Hollywood Forbidden Collection Vol. 2 has been released. This DVD set has 5 other controversial (for the day) pre-code movies. It has 2 of my very own favorites.
The DVD also has a documentary on pre-code movies titled “Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin, and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood.” And although, these films are dated they still shock, stun, titillate us.
“The Divorcee” (1930), with Norma Shearer;
“A Free Soul” (1931), with Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable;
“Three on a Match” (1932), with Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak;
“Female” (1933), with Ruth Chatterton;
“Night Nurse” (1931), with Barbara Stanwyck;
The movies are restored, and re-mastered. I’ve seen each and every one of these films, but my absolute favorite are the ones with Norma Shearer, “The Divorcee” totally blew me away, and if it did that to me, what did it do to the audience of the day? In this film she plays a wife who catches her husband in an affair. Norma’s character decides to apply the “eye for an eye,” law. To teach her husband a lesson she embarks on numerous love affairs. She takes the infidelity a step further, eventually leading her to self-destruction.
“A Free Soul,” Norma plays opposite Clark Gable and Lionel Barrymore. The movie exposes the dark side of human beings without any apologies. In the end the bad guy gets it all and all his sins go unpunished.
The others are just as good and controversial for the day, but I have to single out the two above. Norma Shearer was the quintessential pre-code diva. The DVD Set is worth every dime.
