The Bette Davis Project: Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
Synopsis: A smug detective, Butch Saunders (Pat O’Brien, Angels with Dirty Faces), is not happy with his transfer to the Missing Persons Division because he thinks that looking for people […]
Tag Archives: Pre-Code
American sound films between 1927 and 1933
The Letter (1929)
Synopsis: In British Malaya, Leslie Crosbie (Jeanne Eagels, Man, Woman and Sin) and her businessman husband (Reginald Owen, Mrs. Miniver) live pretty conventional lives. One night, Leslie shoots an old […]
The Bette Davis Project: Ex-Lady (1933)
Synopsis: Free spirited artist, Helen Bauer (Bette Davis), doesn’t believe in marriage. She doesn’t believe in having babies either (the horror!). Helen is perfectly content with her open relationship with […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Working Man (1933)
Synopsis: Shoe manufacturer John Reeves (George Arliss, Disraeli) is a workaholic who strives for perfection. However, his nephew Benjamin Burnett (Hardie Albright, Angel on My Shoulder) thinks that old Reeves […]
The Bette Davis Project: Parachute Jumper (1933)
Synopsis: Bill (Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ghost Story) and Toodles (Frank McHugh, The Front Page) are penniless ex-Marine buddies looking for employment in the Big Apple. Bill and Toodles meet the […]
The Bette Davis Project: 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Synopsis: Life-long criminal Tom Connors, played by Spencer Tracy (Boys Town), arrives at Sing Sing Correctional Facility (New York) with delusions of grandeur. The sympathetic warden (Arthur Byron, The Mummy) tries to help Connors, but […]
The Bette Davis Project: Three on a Match (1932)
Synopsis: The film revolves around the ups & downs of three very different childhood friends. The aloof Vivian Revere (Ann Dvorak, G Men) marries a wealthy lawyer (Warren William, The Wolfman), […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Cabin in the Cotton (1932)
Synopsis: Marvin Blake, played by Richard Barthelmess (Tol’able David), is the son of poor cotton farmers. He aspires to go to college and his dream comes true when rich plantation owner Mr. […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Dark Horse (1932)
Synopsis: When a birdbrained country bumpkin, Zachary Hicks (Guy Kibbee, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), inexplicably wins a gubernatorial primary, party leaders know that they are in big trouble. Secretary […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Rich Are Always with Us (1932)
Synopsis: Socialite Caroline Van Dyke (Ruth Chatterton, Dodsworth) has everything she ever wanted — friends, money and a good husband. However, when she finds out that her hubby (John Miljan, The […]
The Bette Davis Project: So Big! (1932)
Synopsis: In the late 19th century, teenager Selina (Anne Shirley, The Devil and Daniel Webster, is Selina as a child, Barbara Stanwyck, Double Indemnity, is the adult Selina) finds herself penniless […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Man Who Played God (1932)
Synopsis: A famous concert pianist, Montgomery Royle (George Arliss, Disraeli), loses his hearing after an assassination attempt on one of his guests. The bitter Royle retires, and even contemplates suicide. When […]
The Bette Davis Project: Hell’s House (1932)
Synopsis: Recently orphaned teenager, Jimmy Mason (Junior Durkin, Little Men), comes to live with his uncle and aunt in the big city. The naive young man immediately gets in trouble […]
The Bette Davis Project: Way Back Home (1931)
Synopsis: The episodic plot has Pastor Seth Parker (Phillips H. Lord, Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard) and his wife (Effie Palmer) helping the poor folks in a small rural town in Maine. The […]
The Bette Davis Project: Waterloo Bridge (1931)
Synopsis: Set in England during World War I, Waterloo Bridge revolves around the tragic romance between a soldier and a prostitute. Mae Clarke (The Public Enemy) is a chorus girl who turns […]
The Bette Davis Project: The Bad Sister (1931)
Synopsis: Sidney Fox (Call it Murder) plays an ambitious young woman, Marianne Madison, who is desperate to escape the simplicity of her hometown in Indiana, USA. When Marianne falls in love with a […]
