Customer Reviews

Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man

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It's a toss-up as to which of Mick LaSalle's great pre-Code books (his previous is COMPLICATED WOMEN) is superior. COMPLICATED WOMEN is a work of advocacy, in a sense -- he wants to rescue the women of pre-Code from obscurity and critical neglect, and he does so ably. This book is more cool-headed amd critical. It's also funnier. It feels more grounded in the real politics and culture of the early 1930s. The research goes deeper. The book is longer. I think they're both essential reading, demonstrating a passion for film and an understanding of history that's impressive, rare and indispensable.

I find myself in some awe at the achievement that is this book and the richness of its subject. Its subject is, specifically, men who made films during a period of relaxed censorship in America. On one level, the book is enormously useful just as a critical guide -- the end of the book has an extensive appendix that tells where most of the movies can be seen, and the book itself goes far to point out just which films must be seen.
But to see "Dangerous Men'' as having utility only as a work of criticism at its most basic -- giving good advice for future viewing pleasure -- is to miss what I believe to be the larger picture. This is an enormously important and very serious (though never, ever somber) book about men in America, about their journey in the 20th century. It's actually a rather profound book about sex roles and self-image, the mores of business, emerging ethics, the American idea of crime and punishment, war and its consequences and what really constitutes heroism. It's even, in a way, about how people's behaviors adapt to economic exigencies.
It's a brilliant work, every bit the equal of the author's "Complicated Women,'' and yet it's also a work of charm and wit that never flags or fails. It's never work to get through. It's always a pleasure.

The Golden Age of movies is sometimes taken as the glorious silent era. However, it can be argued that the films made right after the advent of sound provided more realism and more to think about than movies before or since. In a vital and entertaining study, _Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man_ (Thomas Dunne), Mick LaSalle lovingly analyzes the films and movie heroes from around 1929 until 1934 when censorship took over. Those interested in the history of film, and in learning more about giants like Cagney and Gable, as well as about important but forgotten former stars like Richard Barthelmess and Warren William, will find this book irresistible. After 1934, it was a long while before American films were made without a censor able to clip scenes, and LaSalle demonstrates that the pre-censorship (or "pre-Code") era was a time for realism as well as idealism in the movies.

LaSalle demonstrates that silent films were really productions of the Victorian era; men were expected to have sobriety and character. World War I, Prohibition, and the Great Depression changed all that. There was a deluge of pre-Code gangster movies, and every major actor played a gangster, even Spencer Tracy and Boris Karloff. The gangster movies, and the war movies, provided a new look at how a person might live in the world and live with himself; there was a good deal of introspection within the characters displayed on screen that would vanish when the Code came into force. Along with serious evaluation of such moral matters, pre-Code movies were full of pacifism. Repeatedly the young idealistic heroes go into battle only to be shocked at the destruction they themselves have wrought. These movies exalted individuality and distrust of governments that led citizens into pointless wars. Pre-Code films emphasized the heroism of getting wise and taking care of oneself, not the heroism of battles and bugles. There is a good brief history of Code censorship here, showing the role of the Catholic Legion of Decency and its regrettable effects. Not only did the Code enforcers impose wholesomeness on future movies, they insisted that when the pre-Code films were re-released they be re-cut into more acceptable form. Sadly, sometimes the censored version of a pre-Code film is all that remains. It was not until the ratings system came in 1968 that the Code was dismantled.

Partly LaSalle's book is a warning, and one especially pointed now that certain forces within the government find censorship in various forms appealing. LaSalle has enormous admiration for the films described here, but says, "Even vitality such as this can be squelched if a close-minded faction is obsessed, pernicious, and willing to organize." He has seen a lot more of these pre-Code pictures than his readers have, but anyone who enjoys the movies will be eager to take a look at these films after reading this book. Pre-Code films showed war brutality, governmental corruption, and harnessing courage to subvert the system. LaSalle writes, "These may be healthy things for individuals to know, but they aren't what governments like to see pumped into the public consciousness."

I guess it's too early to have a favorite book of the year, but I can say with certainty that, had I completed it in 2002, Dangerous Men would qualify as one of my top two or three -- and probably the best non-fiction book I've read: So smart, so authoritative and, as some other readers have pointed out, so funny -- funny, even as you're learning something fascinating on every page.
It is hardly the usual sort of film book. Rather it's a brilliant investigation into the nature of manhood in the twentieth century, using these films as markers along the way. At the same time, it is a movie book in the sense that you come away dying to see the movies. I'm going to be using the list that the book provides to help make my video choices in the coming months.
What a wonderful Christmas gift. I already ordered Complicated Women, because now I can't get enough of the subject. You'll probably feel the same way, too. By all means, this is a book to get.

I found this book to be even more enjoyable then Mick LaSalle's companion book, Complicated Women. I was positively giggling many times while reading Dangerous Men. Mick LaSalle is a witty writer to say the least. This book is most unlike any other book that I've ever read on film!
3 cheers for Mick LaSalle and I look forward to reading his next book!

The cover -- well, that just stopped me. Clark Gable and too dangerous even for his mustache! I had to have the book -- had to -- and then I read it, and I love it. I'm re-reading it now. How did men happen? How did we get here? Where are we going? And what wonderful movies! And what wonderful pictures! I loved Complicated Women, by the same author. I don't know which book I like more. The first book was sex. This one is politics and sex and business and corruption and the whole big mess, all of it fascinating. Christmas is over. Get it for somebody's birthday. Get it for everybody's birthday. Most of all, get it for yourself.

My husband gave me DANGEROUS MEN last night as the one presentI was allowed to open before going to bed. . . Well, thank you very much . . . I never went to bed. I started reading the book at a little past midnight, had to take myself out of the bedroom and into the living room, when the night light started bothering my husband -- and there I read and read and read until five in the morning. Okay, finally then I did go to bed and slept a few hours.
I just want to say this, to anyone considering a purchase of DANGEROUS MEN. This is a brilliant book by a writer who knows his stuff, and who's witty and funny besides. The book is about how men changed in the first part fo the 20th century and how the new man that developed found his expression in the movies made during what's called the pre-Code era -- an amazing time before movies were censored in America. This is a book about who men are and how they got that way, as well as an introduction to a lot of great movies -- which I will get around to seeing (there's an appendix in the back that tells you how) just as soon as I finish the last 40 pages of the book.

I may be the first to read this book, for the simple reason that I adored Complicated Women, also by Mick LaSalle, which was also about the era before the stranglehold of censorship changed movies and American culture forever. The previous book concentrated on the women, and it's a fascinating study of a brief pocket of time, in which it really looked as though women were achieving equality with men. The book discussed the films women made (and the women who made them), focussing on the issues of sex and empowerment that the movies' themselves dealt with.
The new book concentrates on the men, which means it concentrates on movies about politics, business, lots of crime, and also sex. The new book is funnier, longer and in some ways even richer. The book only confirms the thesis, explored in the other book, that this pre-Code era that LaSalle writes about truly was a pivotal time in the artistic and cultural history of the country. The book will serve as a guide to many people looking to explore this rich period in film history (most of the movies can be found on video or on TV.) Actually, to buy this book is to invite an addiction, but a good one, which will enrich your life.

Really interesting, very well paced, with great variety. He covers a lot of actors, and each one is fascinating. Such a good read. If you like pre-code movies, you must have this book. It is as simple as that. You won't be sorry.

This book is a great read for lovers of the Silver Screen. The narrative style is akin to having the author speaking to you about a subject you both love. Mick LaSalle can do no wrong.