(1931) Night Nurse

Night Nurse is a 1931 Pre-Code, Prohibition-era, Warner Bros. crime drama and mystery film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable. The film was considered risqué at the time of its release, particularly the scene where Stanwyck is seen in her lingerie. Gable portrays a vicious chauffeur gradually starving two little girls to death. Source

(1932) Hells House [full]

Alcohol culture, back when IT was prohibited.

When Booze Was Banned But Pot Was Not

What can today’s crusaders against prohibition learn from their predecessors who ended the alcohol ban?

(1934) Betty Boop - Ha! Ha! Ha!

When Koko the Clown comes out of Max Fleischer's inkwell and eats a chocolate candy bar, he gets a painful toothache. Seeing that Koko is in extreme pain, Betty takes the suffering clown to the dentist's office. She tries to pull his bad tooth, but she turns up the laughing gas tanks too high, and very soon, Betty, Koko and the whole city are reduced to uncontrollable laughter.Source

This is a partial remake of the 1924 Out of the Inkwell film "The Cure," which uses many of the same gags with the escaping laughing gas. Source

Robert Mitchum

On the night of 31 August, 1948, two narcs called McKinnon and Barr were staking out 8443 Ridpath Drive, an unprepossessing three room shack on a hillside in the Laurel Canyon district that the cops called 'Reefer Resort'. They observed Mitchum as he arrived around midnight with a buddy called Robin Ford. They watched the two men being welcomed by the householder, a 20 year-old platinum blonde actress called Lisa Leeds, and her room mate. Finally, hiding below the window sill, they saw Mitchum spark up a joint and, at that point, they busted in through the door without knocking.

The bust caused the cancellation of Bob's appearance the following day on the steps of City Hall, where he was scheduled to address a gathering for National Youth Week. It was also widely predicted to end his career. Indeed, Mitchum himself gave his profession as "former actor" when booked. To reporters, he confessed, "Sure, I've been using the stuff since I was a kid. I guess it's all over now. I'm ruined. This is the bitter end." But, a few minutes later, he did an about-face, claiming the arrest was a "frame-up".

http://www.ukcia.org/potculture

Stachmo - My Life as a Viper

In the year before his death in 1971, Louis Armstrong collaborated with
his biographers, Max Jones and John Chilton, by sending them tape recorded
interviews and letters written in his own inimitable style. Here, Louis
talks about his life as a marijuana smoker; telling about the 1931 incident
in which he was busted in LA; explaining his idiosyncratic approach to
gastrointestinal hygiene; and making a disingenuous claim to have quit smoking.

(1931) Little Caesar

Little Caesar is a 1931 Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film. It tells the story of a young man who ascends the ranks of organized crime until he reaches its upper echelons. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, the film stars Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Glenda Farrell. The story was adapted by Francis Edward Faragoh, Robert N. Lee, Robert Lord and Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited) from the novel by William R. Burnett. Little Caesar was Robinson's breakout movie; it catapulted him to stardom.Source

Early sound prohibition-era gangster movie