List of pre-Code films
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become effectively enforced until July 1, 1934. Before that date, movie content was restricted more by local laws, negotiations between the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) and the major studios, and popular opinion than strict adherence to the Hays Code, which was often ignored by Hollywood filmmakers.
Criteria for inclusion on this list is the direct mention of a film as a Pre-Code in a mainstream source, or its discussion in an article, essay, or book on Pre-Codes.
Contents |
Movies
1929
- Alibi
- Applause
- The Awful Truth
- Betrayal
- Big Time
- The Black Watch
- Blackmail
- The Broadway Melody
- Bulldog Drummond
- The Canary Murder Case
- Careers
- Close Harmony
- The Cock-Eyed World
- The Cocoanuts
- Condemned
- Coquette
- Dance Hall
- The Desert Song
- Devil-May-Care
- Diary of a Lost Girl
- The Flying Fleet
- Footlights and Fools
- The Godless Girl
- Gold Diggers of Broadway
- Glorifying the American Girl
- The Great Gabbo
- Hallelujah!
- Hell's Heroes
- Her Private Life
- The Hole in the Wall
- In Old Arizona
- The Kiss
- The Lady Lies
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
- The Letter
- The Locked Door
- The Love Parade
- Lucky Star
- Madame X
- Marianne
- The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
- Our Modern Maidens
- The Pagan
- Piccadilly
- Painted Faces
- Pointed Heels
- The Racketeer
- Redskin
- Rio Rita
- The River
- Sally
- Salute
- Street Girl
- The Saturday Night Kid
- Seven Footprints to Satan
- The Single Standard
- The Squall
- Sunny Side Up
- Their Own Desire
- This Thing Called Love
- Thunderbolt
- The Trespasser
- The Trial of Mary Dugan
- Untamed
- The Valiant
- The Virginian
- Voice of the City
- Where East Is East
- The Wild Party
- The Wolf Song
1930
- Africa Speaks
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Animal Crackers
- Anna Christie
- The Bad Man
- The Big House
- The Big Pond
- The Big Trail
- Billy the Kid
- The Bishop Murder Case
- The Blue Angel
- Bride of the Regiment
- Bright Lights
- Call of the Flesh
- Charley's Aunt
- Cheer Up and Smile
- Children of Pleasure
- The Cuckoos
- Danger Lights
- The Dawn Patrol
- The Devil to Pay!
- The Devil's Holiday
- Dixiana
- The Divorcee
- The Doorway to Hell
- Du Barry, Woman of Passion
- Fast and Loose
- Follow Thru
- Golden Dawn
- Good News
- Half Shot at Sunrise
- Hell Harbor
- Hell's Angels
- High Society Blues
- Hold Everything
- Holiday
- In Gay Madrid
- Just Imagine
- King of Jazz
- Kismet
- Ladies Love Brutes
- Ladies of Leisure
- Laughter
- Leathernecking
- Let Us Be Gay
- Let's Go Native
- The Life of the Party
- Loose Ankles
- The Lottery Bride
- Madame Satan
- Mammy
- The Man from Blankley's
- Manslaughter
- The Matrimonial Bed
- Men Without Women
- Min and Bill
- Moby Dick
- Monte Carlo
- Morocco
- Murder!
- New Moon
- No, No, Nanette
- Not So Dumb
- The Office Wife
- One Romantic Night
- Our Blushing Brides
- Outward Bound
- Paid
- Paramount on Parade
- Peacock Alley
- Puttin' on the Ritz
- Queen High
- Raffles
- Reaching for the Moon
- Renegades
- Romance
- The Rogue Song
- The Royal Family of Broadway
- The Runaway Bride
- Sarah and Son
- The Second Floor Mystery
- She Couldn't Say No
- Show Girl in Hollywood
- The Silver Horde
- Sin Takes a Holiday
- The Sins of the Children
- Sinners' Holiday
- Slightly Scarlet
- Son of the Gods
- Song of the Flame
- Song of the West
- The Spoilers
- Street of Chance
- Sunny
- Sweet Kitty Bellairs
- They Learned About Women
- Three Faces East
- True to the Navy
- The Truth About Youth
- Under a Texas Moon
- Up the River
- The Unholy Three
- The Vagabond King
- Viennese Nights
- The Virtuous Sin
- War Nurse
- Way for a Sailor
- What a Widow!
- The Woman Racket
- Whoopee!
