Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "pre-code"
- Movies or TV
- Genres
- Keywords
- IMDb Rating
- Instant Watch Options
- In Theaters
- Release Year
1. King Kong (1933)
Passed | 100 min | Adventure, Horror
A film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher
Votes: 90,946 | Gross: $10.00M
2. It Happened One Night (1934)
Passed | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
A rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns
Votes: 112,247 | Gross: $4.36M
3. Freaks (1932)
Not Rated | 64 min | Drama, Horror
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates
Votes: 50,595 | Gross: $0.63M
4. The Invisible Man (1933)
TV-PG | 71 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
Votes: 39,929
5. Grand Hotel (I) (1932)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, Romance
A group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
Director: Edmund Goulding | Stars: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery
Votes: 20,874 | Gross: $2.69M
6. Dinner at Eight (1933)
Passed | 111 min | Drama
Affluent Millicent and Oliver Jordan throw a dinner for a handful of wealthy and/or well-born acquaintances, each of whom has much to reveal.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow
Votes: 9,015 | Gross: $4.58M
7. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Passed | 70 min | Film-Noir, Horror, Sci-Fi
A mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.
Director: Erle C. Kenton | Stars: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams
Votes: 10,904
8. The Public Enemy (1931)
Passed | 83 min | Crime, Drama
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell
Votes: 23,015 | Gross: $1.01M
9. Baby Face (1933)
Approved | 71 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.
Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Alphonse Ethier
Votes: 8,162
10. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
PG-13 | 63 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A psychotic big game hunter deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he begins to hunt its passengers for sport.
Directors: Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong
Votes: 14,010 | Gross: $0.97M
11. 42nd Street (1933)
Passed | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 13,036 | Gross: $2.30M
12. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Passed | 98 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert
Votes: 15,806 | Gross: $2.79M
13. Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Passed | 77 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh
Votes: 6,832
14. Son of Kong (1933)
Passed | 70 min | Adventure, Family, Horror
The showman who brought Kong to New York returns to Skull Island and finds Kong's son, a spunky 12-footer with a winning personality and his dad's awesome strength.
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Frank Reicher, John Marston
Votes: 5,284 | Gross: $1.34M
15. Horse Feathers (1932)
Approved | 68 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
Quincy Adams Wagstaff, Huxley University's new president, accidentally hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against their rival, Darwin University.
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, The Marx Brothers
Votes: 13,395
16. Animal Crackers (1930)
G | 97 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
Mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding.
Director: Victor Heerman | Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, The Marx Brothers
Votes: 15,269 | Gross: $0.91M
17. Doctor X (1932)
Unrated | 76 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster
Votes: 4,267 | Gross: $0.88M
18. Footlight Parade (1933)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell
Votes: 6,089 | Gross: $3.49M
19. White Zombie (1932)
Passed | 69 min | Horror
A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.
Director: Victor Halperin | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn, Robert Frazer
Votes: 11,653
20. Design for Living (1933)
Passed | 91 min | Comedy, Mystery, Romance
A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 7,757
21. Drácula (1931)
Unrated | 104 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Centuries-old vampire Dracula preys upon the innocent Eva and her friends.
Director: George Melford | Stars: Carlos Villarías, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton, Pablo Álvarez Rubio
Votes: 5,098
22. Monkey Business (1931)
Not Rated | 77 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
On a transatlantic crossing, The Marx Brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship.
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, The Marx Brothers, Chico Marx
Votes: 14,277
23. King of Jazz (1930)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Musical
American Pre-Code color film starring Paul Whiteman and his Jazz orchestra.
Directors: John Murray Anderson, Walter Lantz | Stars: Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante, Jeanette Loff
Votes: 1,612
24. Cleopatra (1917)
125 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Cleopatra, the fabulous queen of Egypt, and the epic romances between her and the greatest men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Antony.
Director: J. Gordon Edwards | Stars: Theda Bara, Fritz Leiber, Thurston Hall, Alan Roscoe
Votes: 393
25. The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette, Ralph Morgan
Votes: 4,077
26. Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Passed | 79 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Lillian (Jean Harlow) relentlessly attempts to seduce a married man (Chester Morris).
Director: Jack Conway | Stars: Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Leila Hyams
Votes: 3,537
27. Supernatural (1933)
Passed | 65 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A serial black widow murderess returns to life in the body of a young woman to exact revenge on a former lover, a phony spiritualist who betrayed her.
Director: Victor Halperin | Stars: Carole Lombard, Randolph Scott, Alan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne
Votes: 929
28. The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
G | 68 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
Englishmen race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan before the sinister Fu Manchu does.
Directors: Charles Brabin, Charles Vidor | Stars: Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Charles Starrett
Votes: 3,714 | Gross: $0.82M
29. This Is the Night (1932)
Approved | 80 min | Comedy
An affair is almost exposed when Claire's husband unexpectedly returns early from the Summer Olympics.
