shadowsandsatin

If you love pre-Code as much as I do, you’ll tune into TCM on Friday, May 15th for one of the best satiny line-ups I’ve seen since Heck was a pup! I’ve written about each of these features here at Shadows and Satin — I’m listing the films below and linking to my write-ups on each.

Check ’em out — there’s not a clunker in the bunch. You only owe it to yourself.

Midnight Mary (1933)

Mandalay (1934)

The Divorcee (1930)

The Reckless Hour (1931)

Beauty for Sale (1933)

Blondie Johnson (1933)

Frisco Jenny (1932)

Red-Headed Woman (1932)

Baby Face (1933)

As I noted in my Pre-Code Crazy post a few days ago, this year’s TCM Film Festival extended into May, so I’m recommending a movie for the Film Noir Files that I previously covered here at Shadows and Satin.

For this month, I’m pleased to recommend one of my favorite noirs – They Live By Night (1948), airing on May 20th (my high school boyfriend’s birthday!). Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell play star-crossed lovers Arthur “Bowie” Bowers and Katherine “Keechie” Mobley, whose desire for a white-picket-fence life is derailed by Bowie’s criminal past.

Click HERE to check out my previous coverage of the film – and don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see what Kristina is serving up for the month!

As you may know, I’ve been going to the TCM Film Festival every year since 2013 – this year is no different. What is different this year, though, is that the fest is scheduled a little later than usual and is extending into May.

So, instead of serving up a new Pre-Code Crazy pick for May, I’m recommending a film I previously wrote about here at Shadows and Satin. (I’ll be doing the same with my May Film Noir Files pick). But I’ll be back on track in June (shades of Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life”)!

My pre-Code recommendation for this month is Grand Hotel (1932), airing May 7th. This is one of those films that I can never see too many times – it not only offers a first-rate story with an outstanding cast, but it contains one of my favorite Joan Crawford performances. Tune in and treat yourself! Click HERE to check out my previous coverage of the film – and don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see what Kristina is serving up for the month!

It’s hard to believe that the 2026 TCM Film Festival – my 12th in-person and 14th overall – will kick off in just two weeks! It seems that I live my entire year waiting for this event; it always seems so far away, and then before I know it, it’s here and gone, and I’m living for the next one.

Because of the blink-of-an-eye-ness of it all, I wasn’t impatiently waiting this year for TCM to serve up the final schedule – I was actually savoring the anticipation – and when the schedule did drop, I didn’t leap on it like I usually do, like a dog with a hunk of sirloin. I didn’t even look at it until the end of the day, after I’d finished all my daily to-do tasks and had a cocktail to accompany my review. (It was supposed to be an extra dirty martini, but I didn’t have any gin, so I settled for a tequila and Crystal Light. Whaddya gonna do?)

It actually wasn’t until a few days later that I started really examining the films and special guests; identifying movies I wanted my daughter, Veronica (who’ll be with me again for her sixth fest), to see; and encountering some of the deliciously excruciating choices that are a hallmark of the fest each year. And it wasn’t until today that I made some final choices, which I talk about below. I’ll also be letting you know what other movies (and special guests) will be offered for each slot, so I hope you’ll share your picks with me as well! (If I don’t mention a special guest for a screening, that means they haven’t been announced as of this writing.) And now, onward to . . .

Day 1: THURSDAY

If you’ve read any of my festival recaps, you’ll know that the kickoff of the festival for me is the trivia contest. I’ve participated every year since my first fest in 2013, and you know I have to share (yet again) that I was on the winning team one year! But this is the first year that this awesome context won’t be hosted by Bruce Goldstein, director of repertory programming at Film Forum in New York. Instead, the substitute for Goldstein – who’ll be honored this year with the Robert Osborne Award – will be Jeopardy super champion Ken Jennings. When I first learned this, I instantly decided that I wouldn’t participate – it just wouldn’t be the same, I thought, and somehow it seemed disloyal to Mr. Goldstein. However, my younger daughter, Jessica, reminded me of the importance of tradition, and convinced me to continue mine with this event.

