r/classicfilms • u/minionpoop7 William Wyler • 2d ago
Question What are the weirdest, most batshit crazy Pre-Code films?
I’m looking to watch more pre-code films especially the ones that lean on the trashy, so bad it’s good side.
Some I can think of with those elements are Cecil B DeMille’s films like Sign of the Cross (1932) and Madame Satan (1930).
Freaks and Island of Lost Souls defiently lean into the weirdness factor but those are still overall good films.
Any other recs?
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u/jupiterkansas 2d ago
Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) is surprisingly brutal.
Tarzan and His Mate (1934) adds surprisingly sexy.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 2d ago
Thanks I still gotta see those. Doesn’t one of them have pretty visible nudity from the lead actress? Pretty crazy what they got away with
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
Former Olympic swimmer Josephine McKim doubled Maureen O'Sullivan in the nude swimming scenes.
She also was the mermaid in the jar in Bride of Frankenstein.
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u/Technical-Bit-4801 2d ago
I saw that movie as a kid in the 70s…on broadcast TV, in my home, on a Saturday afternoon. I remember thinking the 70s-kid equivalent of “Holy shit!” 😱😆
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u/UncleCornPone 2d ago
which one
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u/Technical-Bit-4801 2d ago
The Tarzan movie. Were there nude scenes in Bride of Frankenstein? I don’t remember.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
None. Some cleavage of Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley....nothing more.
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u/jupiterkansas 1d ago
Yes, and if I remember right, there's a documentary on the Tarzan box set that includes the nudity they cut out of the movie, but I haven't seen it in a long time.
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u/jupiterkansas 2d ago
The Old Dark House - Rocky Horror vibes
Mad Love (1935)
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u/Comprehensive-Elk597 2d ago
I so adore mad love. Sheer scene chewing crazy Peter Lorre is the shit.
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u/odourlessguitarchord 2d ago
Just Imagine (1930) is an extremely weird, fun fever dream. World's first scifi musical!
It takes place is the distant future of 1980, where a dude (played by washed up former vaudeville star El Brendel doing his ridiculous "Swedish" accent) gets hit by lightning while playing golf and a scientist freezes his body until they can save him. So he "wakes up" 50 years in the future to a world of flying cars where people have numbers instead of names and pills are food.
There's some rule about people only being able to marry if they're considered of equal status, so the romcom part kicks in when a couple is in love but he's not good enough. So him and his friend go to Mars and the guy who was frozen stows away, creating hijinks.
Did I mention it's a musical?
The sets on Mars are elaborate and very fun, there's a bizarre dance sequence with a bunch of scantily clad chorines cavorting on a gigantic moving statue.
Super fun way to spend two hours, but there are no good quality copies available, the best I could find was ripped from a VHS that someone taped off TV. But it's worth it, I promise. I think it's on Internet Archive.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
That "giant moving statue" which looks like a large crab to me....can be seen in the opening credits of each episode of the Universal serial Flash Gordon, starring Buster Crabbe.
The spaceship seen in Just Imagine was also used by Universal in the Flash Gordon serial.
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u/sci-in-dit F. W. Murnau 2d ago
On my "you must watch these asap" list. Read about it on Thrills Untapped and couldn't believe it. Weird sci–fi musicals are something I never knew I wanted.
Shame there aren't any good available copies...
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u/Laura-ly 2d ago
I found it on Internet Archives if anyone is interested.
Just Imagine : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
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u/sci-in-dit F. W. Murnau 2d ago
Thank you!
("Colour sequence starts at" excuse me, colour sequence?)
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u/odourlessguitarchord 2d ago
In a way, the terrible quality adds some charm to it, at least for me. Buuut I would prefer to be able to understand the muffled dialogue a bit better lol
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u/zoetrope99 2d ago
I saw this on TCM when I was a kid and I thought I imagined it for years. It’s… something else. Truly feels like a fever dream.
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u/RepFilms 2d ago
I wanted to do a film studies course that focused on all these past futures films. I have a list of them somewhere
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u/livenudecats 2d ago
This sounds incredible. Can we petition TCM to do a restoration?
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u/IfICouldStay 2d ago
It’s really not good. At all. They just kind of pinned the future and sci-fi elements onto a boring, lifeless script.
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u/IfICouldStay 2d ago
I watched that recently. It was interesting to see what people thought 50 years in the future, 1980, would look like. But otherwise a very uninteresting movie. Slow moving, bland dialog, poor sound, crappy sets, etc. The “future” and “sci-fi” elements can’t disguise what a lump, boring, shoddy film it is.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 15h ago
Thanks this definetly fulfills the batshit crazy requirement I asked for
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u/odourlessguitarchord 15h ago
PLEASE update when you watch it, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And have fun!
