Nothing's Shocking

Yesterday a co-worker of mine pointed out that Turner Classic Movies (TCM) was going to be airing a series of Pre-Code movies from the late 20's/early 30's. This was an era in Hollywood filmmaking in which films featured wide-open depictions of sexuality including nudity, adultery and pre-marital sex. This era, which lasted from 1929 to 1934 officially started with the release of The Divorcee in 1929, which starred Norma Shearer (who won an Oscar for this role) as a woman who, after finding out her husband has cheated on her, sets out to settle the score.

I watched The Divorcee last night and recorded the other films that were featured in this lineup. It was very interesting to see what was considered to be risque at that time. Nothing in this film, of course, was too outrageous by today's standards. I mean, you can practically see everything depicted here in a shampoo commercial nowadays! But, taken in historical context, it's clear how this film would have created some waves. I enjoyed it, and there were some good performances. Apparently, Norma Shearer fought to get this role because she wanted a break from her goody-goody image. She even had to convince her producer husband, Irving Thalberg, that she could pull it off. And pull it off she did!

Check it out: http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=191905