After the contest, Veronica and I will see the opening night film – Barefoot in the Park, with special guest Jane Fonda. I’m looking very much forward to this; the movie is a delight and I think Veronica will love it, and seeing Jane Fonda in person will be an absolute thrill. I’ve been a fan of hers for decades, loving her versatility in a wide range of movies, from comedies like Sunday in New York, Any Wednesday, and 9 to 5, to hard-hitters including They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Julia, and The China Syndrome. And let’s not forget her exercise videos (I still have mine!) or the reason why Veronica knows her – the popular Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

Screening opposite Barefoot in the Park is Auntie Mame; Modern Times with special guest Tony Shaloub; The Ozu Diaries, introduced by writer/director Daniel Raim; Out of the Past with actress Dana Delany; and Grease 2, poolside at the Roosevelt Hotel with with three of the film’s stars: Maxwell Caufield, Lorna Luft, and Adrian Zmed. And the final block of the day offers The Fortune Cookie, with Walter Matthau’s son Charlie; Blonde Venus, with Nicholas von Sternberg – son of the film’s director Josef; Man Hunt with Keith Carradine; and Days of Heaven. I actually saw Days of Heaven not long ago, and I would love to hear about the making of the movie from special guest Brooke Adams (who I also loved in the ABC TV series Family), but if we do anything, I think we’ll check out The Fortune Cookie, which I’ve never seen. What will probably end up happening, though, is that we’ll skip that last block and head off to bed in preparation for . . .

Day 2: FRIDAY

This day kicks off with the Glenn Close Hand and Footprint Ceremony; The Magnificent Seven, with animator and author William Joyce; On Moonlight Bay, introduced by Randy Habercamp of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; The Mouthpiece, featuring Andrea Kalas, of the film archival service Iron Mountain; and Autumn Leaves and Alice in Wonderland, both introduced by Mario Cantone. As much as I love Mario’s appearances – and I’m sure his introduction of Autumn Leaves, in particular, will be an absolute hoot – I’m going to skip all of these because of what’s happening in the next block of films.

Now, if you’ve been following news about TCMFF 2026 at all, you probably already know that this year’s event will feature the screening of the 1932 Joan Crawford starrer Letty Lynton, a movie that hasn’t been seen publicly since the mid-1930s. It’s based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. The author was inspired by the real-life 1857 murder case of Scottish socialite Madeleine Smith, who was accused of killing her lover. This case was also depicted in the 1930 play Dishonored Lady, and the 1950 Victorian film noir, Madeleine, starring Ann Todd.

The writers of the play Dishonored Lady sued MGM for plagiarism and copyright infringement, and in January 1936, a federal District Court ruled that the script used for Letty Lynton followed the play too closely and that the studio did not acquire the rights to the play or give credit to the playwrights. After the ruling, a permanent injunction prohibited the distribution of the film and it has been unavailable to the public since that time. Because the copyright on Dishonored Lady expired on January 1, 2026, I assume that the necessary court action was taken in order to officially dissolve the injunction. (In addition to the screening at the TCM film festival, I’ve also read that the film will soon be released on physical media).

Letty Lynton, then, is a top must-see for many festgoers – but not for me. As much as I’d like to see the film (and pre-Code Joanie) on the big screen, I have a watchable version on DVD and have seen it numerous times. (I wrote about it here for a 2025 blogathon.) I’d rather two people get those seats who’ve never seen the movie. Other films screening in that block are Citizen Ruth, featuring the film’s star Laura Dern; Tammy and the Bachelor, featuring Matt Severson of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts; and Here Comes Mr. Jordan, introduced by one of my very favorite folks, Robert Townsend. But I will be skipping this block of films in order to get in line for the event taking place in Club TCM: A Conversation with Carol Burnett. I grew up with Carol Burnett on my TV (I remember my mother once objecting to me watching her variety show because she said it was “suggestive.” I had no idea what she meant by that, and she obviously didn’t have much conviction behind it, because we both went right on watching!). When it was announced that Burnett would be at the festival, I knew that I had to see her, by hook or by crook.

Burnett will also be introducing a film in the next block, Strangers on a Train, which was my original pick. HOWEVER, also during that same block, Glenn Close will be introducing Dangerous Liaisons – I not only want to see Miss Close, but I really want Veronica to see this movie, because it is the veritable bomb dot com. The other movie choices in this block are Father of the Bride – not the original, but the remake from 1991, which will be introduced by the film’s star Kimberly Williams-Paisley; The Patsy, introduced by my pal, author and historian Lara Gabrielle, and silent film accompanist Ben Model; and Money From Home, a Martin and Lewis picture that will be presented in 3-D and introduced by Paramount Pictures archivist Charlotte Barker, archivist Bob Furmanek, and son of Jerry Lewis, Chris (who is also president and CEO of the American Wheelchair Mission).

