A Timeline of 11 Pre-Code Hollywood Movie Histories

Early Depression-Era Melodramas, Adaptations, and Headline Stories

Below is a graphical representation of the Chronology included in my eBook, 11 Pre-Code Hollywood Movie Histories. Each of those 11 films are plotted on the timeline at their premiere date, while other influential moments, either from the films or from this historical era, are included to give a more general sense of the times.

SILENCE

July 28, 1914
World War I begins
April 06, 1917
America enters World War I
November 11, 1918
End of World War I
January 16, 1919
18th Amendment Passed
18th Amendment to U.S. Constitution ratified. It outlaws the manufacture, sale, or transportation of liquor beginning in one year’s time
January 17, 1920
Prohibition Begins
Volstead Act begins enforcement the 18th Amendment.
August 18, 1920
19th Amendment Passed
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified giving women the right to vote.
April 29, 1927
William J. Fallon dies
June 13, 1927
Lindbergh Completes Trans-Atlantic Flight
Charles Lindbergh completes first solo flight over the Atlantic in the “Spirit of St. Louis.”
October 06, 1927
Talkies Arrive!
The Jazz Singer premieres in New York. The talkie craze begins.
November 06, 1928
Hoover Elected President
Herbert Hoover defeats Alfred E. Smith in U.S. Presidential election.
February 14, 1929
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
October 29, 1929
Stock Market Crash
December 31, 1929
1929 Bestsellers
The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe is 1930s bestselling nonfiction book. Cimarron by Edna Ferber bestselling fiction work that year.
December 31, 1929
Unemployment = 3.2%
Unemployment rate for 1929 is 3.2%
March 31, 1930
MPPDA adapt Production Code
But it is not enforced.
April 20, 1930
Show Girl in Hollywood premieres
July 19, 1930
For the Defense premieres
December 31, 1930
1930 Bestsellers
The Story of San Michele by Axel Munthe is 1930s bestselling nonfiction book. Cimarron by Edna Ferber bestselling fiction work that year.
December 31, 1930
Unemployment = 8.7%
U.S. Unemployment rate for 1930 is 8.7%
March 07, 1931
Gentleman’s Fate premieres
April 18, 1931
City Streets premieres
May 01, 1931
Construction completed on Empire State Building
December 31, 1931
1931 Bestsellers
Education of a Princess by Grand Duchess Marie is 1931s bestselling nonfiction book. Also notable is 1931s third bestselling nonfiction title, Washington Merry-Go-Round by Anonymous (Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen). Fiction highlighted by Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth.
December 31, 1931
Unemployment = 15.9%
U.S. Unemployment rate for 1931 is 15.9%
March 01, 1932
Lindbergh Baby kidnapped
May 12, 1932
Lindbergh Baby found dead
June 03, 1932
Sunbeam Prison Camp
Two guards from the Sunbeam Prison Camp in Jacksonville, FL are arrested after a prisoner dies inside a sweat box. The incident inspires RKO’s Hell’s Highway.
July 28, 1932
Bonus Army
Bonus Army conflict in Washington, D.C., leads to death of two veterans.
September 23, 1932
Hell’s Highway premieres
October 15, 1932
Washington Merry-Go-Round premieres
November 08, 1932
Roosevelt Elected President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt defeats incumbent Herbert Hoover in U.S. Presidential election.
November 24, 1932
Call Her Savage premieres
December 31, 1932
1932 Bestsellers
The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams is 1932s bestselling nonfiction book. Number two on the list is Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen. Washington Merry-Go-Round and its follow-up, More Merry-Go-Round, also feature towards the bottom of 1932s top ten. The Good Earth repeats as top fiction book.
December 31, 1932
Unemployment = 23.6%
U.S. Unemployment rate for 1932 is 23.6%.
January 20, 1933
Employees’ Entrance premieres
March 04, 1933
“We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
President Roosevelt inauguration.
March 06, 1933
Bank Holiday
March 6 - 10, all bank transactions are suspended and the stock market is closed.
March 22, 1933
The Beer and Wine Revenue Act
Roosevelt legalizes (and taxes) the sale of liquor with 3.2% and lower alcohol content.
November 01, 1933
Only Yesterday premieres
December 05, 1933
Prohibition Repealed!
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified.
December 13, 1933
The Sin of Nora Moran premieres
December 31, 1933
1933 Bestsellers
Life Begins at Forty by Walter B. Pitkin is 1933s bestselling nonfiction book. Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen takes over top fiction spot.
December 31, 1933
Unemployment = 24.9%
U.S. Unemployment rate for 1933 is 24.9%.
March 17, 1934
Jimmy the Gent premieres
July 15, 1934
Production Code Enforcement
The PCA begins enforcing the Production Code.
December 31, 1934
1934 Bestsellers
While Rome Burns by Alexander Woollcott is 1934s bestselling nonfiction book. Anthony Adverse repeats on the fiction list.
December 31, 1934
Unemployment = 21.7%
U.S. Unemployment rate for 1934 is 21.7%.