And we’re back. (Still.) Apologies for running a day late on this, my family went to the Balkans for spring break and I brought back a cough. I saw dozens of stray cats sunning themselves in the streets of Montenegro, stepped into a mosque in Bosnia, was almost blown away by the wind in Croatia, and stood atop an ancient castle in Albania. And a pipsqueak behind me on the bus gave me this cold, so a mixed bag overall. For anyone following the TCM skeddaddle, I wanted to highlight April 2nd, which features a ton of pre-Codes, including a bunch that highlight Ms. Ann Dvorak. (If you haven’t hear ..read more

Indifference Stats Starring: Dolores del Rio, Leo Carrillo, Norman Foster, Ralph Ince, Lucile Gleason, Edna Murphy, Stanley Fields, Frank Campeau, Roberta Gale, King Baggot Directed by: Herbert Brenon Released by: RKO Runtime: Currently available prints are 68 minutes long; the original release was 78 minutes Release date: January 15th, 1932 Availability Girl of the Rio is an early RKO production. It was sold to C&C Television Corporation in the 1950s to be trimmed down and packaged for television viewings. As part of that deal, its run time and content were trimmed. As far as I can fin ..read more

And we now return to our regularly scheduled program. A lot has happened over the last year and a half since I lasted posted on this site, from Warner’s attempts to raze TCM to the slow implosion of the streaming bubble. Classic film and content grows harder to find– intentionally so, I would reckon, as it’s simply not as profitable as much of the other drek shoveled onto services or written up on AI-generated websites or— well, a lot of things. So. We must keep fighting the good fight. While this site has been quiet, please know that we’ve still been active on social media. My partner, Kim Lu ..read more

Dislike Starring: Lawrence Gray, Wynne Gibson, Judith Wood, Kenneth Thomson, Lee Kohlmar, May Boley, Benny Rubin, Jack Benny (!), Ann Dvorak (!!), and Cliff Edwards (!!!) Directed by: Harry Beaumont Released by: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Runtime: 70 minutes Release date: April 26, 1930 Availability Children of Pleasure was released by MGM. As far as I can tell, it has never been released on home video, though there is a version floating out there on the grey market. One of the film’s musical numbers, “Dust”, was shot in two-tone Technicolor. Though the film only survives in black and white, the col ..read more

Indifference Starring: Dennis King, Jeanette MacDonald, O.P. Heggie, Lillian Roth, Warner Oland, Arthur Stone, Tom Ricketts, and Lawford Davidson Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch and Ludwig Berger Released by: Paramount Pictures Runtime: 104 minutes (yes really) Release date: April 19, 1930 Also Known As: The Final Battle of the Burganians Availability The Vagabond King was released by Paramount Pictures. It was a lavish production with at least one musical number in two-tone Technicolor. From what I can tell, the film fell into the public domain and was considered lost for a while. A color print ..read more

Can you believe 2022 is almost over? What a SPOOOOKY thought. Yeah, I got nothing, my library literally had the roof fall in again this week (thanks 60-year-old pipes) and my dog, old gal Harpo, has just turned 13 and is having a rough go of it. I also, and this is important, have gotten into coffee. I’ve been using it to replace all the Coke Zero I was drinking, only it turns out I need more coffee to drink and it may possibly have more caffeine in it. I don’t know, but after having four or five coffees in a day, I vibrate? Anyway, it’s 1 AM here, let’s get this post moving. The Criterion Cha ..read more

Dislike Starring: Lew Ayres, Alice Faye, Harry Green, Frank Mitchell, Jack Durant, Ernie Alexander, Russ Clark and Susan Fleming Directed by: George Marshall Released by: Fox Films Runtime: 78 minutes Release date: June 29, 1934 Not to be Confused With: Oh Sailor Behave (1930), Way for a Sailor (1930), Sailor Be Good (1933), Sailor’s Luck (1933), or Son of a Sailor (1933) Availability She Learned About Sailors was released by the Fox Film Corporation. Fox Films are now owned by the Disney Corporation. It is highly unlikely to receive a commercial release. It is available in rough condition on ..read more

Like Starring: Claudia Dell, Lola Lane, Richard Hemingway, Jason Robards Sr., Paul Ellis, Douglas Cosgrove, Mischa Auer, Sheila Bromley, Louise Beavers, Tom O’Brien, and Neal Pratt Directed by: Dorothy Davenport (as Mrs. Wallace Reid) Released by: Marcy Pictures / Progressive Pictures Runtime: 64 minutes Release date: April 4, 1934 Not to be confused with: The Woman Accused (1933) Availability The Woman Condemned was an independent production. Its copyright was not renewed and it is currently in the public domain. Copies of it are discoverable on the Internet Archive, Amazon, YouTube, Daily M ..read more

Dislike Also Known As: Winning the West (1952 Theatrical Reissue) Starring: Richard Arlen, Mary Brian, Regis Toomey, Fred Kohler, Guy Oliver, George Chandler, William Le Maire, Lew Meehan, Syd Saylor Directed by: Edward H. Knopf and Otto Brower Released by: Paramount Runtime: 70 minutes Release date: April 19, 1930 Availability The Light of Western Stars was released by Paramount. Its copyright was not renewed and it is currently in the public domain. Copies of it are discoverable on Amazon, YouTube, Daily Motion and other popular streaming sites. The Light of the Western Stars has not been o ..read more

Happy September! I apologize for the extended absence– I have thoughts that will come later, but for now I just wanted to get a new post out for the new month. September features a lot of great pre-Codes popping up. I highly recommend the goofy One Sunday Afternoon and saucy Professional Sweetheart from those listed below. The Criterion Channel in September 2022 The Criterion Channel is a streaming platform for classic film. Films may only be available on the platform for a limited time. Manhattan Melodrama (34) The Woman Condemned (34) Pre-Code Films on TCM in September 2022 Turner Classic ..read more