TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 (1931)

THE DIVORCEE (1930): After several blissful years of marriage a woman catches her husband in a compromising position and forces him to confess his infidelities Her solution to the problem is to then try to match him tryst for tryst. Based on the 1929 Ursula Parrott novel "Ex-wife," this highly controversial story was first published anonymously, with the author’s name added only after thousands of copies were sold. A FREE SOUL (1931): Lionel Barrymore shines as Stephen Ashe, a brilliant alcoholic lawyer who successfully defends dashing gangster Ace Wilfong (Clark Gable) on a murder charge only to find that his headstrong daughter, Jan (Norma Shearer), has fallen in love with his client. Jan, a fun-loving socialite seeking freedom from her blue-blood upbring, is only too eager to dump her aristocratic boyfriend (Leslie Howard) for the no-good gangster. Barrymore gives a remarkable Oscar-winning performance culminating in a legendary courtroom scene that is powerful and deeply moving. THREE ON A MATCH (1932): Childhood friends Mary Keaton, Ruth Wescott and Vivian Deverse reunite ten years after high school. Mary is now a chorus girl, level-headed Ruth has a job as a secretary, and sexy Vivian is on the verge of deserting her wealthy husband Henry Kirkwood and their baby in favor of a glamorous gangster. FEMALE (1933): In Michael Curtiz's romantic comedy FEMALE, Ruth Chatterton plays Alison Drake, the iron-fisted president of a motorcar company. Alison oversees the daily operations of her male employees with a predatory gaze and frequently exercises her right to engage with them in any way she deems fit. She meets her match in an equally strong-minded new employee, Jim Thorne (George Brent), and the two engage in a smoldering, contentious, sexually charged duel. NIGHT NURSE (1931): William Wellman's NIGHT NURSE is a sassy, unsentimental comedy about a private pediatric nurse named Lora Hart (Barbara Stanwyck) who, after applying as an apprentice in a family home, discovers there is a plot afoot to starve her two rich, fat, young charges to death. The culprit is the family's chauffeur, Nick (Clark Gable), a villain who plans to marry the kids' dissolute mother and make off with their trust fund. THOU SHALT NOT: SEX, SIN AND CENSORSHIP IN PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD (2008): Over seventy years later, they've lost none of their power to shock, entertain, and titillate. So-called "pre-Code" movies remain among the most vital films America has ever produced. But why were these films so much more sexually free and socially critical than what came before or after? Who created the Code, and what did it forbid? And why did it finally become a Hollywood commandment? The answer is a fascinating mix of scandal, big business and social history - a unique collision of events that resulted in one of the most dynamic - and delicious - periods in Hollywood history.

Classically Excellent

This collection of movies is great especially if you are looking to see what the 30's considered as risque.
Even though I had already seen Night Nurse and Three on a Match, I still bought this boxed set to add to my collection. Just to watch Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Joan Blondell, and Barbara Stanwyck, not to mention Clark Gable in their early days was a treat.
I had previously purchased volume 1 of this collection and I'm glad I added volume 2. It's a great way to realize what Hollywood was like during the Depression but also to get a picture of what the US was like as well.
I heartily recommend this for the true movie buff.
July 21, 2008

Fantastic collection + suggestions for Volume 3

This is a perfect choice of films, continuing where Volume 1 left off by including only the pre-code films that exemplify what is fascinating and envelope-pushing about the era. The purpose of this review is to make some suggestions for Volume 3 (and 4, 5, and 6 - hopefully the series will keep going at least that long). Because volumes 1 & 2 were focused on sexually-charged dramas and comedies, I'll keep that focus here (though I would like to see some politically-charged pre-codes like Heroes for Sale, Wild Boys of the Road, and Gabriel over the White House appear soon). So here goes with some of the best pre-code films Warners/TCM own (based on seeing them on TCM), roughly in order of importance historically and in terms of entertainment value:

1) Red Dust
2) Safe in Hell
3) Rain
4) The Story of Temple Drake
5) Ladies They Talk About
6) Illicit
7) Possessed
8) The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
9) Strangers May Kiss
10) Employee's Entrance
11) Skyscraper Souls
12) Ex-Lady
13) Private Lives
14) Frisco Jenny
15) Midnight Mary
16) The Purchase Price June 28, 2008

oh, you beautiful b&w dolls!