- Young Man of Manhattan
1931
- A Connecticut Yankee
- A Free Soul
- An American Tragedy
- Arrowsmith
- Bachelor Apartment
- Bad Company
- The Bad Sister
- Big Business Girl
- The Blonde Captive
- Blonde Crazy
- Body and Soul
- Born to Love (1931 film)
- Captain Applejack
- Caught Plastered
- The Cheat
- Cimarron
- City Lights
- City Streets
- Confessions of a Co-Ed
- Cracked Nuts
- Dance, Fools, Dance
- Delicious
- Dirigible
- Dishonored
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Dracula
- The Easiest Way
- Everything's Rosie
- Expensive Women
- Fighting Caravans
- Five and Ten
- Five Star Final
- Frankenstein
- Friends and Lovers
- The Front Page
- The Gay Diplomat
- Girls About Town
- God's Gift to Women
- Goldie
- The Great Lover
- The Guilty Generation
- Hell Divers
- His Woman
- Honor Among Lovers
- Hush Money
- I Take This Woman
- Indiscreet
- Inspiration
- Iron Man
- It Pays to Advertise
- Kept Husbands
- Kick In
- Kiki
- Ladies' Man
- Ladies of the Big House
- The Lady Refuses
- The Last Flight
- Laughing Sinners
- Little Caesar
- Lonely Wives
- M
- The Mad Genius
- The Mad Parade
- Mädchen in Uniform
- Maker of Men
- The Maltese Falcon
- Man of the World
- Manhattan Parade
- Mata Hari
- Millie
- The Millionaire
- The Miracle Woman
- Monkey Business
- Morals for Women
- Never the Twain Shall Meet
- Night Nurse
- No Limit
- Once a Lady
- Other Men's Women
- Palmy Days
- Peach O'Reno
- Platinum Blonde
- Possessed
- Private Lives
- The Public Enemy
- Quick Millions
- Safe in Hell
- The Secret Six
- The Sin of Madelon Claudet
- The Sin Ship
- Sit Tight
- Six Cylinder Love
- Smart Woman
- The Smiling Lieutenant
- Son of India
- The Squaw Man
- Strangers May Kiss
- Street Scene
- Strictly Dishonorable
- Surrender
- Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
- Svengali
- Tarnished Lady
- Ten Cents a Dance
- Tonight or Never
- Trader Horn<ref name="DH255"/>
- Transatlantic
- The Common Law
- The Unholy Garden
- Up Pops the Devil
- Waterloo Bridge
1932
- 20,000 Years in Sing Sing
- A Bill of Divorcement
- A Farewell to Arms
- A Successful Calamity
- Afraid to Talk
- After Tomorrow
- The Age of Consent
- Air Mail
- Alias the Doctor
- American Madness
- The Animal Kingdom
- Are You Listening?
- Arsène Lupin
- As You Desire Me
- Back Street
- The Beast of the City
- The Big Broadcast
- Big City Blues
- The Big Timer
- Bird of Paradise
- Blessed Event
- Blonde Venus
- Blondie of the Follies
- The Cabin in the Cotton
- Call Her Savage
- The Crowd Roars
- Cynara
- The Dark Horse
- The Devil is Driving
- Devil and the Deep
- Disorderly Conduct
- Doctor X<ref name="DH297"/>
- Downstairs
- Emma
- Faithless
- Fast Life
- Flesh
- Forbidden
- Freaks
- Frisco Jenny
- Girl Crazy
- Grand Hotel
- The Greeks Had a Word for Them
- The Half-Naked Truth
- The Hatchet Man<ref>Doherty. pg. 269</ref>
- Hell's Highway
- Hell's House
- Hold 'Em Jail
- Horse Feathers
- Hot Saturday
- I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
- If I Had a Million
- Impatient Maiden
- Island of Lost Souls<ref name="DH298"/>
- Jewel Robbery
- The Kid from Spain
- Klondike
- Kongo
- Lady with a Past
- Lawyer Man
- Letty Lynton
- Life Begins
- The Lost Squadron
- Love Is a Racket
- Love Me Tonight
- Madame Butterfly
- Madame Racketeer
- Man Wanted
- The Man Who Played God
- The Mask of Fu Manchu<ref name="DH298">Doherty. pg. 298</ref>
- The Match King
- Me and My Gal
- Men of Chance
- Merrily We Go to Hell
- Million Dollar Legs
- The Miracle Man
- Mr. Robinson Crusoe
- The Most Dangerous Game
- The Mouthpiece
- The Mummy
- Murders in the Rue Morgue
- New Morals for Old
- Night After Night
- Night World
- No Man of Her Own
- No More Orchids
- Old Morals for New<ref name="DH132"/>
- One Hour with You
- One Way Passage
- Payment Deferred
- The Penguin Pool Murder
- The Phantom President
- Polly of the Circus
- Probation
- The Purchase Price
- Rain
- Rasputin and the Empress
- Red Dust
- Red-Headed Woman<ref name="DH132">Doherty. pg. 132</ref>
- The Rich Are Always with Us
- Scarface
- Scarlet Dawn
- Shanghai Express
- Shopworn<ref name="DH132"/>
- The Sign of the Cross
- The Silent Witness
- Silver Dollar
- Sinners in the Sun
- Sky Devils
- Skyscraper Souls
- Smilin' Through
- So Big!