The next set of selections includes one of my favorite noirs, Ace in the Hole; Next Time We Love, introduced by author Marsha Gordon; My Brother’s Wedding, featuring director Charles Burnett; and That Thing You Do!, introduced by one of the film’s stars, Jonathan Schaech. This block actually gave me more angst, I think, than any other. Seeing Ace in the Hole on the big screen (not to mention sharing it with Veronica!) would be awesome; it would be amazing to see Charles Burnett in person; I’ve never seen Next Time We Love, and it stars two of my favorite performers, Margaret Sullvan and James Stewart – plus, I saw Marsha Gordon before the screening of The Divorcee last year and I know this will be another first-rate introduction; and That Thing You Do! has a special place in my heart because right after I saw it in the theater, I literally drove straight to my local record store and bought the soundtrack. (I’ve only ever done that once before, after I saw Chicago.) HOWEVER, my pick is none of these – I’m going with Hannah and Her Sisters because (1) I love Woody Allen movies, (2) this one is one of my favorites, (3) I really want Veronica to see it, and (4) one of the “sisters” of the film’s title will be on hand: Barbara Hershey. Whew!! (Oh, and for those of you who are playing along, I almost forgot to mention one more film, which is straddling this block and the next: The Thing from Another World, introduced by Ken Jennings and screening poolside at the Hotel Roosevelt.)

The final block for Friday consists of Gaslight, introduced by CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Michael DeLuca; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, featuring two of the film’s actors, Alan Ruck and Ben Stein; The Princess Comes Across, introduced by Kate MacMurray, the daughter of Fred MacMurray and June Haver; Pal Joey, introduced by Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Tina; and Shane, which will be introduced by George Stevens, Jr., son of the film’s director and a 2025 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I’d originally planned to go with Ferris Bueller, but then I decided that this would be the first of several blocks where I gave the selection reins to Veronica. (I suspect that she will go with Gaslight. We shall see.) Also, the midnight movie for this day is Vanishing Point, introduced by director Edgar Wright. There’s no way I’ll be staying up for this one (I’m still recovering from Rocky Horror last year, LOL), so we now find ourselves at . . .

Day 3: SATURDAY

Block 1 for Saturday includes A Place in the Sun, again intro’d by George Stevens, Jr; The Day the Earth Stood Still, featuring director Joe Dante; Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, with producer Michael Uslan; Camille, introduced by Diane Baker; and The Farmer’s Daughter, director of Film Programs at the Academy Museum. I’m going to let this be Veronica’s second time selecting the movie.

The next block offers up Swing Time; A Face in the Crowd, introduced by L.A. Times columnist Jonah Goldberg; Phantom Lady, featuring Christina Lane, historian and biographer of the film’s producer Joan Harrison; Cobra Woman, introduced by Leonard Maltin and author and historian Luis Reyes; and Captain Blood, introduced by my longtime friend, historian Alan Rode and author of the definitive biography of the film’s director, Michael Curtiz. I plan to pop in to see Alan’s introduction (although I hate the thought of leaving a screening after an intro – unless there are empty seats), but we won’t be seeing any of the films in this block because of my must-see in the next one: All the President’s Men. I have never seen this movie in its entirety, and I recently listened to a great podcast series on Watergate on the American Scandal podcast, so I was already interested in checking this out. But when I heard that John Dean will be introducing the movie, I was all in. JOHN. DEAN. I can’t even.

The other films screening opposite President’s Men are The Muppet Movie, introduced by songwriter/actor Paul Williams (who seemed to be everywhere back in the 1970s!); There’s Always Tomorrow, with Dana Delany; Confessions of a Nazi Spy, introduced by Columbia University film professor Annette Insdorf; and The Misfits.

I’ll be enjoying my annual visit to Musso and Frank’s during the next block, but it consists of Victor/Victoria, featuring one of the film’s stars, Lesley Ann Warren; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, with actress Yvette Nicole Brown; I’d Rather Be Rich, introduced by actress Kate Flannery (who I met after the closing night party years ago – she was SO nice!); Stranger on the Third Floor, introduced by director/cinematographer Ernest Dickerson; Nights of Cabiria, featuring Bruce Goldstein and John Turturro; and straddling this block and the next, Swingers, introduced by Ron Livingston, who stars in the film.

Veronica will be selecting the final block of the day, which offers Notorious, again introduced by Warners CEO Michael De Luca; The Devil and Miss Jones; Lonely Are the Brave, featuring Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter; A World Apart, introduced by Barbara Hershey; and Robocop, with actors Paul McCrane and Kurtwood Smith, who both had featured roles in the film. And the midnight film is Who Killed Teddy Bear?, introduced by Mario Cantone and filmmaker/actor Owen Kline. That’s all she wrote for Saturday – and in the blink of an eye, we arrive at . . .