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: Roland Young, Thelma Todd, Cary Grant, Lili Damita
Votes: 961
30. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A wealthy composer rescues unemployed Broadway performers with a new play, but insists on remaining anonymous.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler
Votes: 9,141 | Gross: $4.80M
31. Roman Scandals (1933)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold
Votes: 804 | Gross: $5.33M
32. The Canary Murder Case (1929)
Passed | 82 min | Crime, Mystery
A beautiful showgirl, nicknamed 'the Canary', is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and soon ends up dead. But who killed 'the Canary'. All the suspects who knew her had ... See full summary »
Directors: Malcolm St. Clair, Frank Tuttle | Stars: William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Louise Brooks
Votes: 830
33. The Vampire Bat (1933)
Passed | 65 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
When corpses drained of blood begin to show up in a European village, vampirism is suspected to be responsible.
Director: Frank R. Strayer | Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne
Votes: 3,050
34. Safe in Hell (1931)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a New Orleans woman flees to a Caribbean island. While she awaits her fiancé, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, John Wray
Votes: 2,040
35. Hot Saturday (1932)
Approved | 73 min | Drama, Romance
A pretty but virtuous small-town bank clerk is the victim of a vicious rumor from an unsuccessful suitor that she spent the night with a notorious womanizer.
Director: William A. Seiter | Stars: Cary Grant, Nancy Carroll, Randolph Scott, Edward Woods
Votes: 1,374
36. Search for Beauty (1934)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
Three con artists dupe two Olympians into serving as editors of a new health and beauty magazine which is only a front for salacious stories and pictures.
Director: Erle C. Kenton | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Ida Lupino, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason
Votes: 741
37. Female (1933)
Passed | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Alison Drake, the tough-minded executive of an automobile factory, succeeds in the man's world of business until she meets an independent design engineer.
Directors: Michael Curtiz, William Dieterle, William A. Wellman | Stars: Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Lois Wilson, Johnny Mack Brown
Votes: 1,916
38. Love Me Tonight (1932)
Passed | 104 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Charles Butterworth
Votes: 4,625
39. Waterloo Bridge (1931)
81 min | Drama, Romance
A prostitute's self-loathing makes her reluctant to marry an idealistic soldier during World War I.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Mae Clarke, Douglass Montgomery, Doris Lloyd, Frederick Kerr
Votes: 3,165
40. The Eagle and the Hawk (1933)
TV-PG | 73 min | Action, Drama, War
The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.
Directors: Stuart Walker, Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Fredric March, Cary Grant, Jack Oakie, Carole Lombard
Votes: 1,353
41. City Streets (1931)
Passed | 83 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Man joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas, William 'Stage' Boyd
Votes: 1,873
42. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.
Director: Dorothy Arzner | Stars: Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Adrianne Allen, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
Votes: 1,936
43. Private Detective 62 (1933)
Passed | 66 min | Drama
A down-and-out private eye falls for a woman he has been hired to frame.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: William Powell, Margaret Lindsay, Ruth Donnelly, Gordon Westcott
Votes: 1,058
44. Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
After the death of her father and loss of the family fortune, Bonnie (Joan Crawford) gets a job as a cub reporter while her brother (William Bakewell) becomes involved in bootlegging.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Joan Crawford, Cliff Edwards, Lester Vail, William Bakewell
Votes: 1,243
45. One Way Passage (1932)
Passed | 67 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.
Director: Tay Garnett | Stars: William Powell, Kay Francis, Frank McHugh, Aline MacMahon
Votes: 4,444
46. Night After Night (1932)
Passed | 73 min | Comedy, Drama
A successful ex-boxer opens a high-class speakeasy in what once was the childhood home of a formerly rich society girl.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: George Raft, Constance Cummings, Wynne Gibson, Mae West
Votes: 1,066
47. Romance (1930)
Approved | 76 min | Drama, Romance
Young Harry is in love and wants to marry an actress, much to the displeasure of his family. Harry thinks that Bishop Armstrong knows nothing about love, so Armstrong tells him the story of... See full summary »
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Gavin Gordon, Elliott Nugent
Votes: 1,032 | Gross: $1.60M
48. International House (1933)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy
Assorted wacky characters converge on a Chinese hotel to bid on a new invention: television.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: W.C. Fields, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Rudy Vallee, Stuart Erwin
Votes: 1,468
49. The Benson Murder Case (1930)
Passed | 65 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A ruthless, crooked stockbroker is murdered at his luxurious country estate, and detective Philo Vance just happens to be there. He decides to find out who killed him.
Director: Frank Tuttle | Stars: William Powell, William 'Stage' Boyd, Eugene Pallette, Paul Lukas
Votes: 462
50. The Beast of the City (1932)
Passed | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it.
Director: Charles Brabin | Stars: Walter Huston, Jean Harlow, Wallace Ford, Jean Hersholt
Votes: 1,420 | Gross: $0.89M