La déchéance de miss Drake

"The Story of Temple Drake" is an infamous Pre-Code film that was withdrawn from circulation for two decades because the content of the movie was considered inappropriate after the new Production Code was put into effect in mid-1934. The tale about rape and murder was simply impossible to show based on the dictates of the new system. However, the film was later rediscovered and is considered by some one of the most daring films of the era.

When the film begins, Stephen Benbow (William Gargan) is in love with Temple Drake (Miriam Hopkins) and has asked her to marry him. But while she cares about him, she's also a flirtatious lady and doesn't want to yet settle down. Unfortunately her lifestyle gets her into trouble one night when she and one of her many boyfriends have an accident and they are stranded in the middle of no where. They come upon a house run by a bunch of very stereotypical white trash and eventually one of them, a thug named Trigger (Jack La Rue) rapes her and then hold her hostage as a love slave for some time thereafter. Eventually, Temple is able to break free of this monster...and walks into the middle of a court case being defended by Benbow...and if she talks about her trials, she could help get Benbow's client acquitted. But this also means talking about her ordeal in front of folks....during an era where no one would dare talk about this.

Fortunately, while the content is rather racy, the rape was NEVER shown and was handled tastefully. And, surprisingly, the topic of rape was treated rather fairly considering this was an era when women were often blamed for the assault. An important and groundbreaking film that actually stands up pretty well today...and features some powerful acting by Hopkins and Gargan.

I have not read "Sanctuary" but "The Story of Temple Drake" is a nasty story populated by some nasty people bracketed by some good people. Somewhere in the middle is Temple Drake, a southern tease who is asking for trouble, and finds it. This must be Miriam Hopkins' best performance as she goes from debutante to fallen woman before regaining her equilibrium and self-respect. Her final few scenes are outstanding and might have earned her an Oscar nomination in a later time period and in a less controversial film.

Mention must be made of Jack LaRue, who plays Trigger, the villain of the piece. A repugnant figure, Trigger is the thoroughly rotten personification of evil and LaRue is terrific in the part. Like Miss Hopkins, this must be the high point of his long career which began in silents.

"The Story of Temple Drake" was shocking for its time and still packs a wallop today. Unlike today's fare, it leaves much off the screen to the imagination, which can be substantial depending on your frame of mind. It was one of the pictures chiefly responsible for the introduction of the Hays Code the following year.

The notorious and rarely-seen (it's not even listed in Maltin's book)1933 adaption of William Faulkner's "Sanctuary" was unveiled to NY audiences last week at the Film Forum. The film is beautifully shot, and has an amazing performance by Miriam Hopkins as the southern belle who gets kidnapped and raped by a gangster, but stays with him by choice. At the conclusion, there was a richly-deserved round of applause. The rights are owned by Universal Home Video now--start writing them to get this lost masterpiece onto the video shelves.

Temple Drake is a well brought up Southern woman who has a strong wild and crazy streak. She refuses marriage proposals from Steven Benbow, a dedicated and ethical young lawyer, because she knows she isn't ready to settle down. She is, in fact, a notorious sexual tease. Soon she's being held by a group of bootleggers and is raped by a hood named Trigger. Temple's wild streak takes over and she decides to stay with Trigger, perhaps working as a prostitute. Pretty heady stuff for the 1930's!

I particularly liked the character of Benbow who willingly takes all of the pro bono criminal cases assigned to him by the judge (Temple's haughty father) and handles even the hopeless ones with great dedication. In the courtroom scene that ends this film, Benbow's skill and ethics are put to the test.

There is an extensive discussion and analysis of "Temple Drake" in Thomas Doherty, "Pre-Code Hollywood" (1999) at 114-17. The story of the film's struggle with the censors (both in Hollywood and in the states) is told in Thomas Vieira, "Sin in Soft Focus" (1999) 149-50; stills from the film appear at 158-59.

Southern belle Temple Drake (Miriam Hopkins) is attacked and raped by a violent bootlegger. He decides to keep her for himself and she sees no way out...until her boyfriend finds out.

I saw this many years ago (the 1990s) at a film festival and have never forgotten it. Even though they toned down the source material (William Faulkner's "Sanctuary") considerably, this is strong stuff for 1933. The acting is good, it's well-directed and has an ending that censors of the 30s hated (I won't give it away, but you can see why). Seeing it again all these years later on Blu-Ray it still holds up and looks great. It's now pretty tame and dated but good.