Highlights from the pre-code picture era
My favorites from American cinema 1929-1934
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- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLew AyresRobert ArmstrongJean HarlowPrizefighter Mason loses his opening fight so wife Rose leaves him for Hollywood. Without her around Mason trains and starts winning. Rose comes back and wants Mason to dump his manager Regan and replace him with her secret lover Lewis.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge BrentDonald CookA young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsWarren WilliamJoan BlondellAline MacMahonA wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckBen LyonJoan BlondellA nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJoan BlondellAnn DvorakBette DavisAlthough Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsJoan BlondellRicardo CortezGinger RogersShowgirl Joan Blondell, supported by her friend Ginger Rogers, fights for the custody of her son during a divorce hearing.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsClara BowGilbert RolandThelma ToddSexy Texas gal storms her way through life, brawling and boozing until her luck runs out, forcing her to learn the errors of her ways.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsClara BowFredric MarchMarceline DayWild girls at a college pay more attention to parties than their classes. But when one party girl, Stella Ames, goes too far at a local bar and lands in trouble, her professor must rescue her. Gossip linking the two escalates until Stella proves that she is decent by shielding an innocent girl and winning the professor's respect.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichClive BrookAnna May WongA notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsJean HarlowMae ClarkeWalter ByronCassie moves to New York and jumps from one job to another until she lands a modeling gig.
- DirectorFrank R. StrayerStarsMary BrianIrene RichJames HallThe lives of a number of the workers and executives in a Manhattan skyscraper are affected by the actions of a philandering and crooked company boss.
- DirectorJean Benoît-LévyMarie EpsteinStarsMadeleine RenaudAlice TissotPaulette ÉlambertWhen her father files bankruptcy and then dies, Rose's fiancé jilts her; she takes a job as a maid in a Montmartre kindergarten with 150 poor children. Rose gives each child loving attention, and soon she's their favorite. An especially needy child is Marie, a prostitute's daughter. Rose and she bond, and Marie is jealous of all attentions paid Rose, especially those of Dr. Libois, the school's physician. When Rose inadvertently guides the children through the educational experiment of a visiting scholar, and then discloses she has a college degree and is working beneath her station, the principal wants to fire her. Is there any way she can stay? And what will happen to Marie?
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsWarner BaxterBebe DanielsGeorge BrentWhen the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyMaureen O'SullivanFormer detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsJean HarlowLee TracyFrank MorganA glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsMarie DresslerJohn BarrymoreWallace BeeryAffluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsClaudette ColbertWarren WilliamRochelle HudsonA struggling widow and her daughter take in a Black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter; the two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam PowellBette DavisFrank McHughWhen the Manhattan investment firm of Sherwood Nash goes broke, he joins forces with his partner Snap and fashion designer Lynn Mason to provide discount shops with cheap copies of Paris couture dresses.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsBette DavisDonald WoodsMargaret LindsayThe lifestyles of Arlene and Valkyr Bradford, half-sisters from a respected San Francisco family, diverge markedly as Arlene takes up with criminals.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsJoan BlondellGlenda FarrellGuy KibbeeTwo golddiggers go fishing for millionaires in Havana.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsMarion DaviesBing CrosbyFifi D'OrsayA love-struck teacher pursues a radio singer to Hollywood.
- DirectorMarc AllégretStarsJosephine BakerJean GabinPierre LarqueyZou Zou tries to help her childhood friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murder.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGeorge RaftConstance CummingsWynne GibsonA successful ex-boxer opens a high-class speakeasy in what once was the childhood home of a formerly rich society girl.
- DirectorCharles BrabinStarsWalter HustonJean HarlowWallace FordPolice Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsLoretta YoungFrank AlbertsonRicardo CortezThanks to her ability and her legs, Claire McIntyre rises in the business world.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsCharles FarrellBette DavisRicardo CortezRacketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsJoan CrawfordClark GableFranchot ToneAn attractive dancer is rescued from jail by a rich man who helps her to have her first big opportunity at a musical play on Broadway.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsJoan CrawfordCliff EdwardsLester VailAfter the death of her father and loss of the family fortune, Bonnie (Joan Crawford) gets a job as a cub reporter while her brother (William Bakewell) becomes involved in bootlegging.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
- DirectorThornton FreelandStarsDolores Del RíoGene RaymondRaul RoulienA bandleader woos a Latin flame who is already engaged to his employer.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsJudith WoodDorothy HallCharles 'Buddy' RogersTwo sisters, May, older, naive, and June, younger and worldly, arrive in New York straight from the country and settle down in a boarding house. Their search for jobs leads them to find beaus and romantic trouble.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsSylvia SidneyFredric MarchAdrianne AllenA drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsMae WestCary GrantGregory RatoffCircus performer Tira seeks a better life pursuing the company of wealthy New York men with improbable comic complications along the way.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsClara BowPreston FosterRichard CromwellA hula dancer at a carnival sets out to seduce the son of the show's manager.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsJoan CrawfordRobert ArmstrongMarie PrevostMary Turner goes up for three years on a crime she didn't commit. Once out she and former prison mates plan a scam in which old men can be sued for breach of promise - the "heart balm" racket. After plotting verious ways to get back at the men who set her up initially, she softens and settles down.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsMae WestRoger PryorJohnny Mack BrownRuby Carter, the American Beauty queen of the night club-sporting world, shifts her operations from St. Louis to New Orleans, mostly to get away from prizefighter Tiger Kid. Installed as the prize attraction of "The Sensation Club", ran by Ace Lamont, she quickly becomes the toast of the town and also marked as personal property by Ace, arousing the fury of Ace's former flame, Molly Brant. The not-overly-bright Tiger comes to town and is set for a title match with the champ by Ace, while the latter also has him steal some of Ruby's jewels. Ruby, no dumb-belle, figuring Ace has the fix in on the fight, uses some of her other jewels to lay a trap for Ace. Tiger confesses, after the fight, to Ruby his role in the jewel robbery while she hints that Ace was the one who slipped him the knock-out drops. Tiger goes after Ace, who, for his own reasons, has Molly locked in a closet.
- DirectorLowell ShermanJack ConwayStarsLoretta YoungCary GrantJackie KelkAn immoral mother blackmails a wealthy businessman after he accidentally hits her delinquent son with his truck.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBarbara StanwyckRalph GravesLowell ShermanAn upper-crust artist hires a 'party girl' as a model; romance follows.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsLoretta YoungFranchot ToneRicardo CortezAn abused orphan sinks into a life of crime.
- DirectorHobart HenleyStarsLew AyresMae ClarkeBoris KarloffStory of the goings-on at a Prohibition-era nightclub.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonWilliam KeighleyStarsBarbara StanwyckPreston FosterLyle TalbotAttractive Nan, member of a bank-robbery gang, goes to prison thanks to evangelist Dave Slade...who loves her.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyRalph BellamyPatricia EllisEx-convict Danny Kean decides to become honest as a photographer for a paper. He falls in love with Patricia, the daughter of the policeman who arrested him. Mr Nolan, her father, doesn't like that relation at first, but McLean, Kean's boss, convinces him of Kean's good nature. But Kean uses his relation to Patricia to make a photo of an execution. Due to this, Nolan loses his stripes and Kean isn't allowed to see Patricia any longer. But when one of his former friends kills two policemen, Kean sees his chance....
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBarbara StanwyckRegis ToomeyZasu PittsA poor woman and a man from an upper-class family fall in love, but his mother will go to any lengths to stop their marriage.