Tuesday, November 8, 2011

My Picks: Top 10 Pre- Codes

One of my favorite things about classic films are Pre-Codes. If you're not familiar, the Pre-Code era was a period between 1929 (two years after talking pictures began) and 1934 (before the Hays Code was put into affect) when  many controversial subjects were allowed to be discussed in films- drugs, infidelity and abortion, to name a few. Needing a post idea, I made a list of my top ten Pre-Code films that I think are essential for every classic film buff. These are listed by year and in alphabetical order:

Night Nurse (1931)


Possessed (1931)


Waterloo Bridge (1931) 


Freaks (1932)


Scarface (1932)


Three On a Match (1932)


Baby Face (1933)


Bombshell (1933)


King Kong (1933)


It Happened One Night (1934)



I originally wanted to include City Lights as it's one of my favorite films, but left it out since it's a silent film and wasn't really controversial compared to other films released at the time. I also wanted to add a brief description about each of these films and why I like them, but didn't since this was a bit of a rushed post.


2 comments:

  1. Certainly a great list - and thanks for the wonderful posters!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hard to stop at just 10 pre-Codes. The original SCARFACE might well make my top 10 of all time, period. BABY FACE is another favorite; I love Theresa Harris' role and performance.

    I'd probably have 1931's SAFE IN HELL and one of the Wheeler and Woolseys on mine (likely COCKEYED CAVALIERS or DIPLOMANIACS), but I'd have a hard time taking one of your 10 off. :)

    ReplyDelete