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Actresses
Posted: January 16th, 2024, 11:22 pm
by C*i*g*a*rTheJoe
Anybody think of any actresses who had a better career pre code than after?
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 16th, 2024, 11:29 pm
by Swithin
Ruth Chatterton
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 17th, 2024, 1:01 am
by Dargo
Sylvia Sidney
Fay Wray
Joan Blondell
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 17th, 2024, 1:52 am
by KayFrancis
Una Merkel
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 17th, 2024, 4:59 pm
by CinemaInternational
Jean Harlow's most interesting films came before the code, but she did remain a big star until her untimely death.
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 17th, 2024, 8:28 pm
by Fedya
Marie Dressler?
/ducking
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 19th, 2024, 8:57 am
by Detective Jim McLeod
Nancy Carroll, someone mentioned her film Hot Saturday (1932) on another thread, it is one of my favorite pre codes.
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 19th, 2024, 1:35 pm
by Cinemaspeak59
Interesting topic. I like it. Two actresses I enjoyed come to mind:
Constance Bennett
Madge Evans
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 20th, 2024, 4:26 pm
by jamesjazzguitar
Out of all the actresses mentioned here, I view Dorothy Mackaill as the best choice. This is because she was only in one film after the Code was strictly enforced in July 1934, a British film, no less, Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937). Mackaill's pre-code films, especially those for Warner Bros\Frist National are some of the finish examples of what makes a pre-code a pre-code. E.g. Safe in Hell (1931).
Hey, a lot of those mentioned did their best work during the pre-code era, but they also were in many films after July 1934, with some going on into the 40s and 50s. I know my buddy Dargo mentioned Joan Blondell, and while her pre-code work with Cagney, and the pre-code WB musicals, are legendary, one could say her best performances were in the 40s: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and Nightmare Alley (1947).
Re: Actresses
Posted: January 20th, 2024, 8:07 pm
by Dargo
jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 20th, 2024, 4:26 pm
Out of all the actresses mentioned here, I view Dorothy Mackaill as the best choice. This is because she was only in one film after the Code was strictly enforced in July 1934, a British film, no less, Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937). Mackaill's pre-code films, especially those for Warner Bros\Frist National are some of the finish examples of what makes a pre-code a pre-code. E.g. Safe in Hell (1931).
Hey, a lot of those mentioned did their best work during the pre-code era, but they also were in many films after July 1934, with some going on into the 40s and 50s. I know my buddy Dargo mentioned Joan Blondell, and while her pre-code work with Cagney, and the pre-code WB musicals, are legendary, one could say her best performances were in the 40s: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and Nightmare Alley (1947).
Good point, James.
(...yep, I have to admit that I did have some reservations when I earlier mentioned Blondell's name in CJ's thread here)