The Story Of Temple Drake (1933)

A socially prominent Southern belle (Miriam Hopkins) is a flirt and the granddaughter of a Judge (Guy Standing). On a stormy night while out joy riding with a drunken boy (William Collier Jr.), the car crashes and they are "rescued" by a group of bootleggers. It is there that her nightmare begins after she is raped by a gangster (Jack La Rue) and becomes his mistress after he places her in a brothel (it's supposed to be a boarding house but we know better). Based on the novel SANCTUARY by William Faulkner and directed by Stephen Roberts. One of the most controversial of the pre-code films and one of the reasons the Hays Code came into play. While nowhere near salacious as its source material, the film makers had to edit several scenes in the movie but this is still pretty raw stuff for the era. So much so that the film wasn't seen for years after its release except for bootleg copies. The film is anchored by a sensational performance by the too often undervalued Miriam Hopkins in a complex role and far different from the two Lubitsch films (SMILING LIEUTENANT, TROUBLE IN PARADISE) she'd done. The film is confidently directed by Roberts and it's a pity he died only three years later (he was just 40) because he might have fulfilled the promise he showed here. Ironically, Jack La Rue would play a similar role in NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH (1948) which usurps the basic premise of the Faulkner novel. With William Gargan, Irving Pichel, Florence Eldridge, Jobyna Howland and Louise Beavers.