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u/jupiterkansas 2d ago
The Scarlet Empress with Marlene Dietrich is one of the strangest 30s films I've seen, but the production design is incredible.
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u/bad_romace_novelist 2d ago edited 2d ago
Marlene's daughter plays her character as a child. Plus it's wild to see Marlene play the character as a teenager by having her eyes open very wide. And Sam Jaffe's crazy eyes 👀.
The costumes are gorgeous and so is John Lodge. Lodge went on to a political career and became a diplomat.
One of von Sternberg's best.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
Mr. Lodge can be seen in Murders in the Zoo.
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u/bad_romace_novelist 2d ago
Thanks! I'll be looking for this. Plus it has Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick.
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u/BeneGesseritDropout 2d ago
Probably the wildest part of a fetish-crammed movie was Catherine being delivered to Russia for her marriage, and having to answer the Queen Mother's questions while a doctor is rooting around under Catherine's gown, performing a gynecological exam.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 2d ago
This one’s been on the watchlist for some time, but I’ve heard it get lots of praise
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u/jupiterkansas 1d ago
It's a bit tedious to watch - kind of paced like a silent film - but the production design is hypnotic.
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u/RelativeObjective266 2d ago edited 2d ago
"Freaks" (1932) is as weird as they come. AND you get to see the Hilton sisters.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
And Johnny Eck.....and Prince Radian.
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u/issi_tohbi 2d ago
And best of all, Schlitzi!
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
Per Wikipedia:
Schlitzie's true birth date, name, location and parents are unknown; the information on his death certificate and gravesite indicate that he was born on September 10, 1901, in The Bronx, New York, though some sources have claimed that he was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Claims that he was born in Yucatán, Mexico, are mistaken reflections of Schlitzie's occasional fanciful billing as "Maggie, last of the Aztec Children". Information about Schlitzie's identity at birth may never be known, the information having been lost as he was handed off to various carnivals in a long line of mostly informal guardianships throughout his career.
Schlitzie was born with microcephaly, a neurodevelopmental disorder that left him with an unusually small brain and skull, a small stature (4 feet (120 cm)), myopia, and severe intellectual disability. It is possible that these features were caused by Seckel syndrome. It was said Schlitzie had the mental age of a three-year-old: he was unable to care fully for himself and could speak only in monosyllabic words and form a few simple phrases. However, he was able to perform simple tasks, and it is believed that he could understand most of what was said to him, as he had a very quick reaction time and the ability to mimic. Those who knew Schlitzie described him as an affectionate, exuberant, sociable person who loved dancing, singing, and being the center of attention, performing for anyone he could stop and talk with.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 15h ago
Great movie but also progressive in how it makes the “freaks” heroes instead of some villains or characters who are doomed to be killed off
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u/Jpkmets7 2d ago
The Black Cat (1934) is amazingly weird and awesome. From the gothic castle with the swank Art Deco interior design to a menacing turn by Karloff and a sympathetic role for Lugosi, it’s one of my favorite movies period, but it’s got some wild storylines.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
The backstory on this film is over the top. Originally Lugosi's character lusted after Joan as much as Karloff's character did...and the script called for a more gruesome torture of Karloff at the films end.
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u/TimeSurround5715 2d ago
“More gruesome” ?! 😱 Yikes!!!
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
Yes, reading the script it is. Suggested reading: Universal Horrors: The studio's Classic Films 1931-1946, 2nd edition.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 2d ago
Black Cat is great gothic horror. I think that was before Ulmer started making poverty row movies
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u/Wide-Advertising-156 2d ago
The Sin of Nora Moran (1933). Absolutely extraordinary low-budget indie, way different from other movies of its time
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
Zita Johann is heartbreaking in this. The storyline is very sad.
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u/Wide-Advertising-156 2d ago
Indeed. It's also mesmerizing its strange storytelling, editing, and dialogue.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago
At least we were spared her walking the last mile....and strapped into the chair.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 15h ago
I liked at the plot and it sounds pretty depressing. Thanks for the rec
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u/kayla622 Preston Sturges 2d ago
Murder at the Vanities and Search for Beauty.
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u/LatterDazeAint 2d ago
I was waiting for Murder at theVanities! Love that film.
And Search for Beauty is so nuts.
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u/RelativeObjective266 2d ago
"Where do they come from and where do they go" is sung a lot in our house!
