Complicated Women

So, there was a period in Hollywood when the lid was pretty much off, when not all girls were virgins or dependents like those of the 1950's. That, of course, was the now legendary pre- Code period from 1929 to 1934. This independently produced documentary does a good job of profiling the different independent girl types from that freewheeling time. From prostitutes to femme-fatales to executive types, the array is colorful and challenging, with illustrating snippets from the films themselves, plus cameo commentary from a few of the surviving actresses (Karen Morley, Frances Dee, et al.).

Glimpsed among actresses of the time are such independent types as Kay Francis, Joan Blondell, Greta Garbo, and Norma Shearer, plus many others. Men are strictly marginal, though a few are recognizable in the longer shots. Of course, the emphasis is on sex and seduction, subjects that became taboo once the Code kicked in. So it's fascinating to view the explicitness from a time long before the twin bed and closed mouth kissing of the next 30- years. Most of all, however, it's the notion of liberated, independent women that comes across, as commentator Molly Haskell points out. In short, these are movie images that come much closer to real female sexuality than the censored Hollywood period that followed. For years these pre-Code films were not shown on TV because of their content. Thus, their existence may come as a surprise to many viewers, making this a revealing little documentary in more ways than one.

The people who are saying that this documentary was in any way exaggerated or inaccurate are themselves inaccurate. This film is historically documented and completely true to the spirit of the pre-Code era. And lest anyone think the film pandered to a modern sensibility, keep in mind: It had three ninety year old ladies in it, and was narrated by 66-year-old JANE FONDA, not Courtney Love. The fact is, the pre-Code was an extraordinary period for women's films -- something that becomes more not less evident after one has seen two hundred or three hundred pictures from this period. And it was not extraordinary only for what it showed or dared but for the points the films made -- for those points that were intrinsic to the MESSAGES of the films -- which go way beyond a flimsy gown or anything that could be edited into tameness. If anything this documentary needed more time -- three or four hours -- to do justice to the range of pre-Code women's films. Still working within the constraints, this was a splendid achievement and yet another laurel for Turner Classic Movies.

Actually, very good clips, and the narrative makes a very good claim to proving its thesis: that the sexy Pre-Code dramas and comedies actually represented a realistic depiction of the 20th century morality until Joseph Breen clamped down, making the Production Code not just voluntary, but mandatory.

There is a good claim in that, but it makes its point by looking at the best of the Pre-Code works and the worst of the movies made under the Code. Nor does it go into the reason that Hollywood made those sexy movies in the first place, and stopped making them later: to sell tickets at the box office. Truth has never been the primary concern of the movie industry; and while these clips demonstrate that Hollywood was interested in selling tickets to men who wanted to look at naked women... well, the underwater swimming sequence from TARZAN AND HIS MATE shows Maureen O'Sullivan's stand-in swimming around in the nude, but Weismuller is wearing a loincloth.

This film is a wonderful introduction to the women of the so-called "Pre-Code" movies--movies that were made through about the middle of 1935. They were called "Pre-Code" in that they were made before the rigid Production Code was enforced and the films abounded with sexuality, violence and topics of questionable taste for the time. This documentary focuses not on this overall topic, but specifically on women of the films and their smoldering sexuality. Because of this it is NOT indicative of the general topic of Pre-Code films but on a narrow aspect of the movies.

The documentary is great because I was shocked how well-preserved some of these old leading ladies were and listening to their stories about the era was extremely fascinating. I also liked all the old clips, though I felt that many times important films were omitted from discussion or clips. For example, while the very tawdry nude swimming scene from TARZAN AND HIS MATE was mentioned and shown several times (a very spicy scene even by today's standards), very little mention was made of equally famous films with similar content, such as THE BARBARIAN and THE SIGN OF THE CROSS--the two bathing scenes in these films are amazing for the early 1930s. Also, the film seemed to indicate that the Pre-Code era was from the beginning of talkies until 1934, whereas there were MANY films in the silent era that featured copious amounts of nudity or sexually liberated females. Both these quibbles, though, are very minor, as only to film nuts like me will even notice or care!

I thought the Mick LaSalle character was great, he really brought out the Italian American in him.

The thing that's good about this documentary is it really brings out that the current puritanism in America is a modern phenomenon. Pre-code, nudity was OK and there weren't any self-appointed moral watch dogs complaining about the contents. If you didn't want to watch something spicy, you didn't go see that movie.

Mick LaSalle is an excellent film reviewer who really knows his stuff (is that enough suck up?).

Cheers, Neil.