PHOTO 1: original title, ‘The Shame of Temple Drake’ PHOTOS 2-4: contemporary newspaper ads PHOTO 5: Miriam Hopkins with Jack La Rue, “the greatest male since Gable” - it says so in photo 2 (bottom right corner) “A picture which will offend every right-thinking person who sees it.” --- Will Hays, chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA). ‘The Story of Temple Drake’ (1933) is probably the most notorious of all Pre-Code films. Long unseen except in bootleg 16mm prints, ‘The Story of Temple Drake’ was restored by the Museum of Modern Art and re-premiered in 2011 at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The “Pre-Code” period in Hollywood lasted from 1929 (the introduction of sound) until July 1, 1934, when the Production Code went into effect. Yielding to pressure from the Catholic Church, organized protest groups, and local censorship boards, the largely ineffectual MPPDA under Will Hays was replaced by the much tougher Production Code Administration (PCA) under Joseph Breen. Production Code Administrations decisions were binding - as a practical matter, no film could be exhibited in an American theater without a stamp of approval from the PCA. Based on the film’s reputation, I was expecting sensational schlock, but was bowled over by ‘The Story of Temple Drake’. In the first place, this may be the most beautifully photographed of all Pre-Code movies. Director of Photography was the legendary Karl Struss. He won the first Academy Award ever awarded for cinematography in 1927 (‘Sunrise’, directed by F.W. Murnau). The Criterion Blu-Ray includes an analysis of ‘Temple Drake’s visual style with cinematographer John Bailey. ---- Directed by Stephen Roberts: Early in his career, he directed over a hundred shorts, mostly two-reel silent comedies, but his career blossomed with the introduction of sound. He directed twelve feature-length films, including ‘Star of Midnight’ and ‘The Ex-Mrs. Bradford’, both starring William Powell, before his untimely death in 1936 at the age of 41. The star is Miriam Hopkins, little remembered today, but she was one of the top Hollywood stars during the pre-Code era. Her breakthrough film was ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ (1931) directed by Rouben Mamoulian, followed by three masterpieces directed by Ernst Lubitsch: ‘The Smiling Lieutenant’ (1931), ‘Trouble in Paradise’ (1932), and ‘Design for Living’ (1933). Her career cooled later in the decade (though Margaret Mitchell unsuccessfully lobbied to have her cast as Scarlett O’Hara in ‘Gone With the Wind’). Jack La Rue plays “Trigger”, the gangster who kidnaps Temple Drake, rapes her, and forces her into prostitution. Paramount had big plans for Jack La Rue - see photo two, where he is billed as “the greatest male since Gable” - but it didn’t work out. He was just too unpleasant for moviegoers to accept (unlike Clark Gable who also started his career playing gangsters). LaRue went on to be a supporting player, with one brief return to stardom - in the 1948 British film ‘No Orchids for Miss Blandish’, which is almost a remake of ‘The Story of Temple Drake’ (but without the rape). The Criterion Blu-ray boasts a beautifully restored print from Turner Classic Movies and the Museum of Modern Art. No audio commentary, but three featurettes about the making of the film (50 minutes total). English SDH subtitles for the feature film. (as usual with Criterion, subtitles are not listed on the disc menu. You have to press the “subtitles” button on your remote control while the film is playing). Your best introduction to Pre-Code films is the seventy-minute TCM documentary “Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood” from 2008. The documentary was included in the original three DVD Turner Classic Movies set: TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 (The Divorcee / A Free Soul / Night Nurse / Three on a Match / Female), but judging by the description on Amazon, the documentary was left out of the new Warner Archive DVD-R reissue: Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 2. I’d love to be proven wrong. Anyone? For a complete list of all ten volumes of “Forbidden Hollywood”, see Comment One (sort by “Oldest”).