There is arguably no period in American film history more interesting than the era that existed prior to the Hays Code, a sort of self-censorship apparatus created for Hollywood in 1930 (and enforced beginning in 1934) to keep sex, drugs, and other depraved activities out of the movies. What makes this era so interesting is the films that came out of this time. Movies in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and even 1960s and 1970s tried to be as salacious as possible, but they had to do it through wink-wink innuendo that could sometimes be dirtier than showing the act outright or speaking about it directly.
But what about the films that existed prior to this code? How did they handle the freedom to show whatever they wanted, regardless of how objectionable it might be? There have been a few DVD releases of pre-code material, notably by Kino, but Turner Classic Movie's TCM Archives – Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 is the most exciting release of pre-code films in the short lifespan of the digital medium. There are three films here of stunning quality across two discs, Waterloo Bridge from 1931, Red-Headed Woman from 1933, and Baby Face, also from '33. There is also a longer cut of Baby Face, long thought to be lost, that is the centerpiece of the set.
Baby Face stars Barbara Stanwyck as the daughter of an unscrupulous speakeasy owner who is whored out to men in power to keep them from blowing the whistle on the father's little operation. When he dies, she moves to the big city where she wheels, deals, and sleeps her way to the top of the corporate ladder, leaving broken hearts and shattered lives in her wake. There are numerous points of interest here. One is that it features an early performance by John Wayne, playing a wide-eyed young corporate type who is the first to succumb to Stanwyck's wiles. Another is that it's rife with sexuality. There are numerous scenes of Stanwyck seducing men and even a post-coital moment in the ladies washroom where Stanwyck and one of her conquests are caught after the fact.
The most interesting aspect of Baby Face, though, is the longer cut of the film. This pre-release version was trimmed down to what was shown in theaters after preview screenings, and it was thought lost. However, the venerable Library of Congress happened to have a copy of it in the archives and it was cleaned up for TCM's DVD. Watching the films back-to-back is revelatory for just how much filmmakers in '33 thought they could get away with.
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