Great stuff. I love these pre-code film reviews. As you say, the movies look so much more relatable today. In my opinion, a lot of modern versions of movies like this seem to try too hard to be "edgy". That said, I can't help wondering how these movies were interpreted back when they were made. Was there some knucklehead like me saying that the movie tried too hard at that time? Thanks for another great review. Hopefully I can find it somewhere to watch it.
It's interesting to read movie reviews from the time these were released. Some harsh words about this one -- The NY Times called it "tedious and distasteful." So weird. It's anything but tedious. Overall it wasn't much liked at the time by critics but was reassessed later more favorably. Leonard Maltin gave it 3 1/2 stars.
@@XploitationRR Oh wow, it is interesting to hear what people thought of it at the time. I suppose the movie finally found its audience many decades later.
It's too bad more people don't know about the Pre-Code films. It's amazing how lively they are compared to the films made just a few years later. They tried to "clean up" the medium and they just ended up dumbing it down.
Yeah, the "Code" stuff is so puritanical it almost feels like an alternative history. Obviously there were great code film -- including one of my all-time favs, Casablanca, but they were really limited with the stories they could tell. Pre-Code is much more free and thus a much more accurate snapshot of the times, I'd wager.
No love for Ann Dvorak? She's one of the great underrated actresses of the 1930s. Independent and feisty, she was screwed over by the studios for standing up for herself. Later, she got PTSD working as an ambulance driver in London during WW2 and drank herself to death at an early age. Tragic tale.
One of my all time favourites from the Pre-Code 1930s. Great story and Excellent acting by all the principals and supporting cast...even the starlet Bette Davis...it's fun to see little Bette in this period, so tense and earnest in her acting, trying to make a impression with a "nothing" role. We all know this is Dvorak's film and she makes the most of tawdry role that Im sure Davis coveted. What I didnt agree with was your criticism of the prologue / ELLIPIS sequence showing the passage of 10 yrs in 3 mins-----the Roaring 20s, Prohibition, the Charleston, Hit songs, the various fads------right up to the Depression. Though the some shots were lifted from Public Enemy (31), the sequences not terribly long and certainly more creative / less pedestrian way than sticking up a Calendar and have the pages slip by. Im surprised you missed the little Pre-Code "Sapphic Love" quip from Glenda Farrell in the Reformatory sequences, where she admonishes Blondell / Mary not to get involved with ANY Man again !
Yeah, I like this one a lot too -- it might be in my top 5 from 32. I guess I didn't like the transitions because they went too long for not adding anything important to the story. I much prefer Scarface -- that machine gun shooting the dates off the calendar is way too cool. And over faster :) Thanks for watching!
Thanks, XX. All the movies you review and which time periods they come from are always interesting on your channel. Bogart? That's pretty awesome! I'm gonna see if my dad ever heard of this one. Thanks!
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Joan Blondell - the Queen of the Pre-Codes!
Great stuff. I love these pre-code film reviews. As you say, the movies look so much more relatable today. In my opinion, a lot of modern versions of movies like this seem to try too hard to be "edgy". That said, I can't help wondering how these movies were interpreted back when they were made. Was there some knucklehead like me saying that the movie tried too hard at that time? Thanks for another great review. Hopefully I can find it somewhere to watch it.
It's interesting to read movie reviews from the time these were released. Some harsh words about this one -- The NY Times called it "tedious and distasteful." So weird. It's anything but tedious. Overall it wasn't much liked at the time by critics but was reassessed later more favorably. Leonard Maltin gave it 3 1/2 stars.
@@XploitationRR Thanks for this historical perspective!
@@XploitationRR Oh wow, it is interesting to hear what people thought of it at the time. I suppose the movie finally found its audience many decades later.
It's too bad more people don't know about the Pre-Code films. It's amazing how lively they are compared to the films made just a few years later. They tried to "clean up" the medium and they just ended up dumbing it down.
Yeah, the "Code" stuff is so puritanical it almost feels like an alternative history. Obviously there were great code film -- including one of my all-time favs, Casablanca, but they were really limited with the stories they could tell. Pre-Code is much more free and thus a much more accurate snapshot of the times, I'd wager.
No love for Ann Dvorak? She's one of the great underrated actresses of the 1930s. Independent and feisty, she was screwed over by the studios for standing up for herself. Later, she got PTSD working as an ambulance driver in London during WW2 and drank herself to death at an early age. Tragic tale.
One of my all time favourites from the Pre-Code 1930s. Great story and Excellent acting by all the principals and supporting cast...even the starlet Bette Davis...it's fun to see little Bette in this period, so tense and earnest in her acting, trying to make a impression with a "nothing" role. We all know this is Dvorak's film and she makes the most of tawdry role that Im sure Davis coveted. What I didnt agree with was your criticism of the prologue / ELLIPIS sequence showing the passage of 10 yrs in 3 mins-----the Roaring 20s, Prohibition, the Charleston, Hit songs, the various fads------right up to the Depression. Though the some shots were lifted from Public Enemy (31), the sequences not terribly long and certainly more creative / less pedestrian way than sticking up a Calendar and have the pages slip by.
Im surprised you missed the little Pre-Code "Sapphic Love" quip from Glenda Farrell in the Reformatory sequences, where she admonishes Blondell / Mary not to get involved with ANY Man again !
Yeah, I like this one a lot too -- it might be in my top 5 from 32. I guess I didn't like the transitions because they went too long for not adding anything important to the story. I much prefer Scarface -- that machine gun shooting the dates off the calendar is way too cool. And over faster :) Thanks for watching!
Thanks, XX. All the movies you review and which time periods they come from are always interesting on your channel. Bogart? That's pretty awesome! I'm gonna see if my dad ever heard of this one. Thanks!
Bogart's role in this one is small, but great.
Thanks for watching!
@@XploitationRR Thanks for making these!