IMDb lists this movie at 66 minutes, though the film I saw was only 58. I am not sure if IMDb is wrong or if perhaps the public domain copy on archive.org has been trimmed. I would not be surprised if it's the latter, as the film has some steamy moments and is clearly Pre-Code in style--so perhaps some of the juicy bits have been removed. This would have had to have been done if the film was re-released in the late 30s or 40s, as the film was too adult to comply with the new code.
The setting for "Picture Brides" is some hellish place in the tropics where a group of white scum treat the locals like garbage in their quest for diamonds. A group of white women are headed to the camp as picture brides for these men. One of them (Dorothy Libaire) has no idea what's in store for her, as the folks who organized these marriages lied to her to get her there. Once there, she finds the man she is supposed to marry, Von Luden (played with gusto by Alan Hale) is a brutal monster. Another woman in the group feels sorry for her and switches things so that the innocent woman will marry nice-guy Dave (Regis Toomey). However, Von Luden decides he wants this woman anyway and tries to rape her--and is rescued by Dave. As a result, Von Luden decides to destroy Dave, as he has a secret--he's a wanted man back in the States. It gets even crazier--and I'll let you see what happens next.
As you can tell with my description above, this is NOT a film you would have seen from Hollywood in 1935 or later. That's because the toughened Production Code went into effect in mid-1934 and topics like rape and violence towards women were pretty much forbidden. In some ways this code was good--some films were incredibly sleazy and had nudity and violence that might shock viewers even today. However, "Picture Brides" is somewhat tame compared to these films and worked better with all its salacious elements. In other words, it ain't pretty but it is entertaining! Despite a relatively low budget, this is a pretty good flick.
The setting for "Picture Brides" is some hellish place in the tropics where a group of white scum treat the locals like garbage in their quest for diamonds. A group of white women are headed to the camp as picture brides for these men. One of them (Dorothy Libaire) has no idea what's in store for her, as the folks who organized these marriages lied to her to get her there. Once there, she finds the man she is supposed to marry, Von Luden (played with gusto by Alan Hale) is a brutal monster. Another woman in the group feels sorry for her and switches things so that the innocent woman will marry nice-guy Dave (Regis Toomey). However, Von Luden decides he wants this woman anyway and tries to rape her--and is rescued by Dave. As a result, Von Luden decides to destroy Dave, as he has a secret--he's a wanted man back in the States. It gets even crazier--and I'll let you see what happens next.
As you can tell with my description above, this is NOT a film you would have seen from Hollywood in 1935 or later. That's because the toughened Production Code went into effect in mid-1934 and topics like rape and violence towards women were pretty much forbidden. In some ways this code was good--some films were incredibly sleazy and had nudity and violence that might shock viewers even today. However, "Picture Brides" is somewhat tame compared to these films and worked better with all its salacious elements. In other words, it ain't pretty but it is entertaining! Despite a relatively low budget, this is a pretty good flick.
