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The Story of Temple Drake  /  Call Her Savage

The Story of Temple Drake
May 14, 2016 - 7:30 pm
Billy Wilder Theater
In-person: 
Emily Carman.

The Story of Temple Drake  (1933)


The screen adaptation of William Faulkner’s sensational novel Sanctuary, The Story of Temple Drake is a case study for how Hollywood adapted “sensitive” subjects to be permissible under the Production Code prior in the pre-Code era.  Soon-to-be head of the Production Code Administration Joseph Breen pondered whether readers of the book would charge Paramount with “fraud,” given the tameness the screen version.  The film was designed around Miriam Hopkins’ star persona, and she rivets the screen as Temple Drake, a Southern belle with a wild streak whose night out with bootleggers results in murder, rape and sexual captivity.  The actress welcomed the controversy of the film’s content, preferring challenging roles like Temple, regardless of their moral implications and Hollywood censorship. 

35mm, b/w, 70 min.  Production: Paramount Pictures.  Distribution: Paramount Pictures.  Producer: Benjamin Glazer.  Director: Stephen Roberts.  Based on a novel by William Faulkner.  Screenwriter: Oliver H.P. Garrett.  Cinematographer: Karl Struss.  Cast: Miriam Hopkins, William Gargan, Jack La Rue, Florence Eldridge, Guy Standing.

Call Her Savage  (1932)


The screen adaptation of Tiffany Thayer’s best-selling novel, Call Her Savage marked Clara Bow’s first film after she suffered a nervous breakdown after a series of very public scandals and Paramount cancelled her contract in 1931.  This experience galvanized the actress to work on a freelance basis to take ownership over her career, and Bow capitalized on her infamous reputation by personally selecting this project for her comeback at Fox.  She played the fiery Texas heiress Nasa Springer in this salacious film that portrayed an array of taboo subjects even for pre-Code Hollywood, including interracial love, incest, promiscuity, sadism, lesbianism, single motherhood and sexually transmitted disease.  Additionally, Bow had costar and director approval, and this creative control showcased her dramatic acting skills alongside her sex appeal.

35mm, b/w, 88 min.  Production: Fox Film Corp.  Distribution: Fox Film Corp.  Director: John Francis Dillon.  Based on the novel by Tiffany Thayer.  Screenwriter: Edwin J. Burke.  Cinematographer: Lee Garmes.  Editor: Harold D. Shuster.  Cast: Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe Owsley, Estelle Taylor.

Part of: 
Independent Stardom on Screen: Freelance Women in Hollywood