Forbidden Hollywood is a monthly series hosted by STL film critic Katie Carter celebrating the Pre-Code films of the early 1930s, when movies were wild, racy, transgressive, and tons of fun.

Between 1927 and 1930, Clara Bow— the silent film icon who earned the nickname the “It Girl”— was one of the top-grossing stars in Hollywood. When she starred in 1932’s CALL HER SAVAGE she had been off-screen for a year following a nervous breakdown. Fox Film granted Bow an unprecedented amount of creative control for her comeback movie, an adaptation of Tiffany Thayer’s controversial novel in which she plays the temperamental Nasa Springer. The result is a bizarre genre-mixer that changes shape every few minutes, from western to fallen woman melodrama to social comedy to poignant tear-jerker, with loads of Code-challenging content smashed in between: gratuitous lingerie, catfights, Nasa whipping a snake, Nasa whipping a man, infidelity, rape, a gay bar, syphilis-induced bouts of insanity, drunkenness, and miscegenation.

The latter leads into some ugly racial politics that comprise the core of the film and Nasa’s character (it’s implied that her violent temper is the result of her half-Native American heritage), but the loose morals on display throughout “Call Her Savage” still make for some unbridled and unhinged entertainment. Her return unfortunately ended up being her penultimate film, but Bow has arguably never been more impressive that she is here, in a role that required her to play just about every type of character displayed throughout the sex pictures that were popular among women during the Pre-Code era in one and, according to The Film Daily, “pretty near run the gamut of feminine moods and modes.”

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens one hour prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events when the theater will open at the event’s start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.