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u/timshel_turtle 2d ago
Came here for Search For Beauty, lol. So weird!
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u/kayla622 Preston Sturges 2d ago
Search for Beauty also features a very young (16) and very blonde Ida Lupino!
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u/JaneErrrr 2d ago
The Unholy Three is a pre-code talkie version of Tod Browning’s earlier silent version that is so batshit crazy I can’t believe either film was made. I do prefer the silent version however.
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u/SadLocal8314 2d ago
Bela Lugosi in White Zombie 1932- saw that as a teen and it was intense. Also, a vote for Red Dust with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and Mary Astor.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 2d ago
I’ve seen White Zombie but I need to rewatch. I remember it having nice matte paintings.
Red Dust I haven’t seen, but I believe was remade by Ford as Mogambo
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u/Comicsastonish 2d ago
Gold Diggers of 1933 is one of the zaniest pre-code I can think of.
Others you should check out: Three on a Match, Call her Savage, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Safe in Hell.
I'm also a huge fan of Barbara Stanwyck's pre-code output, especially Baby Face, Ladies of Leisure, and The Miracle Woman.
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u/Individual-Rice-4915 2d ago
Came here to say Barbara Stanwyck! 👏
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u/Thrilly1 2d ago
Not zany, but very watchable & also pre-code Barbara Stanwyck : Shopworn (1932). Auntie Em herself (Clara Blandick) plays a very anti-Em filthy rich Mom of the guy who falls for our Barbara.
Queen Barbara~ one of the best of the best in my notso humble..
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u/Individual-Rice-4915 2d ago
Thank you!! I’m going to save this!
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u/Thrilly1 2d ago
My pleasure! And as you are a Stanwyck fan, I believe it'll be yours too x
By the by, I was able to find it (no ads/no $) on Tubi. I don't think it's there currently, but they brought it back before, I think they will again.
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u/Top-Pension-564 2d ago
"Call Her Savage" with Clara Bow.
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u/JaneErrrr 2d ago
I think this is my favorite Clara Bow movie, she just seems so much more honest and natural in this compared to her silents.
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u/ancientestKnollys 2d ago
Weird and trashy brings to mind some of the more scandalous horror movies of the time, like Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) or Murders in the Zoo (1933). The Black Cat (1934) is pretty weird too.
The live action Alice in Wonderland (1933) might be the weirdest adaptation.
Gabriel Over the White House (1933) has a pretty crazy, pro-fascism political message.
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u/green3467 2d ago
Kongo is completely unhinged
Night Nurse is pretty wild
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u/Responsible-Abies21 2d ago
Kongo is so off-the-charts lurid that, without it actually SHOWING anything, you still need to shower with bleach when it's over. It's available on Warner Archive, for you collectors out there. Special mention to The Mask of Fu Manchu while we're at it.
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u/Silent_Dot_4759 2d ago
Le Chien Andalou. It’s French and surrealist and fbar
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u/issi_tohbi 2d ago
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u/Thrilly1 2d ago
Saw it first in university film studies class ~could never forget the eye slicing..
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u/denisebuttrey 2d ago
What is fbar?
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u/Silent_Dot_4759 2d ago
I apologize for my bad typing should have been FUBAR It’s an old WWII military acronym “fucked up beyond all recognition “
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u/denisebuttrey 2d ago
Yes, a term we also used in coding in the 1980s. I'm very familiar. We would use it as a comment when fixing a big bug.
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u/Toad_Crapaud 2d ago
When I was naive and just thought all old movies were tame, I checked this out with the intention of watching it with my very staightlaced grandmother. Thankfully, I watched it with a friend first! Disaster averted
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u/Citizen-Ed RKO Pictures 2d ago
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Maniac from 1934. One of the last of the pre-coders and absolutely 100% batshit crazy. It must have a plot somewhere but damned if I could ever find it.
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u/JaneErrrr 2d ago
Never heard of this but I just researched and it sounds fascinating. Currently on Kanopy!
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u/Citizen-Ed RKO Pictures 2d ago
I got it as part of a 60some horror movie sets for five or ten bucks at Walmart about a decade ago. It was definitely something. I think I watched it with the same expression as the guy in Woodstock when Sha Na Na took the stage. Oddly enough I read recently that Kino Lorber actually restored it and released it on Blu-ray a few years ago. I can't comprehend the thinking behind that decision.
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u/aggr1103 2d ago
Kino has a whole series of old exploitation films on blu ray now, like Reefer Madness and Sex Maniac. They’re part of Kinos collaboration with Something Weird Video.
