
Before Hollywood had boundaries, they weren't afraid to push the limits.
Complicated Women
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.
Watch NowCast

Jane Fonda
Self - Narrator (voice)

Frances Dee
Self - Interviewee

Karen Morley
Self - Interviewee

Kitty Carlisle
Self - Interviewee

Mae Madison
Self - Interviewee

Molly Haskell
Self - Interviewee

Barbara Stanwyck
Self (archive footage)

Bette Davis
Self (archive footage)

C. Aubrey Smith
Self (archive footage)

Chester Morris
Self (archive footage)

Clark Gable
Self (archive footage)

Claudette Colbert
Self (archive footage)
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