Kay Francis pre-Code
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- DirectorMillard WebbStarsWalter HustonKay FrancisCharles RugglesA driven newspaperman misses out on the joys and sorrows of ordinary life.
- DirectorRobert FloreyJoseph SantleyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxDuring the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsClara BowRichard ArlenKay FrancisA young bareback rider in a circus is in love with a trapeze artist, but he has two problems: he drinks too much and he's fallen under the spell of a "vamp" who's nothing but trouble for him.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsCharles 'Buddy' RogersNancy CarrollJune CollyerA vaudeville magician and his lady assistant break up their team, when he becomes infatuated with a socialite, only to get back together when she is almost killed in her new act gone wrong.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsMary BrianFredric MarchLilyan TashmanA husband and wife have several children from their previous marriages and now they want to get divorced. The kids don't want to be separated and the oldest daughter and her boyfriend try to keep them together.
- DirectorRobert MiltonDorothy ArznerHenry HathawayStarsHal SkellyWilliam PowellFay WrayGardoni, a down-on-his-luck vaudeville performer, is taken in by a fellow performer, a clown who has a bicycle riding act. Gardoni shows his appreciation by stealing the clown's act and his girlfriend, whom he marries.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsWilliam PowellJean ArthurKay FrancisA big-time, but honest gambler has to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps, and taking up gambling.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerOtto BrowerEdmund GouldingStarsJean ArthurClara BowMaurice ChevalierA musical revue that basically has Paramount stars and contract-players doing things some had never done on screen, and wouldn't again; such as Ruth Chatteron , in a French-café setting singing "My Marine" (written by Richard A. Whiting and Raymond B. Eagan) to a group of U. S. Marines, including Stuart Eriwn, Stanley Smith and Frederic March; Buddy Rogers doing a song-duet with Lillian Roth called "Any Time's the Time to Fall in Love" (written by Elise Jans and Jack King), on a cuckoo-clock set; and Clara Bow singing and dancing in the "True To The Navy Now" number to a group of sailors.YouTube
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsBillie DoveBasil RathboneKay FrancisA scheming musician seduces a wealthy woman for love and money.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsRonald ColmanKay FrancisDavid TorrenceA distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed "The Amateur Cracksman". When he meets a woman and falls in love he decides to "retire" from that life, but an old friend comes to him with a predicament that entails him committing one last job.YouTube
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisScott KolkWilliam Powell plays William Foster, a slick attorney who stays within the law, but specializes in representing crooks and shady characters. He's adept at keeping them out of jail, winning acquittals, and having decisions reversed, thus springing criminals out of prison. He is romantically involved with dancer Irene Manners (Kay Francis), who is two-timing him, although she wants to marry him. She kills a man driving while out with her other man, Jack Defoe (Scott Kolk), who takes the blame. Unfortunately, a ring Foster had just given Irene is found at the crime scene. Foster ends up defending Jack, but when the ring is found, he thinks he is protecting Irene, so pleads guilty to jury tampering, which he had done for the first time to save Irene. After his plea, the the prosecuting DA confides that Jack would have gotten off...YouTube
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsJack OakieJeanette MacDonaldRichard 'Skeets' GallagherDress designer Joan Wood, who's heavily in debt, has created costumes for a Broadway show that is exported to Argentina. With the money she wants to pay her debts, but there was a mistake: she is receiving the money in Buenos Aires, not in New York. Her friend Wally Wendell, whose grandfather does not approve of his relationship with her, wants him to marry a girl he hasn't seen for some years named Constance Cook, whose grandfather is the owner of a ship traveling to Buenos Aires and Constance is one of the passengers. Wally's friend Basil has caused a freak accident with Voltair McGuines' cab, who wants his money for the damage. Basil asks Wally, but he has been disinherited and lost all credit by his grandfather, because he still wants Joan.
