Pre-Code Hollywood Collection (The Cheat / Merrily We Go to Hell / Hot Saturday / Torch Singer / Murder at the Vanities / Search for Beauty)
Starring: Cary Grant, Frederic March, Tallulah Bankhead, Randolph Scott, Sylvia SidneyStudio: Universal Studios
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Running Time: 420 minutes
DVD Release: April 7th 2009
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DVD Review
For the first time ever, Universal opens its vaults to bring you 6 classic films from the most decadent era in motion picture history: Pre-Code Hollywood. In 1934, Hollywood was turned upside down by the enforcement of a strict ?Production Code? that would change the way movies were made for the next 34 years. During the ?pre-code? period (1929 to mid-1934), censorship barely existed in Hollywood and filmmakers had free reign to make the movies they wanted and the public demanded. No subject was taboo including adultery, murder, immorality and sex. Starring screen legends Cary Grant, Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Tallulah Bankhead, Randolph Scott and Sylvia Sidney, the Pre-Code Hollywood Collection forever captures one of the most influential periods in cinema history.
The Cheat
A compulsive gambler (Tallulah Bankhead) will do anything to pay off her debt ? including turning to a wealthy businessman behind her husband?s back.
Merrily We Go to Hell
An abusive alcoholic (Fredric March) reunites with a woman from his past driving his wife (Sylvia Sidney) to drastic measures.
Hot Saturday
Scandal erupts after a young woman (Nancy Carroll) innocently spends the night with a notorious playboy (Cary Grant) and neglects to tell her fiancé (Randolph Scott).
Torch Singer
After giving up her illegitimate child for adoption, a notorious nightclub singer (Claudette Colbert) attempts to reunite with her daughter through a children?s radio show.
Murder at the Vanities
While musical revue ?The Vanities? captivates audience on its opening night, a murder investigation secretly takes place backstage.
Search for Beauty
Olympic swimming champions (Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino) are tricked into endorsing a ?fitness? magazine that features racy photos.
User Reviews
Finally! - Rating: 4/5
At last, Murder at the Vanities is being released. I saw this film years and years and years ago at a film festival with my mother and we fell in love with it becuase it's simply so outrageous and outrageously bad in some spots (the "Marijuana" number is especially entertaining).
This has been on the top of my want list for years, desperately hoping someone would release it. Now that it's coming out, I think I know what my mother's getting for Mother's Day this year.
Murder At The Vanities is a Rare Gem!!! - Rating: 5/5
I am not all that familiar with the other films in this package, but I can highly recommend Mitchell Leisen's MURDER AT THE VANITIES 1934 with Kitty Carlilse, Carl Brisson, Jack Oakie, Victor McLaglen, Gertrude Michael, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. This is a wonderful back-stage murder mystery with lavish musical numbers in the Busby-Berkeley style, with exciting visuals and some scantily dressed chorus girls. Songs include "Cocktails For Two", the outrageous "Marijuana" (in which blood, from a muder victim, drips down from the rafters onto the shoulders of one of the half naked chorus girls while they are all performing on stage), "Where Do They Come From, Where Do They Go?" and "Ebony Rhapsody". If you're a fan of 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Dames, Lady Of Burlesque, etc., you're going to love this rare gem, and now it's finally coming to DVD April 9th!
Universal finally pulls out some of its precode entries - Rating: 5/5
Looking at what's available on DVD, you'd think that Universal did nothing more than crank out horror film after horror film during the early 1930's. In fact, they branched out from their typical western fare into other types of films from time to time. Probably the best known is Best Picture winner "All Quiet on the Western Front", but there was also the all-color musical "King of Jazz", "Broadway" and "Lonesome" directed by a bacteriologist, and a variety of precodes. Unfortunately, none of Universal's precodes are in this bunch. On the bright side, this is some of the best precode material from Paramount, which Universal happens to own. This time they even provide some extras. This is a great improvement over The Cecil B. DeMille Collection (Cleopatra/ The Crusades/ Four Frightened People/ Sign of the Cross/ Union Pacific) in which some of DeMille's more interesting precode Paramount films were dumped into a collection with no commentary, no context, nothing. The following description comes from the press release with a few extra comments of my own. These are never on TV and it's not like I've seen them all last week, but I have seen them and do recommend them.
The Cheat (1931, 74 min.) directed by George Abbott
(Actually a Paramount production)
A compulsive gambler (Tallulah Bankhead) will do anything to pay off her debt - including turning to a wealthy businessman behind her husband's back.
Merrily We Go to Hell directed by Dorothy Arzner (1932, 78 min.)
(Actually a Paramount production)
An abusive alcoholic (Fredric March) reunites with a woman from his past and drives his wife (Sylvia Sidney) to drastic measures. Look for Cary
Grant in a very minor role.
Hot Saturday (1932, 73 min.) directed by William Seitner
(Paramount again)
Scandal erupts after a young woman (Nancy Carroll) innocently spends the night with a notorious playboy (Cary Grant) and neglects to tell her fiance (Randolph Scott).
Torch Singer (1933, 71 min.) directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes
(Paramount again)
After giving up her illegitimate child for adoption, a notorious nightclub singer (Claudette Colbert) attempts to find her daughter through a children's radio show. The father is played by David Manners, who also shows up in several of the Universal horror films of the early 30's. Strong support comes from Ricardo Cortez.
Murder at the Vanities directed by Mitchell Leisen(1934, 89 min.)
(Paramount)
While musical revue "The Vanities" captivates an audience on its opening night, a murder investigation takes place backstage. Victor McLaglin plays the policeman trying to solve the murder, which actually isn't that interesting. What is interesting are the bizarre musical numbers in "The Vanities" including an ode to mar ij uana.
Search for Beauty (1934, 78 min.) directed by Erle Kenton
(Paramount)
Olympic swimming champions (Buster Crabbe and Ida Lupino) are tricked into endorsing a racy magazine - and much worse. Robert Armstrong and veteran character actor James Gleason play the tricksters.
BONUS FEATURES:
Forbidden Film: The Production Code Era (Disc 1)
Includes Reproduction of the Original "Production Code" Document
Universal did actually make some interesting precodes of their own. I watched one just last week - "Night World" with Boris Karloff as the owner of a nightclub and Mae Clark as a chorus girl. Maybe Universal will put out another volume of precodes and include some of their own works next time. In the meantime, I can heartily recommend this set.
