Strictly Dynamite - 1934 - USA

Strictly Dynamite - 1934 - 6/10 

 
Radio personality Moxie exists on stale jokes and gags.
So, he hires a serious, high brow writer, to class up his act.
Screwball comedy, fast-paced, forced, silly, kinda typical.
Moxie’s dame, a delicious Lupe Vélez, ticks plenty of Pre-Code boxes.
Her staccato delivery masks the steam and blatant innuendo.
Not to mention she intoxicates the gag writer - in front of his wife - then  sweeps him off to Atlantic City for the weekend and has her way with him.
Only wish I liked Durante better.

Hell Harbor - 1930 - USA

Hell Harbor - 1930 - 5/10 

 
After murdering for a  cash wad, Morgan is blackmailed into selling his daughter to the head grifter.
Hot-blooded Anita wants none of that, thank you very much.
She intends to kill the moneyed American as soon as he drops anchor.
Until she decides he is too good looking to kill.
Maybe he can sail her to Havana.  Maybe he will marry her.
Creaky Pre-Code depends on Lupe Velez; when she is on, this sizzles.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3373305

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.

One Night At Susie's - 1930 - USA

One Night At Susie's - 1930 - 6/10

 
Susie had foster-mothered a lot of boys, now men and gang leaders.
With entrenched conflicts, they come to her for a solution.
The apple of her eye is the youngest, Dick, a legit press agent.
Who announces his engagement to .. Uh oh … a chorus girl.
Susie takes an immediate dislike to Mary, very cute and very stupid.
Who soon murders her theater owner after he despoils her at a private party.
Pre-Code film flirts with sleaze and criminality, but is half-hearted.
Helen Ware rules as Susie, Doug Fairbanks Jr and Billie Dove support in short movie.

The Bat Whispers - 1930 - USA

The Bat Whispers - 1930 - 5/10

 
Upper story apartment, police protection, ha!
City criminal “The Bat” predicts the robbery, then carries it out.
Makings of a mastermind vs. law-and-order suddenly shifts locations to a remote country mansion.
And becomes a bipolar old dark house mystery.
Straight off, the look of this is outstanding, and the manor must be the size of a shopping mall.
There are enough goings-on to make one’s head spin.
Comic relief servants are silly and stupid.
Based on a Mary Roberts Rinehart novel, and yes, this film influenced Bob Kane.

The Devil’s Cabaret - 1930 - USA

The Devil’s Cabaret - 1930 - 6/10

 
“Nevertheless, this business of going to Heaven has got to stop!”
So declares Mr. Satan (wonderfully-cast Charles Middleton), owner operator of Hades.
The Devil’s Cabaret is established to tempt the weak and willing.

 
Females in the crowd quickly start dancing provocatively, and removing clothes!
Swinging, drinking, chasing skin, wayward souls pack the joint.
Bizarre short from MGM, of all studios.

First A Girl - 1935 - UK

First A Girl - 1935 - 6/10

 
Aspiring performer Elizabeth is befriended by female impersonator Victor.
When misfortune strikes, she steps in and pretends to be a man, pretending to be a woman.
Continental acclaim ensues.
Music, romance, comedy in breezy remake of 1933’s Victor And Victoria.
Several gaudy musical numbers, over-the-top and weirdly irresistible.
Songs are not so catchy to me, but I was fascinated by the triple rhyming structure of many.
Jessie Matthews is adorably cute.
Like Joan Morgan before her, Hollywood made Matthews an offer (Damsel In Distress with Fred Astaire).
Her studio refused to let her go.  The indifferent hand of Fortune.

Law And Order - 1932 - USA

Law And Order - 1932 - 6/10

 
Frame Johnson, brother Luther, sidekick Deadwood, and shotgun wielding Doc Brandt arrive in Tombstone.
Where a gang of outlaws rule, rustle cattle and shoot opponents in the back.
Tensions simmer until conflict flares at the OK Corral.
Violent Pre-Code is a reimagined version of Wyatt Earp.
Earp had died just three years previously, and widow Josephine was fiercely protective.
Not as sanitized as all later versions (which omitted Earp's brothels, thieving, etc...).
Pristine restoration in 2025, along with commentary.

