A Whirlwind Month With Pre-Code Essentials!
December 12, 2025
November flew by and for good reason—it was a busy month promoting Pre-Code Essentials coast to coast! (If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you can do so HERE.) I’ve finally had a chance to unwind and wanted to share a short recap of the events we got to do.​
Pre-Code Essentials launch and signing at Book Soup! (Photo by Toby at Book Soup)
Book Soup
It all started on Sunday, November 2 with our official launch at Book Soup in West Hollywood. I was on my own for this event and had many friends come out, which I very much appreciated! As it was my first book launch, my boyfriend and I actually went to the store a week earlier to see Tom Sturges, son of director Preston Sturges, do his launch event so I could see how they were done! Turns out they are pretty laid back, which was nice. I spoke a bit about the period, read from the book, did a Q&A (there were a lot of great questions), and then did a signing—my first public one—which was a blast. It was very heartwarming to see so many familiar faces, and I was so grateful for the support. What a way to kick off the month!
Introducing Female at AFI Silver's Classic Film Weekend. (Photo by Danny Reid)
AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend
A few days later, I traveled to the East Coast for a 10-day book tour. My co-author Danny came in from Germany for the first three events, which I was very excited for; we hadn’t seen each other in over four years! The first stop was Silver Spring, Maryland for AFI Silver’s Classic Film Weekend. On November 7, Danny and I introduced four pre-Codes, The Mind Reader (1933), Female (1933), Okay, America! (1932), and This Day and Age (1933), and we did two book signings, selling out of all the books they purchased. (They had several pre-Codes scheduled throughout the weekend and many I had never seen, including 1931’s Kick In, 1930’s Young Desire, and 1930’s Outside the Law.) This event was really the impetus for our entire tour. I spoke at last year’s Classic Film Weekend in June 2024, which was pre-Code themed, and when I discovered this year’s event was in early November, a week and a half after our release, the wheels started turning in my head. The folks at AFI Silver gave us a lot of support and promotion, and the programming, curated by David Pierce, was spectacular. It’s definitely an event I would like to return to every year, if I can; it's a fun fest with a great vibe.
It took a while, but we found Pre-Code Essentials at the Strand in New York City! (Photo by Danny Reid)
Danny and I outside Film Forum in New York City. (Photo by Chris Luperi)
Signing Pre-Code Essentials at Film Forum. (Photo by Chris Luperi)
Film Forum
From DC, Danny and I took the train to New York, where we did two events. After seeing Pre-Code Essentials in the Strand and Barnes & Noble Union Square, we ventured to Film Forum on November 10 to introduce Madam Satan (1930). Film Forum is my favorite New York City theater, and they are always the very first rep theater schedule I look up when I’m planning a trip to New York. I’ve attended screenings there as a teenager and even have taken my mom and grandmother to shows there, so this was a special event for me. Not to mention, my aunt and uncle came out from New Jersey, along with my brother, who lives in Queens, so it was lovely to have family there, too! It just so happens that Film Forum was in the middle of a months-long Art Deco centennial celebration when we were in town, and Madam Satan, a movie that’s in our book, just so happened to be on their schedule the one day we had free. Talk about perfect timing! Madam Satan sold out, as many movies in the Art Deco series did, and we also sold out the books, which was wonderful. This 1930 Cecil B. DeMille musical is long and outlandish, and I didn’t know how it would go over with an audience, but I’m happy to report that the crowd was fantastic and several people mentioned how much they enjoyed it.
Danny and I outside Nitehawk! (Photo by Chris Luperi)
Introducing Night Nurse at Nitehawk. (Photo by Chris Luperi)
Nitehawk even had a pre-Code cocktail, Blonde in Hell, which was quite good! (Photo by Chris Luperi)
Nitehawk
The next day, November 11, we got to screen Night Nurse (1931) at Nitehawk in Brooklyn. This was my first time at Nitehawk, and I loved it! Very cool, hip vibe with an awesome bar, which is where we signed after the screening. When we reached out, their team told us they already have a 35mm pre-Code series (how awesome is that?), and we were lucky to align quite nicely with their next screening; heck, they even had a special pre-Code cocktail at their bar, too! We provided them with some titles from our book, and they chose Night Nurse since they mentioned they were looking to feature a William Wellman and Barbara Stanwyck movie at some point. Night Nurse is a blast to watch with an audience, and with an attendance of over 100, it was a good crowd! It was lovely meeting some Instagram followers when we signed books, too. I also had family attend this screening—my brother (official NYC tour photographer!) and my mom’s cousin, a fellow classic film fan, and his wife from New Jersey. It was so nice to be able to share these NY experiences with family members who I don’t get to see very often.
