Week-End Marriage (AKA Working Wives) a fine 1932 pre-code film combines comedy and romantic melodrama. Loretta Young has to choose between two men. Takes career vs marriage problems for women seriously. A film that enrages some modern viewers.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/07/week-end-marriage-1932.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #LorettaYoung

In Road To Paradise (1930) Loretta Young is delightful playing dual roles as a wealthy socialite and an orphan with a paranormal ability. Cheerfully pre-code with an indifference to the law. It's OK for pretty girls to break the law. Good fun.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/07/road-to-paradise-1930.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #LorettaYoung

The Truth About Youth (1930), a sex comedy/melodrama with cute as a button Loretta Young as the good girl facing fierce competition for her man from gold digger Myrna Loy (in full-on Sexy Bad Girl mode). Very pre-code and great fun.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-truth-about-youth-1930.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #LorettaYoung #MyrnaLoy #melodrama

One Night at Susie’s is an OK 1930 pre-code crime/romantic melodrama. Very pre-code. The theatre world is depicted in all its sleazy reality. The plot has more holes than a hoodlum who’s just been ventilated by a machine gun.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/06/one-night-at-susies-1930.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #douglasfairbanksjr #billiedove #melodrama

The Painted Veil, a 1934 Greta Garbo romantic melodrama. Based on a Somerset Maugham story. The introduction of the Production Code earlier in 1934 results in characters whose behaviours make no sense but it looks good and Garbo is terrific.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-painted-veil-1934.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #GretaGarbo #romance #romancemovie #romancemovies #melodrama #wSomersetMaugham

The Crowd Roars (1932), a Howard Hawks race-car melodrama. Also deals with the uneasy dynamics that develop when a woman enters this male world. Very Hawksian. Grown-up action movie with some depth. James Cagney and Joan Blondell are terrific.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-crowd-roars-1932.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #HowardHawks #JamesCagney #JoanBlondell

The Story of Temple Drake (1933), one of the most notorious of all Hollywood pre-code movies. Temple Drake likes playing dangerous games with men. Stylistically bizarre southern gothic melodrama, very outrageous and deliberately provocative.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-story-of-temple-drake-1933.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #MirianHopkins #WiliiamFaulkner

42nd Street (1933), arguably the greatest musical of them all. Hardboiled, sexy, sassy, snappy plus those Busby Berkeley production numbers. It's like a delicious cocktail but with enough hard liquor in it to give it a real kick. Movie magic.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/04/42nd-street-1933.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #BusbyBerkeley #GingerRogers #RubyKeeler #UnaMerkel #musicals #hollywoodmusical #hollywoodmusicals

It's a pre-code movie and Bebe Daniels and Joan Blondell are in it, but sadly MY PAST (1931) just doesn't quite make it. It does have some pre-code naughtiness but comes across as slightly unpleasant. I just didn't like these people.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/04/my-past-1931.html

#30smovie ##30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #BebeDaniels #JoanBlondell

The Last Flight (1931) is a fascinating nicely unpredictable pre-code exercise in post-war angst. Perhaps the most successful attempt at existentialism on film. Two flyers return from the war, now they're going nowhere and they’re in a hurry.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-last-flight-1931.html

#30smovie ##30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #RichardBarthelmess #DavidManners #HelenChandler #existentialism

The Right to Romance is a 1933 pre-code melodrama. Peggy is a top plastic surgeon but she wants more - she wants romance. She finds herself a handsome irresponsible playboy. A good film that takes a grown-up look at complex emotional issues.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-right-to-romance-1933.html

#30smovie ##30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #AnnHarding #RobertYoung

Trangression, a 1931 romance melodrama. A wife finds temptation in Paris while her husband is in India on business. Ricardo Cortez is fun as a caddish womaniser. It's Cortez and the wonderful Kay Francis who make this one worth seeing.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/03/trangression-1931.html

#30smovie ##30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #KayFrancis #RicardoCortez

Heat Lightning is a deliciously overheated overwrought 1934 pre-code sex melodrama with just a dash of film noir. Two crooks create emotional and sexual tensions in a desert truck stop. Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, Glenda Farrell star.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/03/heat-lightning-1934.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #melodrama #filmnoir #AlineMacMahon #AnnDvorak #GlendaFarrell

Bright Lights (AKA Adventures in Africa) is a fascinating pre-code oddity, a backstage musical with romance and murder. Lightweight breezy fun, a fine showcase for star Dorothy Mackaill. The Cannibal Love musical number is a highlight.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2012/08/bright-lights-1930.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #DorothyMackaill #backstagemusical #backstagemusicals #hollywoodmusicals

Downstairs (1932) is an excellent hard-hitting pre-code melodrama with John Gilbert in top form as a deliciously slimy cad obsessed with women and money. Lots of pre-code sexual frankness here, and a very pre-code ending.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/03/downstairs-1932.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #melodrama #JohnGilbert #VirginiaBruce #PaulLukas

Mandalay (1934) belongs to a sub-genre I dearly love, the pre-code tropical melodrama. With Kay Francis as a high-class hooker and sexual adventuress. She wears fabulous slinky 30s dresses. She’s at the top of her game here. Great movie.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/03/mandalay-1934.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #melodrama #melodramas #KayFrancis #MichaelCurtiz

Ann Vickers, a 1933 melodrama with Irene Dunne as a social reformer. There's lots of pre-code sexual content but this a movie that bludgeons us relentlessly with a social message. Amazingly it features a bad performance by Walter Huston. Avoid.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/02/ann-vickers-1933.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #melodrama #IreneDunne #WalterHuston

Thirteen Women (1932) is a crime melodrama/horror film. Twelve women, former schoolfriends, receive warnings from an Indian mystic. Myrna Loy gets the juicy sexy bad girl role and she's terrific. Fun, with subtle occult hints.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/02/thirteen-women-1932.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #horrormovie #horrormovies #occult #IreneDunne #MyrnaLoy #RicardoCortez

Bachelor Apartment is a breezy 1931 pre-code sex comedy/bedroom farce starring Irene Dunne. Plenty of mild pre-code naughtiness here with the suggestion that maybe illicit sex is no big deal. Genuinely amusing and charming.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/02/bachelor-apartment-1931.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #IreneDunne

This Man Is Mine is a 1934 pre-code comedy/melodrama. Very pre-code, sophisticated, cynical. Irene Dunne's marriage is threatened by her husband's scheming ex. Dunne and Kay Johnson are terrific and wear amazing gowns. Delightful film.

My review: https://dfordoom-movieramblings.blogspot.com/2024/02/this-man-is-mine-1934.html

#30smovie #30smovies #1930smovie #1930smovies #classicmovie #classicmovies #precode #precodemovie #precodemovies #precodehollywood #RalphBellamy #IreneDunne #KayJohnson #melodrama #romanticcomedy #romanticcomedies