🎥 Baby Face (1933)

A fine example of what they could do in pre-Code Hollywood. A woman sleeps her way to the top with zero slut shaming.

See a young John Wayne in a suit and tie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Face_(film)

Thanks to @liontowershield for the introduction.

https://www.theincomparable.com/lts/3/

#movie #preCode

🎥 The Divorcee (1930)

Hard to follow for the first half due to indistinguishable characters. Early parts are play-like. Tonal whiplash between deadly seriousness and comedy. Rather sudden wrap up.

—

"If you don’t need me any more, I’ve got a date to go to the second show with the butcher.”

"Are his intentions honorable, Hannah?”

*sigh* “I’m afraid they are. He just wants to keep a good customer.”

https://archive.org/details/the-divorcee_1930

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Divorcee

#movie #preCode

Growing up, it was implied progress was linear. White women got the right to vote, then Black people. Sexuality went from restricted to free.

But historians know that's not true. Black men, for example, had the right to vote then lost it following Reconstruction. Here is a shot of The Love Parade (1929). A man and woman have a song about how they want to be low-brow and physical.

A few years later, under the Hays Code, this scene wouldn't happen. Progress is neither inevitable nor ratcheting: it must be fought for, forever.

Thanks to the #PublicDomain I was able to come across this movie. Here's to all the perverts and lovers. Fight for your right to love. #film #precode

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hays_Code
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Love_Parade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disfranchisement_after_the_Reconstruction_era

Street Girl (1929) - A little song, a little dance, some romance, and a whole lot of fun in this 1929 all-talkie film from RKO! #MovieThreads #MovieReview #Podcast #PodNation #Romance #Musical #PreCode #PublicDomain

https://www.orphanedentertainment.com/street-girl-1929/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social