- Speak Easily
- The Sport Parade
- State's Attorney
- Strange Interlude
- Strange Justice<ref name="DH253">Doherty. pg. 253</ref>
- The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
- Symphony of Six Million
- Tarzan the Ape Man<ref name="DH257">Doherty. pg. 257</ref>
- Taxi!
- Thirteen Women
- The Thirteenth Guest
- This Is the Night
- This Reckless Age
- Three on a Match
- Three Wise Girls
- Trouble in Paradise
- Two Kinds of Women
- Under 18
- Vanity Fair
- Week-End Marriage
- Week Ends Only
- Westward Passage
- The Wet Parade
- What Price Hollywood
- White Zombie
- Wild Girl
- Winner Take All
- Young America
1933
- 42nd Street
- A Shriek in the Night
- After Tonight
- Air Hostess
- Ann Carver's Profession
- Ann Vickers
- Another Language
- Baby Face<ref name="DH132"/>
- The Barbarian<ref name="Vi130"/>
- Beauty for Sale<ref name="DH132"/>
- Bed of Roses<ref name="DH132"/>
- The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- Blind Adventure
- Blondie Johnson
- Blood Money<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Bombshell
- The Bowery
- Broadway Through a Keyhole
- Broadway to Hollywood
- Bureau of Missing Persons
- Cavalcade
- Central Airport
- Child of Manhattan
- Christopher Strong
- College Coach
- College Humor
- Convention City
- Counsellor at Law
- Dancing Lady
- Day of Reckoning
- Design for Living
- The Devil's Brother
- Dinner at Eight<ref name="Vi130"/>
- Diplomaniacs
- Double Harness
- Duck Soup
- The Eagle and the Hawk '
- Ecstasy
- The Emperor Jones
- Employees' Entrance
- Ever in My Heart
- Ex-Lady
- Fast Workers
- Female
- Flying Devils
- Flying Down to Rio
- Footlight Parade<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Gabriel Over the White House
- Gambling Ship
- Girl Without a Room
- Going Hollywood<ref name="Vi130"/>
- Gold Diggers of 1933
- Goodbye Again
- Goodbye Love
- Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
- Hard to Handle
- Havana Widows
- Hell Below
- Hello, Sister!<ref name="Vi131"/>
- Heroes for Sale<ref>Doherty. pg. 27</ref>
- Hold Your Man
- Hoop-La<ref name="Vi131">Vieira. pg. 131</ref>
- Hot Pepper
- The House on 56th Street
- I Am Suzanne
- I Cover the Waterfront
- I'm No Angel<ref name="Vi133"/>
- The Invisible Man
- International House
- Jennie Gerhardt
- King Kong
- The Kiss Before the Mirror
- Ladies They Talk About<ref name="Vi133">Vieira. pg. 133</ref>
- Lady Killer
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan
- Lilly Turner
- Man's Castle
- The Masquerader
- The Mayor of Hell
- Meet the Baron
- Melody Cruise
- Men Must Fight
- Midnight Club
- Midnight Mary
- Morning Glory
- Murders in the Zoo
- Myrt and Marge
- Mystery of the Wax Museum
- My Weakness<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Night Flight
- No Other Woman
- One Man's Journey
- One Sunday Afternoon
- Only Yesterday<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Our Betters
- Parachute Jumper
- Parole Girl
- The Past of Mary Holmes
- Peg o' My Heart
- Penthouse<ref name="DH132"/>
- Perfect Understanding
- Pick-Up
- Picture Snatcher
- The Power and the Glory
- Private Detective 62
- The Private Life of Henry VIII
- The Prizefighter and the Lady
- Queen Christina
- Rafter Romance
- The Right to Romance
- Roman Scandals
- Sailor's Luck<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Saturday's Millions
- Secrets
- Sensation Hunters
- Shanghai Madness
- She Done Him Wrong<ref name="Vi133"/>
- She Had to Say Yes
- Should Ladies Behave<ref name="Vi130">Vieira. pg. 130</ref>
- The Silver Cord