Day 4: SUNDAY

Five of the slots on Sunday are “To Be Announced,” which are reserved for films that were especially popular and unable to accommodate many festgoers. Regardless of the films that are announced, it looks like Veronica and I will only see two movies on the last day, starting with The Best Years of Our Lives, which will be introduced by Alison Macor, author of a book on the making of the film (she’s also working on a making-of book on my favorite movie, The Women). Up against this film are The Bad News Bears, which will feature eight members of the cast; Look for Trouble, a 1934 pre-Code starring Spencer Tracy, directed by William Wellman, and introduced by Leonard Maltin; Anastasia, introduced by author/historian Sloan de Forest; and Mutiny on the Bounty – the 1962 Marlon Brando version – introduced by Mario Van Peebles.

I’ll be skipping the next block which, along with two TBAs, will consist of Jerry Maguire, introduced by director Cameron Crowe and cast member Jay Mohr, and Trouble in Paradise, introduced by comedian Julia Sweeney. But the next block offers Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with director/producer Adam Shankman; Rope, with Mario Cantone; Cabin in the Sky, with Donald Bogle; and Ishtar, with Paul Williams. I won’t see any of these – instead, I’ll be at the Craig Barron and Ben Burtt presentation of The Towering Inferno. Frequent presenters at the TCM fest, both men are Oscar winners – Barron for sound editing and Burtt for visual effects; I have been hearing raves about their introductions for so long, but I have never seen one and I’m thrilled to be putting an end to that unintentional tradition this year!

(BTW, Breakfast and Tiffany’s and The Towering Inferno straddle the next block, which has one TBA, Stand by Me with the co-founders of CastleRock Entertainment; and Arabesque, introduced by Ethan Peck, the grandson of the film’s star, Gregory.

After The Towering Inferno, I will be hightailing it back to my room to change for the Closing Night party (sniff) – I usually don’t dress up for this event; I just wear what I’ve had on all day. However, at last year’s party, after taking some pictures with Hollywood historian April Clemmer, I decided I was going to step up my game for 2026!! While I’m changing into some different duds, the final block of films will be presented – it consists of two TBA, Network, On the Town, and Lady Windemere’s Fan. No special guests have yet been announced for the first two films, but Lady Windemere’s Fan, a silent film helmed by Erst Lubtsch, will be accompanied by none other than the Mont Also Motion Picture Orchestra.

And that’s it, y’all! What do you think of my picks? And more importantly, what are yours? I look forward to finding out!

As Groucho Marx once said, time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like a banana.

(Ha!)

But seriously, folks, time just keeps on slipping into the future; before we know it, it’s going to be time for the 2026 TCM Summer Under the Stars celebration – and despite my best intentions to review every new-to-me movie I watched during the 2025 event, I’m sad to say that I’ve only covered one! And that was back in September! Yikes.

I’m taking steps today to remedy this, but instead of serving up the in-depth look that I did for Day 1 – Lana Turner Day (These Glamour Girls, 1939), I’m going to lean toward a more Reader’s Digest version going forward, if you know what I mean. I’ll see how it pans out. Here goes!

Day 2: Christopher Plummer – The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

This feature was directed by John Huston, based on a story Rudyard Kipling wrote in 1888, when he was in his early 20s and working in India as journalist. Told mostly in flashback, it focuses on two ex-British soldiers, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachey Carnehan (Michael Caine), who leave colonial India in order to seek their fortune in the remote, unexplored land of Kafiristan. Once there, Dravot and Carnehan pose as gods, asserting their authority over the natives, with Dravot declaring himself as king. It’s a ruse that seems to work well – for a while, at least – but it eventually devolves into chaos and tragedy, characterized by ambition, arrogance, and betrayal.

Plummer, our star of the day, plays the supporting role of Rudyard Kipling, the film’s narrator, who meets Carnehan at the start of the film and hears his extraordinary tale.

I didn’t know what to expect of this film, and I have to admit that I really didn’t know what was going on at first. Fortunately, after about 20 minutes, I got the idea to try to find the movie on a streaming channel that had subtitles. After that, I was able to enjoy the film – once I was able to understand all of the dialogue, I was all in!

The film was a sweeping adventure, which I normally don’t think of as my cup of tea, but I thoroughly enjoyed it – Connery and Caine were funny and touching, and while I thought the ending was sad, I was never bored by this tale of two friends bound by love, loyalty, and shared experience.

