Programmed September 2020

Pre-Code Joan Blondell

Featuring a new introduction by critic Imogen Sara Smith Classic Hollywood’s consummate scene-stealing sidekick, Joan Blondell enjoyed a successful screen career for nearly five decades, but it was during the anything-goes pre-Code era of the early 1930s—when dames, gold diggers, and good-time girls were cinematic staples—that she reached her zenith. Her vivacious energy and wisecracking persona were perfectly suited to the punchy, fast-paced style of her home studio, Warner Bros., where she was often paired with the similarly brash, dynamic James Cagney in popular hits like the mob film He Was Her Man , the delightfully risqué romantic comedy Blonde Crazy , and the kaleidoscopic Busby Berkeley musical extravaganza Footlight Parade . Whether lending snappy comedic support to a dramatic heavy hitter like Barbara Stanwyck in Night Nurse or showing her range playing a mob boss in the all-too-rare starring vehicle Blondie Johnson , Blondell exuded an irresistible, naughty-but-nice irreverence that was pure pre-Code. Added on Sunday, 6 September 2020

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