Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934

From Turner Classic Movies and the creators of @precodedotcom, this is the essential film-by-film guide to must-see cinema from the pre-Code era—a wild and wonderful time in Hollywood history before strict enforcement of a censorship code that ruled moviemaking for decades.
 
With unparalleled freedom in the Golden Age of Hollywood, movies produced during the “pre-Code” era between 1930 and 1934 boldly confronted a wide range of provocative subjects, including sexual freedom, the glorification of outlaws, racial taboos, and class consciousness. Films of the period include beloved classics like Grand Hotel(1932) and King Kong(1933) but also lesser-known gems like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang(1932) and Ann Vickers (1933). These films, produced at the height of the Great Depression, pushed the limits of contemporary social norms at a time when Hollywood studios were desperate to attract audiences—by any means necessary. Pre-Code Essentials invites modern readers to engage with that history while diving deep into movies that remain, as they were then, adventurous and uncompromising.
 
In their incisive text, film historians Kim Luperi and Danny Reid cover fifty films that take readers through the pre-Code era’s evolution. Perfect for both pre-Code novices and film aficionados alike, the book is packed with detailed production and censorship histories, recommendations, and trivia. Famous names like Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, and Ernst Lubitsch get their due, while sidebars spotlight treasures of the period like Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney, Dorothy Arzner, Warren William, and Dolores De Rio. Post-Epilogue features discuss availability of the listed films and include the text of the 1930 Production Code. Illustrated by more than 200 photos, Production Code Administration records detailing correspondence between studios and censors, and more, Pre-Code Essentials is both a gorgeous guide and an indispensable resource of Hollywood history.
 
Among the films profiled: The Divorcee, All Quiet on the Western Front, Safe in Hell, Frankenstein, Shanghai Express, Freaks, Merrily We Go to Hell, Downstairs, Love Me Tonight, Trouble in Paradise, Three on a Match, The Sign of the Cross, Gabriel Over the White House, The Story of Temple Drake, The Emperor Jones, The Sin of Nora Moran, I Am Suzanne!, The Black Cat, Smarty, Murder at the Vanities, and many more

Kim Luperi wrote her undergraduate thesis on the censorship battle of Baby Face (1933) and never looked back. Currently, she curates the @precodedotcom Instagram account and is a freelance writer for TCM. She’s written for AFI Fest, the American Cinematheque, and MovieMaker Magazine and covers classic film screenings at ISeeADarkTheater.com. Kim lives with her partner in sunny Los Angeles.
 
Danny Reid is a librarian who has been writing about pre-Code Hollywood for over a decade at pre-Code.com. His published writing includes Murder on Celluloid: A Companion to the Hildegarde Withers Film Series and acting as editor for the essay collection Thoughts on the Thin Man. Danny has introduced pre-Code film screenings around the world and appeared on podcasts to discuss the era. He currently lives in Germany with his wife, two kids, and three very silly dogs.