La déchéance de miss Drake

This is probably the most daring precode picture made. Miriam Hopkins starred and I can't think of anyone else who would have been just as good. Even Harlow wouldn't have worked. She never played such an amoral C.T. as Temple. Jack LaRue was absolutely perfect as Trigger. Such a face. Extraordinarily good looking and yet resolutely menacing. I'll never understand why he never was used as a romantic lead in any of his movies that I know. Read the other reviews for plot details. They are precise. I purchased my copy privately on DVD. I've always wanted to see it. It was worth it. The settings and lighting were extremely good for the story and time in cinema history. Hooray for the director and all of the technicians,

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.

Just caught this gem last night at the Film Forum during their incredible Pre-Code Women festival!

Top acting honors to Miriam Hopkins, Jack La Rue et al. It is truly amazing how some of the pre-code dramas and comedies (sadly most of them missing from video, much less dvd!) hold up so incredibly well.

While I admire the ingenuity and class that some of the later 30's and 40's movies had in dealing with the Code restrictions, early dramas like The Story of Temple Drake demonstrate the same artistry in handling a sexually frank storyline.

Little Faulkner is left in this, but the mood and atmosphere of this film is superb!

"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.

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.