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Special Features
- Includes:
- Waterloo Bridge (1931)
- Baby Face (1933): theatrical version and rediscovered longer version
- Red-Headed Woman (1932)
- Introduction by Robert Osborne
- Baby Face theatrical trailer
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Here are three films that couldn't and wouldn't have been made at any other time. Contrary to popular belief, the history of Hollywood permissiveness, what filmmakers could "get away with" on screen, is not a steadily rising graph from puritanical early days to the party-hearty present. In the early 1930s, a national mood of shock over the stock market crash and impatience with Prohibition licensed a relaxation of the movie industry's self-censorship policies. Sexuality--always a driving force in movie plots and characterizations, even when repressed--became a more explicit presence, with costuming that sometimes pushed the envelope for exposure of epidermis and dialogue that could be shockingly blunt.
Baby Face (1933) was made at Warner Bros., the golden-age studio with the grittiest style and the most street cred. The gutsy Barbara Stanwyck stars as a young woman from a factory town who hops a boxcar to the big city and sleeps her way to the top--a progress famously indexed by a camera ascending floor by floor outside a Gotham office building as she trades up, one corporate suitor after another. No other major-studio film was more explicit about sex as a tool and a commodity, yetBaby Face is curiously less sexy than any number of movies that weren't so outspoken about it. This TCM collection features both the theatrical-release version familiar for decades and a recently rediscovered preview version that is markedly superior, runs five minutes longer, and includes more sexual liaisons. It also happily lacks an absurd final scene that got tacked onto the release version to explain how the heroine learned to be content with a modest lifestyle.
Red-Headed Woman (1932) is arguably the raunchiest movie Jean Harlow made at MGM (though not as raunchy as her scenes in Howard Hughes' 1930 Hell's Angels). Unlike Stanwyck in Baby Face--a proletarian heroine grimly selling herself to beat capitalism and the patriarchy at their own game--Harlow's character brazenly relishes both the sex and the posh life it wins for her. The lion's share of this sardonic comedy, scripted by Anita Loos and an uncredited F. Scott Fitzgerald, focuses on Harlow's seduction of her married boss (Chester Morris) and the havoc she wreaks in his upper-crust world. Charles Boyer has a role (his first Hollywood credit) as a French chauffeur who knows how to give satisfaction, and the film's air of breezy ribaldry even allows the star a casual flash of bare breast.
The rarest item in the collection, the 1931 Universal version of Waterloo Bridge, has long been unseen because MGM bought the film in order to do a 1940 remake (starring Vivien Leigh) and locked the original away in the vault. Directed by James Whale the same year he did Frankenstein (1931), the picture charts the romance of a chorus-girl-turned-streetwalker (Mae Clarke) and a well-born young soldier (Kent Douglass) on brief furlough from the trenches during WWI. Apart from a zesty prelude in a London music hall and two scenes on the titular bridge, the film remains yoked to its talky theatrical source, a Robert E. Sherwood play flogging the hoary conceit that no fallen woman, however pure of heart, could be permitted to marry into a good family. Unlike the Hays Code-compliant remake, the film leaves no doubt how the heroine makes her living. --Richard T. Jameson
Product Description
Includes: Waterloo Bridge (1931), Baby Face (1933), and Red-Headed Woman (1932).
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
287 of 294 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
There seems to be a great deal of pre-release confusion concerning what will actually be included on this upcoming set, and why. In the interest of sorting things out, I should first point out that although this is the first "Forbidden Hollywood" collection to be released by Warner Home Video on DVD, the franchise itself is not new. There were previously two "Forbidden Hollywood" boxed sets and a number of double features released on LaserDisc back in the 1990's. Additionally, quite a few "Forbidden Hollywood" titles were also offered on VHS cassette. From the git-go, "Forbidden Hollywood" titles were only culled from that cache of movies that premiered during the few short years after the introduction of "talkies" and the imposition of the Hays Production Code in 1934.
During this time frame, roughly 1929 to mid-1934, Hollywood studio product became increasingly concerned with subject matter that would later be condemned as taboo after the Code came into effect; these so-called "pre-Code talkies" were filled with characters who indulged in premarital sex, extramarital affairs, and even gay and lesbian liaisons. Films touched on hot-button topics such as rape, abortion, feminism, having children out-of-wedlock, drug abuse, and other social ills. And mind you, these things weren't just delicately hinted at in screenplays ... they frequently were shown on-screen and discussed quite frankly. After the Hays Code was adopted by the motion picture industry as a self-censorship tool, this group of films was deemed unacceptable for future distribution and exhibition without judicious editing to trim out now-objectionable material, and so they became, literally, "Forbidden Hollywood" product.
