Tweet Forbidden Hollywood vol. 3 in March

This time it looks like the focus is on William Wellman. The titles to be included are:

Other Men's Women (1931)
The Purchase Price (1932)
Frisco Jenny (1932)
Midnight Mary (1933)
Heroes for Sale (1933)
Wild Boys of the Road (1933)

Also included are a documentary about Wellman and the "Men Who Made the Movies" segment about him. Details here.

Finally, a Richard Barthelmess talkie on DVD!

-Harold

Heroes For Sale is magnificent, but I don't know the others.....what's the consensus, friends??

[Mike Gebert]

Wild Boys of the Road is outstanding, I posted about Frisco Jenny here.

Heroes For Sale is magnificent, but I don't know the others.....what's the consensus, friends??

PURCHASE PRICE is a stiff, but the rest range from very good to outstanding. Alas, one of the very best, SAFE IN HELL, inexplicably failed to make the cut.

Mike S.

I wonder if original element condition had anything to do with not issuing SAFE IN HELL.
When doing preservation on it for Turner, the only think existing was a print at Library of Congress. We had to use this for duplication, and it had seen better days.
I agree, a fascinating movie. Keep an eye out for it on TCM.

Heroes For Sale is magnificent, but I don't know the others.....what's the consensus, friends??

I'm a fan of FRISCO JENNY. Very pre-code, with Ruth Chatterton becoming the queen of vice in San Francisco. Very economically directed; the trial scene at the end is a series of quick pans around the courtroom--which is inexplicably filled with everyone Chatterton has wronged or befriended in her life--while the prosecutor makes his closing argument. MIDNIGHT MARY is good, too; this time it's Loretta Young being done wrong by Ricardo Cortez. HEROES and WILD BOYS are the class of the set.

I wish they'd just include SAFE IN HELL and put an image disclaimer at the beginning, the way Fox does. I fear we'll never see some films on DVD because of this. The print of THE MATCH KING (as an example) shown on TCM is rougher than SAFE IN HELL, as I recall.

I'm a fan of FRISCO JENNY. Very pre-code, with Ruth Chatterton becoming the queen of vice in San Francisco. Very economically directed; the trial scene at the end is a series of quick pans around the courtroom--which is inexplicably filled with everyone Chatterton has wronged or befriended in her life--while the prosecutor makes his closing argument.

Now we know where Seinfeld got the inspiration for its finale...

This news about a forthcoming volume is very good. It took me months to get around to convincing myself to take a chance on volume 2 (I felt it was overpriced), and when I finally bought it about three months ago, I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the films. Every one of them was no worse than "very good" in my book.

Jim

Jeez, I am behind, I still need Volume II.

And still no EMPLOYEES ENTRANCE! What the hell are those guys smokin'?

Jeez, I am behind, I still need Volume II.

Don't feel too bad Donna. I still need to get Volumes I and II.

Artwork and bonus features are now available.

In addition to Employees' Entrance, I wish they'd consider Five Star Final, a tough and fascinating meditation on the less ethical side of journalism. Marian Marsh is more forceful than you've probably seen her in anything else, Boris Karloff is a fake minister, Oscar Apfel a disgusting editor, and Edward G. Robinson the journalist whose conscience finally piques him. His last scene is not one that can be forgotten.

-Harold

Artwork and bonus features are now available.

In addition to Employees' Entrance, I wish they'd consider Five Star Final, a tough and fascinating meditation on the less ethical side of journalism. Marian Marsh is more forceful than you've probably seen her in anything else, Boris Karloff is a fake minister, Oscar Apfel a disgusting editor, and Edward G. Robinson the journalist whose conscience finally piques him. His last scene is not one that can be forgotten.

-Harold

I'm fond of this one, too. Along with Little Caesar and Two Seconds, it has one of Eddie G.'s best early performances. Apfel is Murdochian in his sliminess, Karloff is deliciously repellant and don't forget Aline MacMahon as the secretary. She has a line that got one of the biggest laughs I've ever heard at a pre-code revival (at Film Forum in NYC). A copyboy wonders if he should change his name because it sounds too Jewish, and she laughs: "Don't do it kid. New York's too full of Christians as it is."

[Mike Gebert]

Dare we hope for a Warren William-focused set? He had two on one of the old laserdsisc sets of the same title. I agree, Employees Entrance might just be THE quintessential early Warners movie, at least non-gangster division.

Another one that's just totally entertaining, and thus ought to make a disc one of these days, is Jewel Robbery.