- DirectorGeorge CukorLouis J. GasnierStarsWalter HustonKay FrancisKenneth MacKennaMarya is the wife of medical student Victor Sablin, who finds it impossible to deal with military life when he is inducted into the Russian army during World War I.YouTube
- DirectorWilliam C. de MilleStarsKay FrancisKay JohnsonCharles BickfordA bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.YouTube
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsGeorge BancroftKay FrancisClive BrookScandal Sheet is a 1931 American crime film directed by John Cromwell and written by Oliver H.P. Garrett, Vincent Lawrence and Max Marcin. The film stars George Bancroft, Kay Francis, Clive Brook, Regis Toomey, Lucien Littlefield, Gilbert Emery and Harry Beresford. The film was released on January 31, 1931, by Paramount Pictures.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisCarole LombardA society gigolo goes after a rich mother and her daughter, but tries to find true happiness with his girlfriend, who is neither rich nor in "society."YouTube
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsPaul LukasKay FrancisJudith WoodA diplomat is blackmailed by crooked vice cops into helping them frame prostitutes.YouTube
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsKay FrancisPaul CavanaghRicardo CortezElsie sets out for a holiday in Paris and develops an affair while her husband spends a year working in India.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeLionel BarrymoreStarsLionel BarrymoreKay FrancisMadge EvansA district attorney commits the perfect murder when he kills his daughter's womanizing fiancé and then tries framing the fiancé's lover.YouTube
- DirectorMarion GeringStarsClive BrookKay FrancisMiriam HopkinsA nightclub singer is carrying on an affair with a married man. When she is found murdered, her lover is suspected of the crime.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKay FrancisJoel McCreaLilyan TashmanTwo gold-diggers prey on rich old men, but one of them falls in love with a rich young man.YouTube
- DirectorStuart WalkerStarsKay FrancisWilliam 'Stage' BoydConway TearleA woman who is a member of a gang of con artists impersonates the mother of a wealthy blind man; she comes to feel a true motherly love for the young man, and refuses to try to cheat him.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsFredric MarchKay FrancisStuart ErwinA 1932 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Lothar Mendes and written by Grover Jones, William J. Locke, and William Slavens McNutt; it stars Fredric March, Kay Francis, Stuart Erwin, Juliette Compton, George Barbier, Sidney Toler, and Earle Foxe and was released on March 4, 1932 by Paramount Pictures.YouTube
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsKay FrancisDavid MannersUna MerkelA female editor of a magazine falls in love with her male secretary.YouTube rental
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsKay FrancisRoland YoungAlan DinehartA married architect, stuck in a loveless marriage, due to his daughter, has an an affair with a dress designer (Natalie). Just when he's ready to ask his wife for a divorce, his daughter falls in love with Natalie's brother.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisHelen VinsonA gentleman thief charms a Viennese baron's wife and also conducts a daring daylight robbery of a jewellers.YouTube rental
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisFrank McHughA 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.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMiriam HopkinsKay FrancisHerbert MarshallA gentleman thief and a lady pickpocket join forces to con a beautiful perfume company owner. Romantic entanglements and jealousies confuse the scheme.Criterion Channel
- DirectorKing VidorStarsRonald ColmanKay FrancisPhyllis BarryLondon barrister's marriage is under strain after his affair with a shop-girl who is out to have him. Told in flashback.YouTube
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsKay FrancisGeorge BrentGlenda FarrellA woman (Kay Francis) with two husbands (Monroe Owsley, Henry Kolker) tries to divorce one of them by heading down to Havana where things get more complicated.
- DirectorRichard BoleslawskiStarsKay FrancisNils AstherWalter HustonSarajevo June 28, 1914. Dushan, the Serbian mayor of a Hungarian town, has come to see the parade of Archduke Ferdinand. While there he runs into Geza, an old friend in the Hungarian Army and invites him to come to his house and visit him and his new wife. Tensions between the Serbs and the Hungarians in the Austro-Hungarian Empire reach their boiling point when a Serb assassinates the Archduke and war breaks out. Dushan returns home desperately trying to keep the Serbs in his town loyal to Austro-Hungary while protecting his people from the suspicious Hungarian army. His new wife Irina sides with the Serbs and hides deserters in the barn. Geza arrives to search the premises. Dushan gives his word there are no deserters at his home but afterwards his wife tells him the truth and talks him into using his servant Panto to help the deserters escape while she distracts Geza by flirting with him. Geza sees through her ruse but lets the deserters escape because he is beginning to fall in love with Irina and she with him. After the war, the city falls under Serbian control and Panto becomes the head of the police. He pursues Geza just as Dushan begins to suspect that his wife and Geza are lovers.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsKay FrancisLyle TalbotGlenda FarrellMary Stevens (Kay Francis) and her old friend Don Andrews (Lyle Talbot) graduate from medical school at the same time and decide to set up their respective medical offices in the same building. Mary builds her reputation despite many patients refusing to be treated by a woman. Don, however, starts dating Lois Cavanaugh (Thelma Todd), whose family is rich and influential, and neglects his practice for the privileges of a social life. Despite Mary's love for Don, he marries Lois and sets up a new office with a high-class clientele. He also gives Mary a new office right next to his; while she ends up making a name for herself in the medical community, Don begins to pilfer funds from his practice. Jealousy and mistrust drive Mary and Don apart, seemingly for good. Two years later, Mary, now a famous doctor, takes a much-needed vacation and runs into Don, who is on the lam from the authorities. Mary and Don have an affair and Don tries to get a divorce. Lois is willing but her father doesn't want the Cavanaugh name mixed up in any scandal. He clears Don's name and gets all charges against him dropped--on the condition that Don will not divorce Lois for at least six months. When Mary finds herself pregnant by Don and he's unable to marry her, she must decide whether to tell him or raise the child on her own; he can't divorce Lois and their baby dies while on the ship. Very harsh. Mary is caught in the act of suicide and saves a child in the final scene. Mary gains her confidence back and all is good.YouTube
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsKay FrancisRicardo CortezGene RaymondPeggy Martin chooses to marry young, wealthy Monty, who she loves. They have a child together and an amazing relationship...until Peggy visits her ailing ex-boyfriend, Fiske, who threatens to commit suicide if she won't take him back.