- The Sin of Nora Moran
- Sitting Pretty
- So This Is Africa
- Sons of the Desert
- The Secret of Madame Blanche
- The Song of Songs
- State Fair
- The Story of Temple Drake
- This Day and Age
- Three-Cornered Moon
- To the Last Man
- Today We Live
- Too Much Harmony<ref name="Vi133"/>
- Topaze
- Torch Singer
- Tugboat Annie
- The Vampire Bat
- The Warrior's Husband<ref name="Vi133"/>
- West of Singapore<ref name="DH253"/>
- When Ladies Meet
- Whistling in the Dark
- The White Sister
- Wild Boys of the Road
- The Woman Accused
- The World Changes
- The World Gone Mad
- You Made Me Love You
- Zoo in Budapest
1934
- A Modern Hero
- The Affairs of Cellini
- All of Me
- Bachelor Bait
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street
- Belle of the Nineties
- The Big Shakedown
- The Black Cat
- Black Moon<ref name="DH298"/>
- Bolero
- Born to Be Bad
- Bottoms Up *Carolina
- The Cat and the Fiddle
- Chained
- Change of Heart
- Cleopatra
- Dames
- Dr. Monica
- Evelyn Prentice
- Fashions of 1934
- Finishing School
- Fog Over Frisco
- Forsaking All Others
- Four Frightened People
- Fugitive Lovers
- Gambling Lady
- George White's Scandals
- The Gay Divorcee
- The Girl from Missouri
- Hat, Coat, and Glove
- Heat Lightning
- He Was Her Man
- Hips, Hips, Hooray!
- Hollywood Party
- The House of Rothschild
- Imitation of Life
- It Happened One Night
- Jimmy the Gent
- Laughing Boy
- Lazy River
- The Life of Vergie Winters
- Little Miss Marker
- The Lost Patrol
- The Personality Kid
- Mandalay
- Manhattan Love Song
- Manhattan Melodrama
- Massacre
- Men in White
- Moulin Rouge
- Murder at the Vanities
- Murder on the Blackboard
- The Mystery of Mr. X
- Nana
- No Greater Glory
- Now I'll Tell
- Of Human Bondage
- Once to Every Woman
- Operator 13
- The Painted Veil
- Palooka
- Riptide
- The Road to Ruin
- Sadie McKee
- The Scarlet Empress
- Search for Beauty
- She Loves Me Not
- Side Streets
- Six of a Kind
- Smarty
- Spitfire
- Stingaree
- Strictly Dynamite
- Success at Any Price
- Tarzan and His Mate<ref name="DH257"/>
- The Thin Man
- Thirty-Day Princess
- This Man Is Mine
- The Trumpet Blows
- Twentieth Century
- Twenty Million Sweethearts
- Two Alone
- Upper World
- Viva Villa!
- We're Not Dressing
- West of the Divide
- Wharf Angel
- Wonder Bar
See also
Sources
- Doherty, Thomas Patrick. Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema 1930-1934. New York: Columbia University Press 1999. ISBN 0-231-11094-4
- Jacobs, Lea. The Wages of Sin: Censorship and the Fallen Woman Film, 1928-1942. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 1997 ISBN 0-520-20790-4
- Jeff, Leonard L, & Simmons, Jerold L. The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code. The University Press of Kentucky 2001 ISBN 0-8131-9011-8
- LaSalle, Mick. Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press 2000 ISBN 0-312-25207-2
- LaSalle, Mick. Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man. New York: Thomas Dunne Books 2002 ISBN 0-312-28311-3
- Leitch, Thomas. Crime Films. Cambridge University Press 2004 ISBN 0-511-04028-8
- Lewis, Jen. Hollywood V. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry. NYU Press 2002 ISBN 0-8147-5142-3
- Prince, Stephen. Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1968. Rutgers University Press 2003 ISBN 0-8135-3281-7
- Smith, Sarah. Children, Cinema and Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids. Wiley-Blackwell 2005 ISBN 1-4051-2027-4
- Vieira, Mark A. Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1999. ISBN 0-8109-8228-5