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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The many versions of "Anna and the King of Siam"

by Cláudio Alves

Seventy-five years ago, Anna and the King of Siam premiered in theaters. The film was adapted from a book by the same name, which purported to present a fictionalized, yet historically-based, account of the years spent by Anna Leonowens in the court of King Mongkut of Siam - present-day Thailand - in the 1860s. Novelist Margaret Landon based her work on Leonowens' memoirs, creating a window into an otherworld that dazzled readers and moviegoers of the 1940s. Over the years, the story's popularity persisted, and it has been retold in several different mediums. On the anniversary of its first cinematic adaptation, let's look at the four movie versions from the Oscar-winning costume drama to a forgotten animated catastrophe…

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Showbiz History: Rasputin, Kiss Me Kate, and Way of the Dragon

7 random things that happened on this day, December 30th, in history 

Veidt, Lee, and Rickman as "Rasputin" in various projects

1916 Russian mystic Raputin, who had great influence with the Romanov family, is assassinated in his sleep. He's been portrayed dozens of times onscreen. Some famous actors who have played him include Conradt Veidt (Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen), Lionel Barrymore (Rasputin and the Empress), Christopher Lee (Rasputin the Mad Monk), Alan Rickman (Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny - Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe wins for Best Actor in TV Movie or Miniseries), and the voice of Christopher Lloyd (Anastasia). The next actors to play him will be Rhys Ifans (The King's Man, 2021), and maybe Leonardo DiCaprio in a biopic though Leo doesn't even make a fifth of the projects he's attached to. He's currently attached to 45 titles (!!!) according to IMDb Pro... though most are only "optioned" or in some unknown stage of development.

Miley Cyrus, Daniel Sunjata, Kiss Me Kate, Way of the Dragon, "My Way" and more after the jump...

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Showbiz History: Dunne born, Dick Tracy begins, Scream opens

10 random things that happened on this day, December 20th, in showbiz history

1945 Seventy-five years ago today the first feature film based on the comic strip Dick Tracy arrived. The syndicated newspaper hero had been a popular character in film serials since the mid 1930s. He'd get three more features  (the last arriving in 1947) before being revived again for Warren Beatty's Oscar-winning spectacle in 1990. 

1946 It's a Wonderful Life has ts world premiere in NYC. Why a Christmas classic opened in January for most of the nation is a mystery whose answer is surely lost in 1940s era moviegoing / holiday habits...

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Showbiz History: Irene Dunne's Near-Record, Brittany Murphy's Untimely Death, Scream's Release

Today in showbiz history if you need something to celebrate with the world ending* and all...
*too dramatic? That's what it feels like lately, is all... 

1812 "Grimm's Fairy Tales" is published. They never stop influencing popular culture thereafter. 
1880 Broadway gets the nickname "The Great White Way" when it's first lit up by electricity
1892 Phileas Fog completes his trip 'round the globe in the novel Around the World in Eighty Days (later adapted to the screen)
1898 Irene Dunne, one of the greatest actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age was born on this day in Kentucky. She went on to five leading actress nominations (my favorite is The Awful Truth, 1937) without ever winning.

WHY THAT'S A BIG DEAL IN OSCAR HISTORY IS REVEALED AFTER THE JUMP...

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