'forbidden hollywood vol. 2' is comprised of films that have been seen often at tcm. whether it's during oscar sweeps or birthday tributes to barbara stanwyck or norma shearer, you can count on seeing 'night nurse' or 'a free soul'.

there are three additions to the collection, which is also accompanied by a nice new documentary titled 'thou shalt not' that make worth the price. the first is 'three on a match', which stars the now-obscure ann dvorak as a bored socialite, and joan blondell and bette davis as her childhood friends. dvorak's character has the life her friends aspire to--a rich powerful husband (warren william) and sumptuous digs on park avenue (or whereever rich white people lived in warners film of the 1930s). but she doesn't appreciate any of it and abandons it all for a fling with a handsome loser (lyle talbot). blondell and davis acquire all dvorak leaves behind to pursue sexual escapades. and as they rise, dvorak sinks lower, until she winds up a cocaine addict that must sacrifice her life to save her little boy.

this film is tight and features the neatest montage sequences at the beginning!

then, there's 'female', a true find! 'female' is way, way ahead of its 1933 release date. allison, played by ruth chatterton, is a high-powered auto-plant exec with a sharp mind, a great orry-kelly wardrobe and a sexual rapaciousness equal only to hugh hefner's. she plucks her boy toys from the factory and when she tires of them, she transfers them to canada! canada in 1933 must have been a lonely place.

'female' shows its timelessness when allison plucks a handsome stud that would fain worship her as a goddess--in other words, he's gay as a ukelele! then, as she seduces another, successfully with chilled vodka and pillows in front of the fire, she wears a gown that is a dead ringer for the gown cate blanchett wore to the 1999 oscar ceremony. all it needs is a painted hummingbird on the back.

of course, allison must realize a woman is nothing without a strong man so the film sinks at the very end but that's minor.

third but not last, is the documentary 'thou shalt not', which examines pre-code hollywood film product. the biggest revelation is to see jeanne eagels in a clip from the 1929 version of 'the letter'. this is priceless. eagels was more than intense--she was jennifer jason leigh at her most manic. tcm must show this version in its entirety soon.
May 20, 2008

lots of fun

This is a great movie set for those of us who like movies from the 30s. I own both Forbidden Hollywood I and II. My boyfriend and I watched all the movies together. Each time we watched one, we couldn't wait to see the next one. Both sets are great fun to watch. Interesting stories and interesting to see what was considered "taboo" back then. Highly recommend the set. May 17, 2008

PRE-CODE FILMS THAT MAKE FOR A FUN-FILLED ORGY

It may not have exactly been a time of innocence, but it was a time of some pretty good flicks that have, until now, been pretty much forgotten. Turner Classic Movies has changed that. Again. The five films in their second collection push the boundaries of morality---a sex, sin-filled orgy of flimsy nighties, politically incorrect situations, extraordinary frankness, nudity, adultery, premarital sex and prostitution. Some things never change. The best of the bunch is The Divorcee, the film that is considered the official kick-off of the pre-Code era. Norma Shearer won an Oscar for Best Actress as a woman who decides to match her cheating husband tryst for tryst after catching him husband in a compromising position. The phenomenal critical and financial success of the picture led other studios to try topping it, and soon almost every actress in Hollywood was required to sin. And repent. The sensational series of films that emerged helped Hollywood survive its economic crisis and moviegoers enjoy the vicarious thrills the films provided. The era came to an abrupt close beginning July 1, 1934, when Catholic watchdog groups threatened boycotts of all films and the Church established the Legion of Decency to monitor movies. Studio heads bowed to the pressure and the era of censorship began, lasting until the establishment of the industry's rating system in 1968.
May 7, 2008

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