Day 3: Audrey Hepburn – Two for the Road (1967)

Helmed by Stanley Donen (who I know best from On the Town and Singin’ in the Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly), this film explores the ups and downs of the marriage of Joanna and Mark Wallace, played by Hepburn and Albert Finney. The story is told in a non-linear fashion, using a series of road trips through France, and bouncing back and forth in time. In this manner, the viewer slowly comes to see how the marriage has transformed over the years, getting a ringside seat to Joanna and Mark’s joys and heartbreaks.

The film handles the story with both humor and pathos – there were moments so tender and loving that I almost wanted to cry, and others that literally made me laugh out loud. And then there were the scenes that were so real and awful that I understood perfectly why the Wallaces were brought to the brink of divorce. And all of this was heightened by the unique and innovative editing. The film was also enriched by the presence of William Daniels and Eleanor Bron, who played Mark’s old -girlfriend and her obnoxious husband who, for a while, were traveling companions to the Wallaces. These two were scene-stealers from way back. One more thing – Jacqueline Bisset appears in a small part, and she was a stunner!

Day 4: Howard Keel – Calamity Jane (1953)

If you know me, you know I’m not the biggest fan of musicals, but I’d heard so much about this one that I had to give it a go. It stars Doris Day as Calamity Jane and Keel as Wild Bill Hickok, but it’s a little hard for me to put the plot in a nutshell. It centers on a romantic quadrangle involving Jane and Bill; a smooth-talking calvary officer named Danny Gilmartin (Philip Carey); and Katie Brown (Allyn Ann McLerie), a singer Jane brings to town from Chicago. Toss in some mistaken identity tropes, some conclusions wrongly jumped to, and a whole thing about Jane’s possible attraction to Katie, and there you have it.

I have to be straight with you here. I’m pretty sure that I enjoyed this movie, but I honestly don’t remember a lot of specifics. (That may be obvious from my synopsis above.) I can only rely on my notes, which are as follows: (1) Loved Doris Day’s voice. (2) Catchy songs, memorable numbers. (3) Not thrilled with Howard Keel.

And that’s all she wrote. (Literally.) I don’t know why I wasn’t a fan of Howard Keel in this one, or whether it was the actor or the character he played that I wasn’t fond of. I guess I’ll never know.

I think I’ll stop here and pick up next time with Day 5. And I’ll try not to let seven months go by this time.

Have you seen any of these? Drop a comment below and let me know what you think of them!

As I mentioned earlier this week, Kristina and I are doing something a little different this month (and maybe next month!) and recommending pre-Code and film noir movies that we’re previously written about on our respective sites.

My recommendations for April are all airing on the same day – April 8th – when TCM is going film noir nutty with a veritable smorgasbord of first-rate features. My favorite four films airing that day are below:

Decoy (1945)

I have such a special place in my heart for this film. Not only does it have a bat poop crazy plot device, but in Margot Shelby (Jean Gillie), it serves up one of the baddest of noir’s badass femmes.

Tension (1949)

Audrey Totter is everything in this movie. If nothing else, the way she tells one character to “Drift!” is worth the price of admission.

Madeleine (1950)

This noir has so much going for it, not least is the fact that it’s based on a true story – always a plus for me – and that it’s set during the Victorian era, which is another bonus. It stars Ann Todd, and if you’re not already a fan, you will be after you see her in this.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

One of the first noirs I ever saw – and I’m talking when I was still a teenager! – Postman is always and forever one of my favorites. I can’t see it too many times. I hope you can’t either.

I hope you’ll enjoy all the noirs airing on April 8th – but especially these. Treat yourself!

And don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see what film noir gem Kristina is recommending for this month!

April is always a busy month around these shadowy and satiny parts – in the midst of preparing for my annual trip to the TCM film festival (this year will mark my 12th in-person visit), I also have the Dark Pages film noir newsletter to get to press, along with any other assignments or experiences that may crop up – like a podcast interview I have coming up a couple of days before I leave for L.A. this year.

As a result of all this springtime hubbub – and because my Pre-Code Crazy/Film Noir Files partner Kristina currently has her own real-life stuff going on – this month’s PCC and FNF will recommend films that we’ve both covered previously on our respective blogs. Just click the link on the film titles to read all about them – and mark your calendars!

April 8th

Dinner at Eight (1933)

Always and forever one of my all-time favorite movies, it’s one that I can never see too many times.

