1932
Blondie of the Follies (1932) Review, with Marion Davies, Billie Dove and Robert Montgomery
Marion Davies learns a lesson about love and friendship… well, no, she doesn’t, but she *does* crossdress.
1933
So This Is Africa (1933) Review, with Wheeler & Woolsey and Raquel Torres
Wilber Bert Wheeler Tarzana Raquel Torres Alexander Robert Woolsey Released by Columbia | Directed by Edward F. Cline Run time: 61 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “Hey! Come back here, you jackass!” “Oh see those Afri-cans.” “Virgin trees? Huh! They look pretty wild to me.” A swarm of Read more
1934
Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934) Review, with Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Bert Wheeler Lady Genevieve Thelma Todd Bob Robert Woolsey Released by RKO | Directed by Mark Sandrich Run time: 72 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “I like ’em young!” “Behead us? Can she do that?” “Sure, she can be-head.” (It sounds like ‘be had’. Look, it’s funny Read more
1930
Hook Line and Sinker (1930) Review, with Wheeler & Woolsey
Wilbur Bert Wheeler Mary Marsh Dorothy Lee Ganzy Robert Woolsey Released by RKO | Directed by Edward F. Cline Run time: 75 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “Conjigating.” “He wants a room with exposure!” “Are we going to allow that here?” Ganzy’s name keeps becoming ‘Pansy’. “This stuff Read more
1933
Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933) Review, with Constance Cummings, Paul Kelly, and Russ Columbo
Joan Constance Cummings Frank Paul Kelly Clark Russ Columbo Sybil Smith Blossom Seeley Hugh O’Connell Chuck Haskins Tex Kaley Texas Guinan Released by 20th Century Pictures | Directed by Lowell Sherman Run time: 91 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film One character, Sybil, is a former burlesque queen, and Read more
1931
Side Show (1931) Review, with Winnie Lightner and Charles Butterworth
Babs Winnie Lightner Sidney Charles Butterworth Joe Donald Cook Released by First National/Vitaphone/WB | Directed by Roy Del Ruth Run time: 64 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Star Lightner dresses in a hula skirt and has no qualms about flipping it up, down, and all around. Another job Read more
1930
Morocco (1930) Review, with Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper
Tom Brown Gary Cooper Amy Jolly Marlene Dietrich La Bessiere Adolphe Menjou Released by Paramount | Directed by Josef von Sternberg Run time: 91 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film “What are you doing with those fingers?” “Nothing. … yet.” One infamous scene has Dietrich, in a tux, kissing Read more
1932
Big City Blues (1932) Review, with Eric Linden and Joan Blondell
Bud Eric Linden Vida Joan Blondell Cousin Gibby Walter Catlett Hummell Guy Kibbee The Station Agent Grant Mitchell Ms. Cartlich Jobyna Howland Released by Warner Brothers | Directed by Mervyn LeRoy Proof That It’s Pre-Code A bootlegger, before informing a client about yet another ‘change of address’, pleasantly tells his Read more
1933
Queen Christina (1933) Review, with Greta Garbo and John Gilbert
Queen Christina Greta Garbo Antonio John Gilbert Magnus Ian Keith Oxenstierna Lewis Stone Ebba Elizabeth Owen Aage C. Aubrey Smith Released by MGM | Directed By Rouben Mamoulian Proof That It’s Pre-Code The titular queen is quite obviously a bisexual and also crossdresses. Christina compares nights of passionate lovemaking to Read more
1931
Sky Devils (1932) Review, with Spencer Tracy and Ann Dvorak
Wilkie Spencer Tracy Hogan William Boyd Mitchell George Cooper Mary Ann Dvorak The Colonel Billy Bevan Fifi Yola D’Avril Released by United Artists | Directed By A. Edward Sutherland Proof That It’s Pre-Code The best part of being a lifeguard is the women. Sometime you may even get two! Someone Read more