Tag: Claire Dodd
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ISSUE #6 of THE PRE-CODE COMPANION now available!
The sixth (and, for now, final) issue of The Pre-Code Companion is now available at Amazon. It runs 77 pages and costs $2.99, with all profits being donated to the ASPCA. This issue’s contributors are: Jewel Robbery by Kim Luperi Kay Francis by Molly Bugamelli Lawyer Man by Jake Woehlke William Powell by Lesley Gaspar Man Wanted by Cliff…
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Ann Carver’s Profession (1933) Review, with Fay Wray, Gene Raymond, and Claire Dodd
Ann Carver Fay Wray Bill Graham Gene Raymond Carole Rodgers Claire Dodd Released by Columbia | Directed by Edward Buzzell Run time: 68 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film A woman… with a college degree! And… and she doesn’t want to sit around the house! It’s madness I tell you! A breach of promise…
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Crooner (1932) Review, with David Manners and Ann Dvorak
Ted Taylor David Manners Judy Mason Ann Dvorak Peter Sturgis Ken Murray Released by Warner Bros. | Directed by Lloyd Bacon Proof That It’s Pre-Code Saxophone player Ted Taylor thinks he’s getting a good reaction from a stage manager, but the guy’s only checking out a woman in a leotard stretching. Ted’s singing voice enraptures…
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I Sell Anything (1934) Review, with Pat O’Brien and Ann Dvorak
Cutler Pat O’Brien Barbara Ann Dvorak Millicent Claire Dodd Released by Warner Bros./First National | Directed by Robert Florey Proof That It’s Pre-Code-ish Our main character, “Spot Cash” Cutler, pretty much pushes and prods rubes out of their money by way of selling them junk that’s been falsely made to look expensive. Should he go…
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Gambling Lady (1934) Review, with Barbara Stanwyck
Lady Lee … Barbara Stanwyck Garry Madison … Joel McCrea Charlie Lang… Pat O’Brien Sheila Aiken … Claire Dodd Pete Madison … C. Aubrey Smith Directed by Archie Mayo Proof That It’s Pre-Code A note on this one: the only copy I could find had the Production Code seal on it, so I may have…
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Smarty (1934) Review
The Particulars of the Picture Vicki … Joan Blondell Tony … Warren William Vernon … Edward Everett Horton Anita … Claire Dodd George … Frank McHugh Bonnie … Joan Wheeler Smarty: Slap Happy Spanking, slapping, screwing. If any of those intrigue you, you may be interested in Smarty, one of the dirtiest pictures American pictures…
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Blondie Johnson (1933) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code It’s about a lady gangster who takes over a mob through her wits rather than with her body– which is pretty rare for a Pre-Code. She’s vicious, cunning, and makes suckers out of her enemies. Blondie goes into the hospital to visit her gangster cohort who was run down by an…
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Man Wanted (1932) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code When you watch Pre-Code films, it’s sometimes hard to realize just how disenfranchised women were during this time period. That’s because movies in that era went out of their way to give us strong female roles who did things like run a car company, function as a doctor, or, in this…
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Hard to Handle (1933) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code One of those gold digging pictures that we’re all so fond of: “Who said anything about love? I’m talking about money.” Ruth Donnelly, playing a mom, makes a suggestion to her daughter: “Don’t wear this. Wear your blue dress. Shows more of your… girlish laughter.” 😉 James Cagney, alone and seduced,…
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Lawyer Man (1932) Review
As soon as it gains some steam, Lawyer Man is a stunning indictment of the political and legal system of the 1930’s.