April 14th

Rain (1932)

I will never stop lamenting the fact that Joan Crawford didn’t appreciate just how good she was in this film.

April 21st

The House on 56th Street (1933)

I’m a huge Kay Francis fan, and of all her films that I love, this is definitely in my top three (alongside Mandalay and Mary Stevens, M.D.).

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!!!!

And don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see what pre-Code gem Kristina is recommending for this month!

Welcome to The Film Noir Files, the noir series here at Shadows and Satin and over at Speakeasy, the blog authored by my pal Kristina, where each month we recommend a film noir feature for you to watch on TCM. We never know what the other has selected until we post, and part of the fun is trying to never pick the same movie!

It is sho’ nuff slim noir pickings on TCM this month, y’all. Seriously. There’s only a handful of noirs airing, and I’ve already recommended nearly all of them here at Shadows and Satin – all but two, in fact. But it just so happens that I saw one of those two for the first time last year, and it fits the bill for my Film Noir Files recommendation for the month. It’s Highway 301 (1950), starring Steve Cochran as the head of a criminal crew known as the Tri-State Gang.

Full disclosure before I dive in – I usually watch new-to-me movies for a specific reason: for Pre-Code Crazy or the Film Noir Files, for instance. Or as part of a movie scavenger hunt or to write about them for Classic Movie Hub, the Film Masters blog, or my Dark Pages newsletter. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why I watched Highway 301. I watched it late in the year, between Young Mr. Lincoln – which I watched for Kristina’s Scavenger Hunt, and The Fantastic Four, which I saw at the movie theater with my daughters. But it looks like I never wrote about it. It’s a head scratcher.

Anyway – the film opens in quite the unorthodox matter, with a preface offered by the real-life then-governors of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. William P. Lane, Jr., of Maryland, tells the viewer that they are about to see a “factual motion picture of criminal terrorism,” and shares that some of the crimes took place in his state. From John Battle of Virginia, we learn that the only living member of the gang is currently serving 30 years in a Richmond prison – “There is no compromise with crime,” he warns. And W. Kerr Scott, governor of North Carolina, informs us that the gang started its “reign of terror” by robbing a bank in Winston-Salem, and “they ended it by learning that crime does not pay.” For the most part, these brief proclamations are rather stiffly delivered, and the earnestness of the political leaders is unintentionally amusing. (At least, to me.)

After these somber proclamations, the movie proper begins and the jaunty score makes me almost expect to see Judy Holliday pop up at any second. Instead, we learn from the narrator that we’re in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the site of the next exploit of the Tri-State Gang, who would “simply kill anyone who got in their way.”

We’re introduced to four of the five members as they enter the bank they’re preparing to rob: Herbie Brooks (Richard Egan), who liked “high living and easy money”; William Phillips (Robert Webber), a college-educated “congenital criminal” who began his career for excitement; George Legenza (Cochran), the “bright, tough, and deadly” leader of the gang; and Robert Mays (Wally Cassell), simply described as a “no-good guy.”

After the men successfully pull off the robbery, we see them out on the town, where we meet the women in their lives. Phillips is newly married to Lee Fontaine (Gaby Andre), a French-Canadian woman he met three weeks earlier in Canada. Legenza’s girl, Madeline (Aline Towne), is bitter and frustrated with the life of a criminal’s moll and – to her detriment – hasn’t learned how to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself. But my favorite is Mays’s partner, Mary (Virginia Grey), who doesn’t care if she has to live off of sandwiches and coffee, or stay holed up in crummy apartments for weeks at a time, as long as she can listen to her trusty radio.

The film falls into the category of a police procedural, with a narrator leading us through the efforts of the police from the three states – led by Lt. Truscott (Edmon Ryan) – to track down the gang. As a rule, I’m not a huge fan of this type of noir, but the Highway 301 narrator goes a bit further than most, sometimes relating the thoughts and motivations of the characters. Also, because it doesn’t get bogged down in the step-by-step actions of the authorities, and focuses more on the gang members and their women, the film is much more entertaining than most of its kind.

The entertainment factor is also aided by director Andrew L. Stone, who does a good job ramping up the tension in several standout scenes. In one, the gang members are escaping in a truck filled with cartons of eggs – while Phillips drives, Legenza and Mays are hiding inside a small compartment carved out in the center of the boxes. When the truck is stopped at a police roadblock, we’re sweating right along with the criminals as the cops give the truck a seemingly endless examination.

