Sin and Vice in Black & White: 15 Classic Pre-Code Movies

Just as film noir gained popularity (and notoriety) in the 1940s and 1950s, the early 1930s saw the period in Hollywood history known as the pre-Code era. Films weren't subject to the same kind of moral scrutiny that would be given later in the decade after the establishment of the Production Code Association and the strict enforcement of the already existing Hollywood Production Code. Stars like Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and others thrived during this period and risque and racy subject matter appeared often.

Movies displayed a much more realistic and gritty tone in pre-Code films. Pushing the envelope meant higher ticket sales in Depression era America. It also meant an interesting take by Hollywood on the sometimes unpleasant, sometimes naughty world that it tried to reflect. Sin and Vice in Black & White: 15 Classic Pre-Code Movies explains what a pre-Code movie is and essays a sampling of the kind of movies that were produced and exhibited during this brief but powerful time in American cinema.