This new two-disc DVD set will feature three titles, but four films, two of them extremely rare. The first disc will include James Whale's 1931 "Waterloo Bridge", a film once thought "lost" and for the last 20 years only screened at film retrospectives (and apparently once or twice on TCM several years ago). The 1940 remake starring Vivien Leigh, though a wonderful and deservedly beloved film, will not be included here since it is not from the pre-Code era, and was never suppressed as part of the "Forbidden Hollywood" catalogue. Instead, the second film on this first disc will be the racy 1932 Jean Harlow vehicle, "Red-Headed Woman", which pushed the envelope back in the day for its bold depiction of a sexually free secretary who sets her sights on her married boss.
The second disc will include two versions of a single film, the 1933 scorcher "Baby Face", starring Barbara Stanwyck as a blonde bombshell who - after being pimped out by her father in her own hometown - moves to New York and sleeps her way up the corporate ladder to the very top. Many film historians point to "Baby Face" as the single film most responsible for the introduction of the Hays Code, the one that ushered in an era of censorship that was to last for more than 30 years. Intriguingly, the version that so shocked the public was actually an edited version of the original cut, which then disappeared for over 70 years ... until a complete print was found, restored, and finally premiered on the revival circuit in early 2006. That long-awaited, long-sought original version will be included on this set, as will be the edited version that managed to cause such an uproar when it played theatres in 1933.
And there you have it, the official contents of the "Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume One", enough to have a large number of pre-Code devotees jumping for joy at the chance to finally see (and own!) some seldom-displayed jewels. Let's just all hope that Volumes Two, Three, and so on are quick to follow!
During this time frame, roughly 1929 to mid-1934, Hollywood studio product became increasingly concerned with subject matter that would later be condemned as taboo after the Code came into effect; these so-called "pre-Code talkies" were filled with characters who indulged in premarital sex, extramarital affairs, and even gay and lesbian liaisons. Films touched on hot-button topics such as rape, abortion, feminism, having children out-of-wedlock, drug abuse, and other social ills. And mind you, these things weren't just delicately hinted at in screenplays ... they frequently were shown on-screen and discussed quite frankly. After the Hays Code was adopted by the motion picture industry as a self-censorship tool, this group of films was deemed unacceptable for future distribution and exhibition without judicious editing to trim out now-objectionable material, and so they became, literally, "Forbidden Hollywood" product.
This new two-disc DVD set will feature three titles, but four films, two of them extremely rare. The first disc will include James Whale's 1931 "Waterloo Bridge", a film once thought "lost" and for the last 20 years only screened at film retrospectives (and apparently once or twice on TCM several years ago). The 1940 remake starring Vivien Leigh, though a wonderful and deservedly beloved film, will not be included here since it is not from the pre-Code era, and was never suppressed as part of the "Forbidden Hollywood" catalogue. Instead, the second film on this first disc will be the racy 1932 Jean Harlow vehicle, "Red-Headed Woman", which pushed the envelope back in the day for its bold depiction of a sexually free secretary who sets her sights on her married boss.
The second disc will include two versions of a single film, the 1933 scorcher "Baby Face", starring Barbara Stanwyck as a blonde bombshell who - after being pimped out by her father in her own hometown - moves to New York and sleeps her way up the corporate ladder to the very top. Many film historians point to "Baby Face" as the single film most responsible for the introduction of the Hays Code, the one that ushered in an era of censorship that was to last for more than 30 years. Intriguingly, the version that so shocked the public was actually an edited version of the original cut, which then disappeared for over 70 years ... until a complete print was found, restored, and finally premiered on the revival circuit in early 2006. That long-awaited, long-sought original version will be included on this set, as will be the edited version that managed to cause such an uproar when it played theatres in 1933.
And there you have it, the official contents of the "Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume One", enough to have a large number of pre-Code devotees jumping for joy at the chance to finally see (and own!) some seldom-displayed jewels. Let's just all hope that Volumes Two, Three, and so on are quick to follow!
144 of 150 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The films of Pre-Code Hollywood (before 1934) have always held a special place in the history of Hollywood. The subjects were treated far more realistically than after the Code was imposed. This selection focuses on 3 films with 3 major central performances.
