The Story of Temple Drake (1934)
Curator's Choice
(Stephen Roberts, US 1934, 70 min., 35mm)
The Story of Temple Drake may be the definite pre-code film – it was considered so scandalous at the time of its release that it ended up being partially responsible for the enforcement of the Hays Code and thus started a new, much more “filtered” era in the history of Hollywood. Based on William Faulkner’s bestseller Sanctuary, the film dealt with rape, prostitution, and the underworld. “Never before have sex situations been so boldly and luridly pictured,” claimed one of the trade papers. If this can be interpreted as a compliment from today’s perspective, other taglines of the time – such as “the unhappiest choice ever made for a major screen vehicle”, “indecent” and “offensive” – could not. There were protests against the film’s screenings. The one thing nobody had the nerve to criticize was Miriam Hopkins in the lead part: The Story of Temple Drake established her reputation as one of the best actresses in Hollywood. Retrospectively we can say: one of the great actresses of American cinema. Yet, due to its notorious reputation, for decades the picture was rarely screened – and the few circulating 16mm prints didn’t do justice to Karl Struss’s sinister cinematography. Beautifully restored in 2011 by the Museum of Modern Art, it is now available in original 35mm.
Restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from Turner Classic Movies and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.