Dare we hope for a Warren William-focused set? He had two on one of the old laserdsisc sets of the same title. I agree, Employees Entrance might just be THE quintessential early Warners movie, at least non-gangster division.

Another one that's just totally entertaining, and thus ought to make a disc one of these days, is Jewel Robbery.

Amen, Mike. Kay Fwancis deserves a set, pre-code William Powell, as well.

Some years back, the Turner Entertainment Co. legal department used a scene from EMPLOYEE'S ENTRANCE to show as an example of harrassment.
This was where the Warren William character promised Loretta Young a promotion if she'd come over to his house tonight.

If they've got to spotlight a pre-code director, why not William Dieterle? I think a Forbidden Hollywood set with not only JEWEL ROBBERY, but THE LAST FLIGHT, MAN WANTED, LAWYER MAN, FASHIONS OF 1934 and FOG OVER FRISCO would be fantastic!

And while I'm fantasizing, I'd also love an early James Cagney set with SINNER'S HOLIDAY, BLONDE CRAZY, TAXI!, WINNER TAKE ALL, HARD TO HANDLE, and JIMMY THE GENT. That's practically all of his non-gangster movies yet to be issued on DVD.

Dare we hope for a Warren William-focused set? He had two on one of the old laserdsisc sets of the same title. I agree, Employees Entrance might just be THE quintessential early Warners movie, at least non-gangster division.

Another one that's just totally entertaining, and thus ought to make a disc one of these days, is Jewel Robbery.

Well, they may not be pre-Code Warners, but the nine Warren LONE WOLFS look to be released in early 2010!

Mike S.
(you're welcome)

If they've got to spotlight a pre-code director, why not William Dieterle? I think a Forbidden Hollywood set with not only JEWEL ROBBERY, but THE LAST FLIGHT, MAN WANTED, LAWYER MAN, FASHIONS OF 1934 and FOG OVER FRISCO would be fantastic!

Don't forget GRAND SLAM, the bridge comedy. It's not bad; though I know nothing about bridge.

Well, they may not be pre-Code Warners, but the nine Warren LONE WOLFS look to be released in early 2010!

Mike S.
(you're welcome)

Excellent! Thanks.

Well, they may not be pre-Code Warners, but the nine Warren LONE WOLFS look to be released in early 2010!

Is that for real? I like most of them, a couple are just toss away plots, but I'd love to have them. Warren's Perry Mason mysteries were pretty good too.

DVD Beaver now has a review posted, including screen captures. Voici.

-Harold

I've got Volume I, which is excellent. I ordered Vol.III as a birthday present to myself. "Midnight Mary" is one of the grittiest precodes I've seen. "Heroes for Sale" is also excellent. I haven't seen the others, but along with the extras, I don't see how you could go wrong. The price is reasonable for what you get.

I have "Employee's Entrance" on VHS.

Just ordered this myself. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

It'll never happen, but I'd pay for a Aline MacMahon or Joan Blondell box set - hours of Pre-Code fun guaranteed. One of my fave Blondell's is one that she did with Victory Jory and Cagney, He Was Her Man. Well acted and wistful, if that could be used as a description.

Never happen though. Wouldn't sell enough.

Anybody got this set yet? How is it? How about those "mystery" shorts and cartoons?

Excellent set. 6 visually stunning features, shorts and cartoons for $35.00?? It's a no-brainer. I hope this series continues, maybe a new thread should be started as to what "pre-coders" we'd all like to see on the next set. Personally, I would have to put "Week-end Marriage" (1932) at the top of that list.

Loretta Young and Franchot Tone in "Midnight Mary." Loretta got the full MGM glamour treatment and got to play the bad girl who wasn't really bad.

Loretta Young and Franchot Tone in "Midnight Mary." Loretta got the full MGM glamour treatment and got to play the bad girl who wasn't really bad.

I must say that Loretta Young always came over as goody two shoes in anything I had seen her in before, what a pity she did not get more roles like "Midnight Mary" where she is very different, yet very beautifully lit. What a smile, lights up the television!

It is a good box set to see, I have 2 and a bit of the DVDs watched now and more to come.

Yeah, she was lit and photographed to look like Joan Crawford, which i found very strange. It was a good film, though. Born to be Bad is another precode where she gives an atypical performance.

Yes, I like her atypical performances and I'm glad she got to show a different side in her precodes. "Zoo in Budapest" is another film I'd love to see!

Brenda

It plays occasionally on Fox Movie Channel.

Bob