You Made Me Love You - 1933 - UK

You Made Me Love You - 1933 - 6/10 

 
Silly romantic comedy, edging into farce.
Songwriter Tom spies blonde Pamela in a nearby car and is smitten.
So much so that he immediately writes a #1 hit, “What’s Her Name?”
Predictably enough, he accidentally finds his demure lass, who turns out to be a wildcat.
Nevertheless, love is love, and he determines to tame her.  Thank you Shakespeare.
Stanley (Ida’s dad) Lupino is annoying early, but turns devious and more entertaining.

The Whispering Shadow - 1933 - USA

The Whispering Shadow - 1933 - 5/10 

 
Aforementioned crime lord remains unseen, yet murders by radio waves (and TV for those few early adopters).
Nevertheless, he, his henchmen, and a whole mess of extras pursue the Czar’s jewels.
Mascot serial is cheap across the board: plotting, direction, logic, characters, action.
Bela is the best thing in it, and the main reason to view.
If you suffer insomnia, watch to help you kill another night.

I Cover The Waterfront - 1933 - USA

I Cover The Waterfront - 1933 - 6/10

San Diego reporter Miller has been trying to get the goods on Eli Kirk for years.
Kirk is a lowly fisherman, who has a sideline in smuggling Chinese into the country.
Kirk has an attractive daughter Julie, loyal, optimistic, patch of sunshine in the squalor.

 
Miller, not disclosing who he is, woos her and wins her affection, and trust.
Bleak Pre-Code has problem in that Miller is a classic heel, on par with the reporter in Nothing Sacred.
Smuggler Kirk more sympathetic, protective of his daughter and fishing crew.
Concluding scene defies normal behavior.

Friday The Thirteenth - 1933 - UK

Friday The Thirteenth - 1933 - 6/10

 
The bus accident was a bad one; there were fatalities.
Then the clock rewinds to 24 hours earlier, and we watch backstories.
Bus driver and conductor, a blackmailer, the badger game, coppers after a confidence man.
A stock speculator and his addled wife, another husband surprising his wife on their anniversary.
Most will watch for the schoolteacher and chorus girl Millie.
The often scantily dressed Jessie Matthews, with the most expressive eyes since Clara Bow.

Crime Of The Century - 1933 - USA

Crime Of The Century - 1933 - 6/10

 
Fun little Pre-Code finds a psychiatrist reporting a murder he is about to commit.
While police dismiss the notion, they send a man to guard.
And when the lights go out?  Sure enough.
Suspects?  You must be kidding.  Every single character.
Two-thirds in, proceedings stop, and viewers are allotted one minute to figure out who-done-it.

Pick-Up - 1933 - USA

Pick-Up - 1933 - 6/10

 
Mary is handed $5.00, then released from the penitentiary.
In the big city, she’s soon down to pennies, when a cabbie takes pity on her.
Harry lets her crash in his apartment, which she soon spruces up.
They make a good team, with a bright future, except –
She neglects to tell him about a tiny detail … her husband … still in the slammer.
Racy Pre-Code (tame now) deals with suicide, premarital sex, crime.
Raft & Sidney star, plus a treat to see Charles Middleton as a good guy.

Goodbye Again - 1933 - USA

Goodbye Again - 1933 - 6/10

 
Ken Bixby writes steamy bestsellers.
The sort women like: “The Boudoir Cloister” - “Ecstasy” - “The Woman Who Gave.”
So, when old flame Julie throws herself at him, what’s a man to do?
Sure, Ken says no, but then his trousers are so very thin, and Julie senses interest.
Lively Pre-Code with more hide-the-weasel than you can shake a stick at.
Warren William, normally a cad or villain, a ball of fun in this fast-paced comedy.

La Llorona - 1933 - Mexico

La Llorona - 1933 - 5/10
AKA - The Weeping Woman

 
“No, no,” says the senior doctor to his students, “this man was not slain by a ghost.”
Then he is warned by his father-in-law about the curse that has plagued the family for generations.
Flashbacks show two betrayed women, while a hooded assassin prowls underneath in the present day.
Pacing is slow, half of the acting is melodramatic, hammy.
Flamboyant costumes, brooding Gothic sets.
An opening children's birthday party devours time I wish had been given to the Aztec flashback.
Hailed as the earliest Mexican Horror sound film.  Sure, whatever.
For a better – and earlier – experience, track down Drácula (1931).
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369082

The Diplomaniacs - 1933 - USA

The Diplomaniacs - 1933 - 6/10

 
Wheeler & Woolsey are barbers on the Adoop Reservation in Oklahoma.
The tribe has reaped millions from oil, so they pay the duo to go to Zurich and establish world peace.
Before their departure, half-dressed Indian dance around them.
On the good ship Periwinkle, munitions manufacturers enlist hotties to seduce the men.
In France, a half-clad villainess and her crew are recruited.
Should I mention the singing, swinging hotel chambermaids?
Or a cringing scene in the Peace Conference after a bomb explodes?
Zany comedy roars pellmell, silly, embarrassing, and sadly prescient
In 1933, the world was drifting to fascism, to totalitarianism, leading to the deaths of millions.

Man’s Castle - 1933 - USA

Man’s Castle - 1933 - 6/10

 
Waif Trina, hopeless and starving, is befriended by the gruff Bill.
Gives her a meal, finds her a place to live in Shantytown, off Park Avenue.
Despite the grim Depression, Trina’s head soon fills with hopes and dreams.
She has a roof over her head.  As well as someone to hold onto.
Bill, however, hears the siren song of the train whistle, watches birds flying overhead.
He dreams of the place I have always referred to as “Elsewhere”.
Loretta Young glowing as the besotted Trina, Tracy’s Bill seems a tad too old.