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In addition to the screenings and signings, Danny and I did a few interviews too, and he flew back to Germany mid-week. I’m so glad we were able to experience several of these events together!
It was a pleasure to do a pre-Code screening in Pittsburgh at the Harris Theater! (Photo by a Harris employee whose name I didn't get!)
The Harris Theater
I flew from New York to Pittsburgh at the end of the week, which was a rather last-minute decision. We had been waiting a while to see if another opportunity down south was going to pop up the week that Danny was in the US, and when it didn’t, I decided to visit my college roommates in Pittsburgh and see if I could line a screening up. I’m not familiar with the rep theater scene in the city, but luckily the very first venue I reached out to, the Harris, is programmed by a pre-Code fan! So, they instantly said yes—the harder parts were finding a short enough movie to fit in before a planned film festival, figuring out what day was better for sports/traffic because I forgot how much of a sports town Pittsburgh is, and trying to secure a bookstore to partner with for a signing. We landed on Red-Headed Woman (1932), which I was thrilled about, because I had always wanted to see this film with an audience. (Long story short, the Studio Relations Committee, the go-between for studios and the censors, basically begged local censors to watch this with an audience in hopes they would understand the comedy and not reject it. That didn’t exactly go over super well.)
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This screening also was a full circle moment for me, because the success of Red-Headed Woman encouraged Warner Brothers to make Baby Face (1933), which I wrote my college thesis on. Being that Pittsburgh is about 90 minutes from where I went to school, my thesis advisor and his wife were able to come down for the screening, which was very special. He encouraged me to do archival research on this era, which introduced me to the Production Code files that played such a big part in Pre-Code Essentials. My college roommates also came out, which was wonderful, because they aren’t classic film fans; they both enjoyed the movie, though! It was a small audience, but watching Red-Headed Woman with fellow fans did not disappoint. Though we weren’t able to line up a signing, I still got to talk about the book, and some people asked me about it, which I'll take!
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The Ebell of Los Angeles
The following weekend I had two events back home in Los Angeles. On November 22, I gave a lecture on the pre-Code period, with a focus on women, at the Ebell of Los Angeles. I had heard of this historic women’s organization, but I had never been to their gorgeous campus, which celebrates its centennial in 2027. The crowd was small but engaged and the setting was a lovely, cozy library. The attendees asked some great questions, and most everyone purchased a book, which pleasantly surprised me! Mine was the first lecture in a new pre-Code series; over the next few months, fellow historians will be delivering talks on Theresa Harris, Ann Dvorak, and Norma Shearer. More information can be found HERE.
This is the only image I have from the American Cinematheque's Sunday Print Edition! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
American Cinematheque
The following day, November 23, I got to introduce a film at the Los Feliz 3 as part of the American Cinematheque’s Sunday Print Edition, which showcases 35mm films in black and white every week. As a longtime Cinematheque member, this is my favorite series, so it was an honor to introduce an absolutely wild pre-Code, Gabriel Over the White House (1933). Fun fact: We originally had another film lined up, but as the government was shut down for several weeks, the Cinematheque wasn’t able to get the 35mm print from the Library of Congress, so… they instead were able to secure a movie about the government! How ironic. It was interesting experiencing this film with an audience filled with many who hadn’t seen it; I loved hearing the reactions after!
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It was a thrill to get to share so many fabulous movies with friends and fellow film fans from coast to coast and, of course, celebrate Pre-Code Essentials! I have one more event this year, a talk about the period at the Vero Beach Public Library at 2pm on December 19, which you can find more info on HERE.
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In 2026, I have two events lined up in Los Angeles in January and February, and I am in talks with several other venues in the Los Angeles/Orange County areas, so stay tuned!
thanks for stopping by!
I See a Dark Theater is a website dedicated to classic movie-going—and loving—in the City of Angels. Whether it's coverage on screenings, special presentations, or Q&As around Los Angeles that you're looking for, or commentary on the wonderful and sometimes wacky world of classic cinema, you've come to the right place for a variety of pieces written with zeal, awe, and (occasionally) wit. Enjoy.