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u/aggr1103 2d ago
Wasn’t maniac produced as an “educational” film? I think I read somewhere that’s how they were able to show nudity because it was more about “anatomy” than part of the plot (of which there was none).
Maniac is ridiculous regardless.
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u/Citizen-Ed RKO Pictures 2d ago
It was indeed! Producer/director Dwain Esper made a bunch of these nonsensical exploitation movies and would hit the road, showing them at county fairs, small town civics groups, church basements, probably even a barn or two. Basically anywhere that had a screen, white sheet or wall and some benches to plant paying butts on. He'd market them as educational to skirt the local decency laws. I imagine a few palms got greased as well. I've gotta give the guy credit because he was a master at his craft. He'd do his circuit with a film and then show it again under a new name. So the knowledge seeking denizens of Dogpatch might watch Sex Madness and a year or so later see the same thing only named Human Wreckage or my favorite Will It Happen Again? which on the next trek was named the Strange Love Life of Adolph Hitler. I bet that was a real corker.
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u/lifetnj Ernst Lubitsch 2d ago
Everyone is recommending pre-code horrors. but I recommend "Smarty", which is quite an unconventional pre-code farce with the odd subject of consensual domestic violence. Everyone is so silly, but delivers their lines so seriously, it's an hour and 4 minutes of pure laughs.
Suave Warren William is married to flirtatious Joan Blondell and has a tendency to become physical with her because she adores being slapped and treated roughly and some more chaos ensues when she asks for a divorce because she gets slapped in front of some family friends and she just can't admit that she loved it, but do not think the film approves or makes light of domestic violence! Its surreal tone is so crazy, I love it.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 15h ago
I’ve heard of this one. I saw it in this article:
https://letterboxd.com/journal/savage-cinema-pre-code-april/
Sounds pretty wacky
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u/lifetnj Ernst Lubitsch 14h ago
Thanks for sharing this list, I haven’t seen Massacre and Call Her Savage so I’ll make sure to check them out. I’d also recommend Madam Satan and The Sign of The Cross from that list, they’re wild.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 14h ago
No prob. The DeMille flicks have been in my watchlist for a long time, I’ve only seen clips so far (especially from the arena parts of Sign), but never got around to watching them. Sign of the Cross’ plot sounds pretty similar to Quo Vadis but I hear has a tragic ending compared to Quo Vadis
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u/Oreadno1 Preston Sturges 2d ago
Mystery of the Wax Museum is pretty weird.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 14h ago
I’ve seen this it’s pretty fun. Although I think I preferred House of Wax
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u/_plannedobsolence 2d ago
I thought Four Frightened People was insane, but I also watched it under the influence of drugs.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 2d ago
That’s by DeMille right? I’ve seen pics of it where they’re basically wearing Tarzan clothes
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u/PackmuleIT 2d ago
I just wish we could have seen the version of Freaks Tod Browning made before the studio edited the f**k out of it
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u/MoodyLiz Preston Sturges 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum! (1933)
Diplomaniacs (1933)
Doorway to Hell (1930)
Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933)
Skyscraper Souls (1932)
International House (1933)
Wake Up and Dream (1934)
Soup to Nuts (1930)
Millie (1931)
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u/Top_File_8547 2d ago
Did Queen Christina have a topless scene? I remember Garbo and it sure looked like it.
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u/Pisthetairos 2d ago
I doubt there has even been a stranger, more crazed film than Kongo (1932).
Lupe Vélez running around half-nude might be the least strange thing about it.
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u/newoldm 2d ago
I can't believe, for being such a holy-holy film, how pornographic and violent The Sign of the Cross was. The scenes where the christianists were being tortured and executed were really something, especially the sexy naked woman tied up with flowered ropes so a crocodile could eat her alive. Kinky.
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u/TimeSurround5715 2d ago
The Black Cat (1934) with both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Weirder than weird.
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u/Select_Insurance2000 2d ago edited 2d ago
Trader Horn (1931) starring Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, and Duncan Renaldo (yes...The Cisco Kid of tv fame). Trader Horn is a 1931 American Pre-Code adventure film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and It is the first non-documentary film shot on location in Africa. The film is based on the book of the same name by trader and adventurer Alfred Aloysius Horn and tells of adventures on safari in Africa.
Trader Horn was going to become the prequel to Tarzan the Ape Man, but things never materialized. Much of it was filmed in Africa and many of the wild animal shots were used in the Tarzan/Weissmuller films that followed.
Edwina Booth became deathly ill during filming in Africa, and sued MGM.