"Baby Face", starring a relentless Barbara Stanwyck, is a 1933 Warner Brothers film which traces the rise and rise of a tart. Stanwyck was quoted once as saying that the film was slated for her to give her glamour but that is the least of it. She is certainly dolled up but it is her tough realism that really makes the role as she leaves a trail of men in her path from poverty to riches. The early scenes in her father's speakeasy are particulary powerful. Look for a young John Wayne in the cast too. The DVD contains the recently discovered Director's Cut before the film was hacked by the Censors, so you really get to see what the fuss was about. It is interesting to observe how the cuts did not destroy the flow of the story. Part of the Censor's objections was that the heroine did not get her come-uppance so the tacked on ending in the cut version assures us that she ends up where she started, which was in fact ambiguous in the original version.
"Red Headed Woman" is probably Jean Harlow's toughest role, playing like Stanwyck a heartless tart who climbs her way to the top. Other actresses on the MGM payroll did not want the unsympathetic role but Harlow, with hair dyed from the trademark platinum blonde, has the requisite humour to put it over. Parts of the film are very funny with Una Merkel entertaining as Harlow's sidekick. The ending is hilarious with no contrived retribution for our heroine. The film really helped put Harlow on top and type cast her in the public's mind even when MGM later softened her image.
"Waterloo Bridge" is the early Universal version of the MGM favorite, this time directed by James Whale. Film historians who have seen this version have always claimed it is far superior to the version starring Vivien Leigh in 1940 with a memorable performance by Mae Clarke. (By the way, that's Mae Clarke peeking out of the DVD Case). It is a treat to see and notable for a very early appearance of Bette Davis in a small supporting role. Compared to the MGM film, this version is much closer to the original play, both in script and the way it is filmed. It has a realism and sense of tragedy which is more moving than the glossy tearjerker from MGM. Douglas Montgomery, as the soldier, is far more convincing than the starry Robert Taylor but you can see why it would never have been the box office bonanza the MGM version was - the difference between parsimonious Universal in 1931 and glamorous MGM in 1940.
The DVD set contains trailers of "Baby Face" and "Red Headed Woman" and a cursory introduction by Robert Osborne. The film prints are fine given the age of the films. The worst is probably the released version of "Baby Face" but once you have picked up where the cuts were made, you may not view it again, so it doesn't matter.
The package would have been improved with a suitable documentary about the significance of the films, if only because both "Baby Face" and "Red Headed Woman" explore some interesting ideas about the power of woman over men. In both films, men are the victims, in the former of Stanwyck's hatred and the latter Harlow's greed. Both women use sex brazenly to achieve their ambitions.
"Baby Face", starring a relentless Barbara Stanwyck, is a 1933 Warner Brothers film which traces the rise and rise of a tart. Stanwyck was quoted once as saying that the film was slated for her to give her glamour but that is the least of it. She is certainly dolled up but it is her tough realism that really makes the role as she leaves a trail of men in her path from poverty to riches. The early scenes in her father's speakeasy are particulary powerful. Look for a young John Wayne in the cast too. The DVD contains the recently discovered Director's Cut before the film was hacked by the Censors, so you really get to see what the fuss was about. It is interesting to observe how the cuts did not destroy the flow of the story. Part of the Censor's objections was that the heroine did not get her come-uppance so the tacked on ending in the cut version assures us that she ends up where she started, which was in fact ambiguous in the original version.
"Red Headed Woman" is probably Jean Harlow's toughest role, playing like Stanwyck a heartless tart who climbs her way to the top. Other actresses on the MGM payroll did not want the unsympathetic role but Harlow, with hair dyed from the trademark platinum blonde, has the requisite humour to put it over. Parts of the film are very funny with Una Merkel entertaining as Harlow's sidekick. The ending is hilarious with no contrived retribution for our heroine. The film really helped put Harlow on top and type cast her in the public's mind even when MGM later softened her image.
"Waterloo Bridge" is the early Universal version of the MGM favorite, this time directed by James Whale. Film historians who have seen this version have always claimed it is far superior to the version starring Vivien Leigh in 1940 with a memorable performance by Mae Clarke. (By the way, that's Mae Clarke peeking out of the DVD Case). It is a treat to see and notable for a very early appearance of Bette Davis in a small supporting role. Compared to the MGM film, this version is much closer to the original play, both in script and the way it is filmed. It has a realism and sense of tragedy which is more moving than the glossy tearjerker from MGM. Douglas Montgomery, as the soldier, is far more convincing than the starry Robert Taylor but you can see why it would never have been the box office bonanza the MGM version was - the difference between parsimonious Universal in 1931 and glamorous MGM in 1940.