As the head of the Tri-State Gang, Legenza is ruthless and scary – he’s the type of guy who’d shoot his own mother if she looked at him cross-eyed. He never hesitates to kill anyone who gets in his way, committing no fewer than four murders during the course of the movie. He makes me think of those horror movie monsters that keeping coming and coming and coming, and no matter what you do, they’re gonna get you! Steve Cochran is ideally cast, imbuing his character with a sociopathic menace and a chilling gaze that turns silence into a threat. Virginia Grey’s Mary is a standout as well – she’s not just a cookie-cutter moll; in addition to her obsession with the radio (she literally never leaves home without it), she’s got street smarts and a world-weary air that indicates a resigned satisfaction with her current situation. I think she even gets a kick out of her proximity to danger, and she takes everything in stride; her attitude is perfectly summed after one stress-filled scene where the gang manages to evade police in order to hide out in one of their apartments. “Home, sweet home,” she wryly observes. “Anybody want a beer?”

Other Highway 301 Stuff:

The film’s title is taken from the 1,099-mile U.S. route that starts in Biddles Corner, Delaware, and ends in Sarasota, Florida. An alternative to I-95, it includes the three states where the gang operates: Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Andew Stone started his career directing shorts during the silent era – his best-known film was the 1943 Lena Horne starrer, Stormy Weather (1945). He was also a writer; among his credits was the novel The Decks Ran Red, which was made into a 1958 film with James Mason and Dorothy Dandridge, which he also directed.

You might recognize Wally Cassell – who played Mays – from the 1953 noir, The City That Never Sleeps. In that film, he works as a bronze-painted “mechanical man” in a department store window. And I know Robert Webber (Phillips) best as one of the jurors in 12 Angry Men (1957).

Tune into TCM on March 30th to take a drive down Highway 301 – and don’t forget to pop over to Speakeasy to see which film noir gem Kristina has chosen for this month – and see if our streak is still intact!

Pre-Code Crazy is the monthly series here at Shadows and Satin and over at the blog of my pal Kristina, Speakeasy, where each month we recommend a pre-Code film for you to watch on TCM – we never know what the other has selected until we post, and we try to never pick the same movie!

I almost never hear anyone mention Virtue (1932) during discussions of pre-Code movies – but I’m here to put an end to that today. It’s a top-notch feature starring Carole Lombard and Pat O’Brien that I fell for the first time I saw it, and I love it more with every rewatch.

Lombard plays Mae, a prostitute who’s been found guilty of “soliciting” at the start of the film and receives a suspended three-month sentence, provided that she leaves New York within 24 hours and returns to her home in Danbury, Connecticut. She’s given a ticket for the trip, but at the first opportunity, she exits the train so she can remain in New York, briefly commiserating with a friend, Lil (Mayo Methot).

O’Brien is taxi-driving, independence-loving Jimmy Doyle, who’s none too fond of the institution of marriage; as he tells a friend (Ward Bond), “Let me give you a tip. Buy yourself a hot water bottle. They’re just as warm as a wife and less trouble.”

Mae and Jimmy have a not-so-cute meet when she gets a ride in his taxi and skips out without paying the fare. But her action was born out of necessity – she literally didn’t have the money – but the very next day, she tracks Jimmy down so she can pay him.

I love Lombard’s character, especially in the early part of the film. Practically every line out of her mouth is a sassy aside or a smart alecky observation. Like when Lil reminisces about how she met her boyfriend, Toots (Jack LaRue) and Mae says, “Yes, I know. One day you opened your pocketbook and there he was.” Or later, when she confronts Jimmy on the street, telling him she doesn’t like taxi drivers and she doesn’t like his face. “Hey, my face is okay,” Jimmy insists – to which Mae responds, “Yeah, it’s okay for you. You’re behind it!” (I literally laughed out loud at that one). I also love the friendship between Mae and Lil, who shows compassion for her friend’s situation and slips some money into her purse when she thinks Mae isn’t looking.

Despite their contentious beginnings, and regardless of Jimmy’s low opinion of women, he and Mae soon start dating. Although Mae allows Jimmy to think he’s correct when he guesses that she’s an out-of-work stenographer, she wants to tell him the truth about her previous vocation – but when she shares this idea with Lil, her friend advises against it, saying that the kind of men who would be understanding about her past “all died in the Civil War.” this lie of omission notwithstanding, everything is golden buttercups and puppy dog tails between Jimmy and Mae, and the two eventually get married. But all of this happens just 20 minutes into the movie – and if you think everything is smooth sailing from here on out, well, honey, you just don’t know your pre-Codes. I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, but I will say that there were parts that gave me the film noir-like sensation of “oh, no!!!” – if you know what I mean.

