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.

You’d be hard-pressed to find two more potent examples of economical filmmaking than this pair of films from two of Warner Brothers’ most reliably efficient filmmakers. Mervyn LeRoy’s 1932 drama THREE ON A MATCH packs a story that spans over a decade into 62 minutes, with a large ensemble cast that includes Warren William (aka the “King of Pre-Code”), Lyle Talbot, Edward Arnold, and a pre-fame Humphrey Bogart. Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, and Bette Davis lead that cast as old school friends who reunite years later to find their lives intersecting in surprising ways, which include a veritable checklist of Pre-Code vices: drug addiction, child abduction, violence, gangster stuff, infidelity, and sex out of wedlock. Not well-received by either its cast or critics and audiences upon its initial release, THREE ON A MATCH in the decades since has been reappraised as a fantastic— and fantastically deranged— example of the Pre-Code era at its peak.

Meanwhile, director Michael Curtiz’s rollicking 1933 film FEMALE only requires 60 minutes to tell the story of Alison Drake (Ruth Chatterton), the tough head of an automobile company who prides herself on having adopted the ways of men— which includes inviting her male employees home for one night stands, only to have them transferred to other offices the moment they get to clingy. FEMALE is a delightful romp and (at least until its ending, which on the surface refutes much of what preceded it) an incisive exploration of the double standards applied to women working in male-dominated spaces. What THREE ON A MATCH and FEMALE have in common besides their brief runtimes is that they star actresses who were prominent figures during the Pre-Code era in Hollywood (Dvorak and Chatterton), only to not end up with the successful careers they ought to have had, as evidenced by their scorching performances on display here.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed 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.

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