A Free Soul

Clarence Brown's 1931 film is one of the examples showing how much room Hollywood gave women characters before the Hays Code. An alcoholic lawyer wins an acquittal for a notorious gambler charged with murder; when his daughter becomes involved with the man, he has to face the idea of freedom he himself preached. Jan, played by Norma Shearer, states her desire with a directness rare for the period and does not apologise for it. The role that launched Clark Gable's career is here; the menacing appeal that made him a star first becomes visible in this film. Lionel Barrymore won the Academy Award for best actor for the long courtroom speech. The ending closes the argument about freedom the film opened with the father's self-sacrifice, which is the period's moral balancing. Who it's for: viewers interested in pre-Code Hollywood, Norma Shearer's work and early Clark Gable. Who it's not for: anyone troubled by the woman's autonomy being withdrawn at the end, or who will find the melodrama excessive.