The last link to Pre Code Movies

Alright, for those of my readers who havent a clue what I mean by that, lets do a brief history of movies. Back before the end of the 1920’s, all movies were silent, in a voice sense at least. Then, the much hyped at the time, Jazz Singer came along, and the movie world slowly transformed into a world of sound, and not silence. The early movies were quite wild for their time, though by modern standards, most would seem pretty tame,, but drinking, smoking, and costumes that barely covered anything were quite often the norm back then. One movie, the chorus girl outfit for some consisted of a long blonde wig, and that was it! Oh, and they were chained up at the time too! This is what was known as the pre code era. Then in 1934, though not totally acted on for another year or so, there was a clampdown on this wild stuff, called the Hays Code, which spoilt most of the fun! It actually took until the mid 60’s before the code started to loosen again, far too long.

Until yesterday, we had one remaining lady from that era in our lives, Mary Carlisle. Sadly, yesterday, at the amazing age of 104, she finally passed away. There is an interview with her on You Tube, done when she was 100, where she’s doing dance kicks, albeit supported by her chair. And yes, in terms of adult actors of the Pre Code era, she was the last! There are a couple still alive who are slightly older than her, but neither appeared in their first movie until well after the Pre Code era was over.

Every year from 1922 to 1934, there were a new set of ‘baby stars’ introduced, and in 1932, Mary was one of them, at the grand age of 18! She had in fact worked in the movies for a couple of years by then, but that was her breakout moment. Oh, of the others that year, some dancer type named Ginger Rodgers! Oh, and Gloria Stuart, the old lady at the end of Titanic! Some made it, some didnt, some had long lives, others didnt, but anyway… All gone now!

Mary was never a massive star, but she had a decent career that lasted until 1943, all the same. For a few years now, she’d been looked upon as the last link back to that wild movie era, but now even she’s gone. RIP, Mary, and thanks for the memories.

Oh, and lastly on the subject, 113 years ago today, in Montana, Myrna Loy was born! In the same year, 1 month, and 4 days after that, in Oklahoma, a certain Clara Johnson was born! Still, she’ll get her day, I’m sure, given this is the first year I’ve known her birthday, lol.

So, video time. A suitable title to sum up the pre code era? This, maybe? Warning, the song is dreadful, but just seemed apt!

2 responses

  1. The Hays Code is my favorite example of how restrictions can actually enchance art. Most of the tropes that film noir is famous for probably wouldn’t exist without it, because they were primarily done to get around the rules of the Hays Code without technically breaking it. “We can’t show a police officer getting shot, so let’s just hit him over the head with the gun. Oh, we can’t show that either? Okay, just pan over to this wall and we’ll show the shadow as it happens.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh agreed, some of the workarounds were great fun to see. And some found their niche when they didnt have to act like sex symbols, and were just able to act, Harlow, for example. But I loved the extravagance of some of the pre code movies, and it was a shame when they had to go


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