s innate sense of humour and comedic timing was his crowning feature and one that his daughter, Janet Cantor Gari, has definitely inherited. In her latest book The Buried Cantor Tales she recounts a number of experiences and memorable people she met during her time in Hollywood.

By the time of her birth in 1927, her father was already a stage star appearing as part of the popular Ziegfeld Follies shows and had made his film debut in several silent and short films. Although Cantor turned down the lead role in legendary film The Jazz Singer (1927), it didn’t slow down his film career. The early 1930’s brought a number of successful movies, including the Technicolour production Whoopee (1930), Palmy Days (1931), The Kid from Spain (1932) and Roman Scandals (1933); most highlighting his musical as well as comedic skills. He made a number of films until his focus shifted more to radio and later television in the 1950’s with his appearances in war aid pictures, Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) and Hollywood Canteen (1944) showing his charitable side. As a young adult, Cantor Gari, mingled with several talented and popular Hollywood stars but, as she was too young, didn’t notice their stardom.         

“It never occurred to me as a child that my father's pals and acquaintances were any different from anyone else's circle of friends,” said Cantor Gari.

“There were those I liked and those I didn't.  We never met any of the glamorous stars of the day. My folks "hung out" mostly with their old friends from New York.  As much as I detested Groucho Marx I adored Jimmy Durante (as did everyone--the kindest, sweetest man in the world).”

Eddie Cantor in Roman Scandals (1933)

On Groucho Marx, she continued:

“He was basically a very cruel man with a devastatingly sharp sense of humor.  I think he destroyed his daughter's (my best friend) life, as he did that of her mother and two other wives.  He enjoyed making vulnerable people squirm, although he never tried it with his peers.  Like most people, I loved him in the movies; he was a brilliant comic, but in life the difference between him and his brother Harpo was amazing.  Harpo was a sweet and lovable man who married just once and was a great father to his four adopted children.”

Cantor’s increased popularity on television and radio gave him a wider license with the content of the skits and jokes. He was now given the ability to show his greatest gifts – as a writer and a comedian. Of course, to Cantor, not even his family was off limits in his comedy routines with his anecdotes on the troubles of marrying five daughters a crowd favourite.

“Although we had a very stable home life, the constant barrage of jokes about my father's marrying off his large female brood had a negative and very harmful effect on all of us,” said Cantor Gari. 

“He didn't seriously want to marry off his daughters.  It had simply become part of his "routine," which the public loved--the beleaguered father struggling to provide for so many dependent girls.  It was his well-known gimmick…We knew they were gags, but the public didn't, and our self-esteem eventually slipped off the slippery slope.”

Eddie and Ida Cantor with their daughters

 

Although Cantor was a capable father, it is clear that Cantor Gari deeply loved and respected her mother through the writing of her second book, Don't Wear Silver in the Winter: Remembering my Mother. When asked if she admired her mother, Ida Cantor, she commented:

“No question about it: what I admired most about my mother was her energy.  Never once when I was growing up did I see her "lie down with a bad headache."  She was always up and dressed and ready to go.”

As part of the Cantor family, it was almost inevitable that there would be some pressure for his daughters to likewise enter the entertainment industry. Though having achieved some success, Cantor Gari followed a different path from her famous father.

“When I was nineteen, I was invited by an up and coming director to play the comedy lead in a summer stock production.  I got rave reviews, including one from the most important Boston critic, but when I got back to New York, I found I was just too scared to audition for any new shows, so I got married instead!”

She continues:

“As an adult I began to use my classical music background (the only one in the family) to study and write for piano and small chamber groups, but when I wrote the music for my first show, I was hooked, eventually writing my own lyrics as well.  For me this beats performing.  No need for steady nerves or learning lines.  Just sitting back and having the thrill of hearing the laughs or tears as reactions to something I've created.”

Janet Cantor Gari

Cantor Gari has certainly used the talents and experienced gain from her famous father and dedicated mother. Her endeavours in the musical and writing arenas has both created a new generation of Cantor-lovers and has spurred her children to continue the legacy of their grandfather by becoming accomplished singers and musicians. Her new venture is the more quirky world of fiction writing:

“This is very new for me, and I find it is true that the characters take on a life of their own and sort of lead the way.”

She has published three books before the current one, namely, Themes From My Fatherregaling her remembrances about her father, Don't Wear Silver in the Winter, and Stop the World! I Want To Tell Someone Off! A Collection of Candid, Comical Contemplations which she calls her “way to vent” seen through her “comically distorted glasses”. Her present book, The Cantor Buried Tales, is an interesting and light-hearted look at some of Hollywood’s fascinating characters written more like a novel then typical nonfiction.  These can be purchased from Bear Manor Media or other online book stores, such as, Amazon. Janet Cantor Gari has a personal website with information on her and her works that can be found here.          

Norma Shearer and 'That' Dress

May 13, 2014, 12:30 am

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Norma Shearer’s clothes became a sensation in the Precode era similar to the outrage and trends created from Gloria Swanson’s almost obsessive love for fashion. Nothing coursed more of a stir than her famous nearly see-through silken dresses in A Free Soul. Everyone in Hollywood seemed to have an opinion. Check out these quotes on films the original that dress.  

“Damn, the dame doesn’t wear any underwear in her scenes. Is she doing that in the interests of realism or what?”

Clark Gable

“Her clothes are breathtaking in their daring. But you couldn’t get away with them in your drawing room.”

Photoplay

“It was a form-fitting dress of white satin without a stitch on underneath…It out-Harlowed anything Jean ever put on her back.”

