I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Expected more

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Badly directed...overplayed by most except Hopkins and guy standing....the rest amateurish..looks like a silent movie wanting to talk..LaRue awful actor..cartoon like..so sad ..they showed this film at a festival somewhere..people were rolling in the aisle..and this is Faulkner.not funny at all..in my words a disaster...has aged very very badly

The Story of Temple Drake was one of, if not THE film that helped to finalize the Motion Picture Production Code Censorship that became heavily enforced from 1934 to the 1950s. But I have to say that although I see how the story could've been obscene and offensive, to me it comes off as corny and downplayed.The characters all seem to be caricatures of their novel selves and it looks as if the film makers were afraid to dive into the depth of the plot line and the characters they were given. The book it was based on, "Sanctuary", was dark and menacing but there is almost no tension here. A sad fact because there is ample opportunity to make the viewer uneasy and angry, but instead you are sad and confused. Sympathy for Temple Drake is automatically given, being a victim of rape, but not a lot in the film gives you a sense of personal sympathy. In fact, the movie seems to go out of its way to make you not like her, as if they want you to blame her for the horrible things that happen to her.Maybe it's a sign of the times, or maybe I'm too much of a 21st century gal, but this movie came across as ridiculous to me. I do believe there can be an epic movie here, the story is timeless and Miriam Hopkins is wildly talented and capable of such a meaty role, but this one fell far short of the mark of brilliant and I cannot believe this was the film sited to enact and enforce the "Hays Code" that gave us the golden age of Hollywood. 5.4/10

Miriam Hopkins gives perhaps her best performance in this adaption of a truly scandalous novel by legendary William Faulkner. Even before the code, the word of the crime here could not be spoken, but it is plain as the blonde hair on Miriam's head as to what it is. She is the heiress to an old Southern family, the granddaughter of a very prominent judge. Her reputation is already of a loose young girl when her honor is violated thanks to the lust of a very perverted man. Thanks to her drunken date, she ends up in a decaying farmhouse where the lustful looks of the men who reside there make the tired woman of the house (Florence Eldridge) resentful and bitter. But determined to keep Hopkins out of the clutches of the man she loves (Irving Pichel), she hides Hopkins in the barn with a mentally slow farmhand guarding her. When the sleazy Jack La Rue makes his move on her, a brutal murder occurs which leads to Picgel on trial, defended ironically by a hot-shot lawyer (Wiliam Collier Jr.) and a shocking testimony by Hopkins.Certainly, much detail from the novel, "Sanctuary", had to be eliminated, but in just a very short 70 minute running time, enough is included to maintain the audience's attention. Hopkins, only nominated once for an Oscar, deserved a nomination this year, but like Bette Davis the following year in "Of Human Bondage", she was overlooked, possibly because of the subject matter which was definitely not family entertainment. Eldridge too is outstanding, playing a character so tired that it practically oozes off of her. This is a tight but detailed script with an eerie atmosphere and a spooky looking house that if it wasn't haunted before certainly would be afterwards.

"Good god, I can't publish this. We'd both be in jail." Wrote William Faulkner's publisher in 1929 after reading an early version of his fifth novel, Sanctuary. The Hays Office forbade any reference to the novel in advertising for the film. (In the opening credits of The Story of Temple Drake it only says, "From a novel by William Faulkner.")The challenge then was how to present it in an engaging if not entertaining movie without gutting the inherit drama of the story. By blending what they could show with what the audience was left to imagine it becomes a near horror film. Joseph Breen, would say it was "the vilest books, but that the film was tame in comparison to the novel."This steamy melodrama triggered church boycotts and stricter enforcement of the Hays production code. After only a few screenings, the film was quickly shelved by the Production Code Administration, never to be seen again…until now.A few collectors' 16mm prints have surfaced over the years, but a 35mm print hasn't been seen since the 1930s. So why did it take until now? The Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) was approached by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to work on a collaboration. This long sought-after title came up, and fortunately the MoMA holds the original elements and in excellent condition! This print of Temple Drake that we are screening is only a single generation away from the original camera negative, making this a true rediscovery that is not to be missed!The pivotal role of Temple Drake was entrusted to Miriam Hopkins, best known for Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise & Design for Living. But Hopkins seizes the opportunity to extend herself as a performer, arguably her finest performance. The role itself is much more complex than many of the parts offered to women in studio films today. George Raft was suspended by Paramount for his refusal to appear as "Trigger" in this film. Paramount head Adolph Zukor's reasoning that Raft turned down the part not because he objected to the material, but because he wanted more money.I first read about it in books on films of the 1930s, later I heard about it in documentaries on Pre-Code Hollywood. When I finally saw this forbidden film it was no gem. Like many of you I first saw Temple on VHS made from a worn 16mm collectors print years ago. It ranked as one of the worst transfers I had ever seen, almost unwatchable. But there was something there, to the story and the characters that drew me into the fuzzy darkness on the screen. The raising of ideas, situations and life mysteries that I found fascinating. Kind of like Dr. Jekyll wanting to know more about Hyde (another great Pre-Code Miriam Hopkins film.) But this screening is of the MoMA "To Save and Project" film preservation program and is a recently printed 35mm print made from the original negative that played to rave reviews at last years TCM Film Festival.One of the most daring Pre-Code films ever produced, this audacious film has been credited with being a catalyst for the creation of the Roman Catholic Church's National Legion of Decency. It was banned in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and Joe Breen ordered the film to never be re-released again once the Production Code came into effect in June of 1934. For many classic film fans, 1933's "The Story of Temple Drake" has long been something of a holy grail. Based on William Faulkner's novel, "Sanctuary", the story of a young Southern débutante with a wild side created a huge scandal upon its original release. The film was quickly pulled from release and went largely unseen for decades. Until now. Showing in a new 35mm print struck from the original camera negative!Georgia native Miriam Hopkins portrayed Temple Drake, (she made this film between Lubitsch's TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932) and DESIGN FOR LIVING (1933)) The gangster is played by pop-eyed Jack LaRue in another of his great Pre-Code sleaze-bag performances.(This is only part 1 of 2, Continued…)