Pre-Code Essentials Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934

From Turner Classic Movies and the creators of @precodedotcom, this is the essential film-by-film guide to must-see cinema from the pre-Code era—a wild and wonderful slice of Hollywood history before strict enforcement of a censorship code that ruled moviemaking for decades.
 
With unparalleled freedom in the Golden Age of Hollywood, movies produced during the “pre-Code” era between 1930 and 1934 dealt with a wide range of social issues, including sexual freedom, incarceration, organized crime, race, and class. Films of the period include beloved classics like King Kong (1933) but also penetrating cinema like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) and Wild Boys of the Road (1933). These films, produced at the height of the Great Depression, boast work by women directors, featured diverse leads, and pushed the limits of contemporary social norms. In Pre-Code Essentials, modern audiences will engage with the history as they dive deep into movies that remain, as they were then, adventurous and uncompromising.
 
Pre-Code Essentials covers fifty-four films that take readers through the pre-Code era’s evolution. For the novice, the book includes timelines and discusses the cultural history of the period and how it connects to modern times. For completists and film aficionados, the book is chock full of detailed production and censorship histories, recommendations, and trivia. Famous names like Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, and Ernst Lubitsch get their due, while sidebars spotlight lesser-known treasures of the era like Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney, Dorothy Arzner, Warren William, and Dolores De Rio. Post-Epilogue features discuss availability of the films and include the full text of the Production Code. Illustrated by more than 150 photos, Production Code Administration reports, correspondence between studios and censors, and more, Pre-Code Essentials is both a gorgeous guide and an incisive, indispensable resource of Hollywood history.
 
Among the films profiled: The Divorcee, All Quiet on the Western Front, Safe in Hell, Frankenstein, Shanghai Express, Freaks, Merrily We Go to Hell, Downstairs, Love Me Tonight, Trouble in Paradise, Three on a Match, The Sign of the Cross, Gabriel Over the White House, The Story of Temple Drake, The Emperor Jones, The Sin of Nora Moran, I Am Suzanne!, The Black Cat, Smarty, Murder at the Vanities, and many more

Kim Luperi wrote her undergraduate thesis on the censorship battle of Baby Face (1933) and never looked back. Currently, she curates the @precodedotcom Instagram account and is a freelance writer for TCM. She’s written for AFI Fest, the American Cinematheque, and MovieMaker Magazine and covers classic film screenings at ISeeADarkTheater.com. Kim lives with her partner in sunny Los Angeles.
 
Danny Reid is a librarian who has been writing about pre-Code Hollywood for over a decade at pre-Code.com. His published writing includes Murder on Celluloid: A Companion to the Hildegarde Withers Film Series and acting as editor for the essay collection Thoughts on the Thin Man. Danny has introduced pre-Code film screenings around the world and appeared on podcasts to discuss the era. He currently lives in Germany with his wife, two kids, and three very silly dogs.

Full list of films profiled:

The Divorcee

All Quiet on the Western Front

Madam Satan

The Public Enemy

Night Nurse

Safe in Hell

Frankenstein

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Shanghai Express

Freaks

Merrily We Go to Hell

Red-Headed Woman

Downstairs

Scarface

Jewel Robbery

Love Me Tonight

Grand Hotel

The Most Dangerous Game

Red Dust

Trouble in Paradise

Three on a Match

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

Call Her Savage

The Sign of the Cross

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

Ladies They Talk About

Employees’ Entrance

Gabriel Over the White House

King Kong

The Story of Temple Drake

So This Is Africa

Gold Diggers of 1933

Heroes for Sale

Baby Face

The Emperor Jones

Ann Vickers

I’m No Angel

Wild Boys of the Road

Footlight Parade

Duck Soup

The Sin of Nora Moran

I Am Suzanne!

Flying Down to Rio

Design for Living

Queen Christina

Heat Lightning

Tarzan and His Mate

The Black Cat

Smarty

Murder at the Vanities