Joan Blondell

A young woman marries a philanderer, divorces him, and raises their daughter alone while navigating the compromises of love and independence through the Jazz Age and the Depression. Helen Twelvetrees stars with Joan Blondell in this pre-Code adaptation of Donald Henderson Clarke's novel. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Drama · Romance

A 1930 pre-Code crime drama and the film debut of James Cagney, who reprises his Broadway role from the play Penny Arcade by Marie Baumer. Directed by John G. Adolfi for Warner Bros., the film is set at a Coney Island penny arcade run by Ma Delano (Lucille La Verne). When her son Harry (Cagney) gets involved in a bootlegging operation run by Mitch McKane (Warren Hymer), a fatal shooting on the darkened pier sets off a tense family drama. Joan Blondell also makes her film debut, repeating her stage role as Myrtle. The film is in the public domain.

Crime · Drama

A Pre-Code comedy directed by Lowell Sherman, produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Three Broadway showgirls—Schatzi (Joan Blondell), Jean (Madge Evans), and Teddy (Ina Claire)—share an apartment and a talent for extracting gifts from wealthy men. When Teddy announces her engagement to a respectable businessman, the other two try to sabotage the wedding, each scheming to land a rich husband of her own. The film's frank depiction of gold-digging and sexual maneuvering is pure Pre-Code Hollywood, and the three leads sparkle with wit and chemistry. The film was later remade as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Pre-Code

A young woman is murdered at a creepy mansion and returns as a ghost to enlist the mild-mannered Cosmo Topper to find her killer, dragging the bewildered man through a house full of secret passages and suspects. The third Topper comedy. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Comedy · Mystery · Fantasy