Hedda Hopper

Norma Shearer’s Reply:

“Somehow or other I always got myself rigged up in something sensational.”

 

“It is impossible to get anything made or accomplished without stepping on some toes; enemies are inevitable when one is a doer.”

 

“The morals of yesterday are no more. They are as dead as the day they were lived. Economic independence has put woman on exactly the same footing as man.”

Dorothy Mackaill Dishes the Dirt

May 17, 2014, 11:54 pm

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Mostly forgotten Precode actress, Dorothy Mackaill, was an excellent source of witty quotes and ponderings on the wonders and eccentricities of her generation during the early 1930’s. If you flip through old movie magazines – mostly ones published in 1930 and 1931 – you will surly find at least one insightful remark from Mackaill. Despite her young age and lack of schooling, she was surprising succinct, perceptive and clever. Below is a few of her best bits:

“The modern girl is like the Lindbergh, built for speed. We have tremendous vitality of body and complete emancipation of mind. None of the old taboos…mean a damn to us. We don’t care.”

“Give the modern girl a job and she’ll all set and all right. Give her nothing to do but smoke cigarettes, loll about the house, play bridge, and think about sex – and no one would dare answer for the results.”  

“In order to be sophisticated, fledgings turn to their primer, the movies. Who has the good times, the swell clothes, the boyfriends, the jewels, the excitements, all the breaks? Why who but the Connie Bennets…the Crawfords, even the Mackaills. And why?...Not because we are portrayed as “nice girls” sitting at home with the old folks or practising the piano. No, because…we are smoking, drinking, dancing, being made love to, getting into and usually out of…passionate situations.”

                              “…to be called a nice girl is to be blasphemed and socially undone.”

Gif Me a Whisky: Precode Named Cocktails

May 26, 2014, 6:22 pm

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Anyone who is even slightly familiar with Precode films can definitely attest that they are filled with alcohol. In nearly every picture, most the characters are either drunk, talking about getting drunk or experiences hangovers for some portion of the film. Words like ‘bootlegger’, ‘plastered’, ‘blotto’, ‘soused’, ‘sauced’ and ‘speakeasy’ are common Precode terms in an era – unbelievably – ruled by Prohibition. Who could forget Greta Garbo’s first piece of dialogue spoken on screen in Anna Christie (1930), “Gif me a visky, ginger ale on the side, and don' be stingy, baby”. A line which is unequivocally speaking to the culture of 1930’s society which – if the films are anything to go by – was overrun with liquor. Take a look at some more lines from popular Precodes: 

“Most of the girls around here like to compete to see who can get blotto first!” Three Wise Girls (1932)

“You just sell some creamy beers to the working man. With some murders on the side to keep him entertained!” Doorway to Hell (1930)

“God gives us heartache, and the devil gives us whiskey.” Five Star Final (1931)

“I could do some thinking on gin, if I had some.” Bed of Roses (1933)

Also poking fun at alcohol and drunkenness. So since the great majority of Precode films are focused on the topic, it’s not surprising that this obsession has transferred into the 21^st Century. Nowadays even long dead stars are getting into the action with a handful of popular Precode actors and actresses having cocktails and concoctions named after them. I recommend trying a couple if you have a spare weekend or a lazy afternoon.    

 

Marlene Dietrich Cocktail

Ingredients

3/4 wineglass of Rye or Canadian whisky

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 dashes Curaçao

Method

Shake well and strain into a wineglass. Squeeze orange and lemon peel on top.

 

Jimmy 'Schnozzle' Durante Cocktail

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Curaçao

2 glasses gin

2 glasses sherry

2 glasses French Vermouth

Method

Mix the ingredients in a shaker filled with cracked ice. Stir thoroughly with a spoon, shake, strain and serve. Add an olive and two dashes of Absinthe to each glass.

 

Douglas Fairbanks Cocktail

Ingredients

2/3 Plymouth gin

1/3 French Vermouth

Method

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange and lemon peel.

  

Garbo Gargle

Ingredients

1 dash Crème de Menthe

1/4 glass orange juice

1/4 glass Grenadine

1/4 glass French Vermouth

1/4 brandy

Method

Shake well and strain into a medium sized glass. Top with a splash of Port Wine.

 

 

 

 
Jean Harlow Cocktail

Ingredients

1/2 Bacardi Rum

1/2 Italian Vermouth

A peel or wedge of lemon

Method

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass

 

 

 

Mary Pickford Cocktail

Ingredients

1/2 Bacardi Rum

1/2 pineapple juice

1 teaspoon grenadine

6 drops Maraschino 

Method

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

 

 

 
Ginger Rogers Cocktail

Ingredients

1/3 French Vermouth
1/3 dry gin
1/3 apricot brandy
4 dashes lemon juice
Method

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

 

Will Rogers Cocktail

Ingredients

1/4 orange juice

1/4 French Vermouth

1/2 Plymouth gin

4 dashes Curaçao

Method

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

 

Shirley Temple Cocktail

Ingredients

Ginger ale
Dash of grenadine

Method

Mix and serve.

 

 

Lupe Velez Cocktail

Ingredients

3 glasses Jamaica rum
1 glass Kummel
1 glass orange juice
1 dash Pimento Dram

Method

Shake carefully and serve whilst frothing.

 

 

Johnny Weissmuller Cocktail

Ingredients

1/3 gin1/3 Bacardi Rum
1/3 lemon juice
Powdered sugar
1 dash grenadine

Method

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

 

Mae West Cocktail

Ingredients

Yolk of 1 egg1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 glass brandy

Method

Shake well and strain into a medium sized glass. Top with a dash of Cayenne Pepper.