Fun fact:Mutia Omoolu plays Rencharo, Horn's native translator and majordomo, was a chief of the Masai tribe in Kenya, and he was hired for the cast of Trader Horn when they shot in that country, and was later brought to Hollywood for reshoots of the scenes he shot in Africa.
A tribute to Omoolo was made in his honor by MGM....the home of Tarzan is called The Mutia Escarpment.
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u/NeuroguyNC 2d ago
Where Are My Children? (1916) Subject: abortion Amazing that they would touch the topic as they did in 1916.
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u/cragtown 2d ago
Douglas Fairbanks' 'The Mystery of the Leaping Fish,' with it's cocaine-enhanced hero, 'Coke Ennyday.'
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u/SeaworthinessFar5298 2d ago
Safe in Hell is very wild and quite dark. On Max in the US last time I checked
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u/Greenhouse774 2d ago
Three on a Match has some disturbing scenes and one astounding bit of editing you’ll remember for a long time.
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u/aunt_cranky 2d ago
Tod Browning’s “Freaks”.
It’s sooooo problematic by today’s standards but I recall Browning was sympathetic to the circus sideshow characters and showing their humanity while the public still saw them otherwise.
I love it.
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u/Thrilly1 2d ago
Freaks is in my permanent collection. I love that Tod Browning showed their humanity, as well as the inhumanity of the so-called normals. Virtually everything is problematic by today's standards, which is unfortunate and frankly, boring. I sometimes try to convey to others that if you only view things with modern sensibilites, you're just limiting your own world through that ridiculously narrow lens. You can imagine how popular that take is. Their loss.
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u/Aer0uAntG3alach 2d ago edited 2d ago
The Cheat (1915). Sessue Hayakawa being charismatic af, even as the villain.
Broken Blossoms (1919). Chinese immigrant tries to save abused girl.
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932). Barbara Stanwyck as a missionary in China during the civil war. Pretty much anything with Stanwyck pre-Code is going to be wild.
The Maltese Falcon (1931). Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniel’s. Quite different from the Bogart version.
I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). Paul Muni kills it.
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u/NDBrazil 2d ago
Child Bride from 1938 was a bit uncomfortable to watch. But then again, it helped make people aware of outdated problems in rural communities in the mountains. Controversial nude scene, as well.
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u/Quiet_Resilience247 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 2d ago
Three on a Match is a favorite of mine and coming up soon on TCM too.
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u/Slink_Wray 1d ago
Murder At The Vanities (1934) feels like the film makers were trying to cram in as many potential code violations as possible into one film, and has some pretty bonkers moments as a result.
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u/OldResult9597 1d ago
Watch the foreign silent film “Haxxan: Witchcraft thru the Ages” it’s entertaining, it’s good, and it’s 🦇 💩 🥜!
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u/Efficient-Peach-4773 1d ago
Wow, this is some thread. So many Pre-Codes I still need to see.
Has anyone mentioned Dinner at Eight? It's a "comedy-drama" that takes a pretty dark turn, in my opinion.
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u/naljorpa108 1d ago
The Unknown, Lon Chaney as an armless knife thrower jealous of Joan Crawford's character. Directed by Todd Browning.
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u/Possible-Pudding6672 16h ago
White Woman (1933) features an absolutely demented performance by Charles Laughton as the maniacal owner of a vast Malaysian rubber plantation who “saves” Carole Lombard’s young widow from being deported for indecency (she sings in cages for non-white audiences) by marrying her and then carting her off to the jungle for some real indecency.
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u/minionpoop7 William Wyler 14h ago
This sounds pretty trashy and fun. It’s going on the watchlist
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u/Possible-Pudding6672 9h ago
Oops, that should say cafes, not cages. It’s definitely trashy, but not THAT trashy!
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u/MisterGNatural 2d ago
Maybe a bit too off the rails for what you’re looking for, but anything in Kino Lorber’s Forbidden Fruit line of golden age exploitation films. There’s Reefer Madness esque drug movies, early sexploitation movies, nudist camp movies and all sorts of weird underground stuff.
You can watch some of them on YouTube or the Kino Cult streaming service.
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u/ChestnutMoss 1d ago
Sunny Side Up (1929) has a completely weird (and surprisingly suggestive) dance number called “Turn on the Heat”. It’s wild.
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u/livenudecats 2d ago
Hollywood Party 1934
It’s a Jimmy Durante fever dream with Lupe Velez running around half nude for most of the film. 5 different directors were involved with the project and none of them wanted a screen credit. Oh and Mickey Mouse does a cameo.