The Pre-Code Companion, Issue #3: The Divorcee, Night Nurse, & A Free Soul

by Danny Reid, Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, Angela Petteys

Few can dispute the influence of two of this issue’s stars in the pre-Code era– Norma Shearer and Joan Blondell. For this issue we look at the revolutionary characters Shearer created in The Divorcee and A Free Soul as well as one of the most gleefully amoral films of the early 30s, Night Nurse. Also covered are actors Chester Morris and Clark Gable.

Genres: Film

72 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2015

About the author

Danny Reid is a librarian who has been writing about pre-Code Hollywood for over a decade at pre-Code.com. His published writing includes Murder on Celluloid: A Companion to the Hildegarde Withers Film Series and acting as editor for the essay collection Thoughts on the Thin Man. Danny has introduced pre-Code film screenings around the world and appeared on podcasts to discuss the era. He currently lives in Germany with his wife, two kids, and three very silly dogs.

Reviews

[Magnus Stanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another worthy entry in the Pre-Code Companion series. I enjoyed most of it, though I have to say in this case I didn't rate the discussion of A Free Soul, and the decision to have a writer who didn't like the film (he says so himself in the text) is a bit weird.
Nevertheless I'm always happy to read about Pre-Code and for the most part Issue #3 is no exception.

[Eddy8331 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third Issue of Series I

This is a great series of Pre-Code ebooks that discuss various Pre-Code films, their Stars and provide good background information. This is the third title in Series I. Divorcee is discussed as well as Clark Gable and Joan Blondell