The DVD set contains trailers of "Baby Face" and "Red Headed Woman" and a cursory introduction by Robert Osborne. The film prints are fine given the age of the films. The worst is probably the released version of "Baby Face" but once you have picked up where the cuts were made, you may not view it again, so it doesn't matter.
The package would have been improved with a suitable documentary about the significance of the films, if only because both "Baby Face" and "Red Headed Woman" explore some interesting ideas about the power of woman over men. In both films, men are the victims, in the former of Stanwyck's hatred and the latter Harlow's greed. Both women use sex brazenly to achieve their ambitions.
47 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
For many fans of Pre-Code cinema, the only options to watching the movies we cherish has been to fastiduously comb through television listings, spend outrageous sums of money on limited release VHS versions or pray that your particular favorite is released with a Signature Collection DVD set. Pre-Codes aren't often given prime time slots and some of the best ones are still vaulted and unavailable in any format. Thank goodness this particular set is being released and may it hopefully be the springboard for the release of many other such sets.
As for the films themeselves, "Red Headed Woman", "Baby Face" and "Waterloo Bridge" are excellent choices both for connisseurs and classic film fans unfamiliar with this particular time in cinematic history. Jean Harlow could not have become the movie myth she eventually did in the post Breen years. Stanwyck, an exceptional actress in many genres, was at her best in many of her Pre-Codes and it's about time her fans got the chance to see one of her devilish best. As a fan of Mark Viera's "Sin in Soft Focus" and Mick LaSalle's "Complicated Women" who has not yet had the opportunity to watch the much praised Mae Clark, "Waterloo Bridge", I cannot wait to see this particular film.
December cannot come quickly enough.
As for the films themeselves, "Red Headed Woman", "Baby Face" and "Waterloo Bridge" are excellent choices both for connisseurs and classic film fans unfamiliar with this particular time in cinematic history. Jean Harlow could not have become the movie myth she eventually did in the post Breen years. Stanwyck, an exceptional actress in many genres, was at her best in many of her Pre-Codes and it's about time her fans got the chance to see one of her devilish best. As a fan of Mark Viera's "Sin in Soft Focus" and Mick LaSalle's "Complicated Women" who has not yet had the opportunity to watch the much praised Mae Clark, "Waterloo Bridge", I cannot wait to see this particular film.
December cannot come quickly enough.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stanwyck!
Got this for 'just' the Stanwyck movie: Baby Face; couldn't get it on it's own; and I would have paid that much just to get that one movie! Read more
Published 16 days ago by kelwayne9
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great pre Hays code realism!
Amazing Depression-era movie about a beautiful woman who ruthlessly uses men to obtain wealth and power. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bellerive
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pre code fun
Hollywood was able yo project some very strong and sexual topics before the censors stepped and without nudity or bad language. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kenneth Hoglund
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing wrong with the DVD and the service
Movies, however were pretty tame, despite the title. The Jean Harlow movie was based on what may have been the worst screenplay ever written. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
I have watched this film many times and I enjoy it more each time. Barbara Stanwyck is always good but she really shows a different side in the pre-code production. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Donna
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whew! Barbara Stanwyck had it going on!
Great movie for those old enough to know what happens when the camera cuts away from the action. (lol) The movie addresses timeless themes of male hubris and weakness confronted by... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Huff
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
Very dark if small movie about a woman who sleeps her way to the top. End is contrived and too upbeat. On the Wall St. Journal list of noir movies made in the 1920's and 30's
Published 4 months ago by James J. Stark
3.0 out of 5 stars
Baby Face: Perhaps the Censor's Point on This One
What is so bad about this movie, and perhaps rightfully objected to by the censoring which came in around the time of its initial release, is that it shows a mentor figure... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Commenter77
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disc Labels Mixed Up
Paid $32 for these three films on two discs, so the least I'd expect is for the two discs to be correctly labeled. NOT. Read more
Published 11 months ago by MissMars
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Vice
This two-disc set show Hollywood as it sometimes was before the Hays Code. "Baby Face" is seen here in its original then released version, and while there's no great difference... Read more
Published 12 months ago by David Mills
