Do you remember watching an adult film as a child – hoping your parents didn’t find
out?
Do you remember the thrill of watching naughty movies when you became a teen?
There’s a guilty pleasure we have in watching Hollywood movies that aren’t afraid to challenge
the status quo, cultural mores, or the values of the time.
In Hollywood, there was a brief period where the ‘Hays Code’ was established.
This was a code to prevent certain explicit material from being shown in Hollywood movies
– which were becoming more influential to American society.
This was a response to many popular films that were already considered controversial.
But how do these films hold up today?
Are there any Pre-Code Hollywood movies that contemporary audiences would still find shocking
today?
Join FactsVerse to learn about the Pre-Code Hollywood Movies That Are Still Considered
Naughty Today…
BABY FACE
One of the most controversial films from the “New Hollywood” genre was Hardcore – written
and directed by Paul Schrader.
In this film, a father tries to save his daughter who has been embroiled in the pornographic
industry.
However, even this film couldn’t match up to the naughtiness of the 1933 Hollywood hit
Baby Face.
This film followed a girl who prostitutes herself and has been doing so since she was
a teenager – because of her father!
In the film, Barbara Stanwyck plays Lily Powers who has been a prostitute due to her father,
Nick Powers, played by Robert Barratt, who exploited her beauty.
The storyline, as one can expect, was harrowing for the time and certainly wouldn’t be allowed
during the Hays Code Era – which wanted to “protect” audiences from seeing the
darker truths of our society.
Even today, how many of us would be brave enough to see a film like Baby Face which
is still considered naughty?
Barbara Stanwyck, of course, went on to become one of Hollywood’s greatest actresses during
the Golden Era and this role showed how she wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult issues
through her work.
Before we tell you more about these Pre-Code Hollywood movies that are still considered
naughty today, please like this video and subscribe to FactsVerse for more pop culture
content and interesting stories.
Now, back to the video…
THE DIVORCEE
We’ve gotten used to seeing divorce in American films and in American society.
But the 1930 film The Divorcee showed us a part of life that audiences found taboo at
the time.
The film showed a man marrying a woman solely out of pity – as he caused a car accident
which caused her face to become disfigured!
Years later, she finds him having an affair with another woman.
As one would expect, though divorce might no longer be taboo – such a plot line would
still be considered naughty today.
The film follows the couple after the divorce to explore how this incident affects the lives
of people involved in it.
The Divorcee stars Norma Shearer and Chester Morris.
It was based on a novel called ‘The Ex-Wife’ by Ursula Parrott which was a bestseller at
the time but stirred up controversy as did many of her writings.
Norma Shearer won an academy award for her acting in the film.
The acting style is rather different from what we’re used to today, but it’s a great
watch if you’re curious to see how naughty it was…and still is!
THE PUBLIC ENEMY
Gangster films have always caused controversy and the 1931 film The Public Enemy is a great
example of this.
This is one of James Cagney’s best films in which he plays a young Irish-American hoodlum
who works his way up to the ranks of organized crime.
The violence and the horrors shown in this film were naturally controversial for the
time but were also very appealing.
Prohibition ruled over the country and here was a film that showed criminals selling alcohol
and appealing to our vices.
It’s still considered to be one of the best gangster films of all time and is still controversial
to this day as are pretty much all such films.
While we want an orderly society, we also have a sense of rebelliousness in us.
For Americans especially, we see the government as an enemy to our freedoms and Prohibition
was one law that stripped Americans of their choice.
The Public Enemy showed how someone can cause evil but can still be sympathetic to audiences
because they’re fighting an even bigger enemy.
BLONDE CRAZY
If you’re a fan of romantic comedies, then you’ll want to watch the 1931 film Blonde
Crazy.
This film stars James Cagney and Joan Blondell and likely has some of the most quotable lines
of any romantic comedy film ever!
The film is salacious, and the humor was considered risqué for the time – some of it still
wouldn’t hold up in the politically-correct world we live in now!
It followed a con man and his girlfriend – which was rather naughty for the time.
Audiences seldom saw a negative character such as a con man as the hero of a film.
