there was so much freedom for filmmakers pre code. as the movies of the forties and fifties had to be clean enough to pass the censorship board, the films from the thirties are incredibly contemporary. one of the most spirited of the actresses at this time was norma shearer, wife of the very young studio chief irving thalberg.
this golden couple must have been envied and invited everywhere. they shared physical 'handicaps' in that he was frail of health and she was far from the glamorous female screen lovers fell for, but they both ascended to the very top before vows were exchanged.
norma won an oscar for her role in 'the divorcee.' she wears wonderful clothes designed by the genius adrian, and whatever difficulty she had focusing her wandering eye had been overcome. not only does her character have a devoted husband (till a casual infidelity breaks them apart) but perhaps the most adorable actor of his time, robert montgomery, is at her side before she knows what hit her.
there is a lot of sex taking place but as the filmmaker neil jordan said about sex on the screen, you don't need to see it to know what's going on.
1 comment:
how yummy those two!! so true.....you don't need to see it to know what's going on...these themes are the wind blown seeds that create imagination and desires, displayed in the 1930's film cels. think about what was really going on in the world at that time? films that nurtured escapism so as to garnish hope for a future. alas, films.
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