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.

Crime Without Passion - 1934 - USA

Crime Without Passion - 1934 - 6/10

 
Lee Gentry is the rare sort: an unscrupulous attorney.
Who gets clients acquitted by trickery, chicanery, outright dishonesty.
Sheesh, the sort of lawyer who will make you lose faith in the courts.
Meanwhile, relationship troubles.
He wants to dump passionate Carmen for a blonde iceberg.
Claude Rains delicious as the conniving cheat, while 17-year-old Margo is dazzling.
Strange Pre-Code, nevertheless.

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.

Doctor X - 1932 - USA

Doctor X - 1932 - 6/10

 
A serial killer plagues lower Manhattan.
Police consult Dr. Xavier and his research clinic.
Since the murders occur nearby, authorities suspect someone working there.
Then, there is the pesky newshound, digging for a story.

 
The sets, lighting, makeup, everything about the clinic is first rate fantastic.
Any and every thing associated with the reporter (annoying Lee Tracy) is dismal.
If it wasn’t for the “comedy”, this two-strip color film would be a classic.

Red-Headed Woman - 1932 - USA

Red-Headed Woman - 1932 - 7/10

 
Lil chases after boss Bill, who is young, handsome, rich.
Oh, and married, too.
No matter, Lil cooks the sausage … a couple of times … and Bill is soon hers.
Does Bill ever wise up?  Even when Lil targets his even wealthier friends?
Heavy cutting notwithstanding, this steamy Pre-Code reeks of sex, adultery, innuendo.
For teens who think they invented sex, your grandma, your great-grandma was way ahead of you.

Smarty - 1934 - USA

Smarty - 1934 - 5/10

The Thorpes are happily married, although Vicki likes to push the passive aggressive teasing.
Tony, past his limit, slaps her one evening, whereupon she wants a divorce.
Just as abruptly, she marries her divorce attorney and soon pushes his buttons.
Pre-Code drawing room comedy feels forced, with everyone trying to make something from air.
Joan Blondell, in particular, is unbearable as Vicki, mugging and flirting.
Feels and looks quite stagebound.
Perhaps relished by audiences observing the well-heeled misbehave.

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.

The Greeks Had A Word For Them - 1932 - USA

The Greeks Had A Word For Them - 1932 - 5/10
AKA - Three Broadway Girls

 
Jean returns from Paris, penniless, failing once again to snag a sugar daddy.
With roommates Polaire and Schatzi, she is soon back to her old ways.
In effect, she tries to appropriate Schatzi’s Pop, then Polaire’s mentor, then fiancé.
Saucy Pre-Code film is more suggestive than anything.
Ina Claire dominates; she is a pale Mae West copy, lacking West’s charisma and delivery.
Joan Blondell may be top-billed, but she is given little to do.
Direction is lazy throughout, static and stage bound.

Shopworn - 1932 - USA

Shopworn - 1932 - 6/10

 
College grad, pre-med David and waitress Kitty overcome a frosty beginning.
Then the relationship becomes serious enough to consider marriage.
Noses soon twitch.  Kitty may be a nice girl, decent, but not our kind.  Our class.
Interference is hard-nosed, and the pair don’t stand a chance.
Plain faced Regis Toomey OK, if oldish, as the square son.
Stanwyck luminous as the smitten Kitty, with a core of steel.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3366591

The Case Of The Howling Dog - 1934 - USA

The Case Of The Howling Dog - 1934 - 6/10

 
Perry Mason receives an impetuous client, who hands him $10,000 to draw up a will and deal with a dog.
Then the rich client disappears.  The owner of the dog?  Murdered.  Dog, too!
Main suspect, the attractive woman with the gun.
Fast moving film plays fair clues and twists.
William Warren adroit as slick, cool professional.
Perhaps a bit unethical, too, as one will see.

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.