Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 2 - The Divorcee / A Free Soul (Double Feature)
Classic films that offer a rare glimpse at a lose era of provocative filmmaking.
Illicit sex. Glorified vice. Crime that pays. "You can't do that" said the film industry's Production Code. But in the pre-Code era, Hollywood could - and did - with lots of classic style.
Included on this disc:
The Divorcee (1930, 82 mins)
Norma Shearer is The Divorcee - her Best Actress Oscar-winning role - who believes sexual freedom is for women, too.
A Free Soul (1931, 93 mins)
Norma Shearer's also A Free Soul who falls for gangster Clark Gable (and is defended in a murder trial by Best Actor Academy Award winner Lionel Barrymore).
Member Reviews
Interesting - RobBC
THE DIVORCEE: An amazingly enlightened story for such an early film, “The Divorcee” crackles with some smart dialogue and over-the-top acting (it’s an early talkie after all). Unfortunately this is still 1930 and people weren’t ready for independent, sexually aggressive women who held their heads high while the final credits rolled. But while the ending may be a disappointing cop-out, at least Ms. Shearer’s character managed to rattle the cage a bit. A FREE SOUL: With a stellar cast rounded out by Norma Shearer and Lionel Barrymore I expected more but aside from some implied raciness this is pretty standard melodramatic fare with all the usual ingredients; fallen woman, guilt-addled parent, and one erotically-charged bad boy who, if this were filmed today, would probably be cast as a sexy misunderstood vampire.Excellent pieces of Hollywood history - Steady
Two excellent acting performances by Shearer in The Divorcee and A Free Soul. A well known cast in A Free Soul and a better acting performance I thought, than in The Divorcee for which she received a Best Actress Oscar. These are part of the Forbidden Hollywood series which features movies prior to the moral code imposed on movies by the film industry’s Production Code. It is quite humourous today to believe these movies were criticized for their morality at the time. The themes of infidelity and premarital sex are well masked by today’s standards. An interesting look at pre-Code Hollywood in all movies in this series.
Member Reviews
Read All...
Interesting - RobBC
THE DIVORCEE: An amazingly enlightened story for such an early film, “The Divorcee” crackles with some smart dialogue and over-the-top acting (it’s an early talkie after all). Unfortunately this is still 1930 and people weren’t ready for independent, sexually ...Excellent pieces of Hollywood history - Steady
Two excellent acting performances by Shearer in The Divorcee and A Free Soul. A well known cast in A Free Soul and a better acting performance I thought, than in The Divorcee for which she received a Best Actress Oscar. These are part of the Forbidden Hollywood ...