Customer Reviews

Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This coffee-table volume may look like another of the many good Hollywood photo books, and the title may promise some photo-titillation, but in fact this is a serious book dealing with movies in the era of the infamous morality "code." The many photos support the text and make for satisfying perusing all by themselves. Although not the scandalous, x-rated outtakes you may have expected (hoped for?), the photos are all interesting, partly because many of them seldom appear in Hollywood picture books. The well-written text details the code, difficulties enforcing it, and the personalities who devised and promulgated it. Code enforcement apparently found it had to deal more with moral implications, suggested relationships, and what might be going on just outside the frame than with what showed up onscreen (which may explain the absence of racy pix). This doubly satisfying book certainly belongs in the library of any movie scholar or serious fan and adds to the stature of its author as a movie historian..

In this exhaustively researched, beautifully illustrated book, author Vieira does an exceptional job. Recently, I have been drawn to the fascinating world of Pre-Code Cinema. There were some really realistically seedy, controversial and revealing films made in the Hollywood of the late twenties and early thirties. Many films which have been previously believed lost or destroyed have been rescued for the public to enjoy once more on either video or TCM. Hot stuff for the depression era! Fascinating films of the era include: THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE which starred the unique Miriam Hopkins. In this one, she plays the title character who is lured into the underworld, gets raped - and finds she likes it (!). Even sweetly saccharine Loretta Young had a dark-side: check out MIDNIGHT MARY. What I find ironic is that to many people, many vintage films are considered too pretty or unrealistic. This book proves otherwise!! A thoroughly fascinating venture into a little-known side of Hollywood which existed a scant half-dozen years: the era of Pre-Code talkies. A very informative and revealing laboured work of art - and a fine resource - for fans of vintage film.

Like Mick LaSalle's wonderful book COMPLICATED WOMEN which chronicles the impact the Hayes Office had on decimating the interesting roles portrayed by women, this book serves as an interesting companion piece. It chronicles the somewhat racy plots and the female characters portrayed in pre-code movies.
Bordering on an almost scholarly take on this topic, this tome takes you through a lot of the grittier plots tackled by early Hollywood films and the wonderful actresses who portrayed the lead characters.
By the end of this book, you will find yourself craving a pre-code Harlow, Shearer, Crawford, Garbo or Bow film and will want to devour a lot of them like a 21 oz. bag of Hershey kisses or Raisinets. Such were the days when little titans like Hayes weren't dictating the mantra called the CODE and films were a little risque and fun and not always that predictable.

Buy this for the stunning black and white photos generously presented throughout. Many are full-page sized and all are beautifully printed. The text, however, is somewhat disappointing, serving as a rather shallow survey of movies of the early 30's. Historical context is covered well but, for all the pre-code movies that are available on cable these days, this book discusses in depth only the most well known (such as King Kong, It Happened One Night, and Sign of the Cross). Reading this book got me interested in watching pre-code movies, but most of the more interesting films I've seen from that era (Wild Boys of the Road, Safe in Hell, Other Men's Women, Five Star Final) aren't covered here, despite their provocative themes. I'm finding more depth in Thomas Doherty's book Pre-Code Hollywood. But as a coffee-table book of early Hollywood, and perhaps as a mouth-watering introduction to this fascinating era of popular culture, this can't be beat.

Don't believe any knuckleheads telling you this book seems in any way slapdash. It's gorgeous, well-written and meticulously researched. Take all the pictures out, and it would still work as a history. As a photography book, it's beautifully and thoughtfully arranged, as is every book by Mark Vieira. Just pick a random page -- there's logic, there's organization, there's artistry, there's THINKING at work. This is a fine and enthusiastic creation, and I'd recommend it to everyone who has already bought MY book, COMPLICATED WOMEN. Actually I don't see the books in competition. They complement each other. I wouldn't think of doing without this book -- and any suggestion that it's not a work of the heart is utterly absurd.

I don't know why some of the other reviewers don't like this book. It's the best I've read on this period, by an author who has extensive knowledge of HOW THESE MOVIES WERE MADE. This isn't another of those "what these movies mean to me" volumes, or another post-modern psychotrash analysis. If you want a detailed look at this fascinating era in movie-making, you couldn't do better than this. The photos are gorgeous, too.

The consensus on this book has been uniformly enthusiastic, and for good reason. Mark Vierra has created an accurate, breezily written and artistically informed pre-Code history, far superior to Thomas Doherty's Pre-Code Hollywood and worthy of mention (and bookshelf kinship) with Mick LaSalle's magisterial Complicated Women. Vierra knows the movies, has seen them and, I think importantly, likes them -- likes them enough to communicate their splendid splendor to 28-year-old converts like myself and long-time fans alike. And what BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS. You just want to cry for the beauty.

This book offers a great collection of photographs and an insightful look at the early days of Hollywood when religious groups, politicians and self-important studio execs were grappling with Hollywood's role and responsibilities. Many nearly forgotten films are discussed. Like McCarthyism, this issues deserves this look so that we don't forget where society has been. A great book for film buffs.

I've read a lot of books on the movie industry and most of the beautiful photos in the book are not familiar to me. The text explains in very readable detail why and how the code came about and highlights the movies that brought the wrath of the reformers down on Hollywood. Since this book was first published in 1999 many of the films are now available on DVD. Keep a pencil and paper handy so you can jot down your list of "must see movies", my own list is very long.

This book is a very informative book on pre-code Hollywood, excellent written and visual examples.