OTHER VIRTUE STUFF

The film’s director, Edward Buzzell, made his debut behind the camera as the uncredited co-director of the 1931 Barbara Stanwyck pre-Code, Ten Cents a Dance. He was married for four years to actress Ona Munson, best known for playing Belle Watling, the prostitute with the heart of gold, in Gone With the Wind (1939).

A pivotal supporting role – Mae’s friend Gert – was played by Shirley Grey, who appeared in numerous pre-Codes including the original Back Street (1931) with Irene Dunne, and The Little Giant (1932), an Edward G. Robinson starrer. Her career began to wane with the end of the pre-Code era, however, and her last big screen appearance was an uncredited part in 1940 in City for Conquest.

The first 60 seconds of the film can be heard, but the screen during this time is black. Reportedly, when the picture was reissued a few years after its original release, the Hays Office ordered the removal of the courtroom scene at the film’s start because it made it clear that Lombard’s character was a prostitute. The audio for the scene was later located and restored to the film, but the visuals could not be found.

There are so many great lines throughout the film. In one of my favorites, Mae’s friend’s Lil sarcastically offers this assessment of Danbury, Connecticut: “It’s a great town. They don’t bury their dead. Just let ‘em walk around.”

Speaking of great lines, the screenplay for the film was written by Robert Riskin, who would go on to pen the scripts for It Happened One Night (1934) and You Can’t Take It With You (1938), both which earned him Academy Awards. He also wrote the screenplays for such gems as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), and Meet John Doe (1941).

Tune into TCM March 22nd for this first-rate feature – you’ll be glad you did. And be sure to pop over to Speakeasy to find out the pre-Code that Kristina has selected, and see if our Pre-Code Crazy streak is still intact!

I don’t remember when I first found out that Kim Luperi and Danny Reid were writing a book on pre-Code movies, but I know it seemed like it would be an eternity before it hit the bookshelves. Well, Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era finally came out in October 2025, but that was right before Noirvember and then the holidays. As a result, I’m just now finishing it up – but it was worth the wait!

Luperi and Reid both know their pre-Codes – Luperi, who blogs at ISeeADarkTheater.com, wrote her undergraduate thesis on the censorship conflicts surrounding one of the era’s best-known features, Baby Face (1933), and Reid has been the author of the Pre-Code.com blog for more than 10 years. I had nothing but high expectations for their publication collaboration, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The book covers 50 films released between March 1930 and July 1934 – or, between the introduction of the sound era of film and the strict enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code. During that four-year span, countless pictures featured a wide variety of themes, dialogue, situations, and visuals that soon would be rigorously prohibited. These ranged from scantily clad females, to pre- and extra-marital sex, to crimes – including murder – that went unpunished.

In other words, my kind of movie!

I’ve seen most of the movies covered in the book, and I greatly enjoyed reading about many of my personal favorites – The Divorcee (1930), Red-Headed Woman (1932), Red Dust (1932), Three on a Match (1932), Design for Living (1933), and more. But there were also a handful that I’ve never seen and now look forward to checking out: The Sign of the Cross (1932), So This Is Africa (1933), I Am Suzanne! (1933), and Murder at the Vanities (1934).

The coverage of each film consists of an overview of the plot, production information, and censorship battles faced by the filmmakers, and I was delighted to discover a plethora of details that I’d never known about. The narrative for many chapters is also punctuated by fact-filled sidebars that zero in on the life of a particular person involved in the production, like director William Wellman, who helmed Night Nurse (1931); Paul Robeson, the titular star of The Emperor Jones (1933); and Fay Wray, who was featured in The Most Dangerous Game (1932). And the book not only contains a surfeit of beautiful photo stills, but also actual copies of historical documents, including fascinating letters and censorship notes. Finally, the authors include a copy of the Production Code, a helpful glossary, and where each of the 50 films can be accessed, which is especially valuable, as you’ll want to see every single one of these!

Luperi and Reid both have engaging and easy-to-read writing styles (I’ve always wondered how two people write a book together – do they each take a separate chapter? Take specific parts of each chapter?) and their meticulous research is impressive. Pre-Code fans like me will love the book, and viewers who aren’t as familiar with the features released during this era will find it to be a perfect introduction. If you haven’t already gotten your mitts on this one, run – don’t walk – and make it a part of your library.

You only owe it to yourself.

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My thanks to Running Press for the review copy of Pre-Code Essentials. It’s available for purchase at fine bookstores everywhere.