Good Pre-Code films (talkies)
Including films with criminal themes, sexual themes, blasphemy, and so on and so forth.
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- DirectorJosef von SternbergArthur RossonStarsGeorge BancroftClive BrookEvelyn BrentBoisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.First gangster talkie movie.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Glenda FarrellA small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.Seminal gangster film that popularized the genre.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.Seminal gangster film that popularized the genre.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.Seminal gangster film that popularized the genre.
- DirectorGeorge W. HillWard WingStarsChester MorrisWallace BeeryLewis StoneA convict falls in love with his new cellmate's sister, only to become embroiled in a planned break-out which is certain to have lethal consequences.Seminal prison film.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsPaul MuniGlenda FarrellHelen VinsonWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.Seminal prison film.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsWarner BaxterBebe DanielsGeorge BrentWhen the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.Early musical! Busby Berkeley was the choreographer, helping musicals become more popular and BIG again.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsWarren WilliamJoan BlondellAline MacMahonA wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.Early musical! Busby Berkeley was the choreographer, helping musicals become more popular and BIG again.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.Early musical! Busby Berkeley was the choreographer, helping musicals become more popular and BIG again.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsMae WestCary GrantGregory RatoffCircus performer Tira seeks a better life pursuing the company of wealthy New York men with improbable comic complications along the way.Early musical!
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsKay JohnsonReginald DennyLillian RothAngela and Bob Brooks are an upper-class couple. Unfortunately, Bob is an unfaithful husband, but Angela has a plan to win back her husband's affections.Early musical!
- DirectorReinhold SchünzelStarsRenate MüllerHermann ThimigHilde HildebrandAspiring singer Susanne takes over for ham actor Viktor at a small cabaret in Berlin where he works a woman impersonator and per chance she's discovered by an agent, who thinks that she really is a man. She becomes famous, but her situation becomes troublesome when she falls in love with Robert.Early musical! Crossdressing.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxRufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.Great Marx Brothers comedy.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonWilliam KeighleyStarsBarbara StanwyckPreston FosterLyle TalbotAttractive Nan, member of a bank-robbery gang, goes to prison thanks to evangelist Dave Slade...who loves her.Women in prison.
- DirectorF. Richard JonesStarsRonald ColmanClaud AllisterLawrence GrantA bored WWI veteran helps out a young woman whose uncle is being held hostage by embezzlers.Based off the novel series. Started a long-running film series (kinda like James Bond).
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.Critically rated romantic comedy.
- DirectorCedric GibbonsJames C. McKayJack ConwayStarsJohnny WeissmullerMaureen O'SullivanNeil HamiltonThe idyllic life of Tarzan and Jane is challenged by men on safari who come seeking ivory, and come seeking Jane as well.Last pre-Code Tarzan film and one of the better ones all in all.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsCarl BrissonVictor McLaglenJack OakieA homicide detective with an eye for the ladies, investigating a murder in Earl Carroll's Vanities, allows the music revue to continue during the investigation.Musical? One of the last pre-Code films. Scandalous!
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.Critically rated early crime drama.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckBen LyonJoan BlondellA nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.Risque.
- DirectorLowell ShermanStarsJoan BlondellMadge EvansIna ClaireEx-showgirls and roommates Polaire Gwynn (Madge Evans) and Schatze Citroux (Joan Blondell) are reunited with their sometime friend and former co-worker, Jean Lawrence (Ina Claire), when she returns from France. Jean, a hard-boiled gold digger, asks the honest Polaire and loyal Schatze to introduce her to a new man, and Polaire calls her boyfriend, playboy Dey Emery (David Manners), for help. The girls meet Dey and his friend, pianist Boris Feldman (the film's director Lowell Sherman), at a speakeasy, where Boris bets Jean that if his piano playing does not induce her to love him, he will give her $5,000. Later, at Boris' apartment, Jean pretends to sleep through Boris' concert. Polaire then plays, and Boris, impressed with her talent, offers to be her teacher. He implies that she will have to be his lover as well as his student, however, and Polaire becomes upset when Dey does not protest. Dey mistakenly assumes that an exhibition of jealousy would be unwelcome, and his inaction results in Polaire's acceptance of Boris' proposition. After Polaire leaves to collect her things, Schatze and the heartbroken Dey also leave, but Jean stays to seduce Boris. Jean's calculated exhibitionism is successful, and Boris does not answer the door when Polaire returns. After she leaves, Polaire is hurt in an automobile accident and is hospitalized. Sometime later, Jean tires of Boris and breaks up with him, then pursues Dey. Dey welcomes Jean's attentions until Schatze tells him that Polaire has been in the hospital since their parting. Dey immediately goes to Polaire and proposes to her, and they reconcile. Later, Jean makes an unwelcome appearance at Polaire and Schatze's apartment while Polaire is waiting to meet Dey's father Justin (Phillips Smalley) for the first time. When Dey arrives and Jean learns that Polaire is to meet Justin at the Emery house, she slips a pearl necklace into Polaire's pocket so that she will have an excuse to follow. Polaire's interview with Justin is going splendidly until Jean arrives and intimates that Polaire stole the necklace. Indignant that Dey believes Jean, Polaire storms out, while Jean stays to flirt with Justin. Later, on the day of Jean and Justin's wedding, Schatze and Polaire arrive to retrieve a bracelet that Polaire loaned Jean. Jean returns the jewelry and miserably contemplates her future of wedded boredom as Schatze and Polaire brag about the fun they will have when they sail for France that afternoon. The trio are soon drunk, and Jean decides that she cannot exchange her freedom for Justin's fortune. She sneaks out of the house with Schatze, but Polaire is caught by Dey. Dey apologizes to Polaire for misjudging her, but Polaire leaves anyway. The determined Dey follows her onto the ocean liner, where Polaire consents to marry him when he states that he is certain of her virtue. The couple then cuddles happily as Jean flirts with Schatze's male traveling companion.Risque.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsJean HarlowChester MorrisLewis StoneLillian (Jean Harlow) relentlessly attempts to seduce a married man (Chester Morris).Starring Jean Harlow, a top actress.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichCary GrantHerbert MarshallA cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely-ill husband's operation.Main character has to resort to prostitution.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsClark GableJean HarlowGene RaymondThe owner of a rubber plantation becomes involved with the new wife of one of his employees.Starring Jean Harlow, a top actress.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJoan BlondellAnn DvorakBette DavisAlthough Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.Three female leads.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsClara BowGilbert RolandThelma ToddSexy Texas gal storms her way through life, brawling and boozing until her luck runs out, forcing her to learn the errors of her ways.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFredric MarchClaudette ColbertElissa LandiA Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.Risque. Features at least one (1) lesbian.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsJean HarlowLee TracyFrank MorganA glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.Starring Jean Harlow, a top actress.
- DirectorMichael CurtizWilliam DieterleWilliam A. WellmanStarsRuth ChattertonGeorge BrentLois WilsonAlison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.Strong female lead.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.Many intersecting plots. Highly rated drama.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsWarren WilliamLoretta YoungWallace FordA working girl is menaced by her tyrannical employer.Anti-capitalist film.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsBarbara StanwyckDavid MannersSam HardyAfter an unappreciated minister dies, his daughter loses her faith in God, prompting her to open a phony temple with a con man. Can the love of a blind aviator restore her faith and happiness?Anti-religious film.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsAl JolsonMay McAvoyWarner OlandThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.Heralded the end of the Silent film era. First musical.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsBessie LoveAnita PageCharles KingA pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.First musical to win Academy Awards in 1929. Popularized musicals to the point they later became oversaturated and fell out of favour until 1933.