Trouble In Paradise(1932)

The audacious, hilarious, delightful and exciting Trouble In Paradise was a huge hit with audiences and critics upon its release in 1932. Unfortunately its mature treatment of sex, relationships, and unrepentant – as well as unpunished- criminal activity didn’t half make the bores and prudes at the Hays Office(the censors)clutch their pearls and reach in unison for the smelling salts. In 1934, killjoy -in- chief, Joseph L. Breen, assumed position as head of the now enforceable Motion Picture Production Code. Breen refused to allow this film to be reissued commercially for decades due to its content breaching the Code. It annoys me so much that audiences were denied access to this gem for so long. It hurts to realise that this could so easily have become a lost film. There are few film scenes as perfect as the one in which the lead characters meet and get acquainted in Trouble In Paradise. Adorable pickpocket Lily(Miriam Hopkins) and smooth jewel thief Gaston(Herbert Marshall)are…