Pre-Code Diva Smackdown

by Cláudio Alves

Though postwar film noir is de rigueur for Noirvember, the Criterion Channel prepared a nifty bit of counterprogramming with a program dedicated to Pre-Code Divas. Going back before 1934, when the second coming of the Hays Code went into effect, one finds that time when sound was new and moral standards were, if not low, more libertine than they'd become. It was a time for sex comedies and sad stories about fallen women, moralist shockers and amoral delights, starring a cadre of starlets who became synonymous with the era. Some would go on to thrive within the Code, while others fell to obscurity when their vehicles dried up under new norms.

Since we all had so much fun with the last readers' poll, let's do another one. This time, you'll be voting on your favorite Pre-Code Diva. After the jump, discover our contenders and their Criterion-selected titles…

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Showbiz History: Liberace's funeral, "The" Facebook, and Lewis Tan's big test

8 random things that happened on this day, February 4th, in showbiz history

1932 Josef Von Sternberg's Shanghai Express starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna Mae Wong has its world premiere in Los Angeles. The Chinese media was already upset about it before the premiere. It will open in theaters a week later...

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Ryan Murphy's "Hollywood" Finale

by Cláudio Alves

Sometimes artists dig their own graves by badly promoting or describing their works. Ryan Murphy's Hollywood is, to me, a good example of that. First off, the title is too vague, promising a portrait of Hollywood history instead of the fantasy the series presents. "Dreamland" would be an infinitely better name, both as a descriptor of the content and a tie-in to the narrative's details.

Titles aside, another big problem surrounding Hollywood is how many have been calling it revisionist history. It's no such thing…

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