In most cases, a woman who loved the villain was a supporting character rather than the
leading lady!
This film challenged audiences and made them love both characters.
It’s still a great pleasure to watch today.
In fact, if you’re a fan of con artist films then this is a must-see.
Grifting remains a naughty subject in films as it’s illegal, immoral, and dishonest
– yet something inside us makes us admire the con artists who can trick us.
The film was a hit when it was released and it’s now part of The Library of Congress.
MILLIE
This is likely one of the darkest Pre-Code Hollywood films ever made that would still
shock audiences today.
Millie revolves around the title character played by Helen Twelvetrees.
She marries a wealthy New York businesses man and has a child with him.
A few years into the marriage she decides to leave him due to his continuous affairs.
She tries to find a way to earn money to ensure her daughter continues to live with the same
material comforts she had before.
Eventually, she and her friends decided to meet other wealthy men and…charm them.
As one can expect, Millie was a shocking film for audiences to see in 1931.
Even today, can you imagine how audiences would feel about the film.
Throughout the film, we see Millie going from one man to the next to earn money for her
daughter.
Then, as her daughter grows up Millie finds out that one of her wealthy clients has taken
an interest in her.
This upsets her naturally and she asks the man to stay away from her daughter.
But…the man doesn’t listen.
We’ll leave it there as you should watch this classic Pre-Code film that’ll still
cause you to squirm in your seat.
Millie was a huge hit in its day and it’s a classic film that more film lovers should
see.
CALL HER SAVAGE
If you thought Millie was about a good girl gone bad – then you haven’t seen Call
Her Savage.
This 1932 Pre-Code film would have trouble even today and it would cause parents to become
more protective over their children – so, perhaps a remake is due?
Call Her Savage follows Nasa Springer played by Clara Bow.
She’s a young Texan who goes through life sleeping around, getting into fights, and
using alcohol to quench her thirst.
Naturally, we’ve gotten used to seeing this in cinema today but it was an absolute shock
in 1932!
What’s even more shocking is that there were scenes that feature the actress not wearing
a bra under her clothing and even a brief BDSM scene!
It’s also one of the first films that depicted homosexuality as it had a scene in a gay bar.
Nasa Springer is brought up by decent parents but eventually gets tired of the conservative
southern lifestyle and begins to rebel.
She eventually becomes pregnant and has to find a way to look after the child all on
her own!
You’ll have to see the film to see how things play out for her.
This is a dark film that isn’t always easy to watch but one has to give props to the
filmmaker for being brave enough to tackle such a subject in the 1930s!
AFRICA SPEAKS!
The final Pre-Code movie that would be considered naughty today…actually would be even more
naughty today is a documentary called Africa Speaks!
The film was written and directed by Walter Futter and it followed Paul L. Hoeffer – a
famous photographer traveling throughout Africa.
He travels across the Serengetti, Belgian Congo and Uganda to showcase the wildlife
and culture there.
There’s one controversial scene in the film where a native African fights against a lion.
It’s been speculated that this scene wasn’t shot in Africa but was a staged event at Los
Angeles Zoo!
While the film does portray an interesting look at the mysterious continent that few
Westerners knew about at the time – it does also showcase the less-favorable attitudes
towards Africa and is widely considered an exploitation film.
The film is available on DVD and its print has been replicated many times.
It’s since been released into the public domain.
As early as the 1940s, it was parodied by other filmmakers.
The film is more shocking today as we have more mature attitudes toward learning about
other parts of the world.
Yet, no matter what part of the world we’re from, we always view things from our cultural
bias and struggle to understand another person’s point of view.
Even the most sophisticated cultural documentary today can still receive the criticism that
Africa Speaks received.
Nevertheless, it was a huge hit in its time and is a documentary that’s worth your time.
Are you a fan of any of these Pre-Code Hollywood Movies?
Which ones would you like to see?
Now, here’s what we’d like to know from you:
Do you think that films made today are indeed naughtier?
Or do you think that these older films weren’t only shocking in terms of visuals but also
in how they made you think?
Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.
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