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Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man Hardcover – Bargain Price, November 11, 2002

4.3 out of 5 stars 50

Using the same mix of accessibility and insider knowledge he used so successfully in Complicated Women, author and film critic Mick LaSalle now turns his attention to the men of the pre-Code Hollywood era.

The five years between 1929 and mid-1934 was a period of loosened censorship that finally ended with the imposition of a harsh Production Code that would, for the next thirty-four years, censor much of the life and honesty out of American movies. Dangerous Men takes a close look at the images of manhood during this pre-Code era, which coincided with an interesting time for men-the culmination of a generation-long transformation in the masculine ideal. By the late twenties, the tumult of a new century had made the nineteenth century's notion of the ideal man seem like a repressed stuffed shirt, a deluded optimist. The smiling, confident hero of just a few years before fell out of favor, and the new heroes who emerged were gangsters, opportunists, sleazy businessmen, shifty lawyers, shell-shocked soldiers-men whose existence threatened the status quo.

In this book, LaSalle highlights such household names as James Cagney, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, Maurice Chevalier, Spencer Tracy, and Gary Cooper, along with lesser-known ones such as Richard Barthelmess, Lee Tracy, Robert Montgomery, and the magnificent Warren William. Together they represent a vision of manhood more exuberant and contentious-and more humane-than anything that has followed on the American screen.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One would be remiss, San Francisco Chronicle film critic LaSalle points out, in taking the sappy naivete of many of the Hollywood films of the 1930s, 40s and 50s as a faithful barometer of a more innocent time. Instead, this world of simple black and whites (both visual and moral) was forced upon the motion picture industry by a restrictive Production Code that reigned in Hollywood from 1934 to 1968, censoring "dangerous" ideas and characterizations from the final edits. Before the Code was imposed, "Hollywood would specialize in heroes who were shady, crooked or outright criminal"; after it, films were stripped of the messy humanity that gave the "pre-Codes" their life and boiled down to unsophisticated good guy vs. bad guy plot lines. LaSalle (Complicated Women) outlines the heyday of the pre-Code era, which lasted from the advent of talkies in 1929 until mid-1934, when actors such as Jimmy Cagney, Lon Chaney and Clark Gable made their mark playing flawed, tough, yet respectable characters. These earlier movies featured "men who reveal the truth about the difficulty of manhood in the modern age" and, as such, helped define American masculinity for the rest of the 20th century. 16 pages b&w photos
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

LaSalle, a film critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, believes that the leading men of Hollywood's pre-Code era represent a distinct break from their wimpy or exaggeratedly heroic predecessors in the silent era. They could truly be called "dangerous," both to others and to themselves, because they lived (and frequently died) by their own rules. Whether good guys or villains-they were sometimes an intriguing combination of both-they reflected the social chaos going on around them, caused largely by the Depression and Prohibition. Even the slimiest of gangsters, often played by Warner Bros. stalwarts Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, could be admired because they were their own men. Besides those obvious choices, LaSalle includes some actors who would not seem to fall into the same category, including Richard Barthelmess and the suave Warren William. Although the author's admiration for this era's films is unmistakable, his insights often seem shallow and derivative, and his style can be somewhat pedestrian. If Complicated Women, LaSalle's earlier study of women in pre-Code Hollywood, was popular in your library, you can safely purchase; otherwise, you can pass.
Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001G8W8C8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition (November 11, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.58 x 6.38 x 0.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 50

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
50 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2015
Even better than Complicated Women, I have to say. Maybe because the material isn't so well known? Pre-Code films (and its history) are usually about the women, so it was interesting to read about its impact on men and their roles. Plus, LaSalle was a lot funnier in this than in his previous book. I laughed out loud more than once at some of his snarky comments--he really doesn't like Al Jolson, for example: "[A] boy get hit by a truck, causing Jolson to serenade him in the hospital with "Little Pal." Miraculously, the singing doesn't kill the child."

Aside from the Pre-Code usuals--Gable, Cagney, Fairbanks, Powell and Montgomery, LaSalle "introduces" others I now really want to dig up, Warren William and Richard Barthelmess.
6 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2015
Love this book. It gave me so much insight into why I love the Pre-Codes. So intelligently written and researched. Really interesting read. I also have Mick LaSalles "Complicated Women". I'm reading that one now. I highly recommend these books.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2021
Dangerous Men: Pre-code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man is film critic/historian Mick LaSalle’s companion to his earlier book Complicated Women, also about the pre-code era in Hollywood. The pre-code era, for talking pictures, dates a mere five years, between 1929 and mid-1934. Those films made during that time were bold and daring. Then a code was established, mostly dictated by the Catholic church, that censored films for the next thirty or so years. Even the pre-code films that were re-released were subject to the censor’s knife, and often the negatives themselves were butchered, and thus many pre-code films are no longer available in their original forms. LaSalle’s purpose, as I perceive it, is to call attention to the enormous contribution these films made to film history and to show how they point toward the films of today that are no longer subject to the strict censorship of the code. He points out many fine films were made in those years of the code, but he also makes the argument that the restrictions were an industry strait-jacket for filmmakers. LaSalle’s earlier book, Complicated Women, focused on the freedom that women actors had to tell stories that were filled with feminism, bold women, and sometimes bawdy humor. He continues that idea with the men of Hollywood of that era. The performances and films of actors who are familiar to those of us of a certain age like James Cagney, Clark Gable, John Barrymore, Gary Cooper, John Gilbert, and others are presented and deconstructed. But LaSalle also tells of actors that I knew little about (and also one I hadn’t heard of) like Richard Barthelmess, George Arliss, and Warren William. Dangerous Men is a treasure trove for film aficionados, filling us in on a short period of filmmaking that is not spoken of much, and that, in fact, included films that are hard to find these days. And I have to point out one passage where I laughed out loud. LaSalle’s description and commentary on Al Jolson’s performance in 1930’s Mammy is priceless!
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Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2016
Mick LaSalle is by far the most knowledgable authority on Pre-Code cinema. I have no doubt after having read this book about the legitimacy of society's perceived "dangerousness" of these unique actors and the roles they played.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016
Just a quick read and something I already figured about male actors of the Pre-code and Post-code era of Hollywood: Make into bad boys and then rehabilitate them into adorable popular Hollywood stars!
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2011
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.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016
Fascinating picture of nineteen twenties and thirties movies. Many subtle insights I missed in the films. Helpful information on viewing or acquiring the films.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2006
Mick LaSalle has done a fine job in recording the accomplishments of actresses before the pre code "censorship" era (1929-1934 or thereabouts!) . If you are at all interested

in films of the thirties this is a MUST! And if you are just interested in films in general this will surely be "of interest". And if you are a Norma Shearer fan it is a MUST!
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Gerard Hanlon
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2018
A very interesting book
Edward Druckman
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 1, 2017
A little of the boring side