Published
Universal Cily, Calif. : Universal Studios Home Entertainment, c[2009].
Notes
General Note
Collective title from container.
General Note
The Cheat: Based on an original story by Hector Turnbull.
General Note
Merrily we go to Hell: Based on the story, 'I Jerry, take thee Joan' by Cleo Lucas.
General Note
Hot Saturday: Based on the novel by Harvey Fergusson.
General Note
Torch singer: Based on the story 'Mike' by Grace Perkins.
General Note
Murder at the Vanities: Based on the paly by Earl Carroll and Rufus King.
General Note
Search for beauty: Based on the play by Schuyler E. Grey and Paul R. Milton.
General Note
Originally produced as a motion pictures 1931-1934.
General Note
Includes booklet: Code to govern the making of talking, synchronized and silent motion pictures and the reason supporting it / formulated by Association of Motion Picture Producers, Inc. and Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc., June 13, 1934.
Creation/Production Credits
The Cheat: Photography, George Folsey.
Creation/Production Credits
Merrily we go to Hell: Phoography, David Abel.
Creation/Production Credits
Hot Saturday: Photography, Arthur L. Todd.
Creation/Production Credits
Torch singer: Photography, Karl Strauss ; music and lyrics, Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin.
Creation/Production Credits
Murder at the Vanities: Photography, Leo Tover ; lyrics and music, Arthur Johnston and Sam Caslow ; dance numbers, LArry Ceballus and Leroy Prinz.
Creation/Production Credits
Search for beauty: Photography, Harry Fischbeck.
Participants/Performers
The Cheat: Tallulah Bankhead, Irving Pichel.
Participants/Performers
Merrily we go to Hell: Frederic March, Sylvia Sidney.
Participants/Performers
Hot Saturday: Nancy Carroll, Randolph Scott, Cary Grant.
Participants/Performers
Torch singer: Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners, Lyda Roberti, Baby Le Roy.
Participants/Performers
Murder at the Vanities: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle, Dorothy Stickney, Gertrude Michael. With the musical talents of Kitty Carlisle and Duke Ellington.
Participants/Performers
Search for beauty: Larry 'Buster' Crabbe, Ida Lupino, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, Roscoe Karns, Toby Wing, Gertrude Michael, Bradley Page.
Summary
Six films made before the Production Code. In 1934, Hollywood was turned upside down by the enforcement of a strict "Production Code" that would change the way movies were made for the next 34 years. But during the "pre-Code" period (1929-1934), censorship barely existed and filmmakers had free rein to make the movies they wanted and the public demanded. No subject was taboo including adultery, murder or sex.
Summary
The cheat: Tallulah Bankhead plays a spoiled socialite who borrows money from an exotic art collector to replace what she has stolen from a charity. The collateral for the loan and the penalty for default may shock even modern audiences. The cheat violated the Production Code's strictures against miscegenation, sadism, white slavery and rape.
Summary
Merrily we go to hell: A cautionary tale of a marriage wrecked by the drinking of a young husband. Has numerous scenes of drunken parties which were prohibited by the Code, as well as clinging gowns and art deco settings.
Summary
Hot Saturday: A small-town girl spends the night with a family friend in defiance of her mother, who has accused her of sleeping with the town playboy. The Code forbade seduction scenes and disapproved of the scenes in which a group of young people drive to the playboy's lakeside lodge for a drinking party that leads to worse.
Summary
Torch singer: Claudette Colbert plays a sexy radio chanteuse who passes her time with an entourage of drunken debauched friends while raising her child born out of wedlock. The Code prohibited stories of illicit love and drunkenness.
Summary
Murder at the Vanities: This film is an elaborate showcase for the female form. It violated almost every section of the Code.
Summary
Search for beauty: Con artists dupe Olympic athletes into endorsing a skin magazine. The movie was heavily censored.
System Details
DVD; full frame 1.33:1; Dolby digital 2.0 mono.; digitally remastered; dual-layer; NTSC region 1.
Language
English dialogue, French or Spanish subtitles; English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.