A Movie Nearly Every Night: Murder at the Vanities

Murder at the Vanities (1934)
Dir: Mitchell Leisen
Starring: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle and the Earl Carroll Girls

"Get in there and get your clothes off"

Turner Classic Movies has recently released more of the Pre-Code classics from their film library and some of them, like Murder at the Vanities and its disc partner Search for Beauty are in really good condition. The film gets a little scratchy on Vanities, but the sound is just fine. We rented this one first because it features the Earl Carroll dancers. As mentioned in previous posts, my grandmother (my dad's mom, not the grandmother who recently passed away) was a dancer and she started out with Earl Carroll at his Hollywood theater on Sunset Blvd. Carroll's show, The Vanities, was like a naughty version of the Ziegfield Follies (less feathers, more skin) so it was a perfect backdrop for a Pre-Code Hollywood film.

What are they wearing? Well the ones in the glass boxes are wearing the glass boxes

For the sake of explanation, Pre-Code is Pre-Production Code, which is kind of a misnomer since the Code was introduced in 1930. It was full of "Dos, Don'ts and Be Carefuls" and general guidelines to keep those kids in the audience free from vice when they went to the pictures, because any new form of mass media is going to corrupt children. We all know it. Studios policed themselves, which means they agreed to do the Dos (politicians and the police are good) and keep away from the Don'ts (drugs are bad) and seriously consider Be Carefuls (having that drink, lady?) because if they didn't follow the Code some provincial censorship board, like a ladies' church group in Dubuque for instance, would re-edit the film before giving it to the theater. The ladies' church group in Dubuque = not professional filmmakers.

But, honestly, do you care what movie they see in Dubuque as long as sinful New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles allow it to be shown uncut?

So in 1934, the studios agreed to let this guy named Joe Breen take over and he made sure that naughty stuff like 75% of Murder at the Vanities would never make it past the script stage. That would mean losing this hot little number, "Sweet Marijuana":

Sooth me with your caress
Sweet Marijuana, Marijuana
Help me in my distress
Sweet Marijuana, please do
You alone can bring my lover back to me
Even though I know it's all a fantasy
And then, put me to sleep
Sweet Marijuana, Marijuana

Indeed.

Murder at the Vanities dodged the censor bullet and squeaked its bad self through just before the Code gates closed. It certainly shows the limits the studios were pushing to see what they could get away with before Breen shut down the sin.

But, somewhat good news, in all of the half-naked showgirls running through the frame we did not spy my grandmother. She wore some racy outfits in her day, but we didn't see her in any (or out of any) in this movie. It's too bad because I'm always on the lookout for her, but it's also okay because seeing your grandmother wearing nothing but a fake cactus blossom ... well, you tell me how you'd feel.