Pre-Code Crazy for July 2026

Pre-Code Crazy is the monthly series here at Shadows and Satin and over at the blog of my pal Kristina, Speakeasy, where each month we recommend a pre-Code film for you to watch on TCM – we never know what the other has selected until we post, and we try to never pick the same movie! I’ve been a fan of James Cagney and Joan Blondell for just about as long as I can remember. And for almost that long, I’d heard about their first movie together, which was based on the Broadway play in which they both appeared. But it wasn’t until relatively recently that I finally got the chance to see that movie, and let me say that it was worth the wait. It’s Sinners’ Holiday (1930), and it’s my Pre-Code Crazy pick for the month of July. I neglected to mention this attraction . . . Clocking in at an exceedingly economical 61 minutes, this feature doesn’t star Cagney and Blondell – instead, top billing goes to Grant Withers, who I’d previously only known as the first husband of Loretta Young. He stars…