Pre-Code Hollywood

(1933) The Kennel Murder Case (colorised) Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector. - William Powell... Philo Vance - Mary Astor... Hilda Lake - Eugene Pallette... Detective Heath https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024210/

(1930) Fast and Loose Romantic comedy - A wealthy family is thrown into turmoil when the daughter falls for the family chauffeur and the son begins to keep company with a chorus girl. - Miriam Hopkins... Marion Lenox - Charles Starrett... Henry Morgan - Carole Lombard... Alice O'Neil - Frank Morgan... Bronson Lenox https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020873/

(1933) Dinner at Eight Comedy Drama - Affluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal. Highly entertaining script - All the cast do great but Marie Dressler steals the show. - Marie Dressler... Carlotta Vance - John Barrymore... Larry Renault - Wallace Beery... Dan Packard - Jean Harlow... Kitty Packard - Lionel Barrymore... Oliver Jordan https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023948/

(1934) Crime Without Passion Prominent lawyer shoots unfaithful girlfriend during quarrel and has to establish an alibi. - Claude Rains... Lee Gentry - Margo... Carmen Brown - Whitney Bourne... Katy Costello - Stanley Ridges... Eddie White https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025009/

(1934) Viva Villa! In this fictionalized biography, after enacting revenge on the overseer who murdered his father, Pancho Villa becomes a bandit, earning the respect of the poor by brutally attacking the wealthy. - Wallace Beery... Pancho Villa - Stuart Erwin... Jonny Sykes - Fay Wray... Teresa - Leo Carrillo... Rodolfo Fierro https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025948/

(1934) Thirty Day Princess A European princess arrives in New York City to secure a much-needed loan for her country. She contracts the mumps, and an actress who looks exactly like her is hired to impersonate her. - Sylvia Sidney... Nancy Lane / Princess Catterina - Cary Grant... Porter Madison III - Edward Arnold... Richard M Gresham - Henry Stephenson... King Anatol XII https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025880/

(1934) The Scarlet Empress A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power. - Marlene Dietrich... Princess Sophia / Catherine II - John Lodge... Count Alexei - Sam Jaffe... Grand Duke Peter - Louise Dresser... Empress Petrovna https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025746/

(1924) Peter Pan Silent Classic - Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook. While silent movies "don't count" as pre-code, this delightful version is too good to miss. As is traditional in stage versions, this movie also has Peter Pan played by a woman. - George Ali... Nana the Dog - Peter Pan... Betty Bronson - Mary Brian... Wendy - Jack Murphy... John - Philippe De Lacy... Michael - Virginia Brown Faire... Tinker Bell - Ernest Torrence... Captain James Hook - Anna May Wong... Tiger Lily https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015224/

(1932) Shanghai Express Shanghai Lily rediscovers a former lover during a dangerous train ride to Shanghai. But can she make him believe that she really hasn't changed from the woman he loved five years before? A massively popular drama, the final number in Footlight Parade (previous post) is called 'Shanghai Lil' in tribute to Dietrich's character in this movie. There are claims that there were cuts made to this movie based upon the running time, but nobody can say what they're supposed to be and only one version of the movie exists today. - Marlene Dietrich... Shanghai Lily - Clive Brook... Capt. Donald Harvey - Anna May Wong... Hui Fei - Warner Orland... Henry Chang - Eugene Pallette... Sam Salt https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023458/

(1933) Footlight Parade Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses. Cagney gets his dancing shoes on, and Busby Berkeley excels with insanely complicated choreography in the set-pieces at the climax of the movie. - James Cagney... Chester Kent - Joan Blondell... Nan Prescott - Ruby Keeler... Bea Thorn - Dick Powell... Scotty Blair https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024028/

(1935) Gold Diggers of 1935 Romantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer. This is a good example of how the Hays Code removed the sexier elements of the Pre-Code period... less bare flesh and a toned-down dialogue. (I've cross-posted in "Pre-Code" because this will probably appeal most to other pre-code fans.) Busby Berkeley takes this to another level - the first big set-piece being the inspiration for the mansion workers dance in the musical "Annie". - Dick Powell... Dick Curtis - Adolphe Menjou... Nicolai Nicoleff - Gloria Stuart... Ann Prentiss - Alice Brady... Mrs Prentiss https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026421/

(1934) Fashions of 1934 Comedy Drama - Sherwood Nash is a swindler who bootlegs Paris fashions for sale at cut-rate prices. Sharp & witty script and a stage performance choreographed by Busby Berkeley. - William Powell... Sherwood Nash - Bette Davis... Lynn Mason - Frank McHugh... Snap - Hugh Herbert... Joe Ward - Verree Teasdale... Mabel "Duchess" McGuire - Dorothy Burgess... Glenda https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025101/

(1932) Behind The Mask An undercover Federal officer serving time in prison fakes his escape in order to infiltrate a heroin smuggling ring. A very watchable crime thriller. - Jack Holt... Jack Hart / "Quinn" - Constance Cummings... Julie Arnold - Boris Karloff... Jim Henderson - Claude King... (Mr) Arnold - Bertha Mann... Nurse Edwards - Edward Van Sloan... Dr Steiner https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022663/

(1934) Jimmy The Gent An unpolished racketeer, whose racket is finding heirs for unclaimed fortunes, affects ethics and tea-drinking manners to win back the sweetheart who now works for his seemingly upright competitor. - James Cagney... Jimmy Corrigan - Bette Davis... Joan Martin - Allen Jenkins... Louie - Alan Dinehart... Charles Wallingham - Alice White... Mabel https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025330/

(1932) Murders in the Rue Morgue In 19th Century Paris, a mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments. - Bela Lugosi... Dr Mirakle - Sidney Fox... Camille - Leon Ames... Pierre Dupin - Bert Roach... Paul https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023249/

(1930) Madam Satan Angela 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 via a fancy dress ball onboard a zeppelin (movie was made before the Hindenburg disaster had happened). - Kay Johnson... Angela Brooks / Madam Satan - Reginald Denny... Bob Brooks - Lillian Roth... Trixie - Roland Young... Jimmy Wade - Elsa Peterson... Martha the maid https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021106/

(1932) Blonde Venus A cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely ill husband's operation. - Marlene Dietrich... Helen Faraday - Herbert Marshall... Ned Faraday - Cary Grant... Nick Townsend - Dickie Moore... Johnny Faraday - Rita La Roy... Taxi Belle Hooper https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022698/

(1931) The Mad Genius A crippled puppeteer rescues an abused young boy and turns the boy into a great ballet dancer. Complications ensue when the now grown-up dancer falls in love with a young woman the puppeteer is also in love with. - John Barrymore... Tsarakov - Marian Marsh... Nana Carlova - Charles Butterworth... Karimsky - Donald Cook... Ivanoff - Carmel Myers... Sonya Preskoya https://www.imdb.com/title/tt00022103/

(1933) Design For Living Romantic Comedy - A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship. - Frederic March... Tom Chambers - Gary Cooper... George Curtis - Miriam Hopkins... Gilda Farrell - Edward Everett Horton... Max Plunkett https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023940/

(1931) Dishonored a.k.a. X27 Spy drama - The Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians. - Marlene Dietrich... Marie Kolverer / X27 - Victor McLaglen... Colonel Kranau - Gustav von Seyffertitz... Austrian Chief of Secret Service - Warner Oland... Colonel von Hindau - Lew Cody... Colonel Kovrin https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021800/