Gambling Ship - 1933 - USA

Gambling Ship - 1933 - 6/10 

 
After dodging a murder rap, Ace Corbin leaves Chicago, California bound.
On the train, he chances upon a pretty innocent, Eleanor, and they contemplate a future together.
Once in California, however, the old ways call, and Ace is soon managing an offshore casino.
And Eleanor proves not to be quite the virtuous virgin.
Pre-Code cannot make up its mind between romance and crime. 
Watch for Cary and other pros.  Otherwise, this is tired goods.

The Deluge - 1933 - USA

The Deluge - 1933 - 6/10

 
Barometric pressures are plunging across the globe for no reason.
Then there is an ongoing eclipse!
Earthquakes arrive, including the “big one” feared by all Californians.
And the Western states tumble into the sea!
Omigod, the quakes migrate east, while annihilating the rest of the planet.
Afterward, dog eat dog, sweet cheeks, and heaven help you if you are female.
Late Pre-Code suffers stilted acting, impressive (for their time) effects, and a racy story.
Recent DVD from an excellent Italian print is the one to seek out.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/download/3365672

Midnight Mary - 1933 - USA

Midnight Mary - 1933 - 6/10

 
Sentencing begins and Mary is secluded in a chamber with the bailiff.
There, she flashbacks to the progression of her life, the route to the hangman.
A young child, orphaned early, drawn into a bad crowd.
Even the promise of a good soul redeeming her twists sadly.
Never much of a Loretta Young fan myself, she is all but irresistible in this.
Taboo filled Pre-Code, makes a good pairing with Baby Face (1933).

The Invisible Man - 1933 - USA

The Invisible Man - 1933 - 7/10

 
The upside of the experiment renders one invisible.
Slight downside, insanity.
Dr. Griffin, working on “bleaching” fails to realize the compound he uses has been banned.
His deterioration runs from jokes to foul deeds to megalomania.
Pre-Code shocker owes a lot of Claude Rains’ voice.
Witty, devil-may-care, homicidal.
The effects are still impressive.  Another early Universal gem.
Note: Surprising how well this worked out, considering its troubled history.

The Sin Of Nora Moran - 1933 - USA

The Sin Of Nora Moran - 1933 - 6/10

 
Pre-Code melodrama has the taboos in spades.
Adultery, rape, murder, coverups, death sentence.
At the heart of this is a young girl who spends her inheritance on a dance academy.
In New York, Broadway spurns her.  Money dry, she joins the circus.
The story is told from several points of view, and Nora herself mixes memory with fantasy.
Sordid tale, yet the editing is extremely quick for its time and is absolutely fabulous!
Wipes, cuts, pans, dissolves, plenty of montages.
Restored print by UCLA is immaculate.

The Fatal Glass Of Beer - 1933 - USA

The Fatal Glass Of Beer - 1933 - 6/10

“And it ain’t a fit night out for man or beast.”
Boosh!

 
Ma and Pa endure harsh winters in the Yukon.
On occasion, Pa ventures out of their rough cabin to milk the elk.
The tragedy of the family, is son Chester, in the Canadian prison.
Extremely funny Bill Fields satire on Vaudeville melodramas, popular a generation earlier, and outdoor adventures.

Footlight Parade - 1933 - USA

Footlight Parade - 1933 - 7/10  

 
Director of Broadway musicals, which aren’t doing so well, changes gears and puts on Broadway preludes.
Yes, another variation of,  “Kids, let’s put on a show!”
Except this one is spectacular.
James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler headline the cast.
Cagney’s performance is on-fire ferocious, while Blondell is sexy and wisecracking as ever.
One watches, however, for the outrageous Busby Berkeley dance numbers.
“The Honeymoon Hotel” is beyond risqué, while “Shanghai Lil” is set in a bordello and opium den.
Fantastic musical and brilliant gem from the Pre-Code era.

Baby Face - 1933 - USA

Baby Face - 1933 - 7/10

 
Turned prostitute by her own father, Lily departs the cheap saloon.
She finds work at a large bank and begins her career ascent.
Sleeping with one supervisor (including young John Wayne) after the next.
Beautifully corrosive film, cynical, jungle survival at points.
The headlong fury of this tapers about two thirds in, and the ending is a whitewash.
Audiences knew better, the moralizing conclusion was tacked on for censors.
Fill in your own end.
Barbara Stanwyck is on fire in this essential Pre-Code stunner.

Mystery Of The Wax Museum - 1933 - USA

Mystery Of The Wax Museum - 1933 - 6/10

 
So, you know and I know the mystery of how those wax figures are so lifelike.
Prime source material.
Pre-Code gem is packed with naughties.  From drug use to explicit innuendo,
Fay Wray doing floor exercises, leg splits and cycling.  When her boyfriend calls,  “Oh, I was just thinking about you.”
Best friend, Florence (tough talking Glenda Farrell) has bristling dialogue.
Early, and last, two-color Technicolor is the print to see, particularly the 2020 restoration.

Hoopla - 1933 - USA

Hoopla - 1933 - 6/10

 
Cooch dancer Lou is paid to seduce Nifty’s son.
Nifty is the carny manager, and son Chris, a college kid, is naïve and sexually inexperienced.
Well, Lou schools the lad right quick.  So much so, they fall for each other and elope.
This would be Clara Bow’s last film, and she is still radiant.
Steamy, sexy, hard-boiled, romantic.  The tough broad with a heart of gold.
Her voice is fine, the camera adores her, she still has “IT”, the rest of the cast … mmm … serviceable.