Pre-Code Films
by luckyblackkat | created - 17 Nov 2018 | updated - 17 Nov 2018 | PublicWhen the "talkies" first began there were no rules, until 1934
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1. Bed of Roses (1933)
Passed | 67 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Determined to reform upon leaving prison, a former prostitute falls in love with a cotton-barge owner and must choose between him and her banker lover.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Pert Kelton
Votes: 1,002
2. The Virtuous Sin (1930)
80 min | Drama, Romance, War
Marya is the wife of medical student Victor Sablin, who finds it impossible to deal with military life when he is inducted into the Russian army during World War I.
Directors: George Cukor, Louis J. Gasnier | Stars: Walter Huston, Kay Francis, Kenneth MacKenna, Jobyna Howland
Votes: 304
3. The Lady of Scandal (1930)
Passed | 76 min | Romance, Comedy, Drama
A famous British actress gets involved with two members of a reserved British noble family, whose plan to get rid of her backfires.
Director: Sidney Franklin | Stars: Ruth Chatterton, Basil Rathbone, Ralph Forbes, Nance O'Neil
Votes: 261
4. Our Betters (1933)
Passed | 83 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Although the British upper class may be thought our betters in society, but they are certainly not our betters, and perhaps our equals, in morality.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Constance Bennett, Violet Kemble Cooper, Phoebe Foster, Grant Mitchell
Votes: 855
5. A Lady Surrenders (1930)
Passed | 102 min | Drama, Romance
A wealthy industrialist's wife gets into a big argument with him; to cool off, she goes on an ocean trip. He thinks she's left him for good, so he marries another woman. When his first wife returns, complications ensue.
Director: John M. Stahl | Stars: Conrad Nagel, Rose Hobart, Genevieve Tobin, Basil Rathbone
Votes: 42
6. Grand Hotel (I) (1932)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, Romance
A group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
Director: Edmund Goulding | Stars: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery
Votes: 20,875 | Gross: $2.69M
7. Romance (1930)
Approved | 76 min | Drama, Romance
Young Harry is in love and wants to marry an actress, much to the displeasure of his family. Harry thinks that Bishop Armstrong knows nothing about love, so Armstrong tells him the story of... See full summary »
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Gavin Gordon, Elliott Nugent
Votes: 1,032 | Gross: $1.60M
8. Tarnished Lady (1931)
Passed | 83 min | Drama, Romance
Tarnished Lady is a 1931 Pre-Code American drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on his short story, A Story of a New York Lady.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, Clive Brook, Phoebe Foster, Alexander Kirkland
Votes: 250
9. The Flirting Widow (1930)
Passed | 72 min | Comedy, Romance
Phyllis wants to marry Bobby, but Father won't permit it until older sister Celia weds. So Celia invents a military fiancée in Arabia, unimaginatively christens him John Smith, writes him a... See full summary »
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Dorothy Mackaill, Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, William Austin
Votes: 293
10. For the Defense (1930)
Passed | 65 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
William Powell plays William Foster, a slick attorney who stays within the law, but specializes in representing crooks and shady characters. He's adept at keeping them out of jail, winning ... See full summary »
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: William Powell, Kay Francis, Scott Kolk, William B. Davidson
Votes: 676
11. Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931)
Approved | 76 min | Drama, Romance
Fleeing her cruel uncle and an arranged marriage Susan Lenox falls in love with a kind stranger but circumstances force her to become a woman of easy virtue.
Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jean Hersholt, John Miljan
Votes: 1,362 | Gross: $0.81M
12. Girls About Town (1931)
80 min | Comedy, Romance
Two gold-diggers prey on rich old men, but one of them falls in love with a rich young man.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Kay Francis, Joel McCrea, Lilyan Tashman, Eugene Pallette
Votes: 705
13. Queen Christina (1933)
Approved | 99 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Queen Christina of Sweden is a popular monarch who is loyal to her country. However, when she falls in love with a Spanish envoy, she must choose between the throne and the man she loves.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone
Votes: 8,614 | Gross: $0.77M
14. Guilty Hands (1931)
Passed | 69 min | Drama, Crime
A district attorney commits the perfect murder when he kills his daughter's womanizing fiancé and then tries framing the fiancé's lover.
Directors: W.S. Van Dyke, Lionel Barrymore | Stars: Lionel Barrymore, Kay Francis, Madge Evans, William Bakewell
Votes: 966
15. Night World (1932)
58 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Story of the goings-on at a Prohibition-era nightclub.
Director: Hobart Henley | Stars: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier
Votes: 468
16. Inspiration (1931)
Passed | 74 min | Drama, Romance
Yvonne is a beautiful model who loves frequenting the Parisian bohemian life, because she loves hobnobbing with artists.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Greta Garbo, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone, Marjorie Rambeau
Votes: 630 | Gross: $0.73M
17. Two Against the World (1932)
Passed | 70 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A woman from high society must testify in a murder trial prosecuted by her suitor.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: Constance Bennett, Neil Hamilton, Helen Vinson, Allen Vincent
Votes: 282
18. Dishonored (1931)
Approved | 91 min | Drama, Romance, War
The Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Warner Oland
Votes: 3,195
19. A Notorious Affair (1930)
Unrated | 69 min | Drama, Romance
A scheming musician seduces a wealthy woman for love and money.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Billie Dove, Basil Rathbone, Kay Francis, Kenneth Thomson
Votes: 370
20. The Office Wife (1930)
Passed | 59 min | Drama, Romance
Larry Fellowes of Fellowes Publishing wants Kate to write her next book about the 'Office Wife'. The personal secretary/stenographer spends more time with the busy executive and makes more ... See full summary »
Directors: Lloyd Bacon, Michael Curtiz | Stars: Dorothy Mackaill, Lewis Stone, Natalie Moorhead, Hobart Bosworth
Votes: 492
21. Safe in Hell (1931)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a New Orleans woman flees to a Caribbean island. While she awaits her fiancé, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, John Wray
Votes: 2,040
22. As You Desire Me (1932)
Approved | 70 min | Drama, Romance
An officer tries to convince an amnesiac bar entertainer that she is his long-lost lover.
Director: George Fitzmaurice | Stars: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Erich von Stroheim, Owen Moore
Votes: 764 | Gross: $0.71M
23. Mata Hari (1931)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
Director: George Fitzmaurice | Stars: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone
Votes: 3,954 | Gross: $0.93M
24. Blonde Venus (1932)
Passed | 93 min | Drama
A cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely-ill husband's operation.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Herbert Marshall, Dickie Moore
Votes: 5,621
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